A series of lectures and hands-on workshops for owners of vintage homes, contractors and students. Learn best practices from experts in the field for a wide variety of repairs and restoration topics. All workshops will be held at the William Kizer house, 803 W. Washington, South Bend, Indiana.

Landscaping: April 6th, 9 am to Noon, Lecture with demonstrations:Traditional landscaping choices, what, when, and how to plant.

House Detectives: May 8th, 6 to 8 pm, Lecture: Sleuth out the physical changes of a house to uncover its history. This session will also cover how to approach and plan a rehabilitation project taking in to account a house’s architectural history, character and design.

Plaster: June 8th, 9 am to Noon, Lecture. 1 to 3 pm, Hands-on: Learn about plaster walls, their history, construction and how they can be repaired. Techniques will be demonstrated.

Masonry: July 10th, 6 to 8 pm, Lecture: Learn best practices for the repair and maintenance of masonry (brick, stone, concrete) parts of a vintage home. Take away what a good mason will do and what must be avoided.

Windows: August 10th,  9 am to 3 pm, Hands-on: This all hands-on workshop will engage you while you take apart a historic window, repair and glaze the sash, re-rope the weights and get experience improving a sash's energy efficiency.

Paint: September 11th,  6  to 8 pm, Lecture: Paint colors can enhance a vintage house or cause your neighbors to permanently shut their drapes. Learn about traditional paint color combinations, their placement and general rules of the trade for making your vintage house pop. Bring along a photo of your house for personal recommendations.

Wood Floors: October 12th, 9 am to Noon, Lecture. 1 to 3 pm Hands-on: Bring back the beauty of your homes wood floors without destroying them. Learn about different types of wood floors, their repairing, stripping (chemically and manually) and other passive and mechanical methods to restore their finish.