They don't build houses like this anymore. That's why folks in Lake Forest, Ill. are happy to see the Lake County School House restored to its former glory.

Though built in the mid-1800s, much of the home's original wood was still in good shape, says Tim Casey, owner of Town & Country Painters, which won the coatings bid. Any that had rotted was replaced with re-milled lumber from the same time period for authenticity.

To keep the restored home looking good for the longest time possible, Casey's crew selected Sherwin-Williams Duration Exterior Coating. The color palette was selected by the new home owner with advice from a designer/historian who specified the Sherwin-Williams Preservation Palette.

Inside, a complete window restoration was finished with a topcoat of Sherwin-Williams ProClassic Waterborne Interior Acrylic. Sherwin-Williams Cashmere Interior Latex lends a rich look to the newly installed interior drywall surfaces.

The harsh Midwestern winter caused Casey and crew to get a bit creative on this project. In their effort to complete the home before the snow began to fall in late 2003, they completely encapsulated the house in tarps and heated the space between the house and plastic with two torpedo heaters. This method kept both the substrate and paint at 50-¦ F, effectively allowing Town & Country to extend its exterior painting season long enough to finish the job. The end result is something both he and the entire community can take pride in.

"This restoration has a great deal of historical significance for Chicago's northern suburbs," Casey says. "The original owner of the house was one of the first school teachers in Lake County, as well as the daughter of Harriet Beecher Stowe, author of Uncle Tom's Cabin."