The Historic District

We have more space to cool (and in which to run ducts) than most old house owners, but here's the quick run-down on our heating and cooling: Oil-fired boiler with 6 zones of copper fin-tube radiators Two 5 ton traditional ducted AC systems Two 3 cu.ft. wood stoves (Blaze King Ashford 30) A few odd b...

Yes, I suspect it does hold paint better. Holds dirt better, too!


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Slow forum...


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Exactly what I was thinking, Don. Thanks!

Keep 'em coming...


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Getting ready to install 1x6 clapboard (4" reveal) on my old carriage barn, and trying to decide between putting the rough side or smooth side out. Siding product is cedar, rough one side, planed on the other. Seems to me most people use rough side out these days, but most old siding I'm famili...

I agree, which is why I'm always paying the money for materials that will outlast my time here. I have just recently redone all of the plumbing, entirely in copper. I have done work on standing seam roofs. I am replacing my window frames with white oak, as they would have been in the 1770's, whereas...

Thanks, Diane! It's nice to look at, but the time, cost, and energy required for maintenance is horrendous. Sometimes I feel like I just work here. Lol


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Thanks, Don. Yeah, that Dutch Lap (we call it German Siding here) is popular here too, at least in the 1800's. I haven't seen it on a 1770's building, but there just aren't that many wood buildings of that age I get to inspect.

Funny you should mention the yard. I'm about a week out from when I usually schedule my mulch delivery, which arrives in a single semi-trailer, or two tri-axle dumps. I put down 40 - 50 yards of mulch in our many large gardens. Mowing is actually the easy / fun part. I don't have a photo online that...

Just grabbed a screen shot of one well-known barn from a neighboring farm (Pennypacker Mills) of similar vintage: http://www.montcopa.org/images/pages/N928/barn%20view.jpg So, that's a mix of 6" clapboards on the broad walls with 12" vertical lapped on the gable walls. My current siding is...