Being in the business of restoring old houses, I do a lot of paint stripping. And much of that paint is lead paint so I have to be extra careful to make sure we keep our dust under control. Here are the best paint stripping tools I have used over the years. Some work better […]
If you own an old house, you have paint problems…somewhere. It may be from a poor paint job at some point or a paint job that is just too old. Keeping your house painted properly, especially the exterior, is imperative to the long term care of your house. Exterior elements deteriorate quickly without a protective […]
In Choosing Exterior Paint Colors For Your Historic House we discussed how to go about picking the right colors for a historic home. Will you choose colors that are historically accurate to your home, historically appropriate for the time period your home was built or will you just wing it and pick your own color […]
Let’s talk about sandblasting. Maybe you’ve heard that it’s a fast way to strip paint or clean up wood. Some even claim it’s an “easy fix” for historic restoration. Well, I’m here to give you the lowdown on why sandblasting wood is like using a flamethrower to clean your kitchen: dangerous, damaging, and definitely not […]
Do you have plans to renovate your historic home? If your house was built before 1978 then your house falls under the EPA’s RRP rule. What on earth is the RRP rule and how does it affect you? That’s what we’ll talk about here. As the owner of a historic window restoration company I’ve dealt […]
On one side you have the old house lovers who will tell you, with complete confidence, that old houses are built better than any new house today. And on the other side you have the new house people who think buying an old house is the height of insanity because just like Tom Hanks and […]
Every couple years I enjoy doing a little rewriting of classic Christmas songs and poems just for old house lovers. Let’s face it, we’re a weird flock and it’s easy too make fun of so why not make the jokes ourselves and all laugh together. I hope each one of you has a wonderful Christmas […]
Last year I wrote a post about 10 great tools under $50 and it was a huge hit. So this year I’m back just in time for the holidays with a revised list that contains some my all time favorites and some new discoveries that have recently become indispensable elements of my tool belt. Not […]
For those who don’t know, I own a window restoration business in Orlando, FL called Austin Historical. Since 2010 we have been restoring windows in residences and commercial buildings all across the southeast US. From the very first days of my business the number one question I have gotten is, “Why is window restoration so […]
Stained glass has been around for thousands of years in one form or another. It has been used in religious institutions, residences, commercial buildings and anything in between. Understanding what stained glass is and what it isn’t as well as how to repair it and maintain it can be invaluable since the time and cost […]
Alright, this week I had the painful experience of reading an article on The Atlantic that can only be found in America as the fruits of common core math begin sprouting in the minds of today’s journalists and city planners. On the journalistic scale of 1-10 this one came in at a solid -126. That […]
Is there such a thing as an affordable HEPA vacuum? Working with lead paint in the historic restoration business for over a decade having a HEPA vacuum I can trust has been a battle to either find or afford. Paying over $600 for a vacuum is insane to me, but it’s what I have done […]
