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 →
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 →
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 →
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 →
The title may say, “how to cut antique glass,” but it’s really the same process for any kind of glass you would find in windows or doors. The easy way is to bring your measurements to the local glass shop or hardware store and ask them to do it. They’ll do it perfectly and it [...] Read on →
Whether it’s an errant baseball or a tropical storm, windows are bound to break sometimes. And before you call a window specialist to replace your broken window glass you might just be able to do it yourself. More importantly, if you have an old house your broken window glass will need to be replaced in [...] Read on →
We do a lot of hardwood floor refinishing at Austin Home Restorations and I often get asked by clients how they should care for their newly refinished wood floors. There is a specific timeline of how to treat and care for a wood floor after it was just refinished. In this post I’ll outline what [...] Read on →
Installing trim properly requires an eye for detail and a few specific tools and techniques. The best historic trim and moldings were installed in a seamless way called “coping” that hides joints while still allowing for the house to move and settle with the decades. A coped joint is a big part of the installation [...] Read on →
Plaster walls are some of the most misunderstood parts of an old home. And many homeowners are quick to tear them down and put up drywall. But replacing plaster walls with drywall is not only a major mess and expense, but it also destroys the character of your home. Each plaster wall is unique. You [...] Read on →
Using a pressure washer on an old home is not as simple as you might think. While it may be a great way to clean dirty siding and prep for new paint, if not done properly it can cause more harm than good. You can cause damage to wood or older soft masonry and force [...] Read on →
This is a Guest Post by Mike Zook. Mike has been writing about home improvement topics for many years. Click here to find out more about door retrofitting. As anyone who’s ever owned or loved an antique home knows, their beauty and uniqueness are only exceeded by one thing – the number of problems that [...] Read on →
Old houses can smell. Not always, but many do. Maybe your house had the crazy cat lady or a bunch of fraternity brothers who never cleaned up after wild parties. The older your house is the more likely you had a dirty occupant at one point in its life. The best you can do is [...] Read on →
Hardwood floors are synonymous with old homes. It’s almost impossible to find an old home without them. And yet they are disappearing because people don’t realize how resilient and long-lasting they are. Unknowing homeowners and contractors rip out or cover up these amazing floors when they could be saved and used for another 100+ years! [...] Read on →
As I write this post about oil-based paint I realize that the information is quickly disappearing from both common knowledge and usefulness today. If you live in California I don’t even think you’re allowed to buy oil-based paint anymore (at least not in any significant quantities). The landscape of house painting has been changing ever [...] Read on →