Do you own a historic home or building that needs healing? The Building Doctors can help!

The Ohio History Fund and Outreach Manager in the Ohio History Connection’s State Historic Preservation Office and Building Doctors spokesman, Andy Verhoff says the program began about 40 years ago. The “Building Doctors” program is one of the oldest programs from the Ohio History Connection. He says that the department saw a need for a source of information Ohioans could use to repair and restore their historic houses and buildings.

They provide information about painting, flooding, woodworking, roofing, window replacement, and much more. Verhoff says the Building Doctors are there on behalf of the home/building owner to provide a neutral source of information and expert advice. The Ohio History Connection wants to see Ohio’s historic buildings kept in good condition.

The Building Doctors seminar and visit is not to teach attendees to be “world class” experts on old buildings, he says. The purpose of the event is to teach the owners what to look for, what questions to ask, and who to talk to about having something repaired.

Verhoff says that some who attend the seminars like to do the repair work themselves, while others attend to learn the language of historic building repair and find out who to call about their issues. “We try to help people become more versed in their old buildings,” he says.

The building Doctors are coming to Shelby on Monday, October 10 from 7:00PM to 9:00PM, where a seminar will be held at Shelby High School. Building Doctors Rachel Krause and Sarah Hanna from the Ohio State Historic Preservation Office will have a slide-illustrated lecture on old building issues. Hanna and Krause review historic preservation tax credit projects to make sure that the work will restore the structure of the historic building that is the subject. “These people are well versed in old buildings and their issues, so they’re the building doctors,” says Verhoff. Attendees are welcome to ask questions throughout the lecture. Packets of information, resources, and “fast facts” prepared by the OSHPO will be handed out as well.

The morning following the seminar, October 11 from 9:00AM to 1:00PM, each building doctor will go on five historic home/building site visits each, making 10 total. Because COVID-19 is still making its rounds, the Building Doctors will only be looking at the outside of the buildings. Verhoff says that you can tell a lot about the interior of a building by looking at the exterior. “Commercial, residential, whatever the person has, we’ll take a look,” he says. The Docs will address any issues the building owners might have and make repair suggestions as needed. “These visits are not just for beginners; we meet people where they are,” Verhoff says.

The Building Doctors do absolutely require that you attend the seminar to have your building or home looked at the next day. However, you can attend the seminar without having a visit. To sign up to attend the free Building Doctors seminar and/or have your historic home or building looked at, visit www.ohiohistory.org. Shelby has many historic buildings that would benefit from the Building Doctors visit. The Docs are offering many free resources for property owners interested in preserving and properly caring for their historic Ohio buildings. “It’s those old parts in the central part of a village or a town that make it distinctive, I think,” Verhoff says.