New old house designers and architects reveal their top picks for authentic exterior building materials.

A survey of basic millwork patterns and their installation.

By getting creative with your shingling you can add flare and character to your house.

They still make ornamental roof cresting.

Names of wood siding types varied over time and by region.

Double entry doors restore elegance to a Brooklyn row house.

The complex repair required multiple solutions.

Stone veneers have become popular as a residential finish, appearing on fireplaces, chimneys, and foundations.

The right roof can be your home's crowning architectural statement.

A New England timber framer revives an old Massachusetts barn.

A passion for three-dimensional expression led one sculptor to become America’s premier weathervane maker.

For most folks, the business end of a chimney is the hearth that throws off the warmth and the mantelpiece that grabs center stage in the room. For architects and builders, however, almost as important is the chimney top.

How to handle adobe building maintenance.

Tile roofs are defining features on many old houses. A little background can help keep yours looking good as new.

One of the hallmarks of the Victorian era was a desire to be noticed. It's a theme that repeated itself on every aspect of home furnishings of the day. Furniture was dripping in ornament, hardware was intricately incised, and buildings were adorned with every manner of attention-grabbing detail—from gingerbread trim to stained glass windows to seductively turned porch rails. Even exterior walls vied for attention through rows of patterned shingles, a technique with the funny- and formal-sounding name imbrication.

Dry-stacked stone walls offer beauty and borders in the new old garden.

A short history of clinker bricks.

A buyer's guide to man-made substitutes for natural stone.

Much has changed since the early days of lightning protection, when it was widely believed that the glass balls adorning lightning rods were an indicator of whether the rods were functioning properly. We now know that the glass balls were purely decorative—in fact, the balls' different patterns and colors were how installers advertised their businesses.

G. P. Schafer Architect refreshes a New York City town house façade.

Add a decorative touch to your roof with finials and filigree, weathervanes, chimney pots, and fancy shapes.

Four common gutter questions answered.

How one homeowner found a second set of siding hidden underneath vinyl.

Architectural stone, from base to cornice.