Shorewood Historic Home & Building Restoration
Wood window, porch, and exterior restoration for Shorewood's bungalows, duplexes, and period revival homes.
Thoughtful Craftsmen provides historic home and building restoration in Shorewood, a village where most of the housing went up within a single generation. During the 1920s as many as 200 homes were built here in a year, and the bungalows, duplexes, and period revival houses from that boom still define nearly every block. We repair and restore the wood windows, porches, trim, and exteriors of those homes so they keep working the way they were built to.
Our shop is a short drive south in Milwaukee, and Shorewood has been part of our regular service area since we started in 1998.
Shorewood’s historic architecture
Shorewood fits an unusual range of styles into roughly one square mile. The village’s 2011 architectural survey recorded American Foursquare, Bungalow, Craftsman, Prairie, Tudor Revival, Colonial and Dutch Colonial Revival, and Mediterranean Revival houses, from the Lake Drive mansions to rows of brick bungalows and duplexes farther west. Architects such as Alexander Eschweiler and Russell Barr Williamson designed homes here, and the Tudor Revival Village Hall on Murray Avenue is listed on the National Register.
What these houses share is their material: old-growth wood sash, leaded and divided-light casements, cedar and slate roofs, stucco with half-timbering, and deep open porches. The same survey concluded that as many as eight Shorewood neighborhoods could qualify for historic district consideration, which says a good deal about how much original fabric remains.
What we restore in Shorewood
Most of the calls we get from Shorewood start with windows. Double-hung sash that will not stay up, casements that have been painted shut, and storm windows that no longer fit are all repairable.
- Historic window restoration for double-hung, casement, and leaded-glass units, including sash cords, glazing, and weatherstripping
- Window tuning to get original sash operating smoothly again
- Custom wood storm windows built to match each opening
- Porch restoration, from flooring and columns to rafter tails and railings
- Restoration painting with proper wood preparation
- Copper roofing, flashing, and gutter details
Recent Shorewood work includes window tuning and restoration, decorative window casing restoration, and rafter tail restoration.
Restoration, renovation, and remodeling are different jobs
Renovation projects update a space, and remodeling changes its layout or use. New construction starts from a cleared site. Historic building restoration keeps the original structure and repairs it with compatible building materials, so the property holds on to its historical significance as well as its structural integrity.
The difference shows up in the details. Before pricing new windows, it helps to know that a restored wood sash paired with a custom storm window can approach the energy efficiency of a replacement unit while keeping old-growth lumber in service. The same logic applies to façade restoration on a commercial block, where brick, terra cotta, and storefront woodwork were designed to work together. Careful repair gives an old building new life and keeps it useful for future generations.
Historic preservation and approvals in Shorewood
Much of Shorewood’s older housing is protected mainly by the care of its owners. Before exterior work, check with the Village about permit requirements, and ask the Shorewood Historical Society what is known about your house. Knowing the original architect, builder, and materials makes for a better restoration.
Two programs apply across Wisconsin. Properties listed on the National Register of Historic Places, individually or as part of a district, may qualify for the state homeowners’ tax credit, which returns 25 percent of approved rehabilitation costs and is administered by the Wisconsin Historical Society. The work has to be approved before it begins and is reviewed against National Park Service standards. We write our scope with those standards in mind. Local preservation initiatives and your area historical society are also good sources on how nearby historic sites were built.
How a restoration project runs in Shorewood
Every restoration project we take on in Shorewood starts with an on-site assessment. We document the original construction, note which original materials can stay in place, and separate necessary repairs from work that can wait. That assessment becomes a written scope of work, so you know what will be restored, what will be replicated, and why.
- Measured on site. Every opening, profile, and joint is measured in place, because no two are alike in an old building.
- Built in our shop. Sash, storm windows, trim, and porch parts are milled in-house with mortise and tenon joinery, using Accoya wood where new material is needed.
- Installed by the same team. The craftsmen who measured and built the work also install it, which keeps project management simple and accountability clear.
Some historic buildings also need structural engineering review, masonry restoration, or tuckpointing. Those are separate specialties. When they are part of the picture, we say so up front and sequence our carpentry, window, painting, and roofing work around them.
Shorewood restoration FAQs
Can the original windows in my Shorewood bungalow be repaired instead of replaced?
In most cases, yes. Wood sash from the 1910s and 1920s was built from dense old-growth lumber and designed to be taken apart and repaired. We replace broken cords, failed glazing, and decayed sections, then weatherstrip the sash so it operates and seals properly.
Do you make storm windows for casement windows?
Yes. We build custom wood storm windows for casement, double-hung, and fixed units, sized to each opening so they sit flush with the original casing.
Do you work on Shorewood duplexes and apartment buildings?
We do. The same methods apply to a duplex or a small apartment building as to a single-family home, and the work can be phased by building or by elevation.
How do I get started?
Request a consultation through our contact page or call (414) 963-1901. We will visit the property, look at the conditions in person, and follow up with a written scope of work.
Talk with our team about your project in Shorewood
Thoughtful Craftsmen has restored historic properties across southern Wisconsin since 1998, with more than 500 homes completed. If you own one of the historic structures in Shorewood and want it repaired with the craftsmanship it was built with, request a consultation or call (414) 963-1901. Whether it is a single sash or a multi-year preservation project, we will tell you plainly what the building needs. You can also browse our completed projects to see the work.
Other areas we serve
Thoughtful Craftsmen works throughout Greater Milwaukee and southern Wisconsin. See the location pages for nearby communities:
Hero photo: N. Maryland Avenue, Shorewood by Michael Barera, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Resized.
Ready to restore your historic property?
Serving the greater Milwaukee area since 1998. Let's talk about your project.