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 →
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 →
In 2001 I had just returned to New York City from a year in Tokyo performing for Walt Disney. It was a fantastic experience living in a such a different culture and country, but I was happy to be back home in America. The lease had run out on my old apartment and I was [...] 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 →
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 →
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 →
Clients have been asking me lately why they should restore their old windows. So, I’m half writing this for you my readers and half so I can have a handy printout to give to clients who are looking at their window options. So, here is my list of reasons to keep your old windows. I’m [...] Read on →
The bumper sticker on my truck reads, “Please Recycle. Buy an Old House.” It’s not often a company can fit its mission statement on a bumper sticker. A beverage napkin maybe, but we boiled it down to bumper sticker length. Honestly, there is a bit more to our company’s mission, but the real reason I [...] Read on →
When it comes to your old home’s exterior nothing is as important as the details. Fish-scale shingles, jigsaw cut balustrades, creative cornices. There are so many things that make your old house unique. And saving them or replicating the missing pieces distinguishes your historic home from its neighbors. If you own a crumbling Victorian or [...] Read on →
Remodel or Restore? They may sound like the same thing, but they are very different when it comes to an old house. And understanding the difference is key. Remodel To remodel something literally means “to alter” it. Because of that you might think that remodeling is juxtaposed to the idea of preserving an old home, [...] Read on →
In historic preservation there is a hierarchy of how to care for a historic structure. And when you own an old house it’s a good idea to follow that hierarchy. Repair & Maintain – The first step is always to repair and maintain your house as you go along. An ounce of prevention is worth [...] Read on →
Learning to reglaze your old windows is something that scares the pants off of many homeowners. But fear not! It does require practice and a bit of an artist’s touch to get it just right, but like anything, practice makes perfect. You can learn to reglaze your old windows yourself with just a little practice [...] Read on →
Sometimes the amount of work that needs to be done on an old house is overwhelming. Every little project seems to fall victim to The Mushroom Effect and your budget fades into a distant memory. The project gets so big that many homeowners get paralyzed and don’t know what to do next. But you can [...] Read on →