Steve Thomas Explains "Renovation" Vs. "ReStoration"

Habitat For Humanity
by Habitat For Humanity
People often ask what the difference is between a renovation and a restoration and the answer entails a lot of shades of gray.
An example of a pure restoration is James Madison’s Montpelier located near Orange, Virginia. Montpelier started out as Madison’s personal house. Over the years, it was expanded significantly, both by Madison and subsequent owners. In the full archaeological restoration which commenced in 2008, the decision was made to restore the building back to its 1820 appearance.
The restoration involved everything from paint analysis to ground-penetrating radar and the result was as accurate a restoration as possible. One of the first principles of restoration is that as much as possible of the original material – or “fabric” – be preserved. The Montpelier project went to great lengths to find all the original pieces of the house puzzle.
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