Image Credit: 100abandonedhouses.com

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

If you have an old house the best way to keep your repair costs down is by practicing preventative maintenance measures throughout the year. And how do you know when you need to do that maintenance? That’s what we’ll talk about here.

6-Month Inspections

• Clean gutters and downspouts of leaves and debris
• Inspect roofing materials (shingles, flashing, gutters, fascia) for any damage
• Add 1/2 cup white vinegar to HVAC condensate line to prevent mildew buildup
• Clean refrigerator coils
• Change air filters every 3-6 months

Image credit: stockbroker / 123RF Stock Photo

I am very serious about that title. What I’m going to share with you today is SO simple and it actually can save you around 80% on the cost of your home repairs. But be warned, while the advice is easy, following through is the hard part. Here’s the story:

I recently spoke at the Tampa Preservation Historic Homes Workshop. My topic was Deferred Maintenance Nightmares concerning old homes. Your can see the slide presentation if you click here.

In my research for the speech I looked back at my company‘s books and noticed that 79% of our work last year was preventable. Meaning 79% of the work we did on old homes was repair work due to neglect. The other 21% was either maintenance or elective remodels.

In other words, if someone had paid a little more attention to the condition of their old home they likely could have solved the problem before it got big enough or bad enough to call me.

To be completely honest, writing this post frightens me as a business owner. While part of me wants to tell people to continue to ignore their houses and pay me to bring them back to life later, the teacher in me can’t bear to not share this important information with you.

The Answer Is…

Preventative maintenance. It’s simple to say, but hard to do as a homeowner. The only time we, as homeowners, thing about working on our old home (other than to remodel and improve something) is when something is broken or leaking so badly it demands our attention.

Preventative maintenance is the most cost efficient way to take care of a house.

It’s what commercial buildings do all the time. You think the Empire State Building just waits for something to break before they fix it? No, they have a team of maintenance workers working everyday touching up paint, cleaning floors, oiling the elevators (I would guess they need oil). They are constantly working to keep the building functioning efficiently and effectively.

Why shouldn’t we treat our homes the same way? It’s so much cheaper to touch up paint than to repair rotted wood. Treat you home at least as well as your car and bring it in for an oil change every 3,000 miles.

Fixing things before they break may seem like an unnecessary expense at first, but think about the alternative. If you replace your water heater when it’s near the end of its lifespan you can wait for the best deals at the home improvement store and get the right replacement at the right price. Or you can wait until it breaks, spilling gallons of water all over your house. Now you have plaster to repair, hardwood floors to fix and you end up buying whatever water heater is available immediately regardless of cost because you need hot water ASAP.

Preventative maintenance is the key to saving your old house and saving money. Next week I’ll show you how to make sure everything remains in excellent shape. And that has to do with regular inspections which I’ll cover in detail. But for now just know that the typical old house catastrophe usually begins as a small issue that is left too long before it gets the attention it needs.

Don’t sweat the small stuff, but fix it before it becomes the big stuff.

Old houses are notoriously void of right angles. They have shifted and settled over the years and nothing is either plumb or level. But I’m going to teach you how to remedy that.

I’ll admit that math was not my finest subject in school. I’m a much more visual person and a page full of numbers does nothing for my artistic sensibilities. But there was one math course that made a bit of sense to me. Geometry. In building and remodeling, geometry can be your best friend. (I apologize if this is starting to sound like an after-school special.)

The 3:4:5 Triangle

Do you remember the Pythagorean theorem? Neither do I. But the 3:4:5 triangle is the layman’s substitute for the Pythagorean theorem. The 3:4:5 triangle is the best way I know to determine with absolutely certainty that an angle is 90 degrees. This rule says that if one side of a triangle measures 3 and the adjacent side measures 4 then the diagonal between those two points must measure 5 in order for it to be a right triangle. Confused yet?

It could be 3 mm, 3 inches, 3 feet or 3 miles. It doesn’t matter the unit of measurement you use as long as you stick with the 3:4:5 ratio. And you can also use multiples of 3:4:5 like 6:8:10 or 9:12:15. Use whichever you want though 3:4:5 is the easiest to remember.

Are you building a deck, framing a wall, laying tile? Almost every project in construction requires right angles at some point. And with the 3:4:5 triangle you can find your right angles without any complicated calculations.

