Old House First Aid: Basic Preservation Carpentry
Old houses can be intimidating. With historic building materials, nothing seems to be plumb or level and everything feels like it needs some love. It can be easy to get overwhelmed.
Fear not!
This class will teach some of the basics of preservation carpentry so that attendees will leave feeling more comfortable tackling their own projects. Utilizing techniques, and the occasional “trick,” picked up over two decades of working on historic houses and museums, the instructor will go over a range of common issues that tend to arise in the life of a historic house.
Participants will get the opportunity to work on the historic fabric of actual structures around Historic Eastfield Village and contribute to the preservation of the site.
The class will also enjoy a hearth cooked dinner party on Saturday night! You will get the full “Eastfield Experience” with this traditional dinner in the candle-lit tavern. As with all programs, you are encouraged to stay the night at the Village’s historic accommodations free of charge.
Workshop topics may include:
Accurate measuring
Use of saws, both hand and powered
Dutchman repairs
Rehanging of historic doors
Reinstallation of trim
Building a basic carpentry tool kit and must haves for your reference library!
This class is designed for beginners and those with only a rudimentary knowledge of carpentry.
Duration: 2 Days
Dates: August 16th - 17th 2025 (2 Days)
Includes:
Hearth cooked dinner party
Materials
Limited to: 8 Students
More: Workshop Information
All workshops begin at 9:30am on the first day of the program.
All participants must be 18+ years old.
Old houses can be intimidating. With historic building materials, nothing seems to be plumb or level and everything feels like it needs some love. It can be easy to get overwhelmed.
Fear not!
This class will teach some of the basics of preservation carpentry so that attendees will leave feeling more comfortable tackling their own projects. Utilizing techniques, and the occasional “trick,” picked up over two decades of working on historic houses and museums, the instructor will go over a range of common issues that tend to arise in the life of a historic house.
Participants will get the opportunity to work on the historic fabric of actual structures around Historic Eastfield Village and contribute to the preservation of the site.
The class will also enjoy a hearth cooked dinner party on Saturday night! You will get the full “Eastfield Experience” with this traditional dinner in the candle-lit tavern. As with all programs, you are encouraged to stay the night at the Village’s historic accommodations free of charge.
Workshop topics may include:
Accurate measuring
Use of saws, both hand and powered
Dutchman repairs
Rehanging of historic doors
Reinstallation of trim
Building a basic carpentry tool kit and must haves for your reference library!
This class is designed for beginners and those with only a rudimentary knowledge of carpentry.
Duration: 2 Days
Dates: August 16th - 17th 2025 (2 Days)
Includes:
Hearth cooked dinner party
Materials
Limited to: 8 Students
More: Workshop Information
All workshops begin at 9:30am on the first day of the program.
All participants must be 18+ years old.
Old houses can be intimidating. With historic building materials, nothing seems to be plumb or level and everything feels like it needs some love. It can be easy to get overwhelmed.
Fear not!
This class will teach some of the basics of preservation carpentry so that attendees will leave feeling more comfortable tackling their own projects. Utilizing techniques, and the occasional “trick,” picked up over two decades of working on historic houses and museums, the instructor will go over a range of common issues that tend to arise in the life of a historic house.
Participants will get the opportunity to work on the historic fabric of actual structures around Historic Eastfield Village and contribute to the preservation of the site.
The class will also enjoy a hearth cooked dinner party on Saturday night! You will get the full “Eastfield Experience” with this traditional dinner in the candle-lit tavern. As with all programs, you are encouraged to stay the night at the Village’s historic accommodations free of charge.
Workshop topics may include:
Accurate measuring
Use of saws, both hand and powered
Dutchman repairs
Rehanging of historic doors
Reinstallation of trim
Building a basic carpentry tool kit and must haves for your reference library!
This class is designed for beginners and those with only a rudimentary knowledge of carpentry.
Duration: 2 Days
Dates: August 16th - 17th 2025 (2 Days)
Includes:
Hearth cooked dinner party
Materials
Limited to: 8 Students
More: Workshop Information
All workshops begin at 9:30am on the first day of the program.
All participants must be 18+ years old.
Instructors
Ian Stewart
Ian has 20 years of international experience preserving historic buildings and historic trades. He co-founded Preservation Inc. and owns New Netherland Timber Framing and Preservation, companies that specialize in assessment and restoration of a wide variety of historic structures and landscapes around the world. Ian is a passionate advocate for trades education and has a wealth of experience in leading workshops and historic preservation courses. Notably, Ian gave a TED talk titled, “Can Preservation Trades Save Our Cities?”