door. >> uh-huh. >> in terms of the dosticks or it's rubbing when you open it. there are ways to address that without changing the whole door. >> people are worried about security issues which drives them to replace the door with a solid core door. a glass door you can put clear or plastic or grills, there are lots af ways. >> the best ways for security we have security film you can't tell it's there. you take a hammer to it and can the glass will crack and not break. that's a painless way for security. i would say most of the old doors eshg specially entry doors are such a quality of lumbar and

thickness they are not easy to break. as long as the lock and the area around the strike are reinforced. there would not be a lot of security to gain by replacing a lot of the doors. a couple of exterior elements. porches and front steps are a common problem for leaks you have settlement and shrinkage on the steps and porches and you have to stay on top of that. >> if you keep your house clean the exterior the facade and stairs you are apt to see where the leaks are or areas prone to leaking expansion and contraction. the older stairs some have concrete. those are areas that will need maintenance. >> especially where concrete or

stone abuts wood ask they have different shrinkage rates. you will see a crack that needs to be addressed calked or flashed. >> spend money on the waterproofing details because if you spend that little investment in extra waterproofing and better flashing it's a gift that deep keeps on giving it's something you will not spend later. we took rotting pin flashings off the buildings. >> galvanizing lasts a long time but it will get old. we use copper and steel. the price is neg ot a big investment. >> reasonable maintenance spend the money on appropriate

materials. and pay attention to panlt. all the expense in paints is in the prep and the application. it's not in the cost of the paint itself. don't look for cheap paint. we will save 5 bucks a gallon after you spend thouz annasands you get cheap paint. >> i have a brick chimney. i tried to raise the chimney back to the roof diaphragms. what experience you have on the brick chimneys? >> we have a couple of structural engineers that has done this brick work. >> i haven't but as a chair ever a committee i will give a politically incorrect answer.

if the chimney is not an historic element take it down for safety reasons replace it with a wood framed or metal chimney. that's for safety reasons. i understand in san francisco and elsewhere that a beautiful old brick chimney adds a lot of character. it sometimes the chimney is holding up the house and not the other way around. they can be braced but the amount of free standing above the roof line is a hazard a reinforces masonry chimney is better. the eninforced ones will crumble to a pile. the reinforced will tip to the neighbor's yard or to the driveway. if they pull out from where they are attached. the easiest is to replace the

bricks with a light weight chimney. water heaters if there are 2 things i recommend for quake safety is the chimney and the water heater. they are not structural items. >> can you mention what you do to a water heater? >> strapping. that's required. you get the detail from the hardware store it's an afternoon project. >> and allows you to have drinking water in case of an earthquake. you don't need bottled water it has a valve at the bottom. >> we are talking about old historic buildings dot advocates have a view on old chimneys. >> let's ask a well known advocate of historic preservation. >> save the chimney in any way you can. well are ways to line the

chimney. there are also technologies that i as a practitioner not familiar with would be my suggestion you get in touch with the preservation architect to look the the possibility of retaining the chimney before you decide you want to tear it down. >> the answer is what's the chimney like and where is it. there are chimneys that are okay to replace and others are a sin to replace. a huge of allowing garages to be in historic buildings where they have an impact on the facade. a big issue the planning department is considering something. you have comments on parking and the issues of automobiles. >> parking and other issues, when you have a historic home

and adapting it to historic character. nobody wants a historic kitchen. kitchen, grablgs and things like that require creative adaptive reuse. if properly designed, most homes could benefit from having a garage. there are some homes that there is no tasteful way to do. i think those homes should forget having a garage. >> i went along the row of painted ladies and they all have a row of garages. those are the icons of san francisco. they all have garages. let's talk about the other interior and hardware issues. go back and talk about doors. here's inn exterior door set. how does one retain and maintain hardware like this.

you don't want to replace should go like that. if you do it will be expensive. vsx+or?3vy÷voa;lñr you can rep parts. you buy a house and there's no key. you take this out -- >> have that replaced. you get it all rekeyed. there's one there. >> you don't have to replace the hardware. >> you don't have to replace it. i'm working on a large house now where we have taken every singet piece of hardware off. hings. the lock sets and having them all replated and going to a company that will come in and they will rebuild grease, give the old locks a tune up. there are ways to save it as opposed to replacing it. this one you see the locks that

