This is a half-day hands-on workshop (which runs from approximately 8 am to 12:00 pm) held at The Craftwork Training Center in Telford, PA. The workshop is for those who want to learn to use Natural Hydraulic Lime (NHL) mortars to repoint vintage brick and stone masonry. NHL mortars contain NO Portland Cement. Portland Cement is not required in the NHL mortars that we teach with and which we suggest to use when repointing most vintage brick and stone buildings that were originally built with lime mortar. Portland Cement is known to be harmful for repairing brick and stone masonry buildings when the masonry building was originally built with lime mortar. This is because of the brittleness and non-breathing, dense nature of Portland Cement which can trap moisture in the bedding mortar of a wall leading to potential swelling during freeze/thaw cycles and worse. Portland cement mortar also negatively reacts with salts which accelerate the breakdown of a well-intended replacement mortar that is a "high lime content" mortar which only contains a small amount of Portland Cement. These "high lime content mortars are frequently specified with the intent to make a mortar which is more accommodating to movement and breathability but unfortunately they also undergo pre-mature decay in their service life from these reactions. There are two price points for this workshop. Option #1 for Professionals is $1000 per participant which includes a credit of $1,000 toward future purchases of our materials when the material is redeemed within one year from the date of the program. This in essence makes the workshop free for historic masonry restoration companies. Option #2 is $200 per participant for just the workshop. A $100 non-refundable deposit per person is required two weeks in advance of coming to the program. The hands-on workshop will cover tips and tricks in the proper mixing, placing, texturing, tooling, curing and cleaning when performing repointing work with LimeWorks.us Ecologic™ Mortar which is based on Natural Hydraulic Lime containing No Portland Cement. Ecologic™ Mortar is simply a prepared blend of Natural Hydraulic Lime binder/aggregates and pigments to which you just add water, mix and go to work. Ecologic™ Mortars come in 12 stock colors and the workshop shows how everyone from a DIY to a professional can produce hundreds of new shades by blending them in various degrees. This is helpful for the professional who is called to install mock-up examples for Historic Restoration Architects to review and shows the mason how to tweak the mix to represent various nuances in the original mortar for the architect’s acceptance of the mix design before the whole project were to begin. We will show how to add such inclusions as marble dust, mica, slag flecks, oyster shells, and regional sands and then how to simulate a weathered surface of an historic mortar joint in order to create a close to indistinguishable match to original historic mortar. By practicing these techniques in patch pointing and full re-pointing work the intended outcome for what is being taught is a foremost learning to develop an attention to detail. Honing the development of attention to detail is the beginning of what would ready a participant and a crew to carry out "museum-quality" restoration work. At this workshop we also explain our services for properly sending a sample to our laboratory for custom color simulations. If any professional masonry company or organization gathers a group of at least 10 participants we will schedule a program at the group's chosen location anywhere in the USA if the full $1000 per participant price is paid for the 10 or more participants. The participating company will be credited to receive the full $10,000 value of actual LimeWorks.us products if they are obtained within one year of the workshop. This in essence makes the workshop free for historic masonry restoration companies.

Architects, Engineers and their firms are invited to observe this workshop and hear supporting information on what to consider when writing a specification for a proper historic repointing project and what to look for if work is or is not being carried out in a good and workmanlike manner. The cost is $60 per participant. 4 Learning Units can be self-reported for on-going education.

For beginners in the preservation of historic memorial gravestones. This is an introductory, "half-day", workshop (which runs from approximately 8 am to 12 pm) to show participants what is in the LimeWorks.us "Graveyard Kit" and to discuss various other products and their respective applications. During this workshop participants will gain some experience using some of the items in the kit. The hands-on work may include using the LimeWorks.us recipe to make a natural field-mixed glue for repairing small broken stone elements. The workshop may also include work with waterglass to consolidate friable masonry before using our stone patching materials called Lithomex, which is used to repair broken or missing stone details. Cemetery Conservation Philosophy is discussed and there is a formal outline provided with the program. Cost is $350 per participant. A $100 non-refundable deposit per person is required two weeks in advance of coming to the program. Each participant will also receive a free Graveyard Kit, valued at $400.

For Mid-level participants who already are restoration specialists working in the preservation of historic masonry and/or memorial gravestones. This intermediate skill level, three-day workshop enables participants to work with many of the products in our Graveyard Kit. Lectures and demonstrations on the uses and application techniques for the various products in our Kit also introduce participants to current preservation and stabilization measures. Hands-on exercises and field work may include using the LimeWorks.us recipe to make a natural field-mixed glue for repairing small broken stone elements and using Waterglass to consolidate friable masonry before applying Lithomex (our stone patching material used to repair broken or missing stone details). Memorial conservation philosophy is discussed and a formal outline is provided with the program. The cost is $1000 per participant and includes a Graveyard Kit and a $200 credit toward future purchases of our LimeWorks.us materials (valid within one year of the workshop). A $100 non-refundable deposit per person is required two weeks in advance of coming to the program. Minimum group size is 10 participants per program.

