North Kentucky News

Annual seminar brings masters of the industry under one roof

COVINGTON, Ky. – Got your eye on a historic home but wondering how to tackle the repairs or renovations? Does the thought of crumbling plaster keep you up at night? What about repairing or maintaining those wood windows, with their hidden weights? Is it possible to repair once-beautiful stained glass?

If you are plagued by such questions, then this Saturday’s NKY Restoration Weekend event is the one-stop-shop for rehab expertise and resources that will ease your mind. (Covington Economic Development’s Historic Preservation Office is a founding member of NKY Restoration and is among the sponsors of the event, which will be held at Newport Intermediate School.)

Registration closes at 3 p.m. Friday, but in-person registration will be available at the event on Saturday morning. (But don’t dally because these in-demand sessions fill up fast.)

The day will be teeming with an array of speakers whose mastery in restoration and rehab cover topics like plaster repair … wood window repair … box gutters … repointing masonry … energy saving with storm windows …applying for and utilizing Kentucky historic tax credits … buying, insuring, and renovation financing of historic properties … and many more.

"This is an amazing opportunity for homeowners to get free information on how to repair their historic homes as well as meet local contractors," said Kaitlin Bryan, Covington’s Historic Preservation Specialist, who helped organize and will present at the event. "Our plaster repair demonstration will be wall to wall this year!"

A passion for restoring

NKY Restoration is a collaborative group of historic preservation enthusiasts that includes business representatives, non-profit organizations, Historic Preservation offices in Northern Kentucky and the Greater Cincinnati region, and others who share their passion for the region’s historic fabric.

Its annual restoration weekend event is designed to ignite a passion for historic preservation and local history as well as help homeowners discover solutions for repairing and maintaining their historic houses, help them determine which projects they can undertake themselves, and gain confidence in hiring a contractor. The event also serves as a venue for attendees to connect and share their stories of the region’s history and cultural assets.

If you go

Registration is highly recommended because the event typically attracts up to 300 people and sessions are filling up fast. Registration event schedule, location, and additional information are available at https://www.nkyrestoration.com/, and, again, you can register online until April 26, with in-person registration available the day of the event.

Free parking will be available in the school parking lot. Coffee and snacks will be available that morning at no cost, courtesy of Biggby Coffee. And a free lunch will be provided by local restaurants.