goes to the side of the door many of the new doors you bore a hole and it goes through there. if you wanted to take this out put this in there will be patchwork involved. it's cheaper to have this either repair or replaced or do carp entry work. >> you can go to a lot of salvage shops and find boxes full of old locks. if you have one that's not functioning and need parts you go out on saturday. the brand is to the lock you can get a new salvage unit. the quality of the castings and trim are superior to those things available. >> a comment? >> to what degree does disabled

access apply to old multifamily residential buildings? >> in door hardware i saw a building it's made accessible you have the latch knobs. >> goods question section of the california building -- [laughter] says specifically that the regulations for disabled access do not apply to existing residential building. anything not newly constructed and newly constructed is, a building that has not know used or occupied for any purpose much if you take a commercial building and convert it to residential it's not a newly constructed building and the disabled access rules would not apply. >> there are exceptions to what

you just cited is where the disabled access code does not apply to existing buildings. and i think i'm afraid i must say it depends on the project we viewer you have at the building department as to whether or not it does apply also if it has public financing cht that's another factor. that's not something your audience is concerned about. but probably saw in a publicly pregnancied rehabilitation this upgrade. >> yeah. publicly financed buildings have a different standard. they fall under a different code and have to provide access. >> if you have a few that are missing in addition to building resources and salvage yards. if you go on e bay there is a

whole section of antique hardware. people are offering up beautiful items for auction. and entire sets. you it's not hard to redo the appropriate hardware on a house that had it's historic hardware stripped out you can find historic hardware. you can get there. the old push button switches are made in a variety of modern flavors with a modern set of inners. they are retrofit switches that be with purchased at rejuvenational hardware. along with brass plates switch plates not plastic. i went to the house of a planner he bought a house from the original owner who was a

merchant mariner and come home from long trips and go around the house as we waited for his next voyage. he would take the hings and clean and polish them. if you visit john's house you see the gorgeous polished -- this is a piece of hardware that moves and requires maintenance. housing require maintenance they are not build and they are there for the end of time. the monster housing are a big surprise a 6,000 square foot home and 3 years later they realize the maintenance required for a house like that. the painting and everything that

goes on. here is a beautiful bras hing that has been painted over. how do you get paint off these cht >> there are places where you take these that will strip them, sand blast and repolish them. we plate them as well. a number of replaters in the area much that's -- and you get things like this is just the plain hing. if you had elaborate east lake hing there are places in san francisco who can dubicate and make new ones. additional things come in mind for you. >> i work in a different price bracket. >> it's always one -- we are having all of our hardware

they're being custom cast and made for this house. >> [laughter]. >> it does depend on your budget. >> [laughter]. anything's possible. >> like hypothetically the house i'm working on now if the homeowner has tha r there are heart set on this hardware and we can't find it we can have it made. it will cost money but you can have things made. >> however, i seen people with no budgets but persistance over the years nibble away and turn the house into something beautiful. this year the hardware and next year something else. you don't have to do this at a fast remodel schedule. you can do this at a pace on your own time. >> bruce. >> do you have any one

particular should we say, list or source where one can go in order to find all the different suppliers of restoration services and/or hardware so that the typical san franciscoan who doesn't have the knowledge base that the 3 of you have can do his own research. >> i'd say start on e bay. quite frankly that's where you could say find this in 5 minutes can you say the, g, word. google. if you type it up on the web it's out there. there are other resources to mention. san francisco architectural heritage is a place you can call they can point you to good things. do you have the number. >> 441-3000. a lot of knowledgeable staff and

volunteers quite a library of things. the museum of the historical society, victorian alliance people who fix up their victorians for years. a craft guild in san francisco called artistic license. around for 25 years the cream of the crop as far as period artisans go. there are people who can pull plaster moldings in place. people who do arts and crafts tiles and stained glass. painters, architect designers. there are people in that group who are in the trenches everyday helping ordinary people. they have a web page, artist artisticlicense. org. somebody in that group doesn't

know they can point you to someone that does. places like building resources and salvage houses if they don't have it they will give you a good idea where to find it. with leg work and phone calls and the computer it's not hard to find the resources. >> it's getting easier with the internet. >> building units, an old plumbi plumbing fixture. if the porcelain is chipped you don't have to throw it away. i know of one place in berkeley on san pablo. sunlight salvage. >> that's right. they are constantly rescuing. if i take an old thing out of a construction site i don't throw it away.

they will hall it away they will give you a few bucks. they will take it off and redo the porcelain and resell it. >> another thing i wanted to point out i do in the building forensicings realm. if you look in the fixture it's not an old thing. the dates that this was fabricated, a lot of plumbing fixtures are in the fixtures this is december 30th 1947. if you look at your plumbing fixtures you will see the dates when these were made. fascinating we can date remodels. the board appeals will ask me when the work was done. i can nail it by the fasteners.

