Christmas is coming!! Break out the holly and the “missile toad” and get ready for a Craftsman Blog Christmas. This week, I’m recapping the best Christmas content we’ve put out over the last 10 years! I can’t believe it’s been a full decade since I started posting old house content here. I thought for sure […]
Let me start this by saying that I love old houses! Anyone who starts a company dedicated to preserving historic windows and blogs weekly for over a decade about how to fix up old houses probably should feel that way or they won’t be very successful. But I realize old houses are not for everyone. […]
In the winter, condensation on windows is a common issue most of us face. It’s especially prevalent on single-pane windows, but double-pane windows are not immune either. Window condensation doesn’t have to be something you simply accept because there are ways to fight it. Stopping it completely may not always be possible depending on your […]
We’ve all got painting projects in our homes that we need advice on. What’s the right paint to use? The best paint brush? Do I have to prime or can I skip it? In 10 years of writing this blog I realized that there is a topic that I have yet to cover on this […]
As a preservation contractor, I have done my share of painting. It’s actually one of the aspects of the restoration process I enjoy the most and am extremely passionate about. One of the questions I get a lot is about selecting the right paint. With so many options out there it can be daunting. There […]
If you’re renovating an older house with outdated electrical systems like knob and tube or aluminum wiring, you might discover that it needs to be completely rewired for safety purposes. Outdated wiring can be a fire hazard, and the last thing you want to happen is be subject to the tragedy of a house fire. […]
If there was ever an all around favorite building materials used in old houses it would have to be good old fashioned beadboard. Even though my spellcheck always has a problem with the word, old home builders never did. Beadboard was used everywhere in old houses from beadboard wainscoating in bathrooms to beadboard ceilings on […]
Learning how to use a wood moisture meter is more important than you may think. A lot depends on making sure the wood is below a certain moisture content before any paint or finish can be applied. Using a moisture meter to proactively make sure wood stays below certain levels can also help prevent rot […]
There’s nothing quite like relaxing on the top floor of your three-story Victorian. During summer, there’s also no better recipe for heatstroke. Of course, I get it, you don’t want to chop up your historic plaster ceilings and ruin the historical essence of your home by installing a central air conditioning system, even if it […]
There are a lot of things to think about when adding a home office. Whether you plan to covert the garage or an existing bedroom, or maybe even finishing an attic there are somethings you may not have thought of while you were picking out your new desk and computer. As a general contractor and […]
Spalling brick is what happens when the face of a brick begins to crumble and fall away from the body of the brick. This eventually results in the softer portions of the brick being exposed to the elements and the eventual total destruction of the brick if not resolved. In this post, I’ll teach you […]
As far back as most anyone can remember painters have always been known to wear white, but why do painters wear white? Where did it come from? Did a trendy painter one day start the pattern and the rest followed suit? Just like anything is history the answer is a bit of tradition and necessity. […]
