NORMAN — The Norman Historic District Commission will host its 5th annual hands-on preservation workshop. This year’s workshop, led by nationally recognized historic preservation expert, Bob Yapp, will focus on repairing historic masonry.
The worshops will be from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Nov. 17 and 18 at two demonstration buildings in historic Downtown Norman. Registration is required for the workshops and preference will be given to Norman residents until Nov. 7. A $15-per -person workshop fee includes lunch. Registration is limited to 12 participants per session, but observers are welcome if space allows.
Downtown Norman’s National Register Historic District was expanded last year to include thirteen blocks.
“We’re excited this year to be working on a couple of historic commercial buildings Downtown,” said Neil Robinson, chairman of the Norman Historic District Commission.
Workshop participants will use Yapp’s techniques to repair brick walls on two buildings in the 300-block of East Main Street. “We are so pleased to have Bob Yapp back in Norman,” Robinson said. “He has a great deal of restoration expertise and experience to impart. In the past, his workshops have been very popular with property owners.”
Yapp, who runs a school for historic preservation trades and technology in Hannibal, Mo., will demonstrate various repair techniques for historic bricks and mortar. Each session will begin with a talk on masonry tools, materials and techniques, after which students will learn how to mix mortar, remove damaged material, and repoint mortar.
More than two dozen people participated in Yapp’s 2011 window restoration workshop, also sponsored by the Norman Historic District Commission. Robinson said the primary mission of the Commission is to identify and protect historic resources and to educate the public about the value of preservation.
The masonry workshop is made possible by a grant from the National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, through the Oklahoma Historic Preservation Office Certified Local Government program.
Reservations for the hands-on workshop session will be accepted on a first-come, first-serve basis. To register for the workshop, email susan.atkinson@normanok.gov or call 405-366-5392.
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