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Getting Started with The Craftsman Blog
Transforming an Old Garage Into a Tiny House (Part 2)
Last week I showed you how we started transforming an old garage into a tiny guest house. This week I’ll tell you about some more of the details of getting this tiny house ready for visitors. This week’s post is a bit more building science as I share about sheathing, insulation and floors. Next week [...] Read on →
Transforming an Old Garage Into a Tiny House (Part 1)
Tiny houses have recently become a huge grassroots movement focused on scaling back our cluttered lives and living more simply. Quality over quantity is the theme of the movement, and I’m a big proponent of that. Over the next few weeks I’m going to share an exciting project we’ve just finished here in Orlando. I’ll [...] Read on →
8 Ways To Improve Efficiency without Losing Authenticity
A Guest Post by Frank Newhouse: Frank is a freelance writer and green technology enthusiast who loves to write about ways that homeowners can save money and reduce their environmental impact. He currently writes for Air Conditioning Florida, a company that helps Miami residents find the efficient AC services they need. Owners of historic homes [...] Read on →
American Foursquare Style
The American Foursquare, sometimes called the “Prairie Box” was a hugely popular architectural style in almost every part of the country. It is one of the consumate American house styles. Though not technically an architectural style on its own (it’s a subtype of The Prairie Style) the American Foursquare is so prevalent that I thought [...] Read on →
Graco Paint Sprayer Giveaway
I’m really excited to offer this amazing giveaway to my readers! Graco has very generously agreed to donate a Graco TrueCoat Plus II paint sprayer to one very lucky Craftsman Blog reader. I use a Graco Sprayer at my company, Austin Home Restorations, all the time. For hard to paint surfaces like shutters, lattice and [...] Read on →
6 Questions to Ask When Buying an Old House
Buying a house is a big decision. It’s likely the largest purchase you’ll make in your lifetime. And while there are plenty of questions you should ask about any new home purchase, buying an old house requires a different set of questions. No one wants to buy a lemon, so before you fall too deeply [...] Read on →
Preventative Maintenance Checklist
Maintaining an old house can seem like a full time job at times. Old homes were built with materials and in a manner that requires regular maintenance. While this maintenance requires time it is ultimately a more affordable option than today’s home design of replacement rather than repair. Regular Inspections Regularly inspecting your old house [...] Read on →
How To: Save 80% on Home Repairs
How to save 80% on home repairs may sound like a marketing hype gone wild. But anyone who has been a reader of this blog for more than a week will know that that is not my style. I am very serious about that title. What I’m going to share with you today is SO [...] Read on →
Getting Square with the 3:4:5 Triangle
This post may be a bit on the math nerd side, but sometimes in construction a math nerd is the one who makes the difference between a building falling down and one that lasts a hundred years. Old houses are notoriously void of right angles. They have shifted and settled over the years and nothing [...] Read on →
Why Does My Old House Have Two Front Doors?
Lots of old homes have the mysterious second front door. Some were added in renovations over the years, but others are original. The explanations for these original double doors are all over the map. Many folks finally give up hope of finding an answer to this architectural mystery, but I have some ideas for you. [...] Read on →
The 7 Best Products to Patch Wood
Sometimes it’s nail holes and sometimes it’s rotten wood, but your projects will often require you to patch wood. In this post I’ll help you determine the best materials (and there are tons available!) to use when the time comes to patch wood projects. The type of material you should use will depend on what [...] Read on →
When Did The Garage Become So Important?
I was driving through the suburbs yesterday on the way to a friend’s place when I noticed something that has never really stood out to me before. House after house, street after street I noticed a pattern. The houses in this area were standard 1990s – 2000s stucco behemoths typical in Florida. Aside from being [...] Read on →
Why Should You Save an Old House?
The law of supply and demand is a basic economic principle of a free market that goes like this: As demand for an item goes up the price goes up. This attracts new suppliers who increase the supply bringing the price back to normal. The laws of supply and demand are constantly in motion in our economy [...] Read on →
The Truth About Lead Paint
Guest Post by Wade Myer - Wade grew up under the watchful eye his father, a contractor, who taught him the tools of the trade. Even though he can swing a hammer with the best of them, he’s always been drawn to the written word where he can frame sentences rather than walls. Currently he writes [...] Read on →