All houses need some kind of maintenance to keep performing their best, and old houses are no exception. Actually, they typically need more maintenance than newer homes which can be a deterrent for some homeowners, but I think we should look at the situation a little differently. Homes built after WWII were designed with planned […]
Transom windows seem to have a bit of mystery about them. A lot of people don’t understand exactly what a transom window is so I figured that it was high time that this window guy wrote a post explaining the ins and outs of transom windows. A transom window is essentially another window above a […]
After Japan’s defeat in World War II, the American occupation of the country brought a lot of of America’s products to the country as it struggled to rebuild itself. One of those inventions the Japanese first imported was air conditioning to alleviate the sweltering Japanese summers. Though the Japanese loved the technology, the format of […]
Legend has it that in 1832 George Snow of Chicago invented ballon frame construction when he erected a warehouse near the mouth of the Chicago River. This radically new form of building construction got this derogatory nickname from the appearance that the building was as light as a balloon due to the much smaller framing […]
I’m a restoration contractor (state licensed Certified Residential Contractor) here in the state of Florida and I felt it was high time that people across the country could get a sense of what the typical costs are for historic restoration and old house repair. There are other websites like Home Advisor and Angie’s List that […]
If you have a brick or stone home you may have wondered at some point, “What is tuckpointing?”. You’re not alone. In its most basic sense, tuckpointing is the process of adding a decorative mortar joint to a brick or stone structure to change the appearance. Much like adding a texture or pattern to a […]
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 […]
So you’ve got an old house. You love it, you hate. Welcome to the club! Historic homes can be a great joy sometimes, but they are definitely different from new homes and understanding those differences can make life in an old house more enjoyable. LIfe was different 100 years ago and these houses were built […]
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 […]