what does this tell you about the date. the square cut nails before they were wire nails were used. and that let's you know this is a piece installed in victorian times. >> often the screws, also. >> uh-huh. >> an older type screw. many of the screws now are phillips and look like sheet rock. >> the mention dating plumbing fixtures the same is for door and window hardware. oftentimes it will have a manufacture and a patent date. >> right. >> here's a cool hing. that was a door hing. heavy, probably weighs 5 times what a normal hing ways. >> a hing to made to swing both

ways it's double acting and a spring hing you adjust it. >> this one might be rusted. saturday you might be able to get it to work. >> then, we have some facets and hardware. what can people do to upgrade stuff like that? >> well, it's all disassembleable. everything canning replaced. as with the door hardware you can take this out and have it plated in anything you like. if you don't like chrome or you want this to be brass or oil rubbed. this can be separated and taken out and replated. or at the very least buffed and polished and made to look better than it currently does. >> which is not bad.

>> go to a plumbing show room and find me something with this weight. >> a lot of the stuff is easily accessible. a screw and nut here and you take it apart >> the newer hardware you can't do that. the washers you can take it out and find something that will fit inside. >> books that we will show you a diagram of how to change washers it's not hard. >> i have some old very nice wood cabinet it's painted by the previous owner. what's the best way sanding that is really dusty and -- >> you want to ship it down to the natural surface or repaint

it. >> if you are concerned about lead you can test it to see if it's hot and what the lead content is if it's low sand it, prime it and repaint it. >> they have a contractor doing those things coming to your house and strip it. >> well, there are painters in san francisco who make a big chunk of business in dealing with lead remediation projects it can be suits and an intense thing. we will come in and they will set up a containment area and do the sanding. the workers are protected against toxics. and who will do that. there are contractors that do that. >> for repainting you don't have to strip you have to rough it up and clean it up. >> go ahead. >> i have the older building

with the frost not clear plastic on a semihistorical building how you replace that i want to clear? >> a window. >> 80 years old. what should i do i don't want to ruin history. some say, replace the whole thing >> the want to save the wood it's probably a hundred years old the plexiglass is dirty. >> not historic plexiglass. you can get replacement plexiglass or plastic. >> okay with clear glass. the sash i should preserve that. >> the sash is sound it's a good thing environmentally historically it's good to save if you can.

it's not a complicated trick to remove the glazing. >> i wanted to talk about electric stuff much the electrical code say you are permitted to extend existing electrical systems. knob and tube systems which are common in san francisco in older buildings don't have to be replaced. you don't have to upgrade the system because it's older wiring. it's safe and may be extended as necessary to serve new fixtures. that's in the historic building code and regular electrical code. you can often find the wonderful fixtures in salvage yards.

>> you have comments? there are a couple of shops you can take this to them and they will rewire it with modern wiring. sometimes, because we have combination gas and electric fixtures they rewire the old gas fixtures as well. there are resources availables to getting them fixed up. >> this one needs more than rewiring but. [laughter]. >> you can get all of the bits and pieces for the fixtures these days on the internet and salva salvage yards. terrific place on sacramento street that has a tremendous collection of historic glass and chandeliers. >> it's over in laurel heights wood chuck antiques. there is victor's antique light

nothing the bay view area. both of those are if you look under lighting in the yellow pages you will find wood chuck and victors. our last display is the old heater, which we see many of you have these in your homes. and once again it's a piece of moving equipment requires maintenance has to be taken ark part now and then. has a single screw you losen it, take it ark part, lubricate it, clean it, put it back together. buildings require general maintenance. it's not a big deal. you put the screw back in and it's another 5 years before you lubricate it again. >> depending on your ducts that could be an asbestos prospect. >> this says september 7, 1925

or 7. isn't that great. i want to thank you for coming today for love and care for your old san francisco house. it was really great. >> welcome to the 2011 spj town

hall. i'm here with my co-host to welcome you to what promises to be a fascinating discussion about the changes taking place in journalism today. tonight's program is presented by the society of professional journalists in collaboration with the san francisco public library and san francisco bay area journalists. after several years of difficulty, we are seeing a lot of activity, particularly involving new media organizations. we have seen patch.com open hundreds of bureaus across the country. yahoo! is expanding its staff across the country. aol bought the huffington opposed. in the middle east, we saw how citizen journalists are reporting on the uprisings, and in papers like the "san francisco chronicle" are