A Washington homeowner who called Dmitry Samoylin to renovate the exterior of her deteriorating 110-year-old Tudor did not realize that what she really needed was a restoration. Unlike renovation, which includes building new, restoration restores existing architecture or interiors to their original glory.

In this case, the homeowner wanted the worn-out wood surrounding a gable replaced with new. Samoylin took a closer look and found she would be replacing endangered redwood. “She didn’t even know it was redwood. I told her she should preserve it,” he said. “You can’t get redwood anymore. It’s not available for commercial use. The forests are still growing, but you can’t cut them down because there are so few trees left.”