If any masonry restoration company, church or cemetery conservation organization gathers a group of at least 10 participants, we will schedule a program at the group's chosen cemetery location anywhere in the USA. The cost is $1000 per participant and includes a Graveyard Kit and a $200 credit toward future purchases of our LimeWorks.us materials (valid within one year of the workshop). A $100 non-refundable deposit per person is required two weeks in advance of the program.

What you will achieve:
Practice how to identify, analyze, and repair damaged plaster using the LimeWorks.us Ecologic™ Plaster Repair System. Lunch is included each day of the workshop.

Course objectives or Goals:

• Discuss the different types of mesh/lath and their proper usage
• Practice using LimeWorks’ Takcoat™ Platinum, a dynamic product with many uses to ready old walls for repair.
• Practice installing and finishing the Ecologic™ Plaster TOPCOAT finish.

What you will achieve:
Practice how to create a rubber mold "negative" and then to cast a plaster ceiling medallion or plaster enrichment pieces from the negative.

Course objectives or Goals:

• Practice steps required to replace a missing part or create a new ceiling medallion or an enrichment piece.
• Practice creating a negative mold
• Practice pouring a plaster detail

What you will achieve:
Practice laying out and running an ornamental plaster cornice.

Course objectives or Goals:

• Practice preparing the substrate
• Practice setting lines and guides
• Learn the consistency of the plaster and proper mixing technique
• Practice running the in-situ crown molding

Lithomex is the brick and stone resurfacing and repair system for taking up brick and stone loss. The Lithomex system is a one-of-a-kind patching material for its respective applications, unequalled by others on the market. Learn the values of Lithomex and how to mix and repair a damaged brick or stone face.

Architects, Engineers and their firms are invited to observe this workshop and hear supporting information on what to consider when writing a specification for a proper brick and stone repair and what to look for if work is or is not being carried out in a good and workmanlike manner. The cost is $60 per participant. 4 Learning Units can be self-reported for on-going education.

This is a Certified Installer Training Program which reaches all "Level II Lithomex Surface Repair for Masonry" requirements in order for each repair technician to receive a Validated Training Certificate that acknowledges the technician as a Certified Lithomex Installer for a five year period. The Level II Lithomex Surface Repair for Masonry Workshop is for professional in masonry restoration. Professionals will be exposed to in-depth detailing regarding surface repair to brick and stone. Participants will be taught about the potential causes of brick and stone deterioration and how to properly prepare the installation area, prepare and blend Lithomex and then install the Lithomex to the intended standards of the industry for optimal durability and service life. Stone carving details are taught. Casting Lithomex to create replacement units or for taking up brick and stone loss during masonry conservation campaigns is also discussed. The program ends with a written test and a measured reading on the participant’s installation for square along with photo documentation of the completed work for archival record. The Validated Training Certificate allows the technician to be hired on projects where Lithomex is specified for high quality brick and stone repair as required by the Historic Restoration Architect where installations can only be carried out by a Certified Lithomex Installer.

Architects, Engineers and their firms are invited to observe this workshop on the first day of the two-day workshop and hear supporting information on what to consider when writing a specification for a proper historic brick and stone patching and what to look for if work is or is not being carried out in a good and workmanlike manner. The cost for this special offer is $100 per a qualified architect or engineer. 6 Learning Units can be self-reported for on-going education. Lunch is also included for all who attend workshops that are more than ½ day.