How to Use It

Pick one leg of your project and measure out 3 feet from the corner. Put a mark on the board at the 3 feet point. Now measure the adjacent board from the same corner to 4 feet and put a mark there. Then measure the distance between the two marks. If it is 5 feet then you have a perfectly square corner. Congratulations! If the measurement is less than 5 feet the angle is too small (<90 degrees) and needs to be opened up a bit. If it is more than 5 feet the angle is too big (>90 degrees) and needs to be closed some.

This handy trick will save you from making some big mistakes down the road. It is the most helpful piece of math and I know, other than 1+1=2, and I use it almost every week. Hopefully, now you won’t have to guess if your projects are square. Using the 3:4:5 triangle you can know for certain.

What other helpful math tricks do you use in construction that we might not know about?

Photo credit Scott Sidler

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.

If your old house has two front doors there are a number of reasons. Depending on your home’s style, age, location and size the answer might be different.

Some of the explanations can range a bit on the mythology side whereas others seem more logical. I’ve included the most likely theories here. Let’s see if we can’t unravel this quirky architectural anomaly once and for all.

Theory #1 Symmetry

Old homes in the Georgian, Adams or Federal styles are built on rigid rules of symmetry. The front facade, especially, must be perfectly symmetrical and sometimes rather than have a single door in the center of the house, two mirror image front doors gave not only a more pleasing design, but added utility. If your house is built in these formal styles from the 1700s to the early 1800s this might be a likely explanation.

Theory #2 Ventilation

Old houses didn’t have air conditioning and therefore have vastly more windows to help keep the structure cool on muggy summer nights. Many second front doors on homes, particularly Bungalows, lead from the front porch to the master bedroom. This way couples could open the windows and doors, turn on a couple fans and enjoy a cooling breeze. This design was kind of a poor mans sleeping porch.

Theory #3 Formal vs Everyday

I have the good fortune of having a neighbor who has lived in his house since he was born 90 years ago. And his house has two front doors. So, while researching for this article I stopped by to ask what his family had used them for. His response was interesting. “Other than Sundays and when my parents had visitors we weren’t allowed to use the [formal] door. We never asked why. That was just the way Mom and Dad wanted it.”

So, apparently some houses reserved the formal entry for special events and visitors. This makes sense in the homes where the second front door leads to a bedroom.

Theory #4 Rooms to Let

Another theory that makes sense to me was that often these double front doors were to allow the owners to rent out a room if needed. Whether it was for a stranger to help cover household costs or a young couple just getting started the two front doors allowed for a bit more separation and privacy. The second front door allowed easy access to a bedroom without disturbing the home’s owners.

What do you think?

I know there are plenty of other theories about why an old home might have two front doors. Maybe you know one that I haven’t heard. It may be that you have access to someone who knows the truth, definitively. I’d love I hear any other ideas in the comments below. Let’s hear your thoughts and try to crowdsource an answer to this architectural mystery.

The type of material you should use will depend on what kind of patching or filling you need to do. Is it exterior or interior? Will it be painted or left natural? We’ll focus on answers to those questions as well.

If you want to purchase any of these products I would love it if you bought them through the links in this post which are affiliate links and help me pay to keep The Craftsman Blog running at no extra cost to you. If you decide not to you can always purchase most of these at your local hardware store.

1. Durham’s Water Putty

This product is extremely versatile and is a mainstay of my shop. Mix the powder with water to whatever consistency you need. If you want it to self-level, mix it thinner. If you need it to stick to a vertical surface mix it thicker.

Apply it with a putty knife of whatever tool is most applicable to your project. And let it dry. Drying time varies wildly depending on how big the wood patch is and the weather. Once it is dry sand it smooth, prime, and paint.

Water Putty can work both outdoors and indoors, but without priming and paint, it will mildew and fail rather quickly. The great stuff about Durham’s Water Putty is that as it dries it expands to fill the hole and really sticks into the patch unlike most wood fillers that shrink as they dry.

2. MH Ready Patch

As of late, this has become my go to filler to patch wood. It doesn’t work for structural patches like an epoxy, but it does almost everything else. It dries fast, 30-45 mins before it’s ready to sand.

It is an oil-based product but it cleans up with soap and water, which I love! I use it to fill holes up to a quarter in size, smooth out alligatoring paint, fill surface gouges or almost anything else I may need. I really can’t extol the virtues and uses of MH Ready Patch enough.

3. Epoxy

There are tons of different types of epoxies for wood. Mots of them are two-part liquids that are mixed together and quickly harden.

Working with epoxies can be challenging and they aren’t very forgiving of errors, but epoxy repairs are some of the strongest most long-lasting ways to patch wood. They are structural, so they can be used anywhere and are usually not troubled by water issues like some of the putties above.

