Resources
Check back regularly for new documents and resources to help you understand the complexities of restoring your property.
- City of Pittsburgh Bureau of Building Inspection
- Borough of Wilkinsburg Code Enforcement
- Tax Incentives for Historic Building Restoration
Historic Restoration
Learning how to restore an old home will save you time and money, and it’s a green practice.
- Old House Web. Old House Web offers how-to guides on a number of restoration and renovation projects for the owners of older homes.
- National Trust for Historic Preservation Resources for Older and Historic Homeowners. Offers information on legal and policy issues on historic preservation and restoration, and a social network for older and historic homeowners. It also includes guides on weatherization for older and Historic Buildings, lead safe practices, a window contractor locator, workshops and seminars, Green on the Cheap, and Save Your Windows.
- The National Service Preservation Briefs also offer a compendium of reference points for housing restoration and preservation projects.
- Historic Preservation, Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh Resource Guide. The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh has listed a comprehensive set of books and organizations that homeowners can consult on preservation projects.
- The Secretary of Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation. These are the standards that must be met to qualify for the federal preservation tax incentives.
Green Initiatives
Make your home and yard healthy for your family and friendly to the environment. Check back here often for new tools and resources to help you make your home more sustainable.
- Healthy Home Resources. A local nonprofit that helps you reduce and eliminate environmental hazards in your home.
- GTECH Strategies. A Pittsburgh-based non-profit social enterprise dedicated to fostering community and growing the green economy by eliminating blight.
- Green Up Pittsburgh. An initiative of the City of Pittsburgh that supports individuals and organizations’ greening vacant lots.
Energy Efficiency
Simple tools and techniques make lighting, heating and cooling older homes much less expensive. Check back often for new tools and resources for making your home more energy efficient.
- Conservation Consultants, Inc. Have CCI, a local nonprofit, audit your home’s energy use to help you reduce your bills.
- U.S. Department of Energy Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy program. Get tips for making your home greener and less expensive to heat and cool.
Home Improvements
With the right tools and a little know-how, you can complete many repair and renovation projects yourself.
Check back here often for new resources to help you improve your home.
- DoItYourself.com. Home repair projects and how-to articles.
- HGTV. Home improvement guides from Home & Garden Television.
- About.com: Home repair. Home improvement guides from About.com