 I'm going to show you one of the neatest features of your historic home which you may not know you already have. Historic homes were built before air conditioning and builders needed ways to keep them cool. Wooden window vent locks are a historic hardware that let you lock your windows but in the open position. We have such great breezes here in Vallejo and it's a shame to miss them. You may already have a style of vent lock on your historic home and not know it. There's a few different types. Let's take a look above the window, usually only on one side. You're looking for hardware that will stop the window from opening too far. This is a wooden window vent lock. There's a metal plate attached to the window below and a latch usually attached to the top window. This lock slides back and forth. In the locking position it stops the window from opening. If you don't have vent locks you can install them in just a few minutes and I'm going to show you how it's done. Before we get started I want to talk about the dangers of lead in our homes. Renovations creates hazards. People and especially children can swallow lead dust or paint chips and get poisoned. Lead poisoning has serious consequences. There's different styles of wooden window vent locks. I'm going to show you one of the easiest to install and the least expensive to purchase. There are two important rules for installing these locks. First, you want an opening that's too small for a person to come through. Four or five inches is ideal. Second, the window should be too tall for a person to reach in and undo the lock. So the window should be at least 22 inches tall. Follow these two rules and you should be able to leave your windows open all night and when you're not home. So if a man in a red suit wants to come in on a balmy December evening, you know, tell them to use the chimney like everybody else. Don't miss out on the summer breezes. Anyone can install these locks in just a few minutes. There's a few links for you in the post and I have more videos coming up on keeping your historic home cool. A few years ago, I started reaching out to neighbors to help with various issues relating to our historic homes. As I took notes and spoke to local experts, I began to think about how to best share what I know. The result has become VallejoHistoricHomesSupport.com. It's a video blog series that's meant to encourage preservation and increase our enjoyment of living in historic Vallejo. It's been a tremendous labor of love and I'm excited to share it with you. I'm Chris Jacobson, a local Vallejo Realtor and I love our historic homes. Your comments and questions are important to me. I want to hear about your success installing wooden window vent locks. I read every comment and I hope to hear from you there.