If you decide to use these, they tend to work best for large repairs and you’ll need to do a little studying and practice before tackling epoxies.

4. Wood Filler

Wood filler is available everywhere and it is the standard. Some wood fillers have a sandy consistency and some are smoother. There are interior formulas and exterior as well.

The nice thing about wood filler is that you can usually find it in many different colors or in stainable options to achieve an even better color match. Apply it with a finger tip or putty knife, sand when it’s smooth and prime when you’re done.

5. Sawdust & Superglue

This is an old carpenters trick to fill nail holes on furniture that will be left unpainted. This method works great for filling small holes in woodwork.

To patch wood using this method, you’ll need sawdust from the specific wood you are patching. Mix it with just a bit of superglue. You don’t need a lot of glue, just enough to bind the sawdust together and create a thick paste. Use a putty knife to push the mixture into the nail holes quickly since superglue dries so quickly. Once it’s dry, sand the surface and you’re good to go.

6. DAP Painter’s Putty

This putty excels at filling nail holes and other small spots. The thing I love about it is that it doesn’t require sanding. Use your finger to push it into the hole and then smooth the surface level with your finger.

This is an oil-based putty which makes it fairly slow drying, especially if it is primed or painted with an oil-based paint. That slow drying aspect means that it remains flexible for a longer period which is very helpful. The negatives are that it doesn’t do well in large gaps and also has a tendency to make your paint “flash” if not primed.

7. KwikWood

Anyone who does wood repair should have a tube of this sitting in their shop or garage. This is a 2-part epoxy that you mix with your hands. It is kind of like squishing a tootsie roll together to mix both parts. Once you mix it, you have about 10 minutes before it starts to set up and in 20-30 mins, it is hard as a rock.

I use it to for difficult profiles that I need to sculpt or as a structural repair. It’s fast drying time and resistance to rot and mildew make it perfect for exterior repairs. I have used it outdoors and left it unpainted for years with no problem. It’s a champ and a real time saver!

You may have a different product or technique that I didn’t mention, and if you do let us know about it in the comments. Hopefully, this post has given you some great new products to try. I know these will make your projects go smoother and look better. Happy patching!

Photo Credit: Cornell College

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 some of the most slapdash construction, I noticed that they all shared one design element that defied logic to me. Every one of these homes was hiding behind a disproportionately large garage placed front and center!

When did the garage become so important that it has become the visual heart of the home? I honestly have no problem with a large garage. They’re great for extra storage or having a small workshop or other hobby, but when did they get promoted to become the most important part of our home’s curb appeal?

When garages first came on the scene in the 1910s they were an afterthought. A small detached shed in back of the home just large enough to fit the small cars people had only begun to learn to drive. As cars got bigger so did garages, and rightly so. Eventually, someone came up with the idea of an attached garage so you wouldn’t have to walk in the rain to get to your house after parking. Another great idea! As our country’s wealth grew so did our consumption of automobiles until we reached the 1970s when 2 car households started becoming the norm rather than the exception.

But someone please tell me when the cars we use to get from A to B became so stinkin’ important that we gave them the most prestigious position in our home. The garage is still an accessory to the home and not the other way around, right? And whose garage isn’t cluttered with junk they plan to someday organize?

The old ways…much better!
Photo Credit: Cornell College

Maybe the Question is ‘Why?’

I think more important than “when” is “why.” Are we too lazy to drive all the way to the back of our home? Gone is the front porch and here to stay, for now, is the garage. Did developers and builders decide for us and start putting garages at the entrance to the home or did they respond to our wants and desires.

I would offer that maybe the garage has taken such a prominent position in “architecture” (I use that word in the loosest sense) today because by putting a sprawling 3 car garage at the entrance to our home we are telling the world that we are rich enough to afford 3 cars. Or at least, that we can afford a garage that is the same size as the whole house our parents grew up in.

Whatever the answer may be I feel like it eats at the heart of what a home is. It is the place where we come to be with our family. It is where we feel safest. It is a place meant for humans and not for things. It is, as the old saying goes, where the heart is. But if home is where the heart is, it would seem today that our hearts are packed in the garage, somewhere between the Christmas decorations and old exercise equipment.

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 affecting the prices and supply of items we buy everyday from groceries to houses. But what happens if the supply of a particular item cannot be increased to meet the demand?