This is a four-day hands-on workshop (which is repeatable in succession if the work is not completed) is held at a historic site. The historic site will actually have substantial repair work accomplished during the program time. The intent is to instill an attitude toward historic masonry conservation that is respectful of irreplaceable historic fabric and understand how to sympathetically work a repair into and adjacent to the original material. A global mindset toward understanding the building in its environment, the building’s importance, how it was constructed, by who and why it came into existence along with why it and any significant architectural details should be kept in conservation is part of the philosophy discussed during this program. These are questions that every practitioner of historic building repair work should ask before engaging in a repair intervention. The workshop shows end-users how to better decipher the original mortars or plasters used to build the vintage building and spot the inappropriate forms of intervention used to create well-meaning but un-complementary repair work accomplished over the subsequent years from the time of original construction to the current state it is in. The inappropriate repairs may be deemed "inappropriate" based on non-compatible use of materials or simply not be sympathetic to what was the architect and builder's original intent. The intent of the workshop is to get the fix back on track with what is interpreted as the original intended design details. This workshop reviews performing a visual mortar analysis and one using an acid-digestion process of the targeted mortar(s) which is planned to be simulated for reinstallation by repointing. Visual observation of the original sand color and sizes found in the original mortar is reviewed when the mortar sample is sifted and separated into various gradations. Methods to properly prepare the historic masonry walls by cutting and squaring back original mortar joints will be addressed in repointing workshops. To ready walls for repointing, techniques for cutting without irreversibly damaging historic masonry units will be practiced, along with cleaning the masonry in preparation if needed. Placement of new materials and especially the incorporation of reconstituted historic elements in the effort of their reinstallation will be carried out whenever possible. This program is specifically a repointing or a re-plastering workshop but may cover other details. Various details may be listed on the Tentative Calendar Schedule because the historic site or building types may be different. Cost is $750 per participant for four days. A $100 non-refundable deposit per person is required two weeks in advance of coming to the program. The Field School Program is a hands on workshop intended for the participant who wants to get into this line of work professionally or wants to get a better well-rounded understanding of many of the details behind a historic masonry restoration campaign and business. Four Day Sets are $750. This program can be continued upon in four day sets in consecutive weeks based on the participants desire to keep working with us. Work is always on an actual historic building and its interrelated building details. Note to Non-Profit Sites: Underfunded historic sites can use this opportunity to host this workshop. By doing this they can leverage the value of the participants help in reducing the overall cost to complete the needed repair work that can be accomplished during the program because the participants will be guided by our Technical Install Team. Please inquire with your budget and allow us to design a workshop around your budget and preservation needs utilizing this available labor. Architects, Engineers and their firms are invited to observe this workshop on the first day of the four-day workshop and hear supporting information on what to consider when writing a specification for a proper historic brick and stone repointing or plaster refurbishment and what to look for if work is or is not being carried out in a good and workmanlike manner. The cost is $100 per participant. 6 Learning Units can be self-reported for on-going education. Lunch is also included for all who attend workshops that are more than ½ day.

Course Objectives & Goals:
This EPA Lead Safety for Renovation, Repair & Painting course will teach you how to perform or supervise lead-safe work practices effectively. Subjects covered include health effects, regulations, lead-safe work practices, dust and debris containment, cleaning verification, and recordkeeping. The lecture and hands-on skills ensure you receive the training you need to perform lead-safe work practices. Each student must successfully complete the hands-on skills and pass an end-of-class written exam to receive a Certified Renovator certificate which is valid for 5 years.

After completing the course participants will:

• Appreciate the dangers inherent in lead paint, including the risks and difficulties involved in renovation projects that involve older structures.
• Understand the EPA and HUD rule requirements for lead-safe Certified Firms and Certified Renovators.
• Recognize if lead-based paint is present at a work site and plan the project so it is lead-safe.
• Know how to set up the work site so that dust and debris created by the work do not contaminate the property or leave behind lead contaminated dust.
• Comprehend how to effectively clean up lead dust generated by the work performed, conduct a cleaning verification, and properly dispose of renovation waste.
• Grasp the importance of accurate recordkeeping and documentation of lead-safe work practices performed at each job site.

What you will achieve:
Participants will gain practice in use of a steam box for preparation and paint stripping of the wood. There will be detailed discussion of the Department of the Interior Preservation Guidelines. Participants will also receive instruction and a certification of completion of the EPA’s Lead-Safe RRP course. If the participant already has the certification, an extra day will be added on to the workshop to gain more experience in the wood restoration aspect at no extra cost.

Course objectives or Goals:

• Gain certification of the EPA’s Lead-Safe RRP program
• Discuss different theories behind the various methods of wood window/door restoration
• Practice using a steam box to prepare the pieces for restoration
• Explore the different tasks involved in the restoration process
• Strip and restore a window or door by recreating missing elements and incorporating them into the repair, re-glazing windows all as time allows within the three-day period.

What you will achieve:
Participants will practice the techniques involved in sharpening the basic carpentry hand tools. Bringing your own tools is optional but recommended.

Course objectives or Goals:

• Work along with master carpenters as the skills of tool sharpening is first taught and practiced as a pre-requisite to moving on with conservation carpentry.

What you will achieve:
Participants will practice the practical applications and construction methods of mortise and tenon joints.

Course objectives or Goals:

• Discuss the various application of the practical joints
• Practice the skills of mortise and tenon joinery as they are demonstrated and taught
• Gain experience in crafting the joints with tutorials from master craftsmen

What you will achieve:
Participants will discuss proposal writing and budgeting project costs. Experience the methods involved in running and operating a successful business.

Course objectives or Goals:

• Discuss the various aspects of developing and running a business
• How to estimate and bid for projects successfully