Old Home Symposium tour 2021 – A new approach to help historic home owners get the high quality, research-informed information they need to repair and restore their most valuable possession… their homes!

Booking Now For Spring | Summer | Fall 2021

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A message from Dr. Christopher Cooper | Director of Education

As the Editor-in-Chief of Edifice Magazine for the past 20 years (Now Old Home Living Magazine by Edifice) I get asked many reoccurring questions by our followers and subscribers of specific issues as they relate to a traditional home of character or in this case, a heritage home.

After 20 years of touring our “Restoration Road Trip” across Canada and abroad we have decided that we need to embrace the enormous changes in technologies as well as dealing with a global pandemic to bring owners and lovers of older and heritage homes together in a live setting, safely!

So we have decided to go on the road again, except this time we will present in communities across Canada via live Zoom symposiums which are created to deal with the most common subjects requested by that community in a specific geographical area. This way you can attend this live symposium in the comfort and safety of your own home!

A heritage homeowner located in Ontario is quite different to the challenges a homeowner faces in Atlantic Canada or the same can be said about a home located on the West Coast or in that manner, every province in between.

We would like to connect with heritage groups and homeowners across Canada to help them get the correct information to get their old house right, get their house functioning properly and to provide remedies for common issues, whilst respecting good heritage stewardship! This symposium is all new and not like anything Edifice has presented in the past. And more over it gives the homeowners the chance to custom design the content in advance.

Each custom symposium is 2 hours long with a 15-minute break and a 30-minute Q&A at the end. The symposium can accommodate up to 8-10 modules which can be chosen from our module list below or customized through attendee suggestion.

Here is a list of some of the modules that have been the most requested to date:

Module One

Treating the cause not the symptom, what issues to look out for in owning or purchasing an older home.

Module Two

What design era is my house, and how should it look and how do I get it right?

Module Three

Outdated plumbing, fixtures, bathrooms, and kitchens etc.

Module Four

Outdated electrical, including Knob & Tube, when to call a professional.

Module Five

Unsafe materials lead & asbestos etc., how best to remove, when to call a professional.

Module Six

Materials used to build your house are no longer available… where to source, what species of wood is the right replacement if necessary.

Module Seven

Outdated floor plans, long corridors, tiny rooms, no closets.

Module Eight

Dealing with structural issues.

Module Nine

Undoing bad renovation work, lowered ceilings, layered floors, bad paneling.

Module Ten

Rot… how to restore and repair.

Module Eleven

Exterior wooden elements and best paint process, tools and steps to take.

Module Twelve

Curb appeal, how to achieve that traditional “Magazine Cover” look!

Module Thirteen

What are the best solutions to adding-on an addition?

Module Fourteen

Plaster repair and restoration.

Module Sixteen

Masonry issues, repair, and restoration.

Module Seventeen

Wood window issues, repair, and restoration.

Module Eighteen

Exterior paint, colour schemes for your era of home, and best practices.

Module Nineteen

Wet basement, rising damp and water management.

Module Twenty

Roofing issues, including proper insulation and ventilation of roof, flashing and water distribution. Best roofing materials and how to source them.

Module Twenty-One

Wood siding, repair, and replacement. How to source acceptable replacement materials how to treat them before installation (paint, prime or stain), including board and batten, shingle, and clapboard.

Module Twenty-Two

Stairs and railings.

Module Twenty-Three

Flooring repair, and restoration – hardwood and softwood.

Module Twenty-Four

How to develop your routine for planned maintenance.

Module Twenty-Five

Wooden gingerbread and millwork elements, repair, and replication. Including verandah, porch and portico design, and best materials.

Module Twenty-Six

Antique hardware, repair, and restoration. Where to source reproduction hardware.

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Contact us today to customize an Old Home Symposium for your community.

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