Well, like the definition says, as demand goes up so does price and when there isn’t a way to increase supply the price will continue to go up hand in hand with demand. That’s why artifacts from the Titanic or a painting by Leonardo DaVinci are worth so much. There is a limited supply and no one’s making anymore than what already exist.

The Facts on Old Houses

Now let’s look at how supply and demand affects old houses:

• Every year approximately 600,000 old and historic homes are demolished.
• The market for historic home buyers has remained steady for the last 30 years.

Old homes are disappearing quickly and once they are gone they cannot be replaced. A new home, while it may be built to look old, is still a new home. Since the supply of old homes will continue to decrease and the demand is likely to continue to increase as buyers flock back to city centers and first-rung neighborhoods the price of old homes will continue to rise.

According to the US Census pre-1950 homes have been decreasing steadily over the last 40 years. Here is the total of pre-1950 homes as a percentage of total housing stock:

• 1970…………53%
• 1980…………40%
• 1990…………29%
• 2000…………24%
• 2010…………20%

Old and historic homes are disappearing from America’s landscape. Their destruction has been slowed as of late due to the recent housing market crash and slow recovery. But once economic uncertainty is gone and the nation is experiencing our next boom the tear downs will ramp back up.

Behind the Numbers

So what does this all mean? Well, if you’re like me and you want to save old homes because of their character and craftsmanship it means that you have an uphill battle fighting to save these structures. But that’s not what this article is about…entirely.

You see, while I wish everyone could appreciate these homes the way I do, I recognize that for some people real estate is more about return on investment than a place to hang your hat. Real estate investors and preservations historically get along about as well as Israelis and Palestinians, but on this one subject they should agree! If you won’t save an old house because of character, perhaps supply and demand will change your mind.

With the supply of old houses going down each year and demand staying the same, or increasing, the value of an old house is guaranteed to increase! Not only will the price of old homes, especially those in historic districts, continue to rise but it will rise at a faster rate than the value of other homes in comparable neighborhoods.

Put simply, an old or historic home is a one of a kind purchase that will give you a greater return on your investment, and maybe, just maybe, teach you a thing or two about what a real home can be!

Image credit: RaymondG / 123RF Stock Photo

Old homes are a treasure. They are in a sense a living history. As concrete connections to the past there is a tendency to romanticize the home. It becomes a sacred place that cannot be modified without good reason or an equally as historic alternative. There are some aspects of old homes that should be changed to fit with the more modern times. Lead paints, popularly used in old homes should be traded for safer modern paints.

Lead paint was banned in 1978. Before that time many homes in the United States used Lead Based paint to decorate, so if you are in possession of an historic home there is a high chance it has lead based paint.

Why is Lead Based Paint a Problem?

Lead paint can enter the body through food, water, and air. Once in the body it can cause comas and death at a high level of exposure and problems with brain development, blood cells, and kidneys in a lower concentration and exposure period.

If you have children, it is imperative that you take the threat of lead based paint seriously. Children eat anything that they can get into their mouth, so the likelihood that they will eat the lead based paint is relatively high. Children’s growing bodies make them more susceptible to lead poisoning, and prolonged exposure can have negative impacts on physical and mental development.

Due to the severe risks of lead poisoning it is important to discover if your home currently has lead paint and if your family’s current lead exposure is high. In order to protect your family, high lead exposure should be followed by immediate remediation. You can find DIY lead test kits here.

What If I Have Lead Based Paint In My Home, But No Lead Exposure?

The danger of lead paint can lie dormant for years before becoming a problem.

If the lead paint is still in pristine condition, you have two options:

1. Hold off until the lead paint does become a problem.
2. Begin remediation plans immediately to deal with the lead before it becomes a major concern.

It isn’t until the house begins to get worn, that lead shavings pollute the home. Both are certainly valid choices, but to me, the first option is too much like a child’s belief that if you can’t see it, it can’t see you. An ignored problem will not dissipate. And this ignored problem could result in quick slop job renovations that ignore historical accuracy due to the need to be able to live in the home safely.

Image credit: server / 123RF Stock Photo

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 will only cost about a buck a cut if you bring your own glass.

