Would HD or the historical commission force the homeowner to use "union" labor?
Of course not. But, as has been noted, the question is not as absurd as you may have intended. Because of requirements such as submitting detailed plans and bills of materials for what are nominally trivial jobs (e.g., fix a railing, point a small area of brickwork above a sagging basement window, install a porch light) most of the local crafts- and handypeople would be out of contention for the work and property owners would have to go to contractors who knew the ins and outs. This not only hurts a lot of people who we've known and trusted to do work for us (some of whom are also our neighbors), but means that jobs cost a lot more than they should. And -- to anticipate the kinds of absurd responses we were getting before about "quality," this isn't a question of craftsmanlike versus chewing gum and duct tape, it's adhering to "standards" promulgated by people in t! he US Dept of the Interior -- and we all know how far to trust civil servants in offices in Washington who spend other people's money with the stroke of a pen.
Also, if you go to "informational" meetings about this topic, you'll find that the architects and contractors who specialize in historic renovation are out in force and paint a picture of jobs that don't cost any more done one way than another. But just think how many people in our neighborhood hire an architect when they want to add a mail slot to their outside door because the original is too small for "DO NOT BEND OR FOLD" envelopes to be inserted without bending or folding.
Al Krigman
