Since the Spring of 2008, volunteers from the Greater Park Place Neighborhood Association and the Regent Square Civic Association have combined efforts to organize home improvement workshop that can help area residents add value to their homes, and as a result, their community. Each year they have focused on different topics, including energy efficiency, landscaping, and architectural styles.

For 2012, the home improvement workshop will focus on improvements that will help them maintain and enhance their home’s exterior. Helping with the Workshop this year will be Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation and its new Housing Resource Center, located nearby in Wilkinsburg.

The workshop is on Saturday, March 24, 2012 from10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. at the Mifflin Avenue United Methodist Church at 905 Mifflin Ave. in Regent Square.  Doors open at 9:30; the p resentations from 10:00 – 11:00 are:

– Intro: Doing Right By Your Home

– Roofs: shingles, slate, gutters & downspouts

– Masonry: cleaning, repointing, repairing

– Siding: restoring original vs. replacing with new

– Painting & Colors: good techniques & house appropriate

There will be a break-out session from 11:00 – 12:00.  This will include one-on-one discussions with presenters, information tables manned by local home improvement contractors and organizations offering relevant products and services and a free “mini design consultations” by architects/landscape architects from the Community Design Center of Pittsburgh (attendees are urged to bring pictures of the exterior of their house.

Other topics will be: providing information for making good home improvement choices, preserving the character of the neighborhood and its homes, and community building and sharing.

The workshop is once again a 100% volunteer effort and free to the public. All are invited to attend. No RSVP required. For more information, contact Katy Frey, info@parkplaceblog.com, 412-407-7323, or Alina Keebler, contact@regentsquare-RSCA.org, 412-371-2010.