Preservation and Weatherization

Preservation has been a hot topic in Buffalo this year, crowned by hosting the National PreservationConference last October. Once our national guests left, the excitement kept going. At the end of May the group Preservation Buffalo Niagara will be holding its Third Annual Preservation Awards in the Statler Building—itself a newly dusted off and restored historical venue downtown. Buildings can have historic value for a number of reasons--association with a great event or person, exemplification of a particular architectural style, or part of a larger historic neighborhood--and Buffalo has all three.

Preservation in Buffalo

As some have bitterly pointed out in the wake of the Preservation Conference, one reason why our city has so many old buildings is because our various economic slumps discouraged the growth which  could have overrun old buildings in the interests of progress. Those same economic downturns affected our historic areas in other ways as jobs, then people, then investment vanished from the city and many lots became vacant or poorly tended. Buffalo has the oldest housing stock of any US metropolitan area, many of which are valued at less than $20,000.

Allentown Historic District

An eagerness for preserving Buffalo’s physical heritage isn’t without its negatives. The city’s population peaked at over 580,000 in 1950 and has dropped steadily since then. The current population of approximately 260,000 rattles around in a city with too many buildings. Remaining neighborhoods have a vacancy rate of almost 17%. Exacerbating the issue of population decline is the poverty rate. When the median household income is $24,536, not many Buffalonians can  afford to dutifully maintain their historic properties, much less move into one of downtown's beautifully restored apartments.

Finally, preservation is just one in the mile-long list of special concerns for Buffalo, which includes job creation, health, neighborhood revitalization, transportation, and development projects. With limited resources, there is no clear answer to which issue deserves more attention or funding.

Historic Properties

For NHS of South Buffalo, we typically run across old and historic homes as part of our weatherization program for low-income residents. In doing so we encounter state and national requirements for the treatment of historic properties and have learned the best ways to weatherize a property without permanently affecting or damaging the home.

Honestly, many older buildings were designed with inherently sustainable features. Built with local materials, centrally located fireplaces, overhanging roofs, small windows, and functioning shutters, these homes had to mitigate rough weather conditions. With the arrival of climate control technology in the mid-1900s, new construction became more concerned with tightly sealing buildings against the elements rather than incorporating natural factors.

Abandoned properties.

On the other hand, older buildings were also built with the need for extensive and continuous care. An poorly tended house quickly deteriorates. Paint peels, windows stick, and wooden porches sag. Many lovely old buildings were built to last, but under the assumption that they would receive careful maintenance and attention.

Oddly, one of the major concerns of New York State’s Office of Historic Preservation is the treatment of windows. The appearance of historic buildings is closely connected with the structure of their window panes.  Oftentimes when a homeowner wants to weatherize their home they want new windows, which can quickly change the integrity of the building’s façade with unimpressive energy savings to boot. The biggest weatherization concern with windows typically isn’t the window itself but the leaks around the window.

Case Study

Original windows at 131 Southside

When we acquired the old firehouse at 131 Southside and converted it into apartments in 1989, the building was a mere 81 years old. Now the building is getting a long awaited retrofit, with due consideration for state preservation guidelines. The original windows from 1907 are being replaced with energy efficient, historically correct windows.

Old windows used wood frames, which reduced efficiency because wood transmits heat much more readily than the glass does. To counter that, these new windows use double paned wood, reducing the energy transfer. By caulking the frames we can eliminate uncomfortable and inefficient drafting. The building will also be getting a new paint job and new, efficient boilers. It’s one small step towards bringing weatherization and preservation together.