But for some of us DIYers, there is just no way we’ll pay someone to do something we can do ourselves. And cutting glass is something anyone can do. Here’s how:

Glass Cutting Tool

1. Get a Glass Cutter - This inexpensive little tool is simple to use and makes glass cutting a cinch.
2. Mark Your Measurements – Using a Sharpie or grease pen transfer your measurements onto the piece of glass to be cut.
3. Set a Straight Edge – You’ll need to secure a straightedge on top of your glass to ensure a straight cut. I usually use a framing square or drywall T-square depending on the size to cut, but you can use whatever is handy as long as it is straight.
4. Lubricate the Cutter – Apply a little dab of piston lube, WD-40, or anything that will allow the cutter’s wheel to spin smoothly during the cut.
5. Score the Glass – Apply firm pressure and roll the glass cutter across the entire length of the cut in one pass. Don’t make multiple passes. (This will score the glass and not actually cut it through, that comes later.) One chance is all you get so make sure you have enough pressure and go all the way across your cut line.
6. Tap the Line – Lift the glass up and using the metal ball on the other end of the cutter to gently tap all along the score line.
7. Pop the Line – This last step may make you nervous. Take the glass and set the score line just over the edge of your work top. Then with two hands break the cut piece off. If you scored the glass correctly it will snap easily along the score and give you a nice clean cut.

There is one drawback to this method however. You cannot trim off small bits of glass. If you make a mistake and cut the glass 1/16″ – 1/2″ too big (or somewhere in that range) you won’t be able to score and break off a piece that tiny very effectively.

The process is pretty similar to cutting drywall and once you’re comfortable it can be just as quick. Plus it will save you plenty of cash, especially if you have a little league player and BB gun fanatic living under the same roof like my parents did!

What’s Different About Historic Windows?

Old wood windows (typically pre-1950s) were almost always putty glazed (You can watch our video on how to putty glaze windows here). Most window contractors today don’t know how to putty glaze and when confronted with a historic window they use caulk or some other product not intended for these old windows. This can create a host of problems for your old windows. It’s always best to replace materials on a historic home with in-kind materials so that the repair blends seamlessly and doesn’t stick out like a band-aid. Here’s how to do it!

1. Remove the Broken Glass – Wearing gloves and glasses carefully remove the remaining pieces of broken window glass and dispose of them safely.
2. Clean the Rabbet – Clean the old glazing putty from the rabbets on the outside of the window. Use a firm putty knife for this and be careful not to gouge the soft window wood while you scrape the putty out.
3. Remove Any Glazing Points – There may be some glazing points (little metal triangles or diamonds) remaining in the rabbets. Using needle nose pliers pull them out and dispose of them too.
4. Wipe On Boiled Linseed Oil – Once the rabbets are clean of old putty and glazing points, wipe them down thoroughly with Boiled Linseed Oil (it’s available in the paint section of any hardware store).
5. Cut Your Replacement Glass – Measure the width of the opening for your replacement glass. You can either cut your own window glass or take the measurements to your local hardware store and have them cut it for you. Important: Be exact on these measurements! You have to cut the glass 1/16″ smaller than the opening otherwise the glass may break as the wood swells in certain weather. Glazing rabbets are very small so your measurements have to be precise. This is the hardest part. Just remember the old saying “Measure twice, cut once.”
6. Glaze the Rabbet – Add glazing putty to the rabbet. This will create an air tight cushion for the glass to rest in. For repairs outside the shop I recommend Sarco Dual Glaze putty. It can handle the elements better than other putties and excels in this application. But there are other acceptable types of glazing putty.
7. Bed Your Glass – Put your replacement window glass into place and press it gently but with firm pressure around the edges into the glazed rabbet. This will cause some putty to squeeze out over the inside of the glass which we’ll clean later.
8. Set the Glazing Points – Glazing points are what hold the window pane securely in place. Depending on the size of your replacement window glass you may need more or less points. A good rule of thumb is to use one point for every 12″ of width and at least one point on each of the four sides. Bottom line, too many is better than too few.
9. Glaze the Window – Spread a fair amount of putty around the edges of the window and really push it into place. It doesn’t have to be pretty at this point.
10. Tool the Putty – Run your putty knife along the length of the window to smooth the putty at a bevel. Come back and make nice clean corners. You can mess with the putty as much as you want. If it doesn’t look good keep tooling it until you are happy with the results. For a more in depth explanation of glazing watch our video: How To Reglaze Old Windows.
11. Clean the Glass – Brush on some whiting to clean the window glass of oily fingerprints from the putty (this video will show you how) and your done!

You’ll have to let the putty sit a few weeks until it “skins over” and is ready for paint. Don’t wait too long to paint. Glazing putty won’t survive long without paint. It can mildew and fail in a few short months when not painted. But when painted it should last decades without much maintenance.

For more on working with old windows you can visit our resource page How To Repair Old Windows.

Step-by-Step in Pictures