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 →
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 →
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 →
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 →
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 →
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 →
Lately, I have been drooling over the idea of building myself a Tiny House. It may seem like a stretch for a guy who talks constantly about old houses to want to build a new one, but a Tiny House has plenty in common with a historic home. I’ve been talking with Alex Pino at [...] Read on →
Drywall is dead. Long live drywall. I can’t say that I’ll miss him (I’m assuming drywall is a him), but he seemed nice enough. Faster than a three-coat old-fashioned plaster job and less expensive to boot. But there has always been something about him I just couldn’t put my finger on. Something about drywall that [...] Read on →
Linoleum and vinyl. Vinyl and linoleum. If you’re like most people you might think they are the same thing. But in reality they could not be more different. They two very different products from two very different times. Each one has its advantages but only one of them rightfully belongs in a historic home. Do [...] Read on →
A Guest Post By David Morrison – David is an avid DIY enthusiast, renovator and restorer. He has worked on a variety of self-build projects and claims to have helped out every neighbour for ten blocks! The kind of neighbor we’d all like to have. He currently works for UK Tool Centre. Reclaimed wood has [...] Read on →
I admit, it’s a pretty sensational title, but there are indeed five things lurking within most any old house that could potentially spell disaster for you and your family. And knowing how to properly handle them is the key to staying safe. We’ll talk about those five things and how to best avoid them. So [...] Read on →
The Tiny House movement is a growing trend in home design today. You might be surprised to find that a Tiny House is the perfect answer to living better than you ever imagined. With a focus on quality over quantity the Tiny House makes the finer things in life more affordable and accessible than ever [...] Read on →
A house’s frame is like its bones. Without a sturdy frame your house is one gust of wind away from collapse. The most common building material used to frame a house is, no surprise, wood. It’s strong, readily available, inexpensive, and extremely versatile. Wood framed houses typically fall into one of three categories depending on [...] Read on →
There has been a lot of talk lately about VOC (Volatile Organic Compounds) and how they are used in particular in our paints and finishes. And having just found my soap-box I’d like to say a few words from the perspective of both a professional in the home improvement field and as a homeowner myself. [...] Read on →