The Historic District

As for how we use and hang our screens, Mike figured out a way to hang them from the inside using a cleat at the top and a hook and eye at the bottom. This works well for use as we are dealing with 3 and 4 stories. The screen frames are full window so we can use the double hungs top and bottom. It's...

Need advice. What species wood do you folks use for storms and screens? The few we have already made are oak. Husband read that cypress is good, but it is unavailable in our area. These will be primed and painted on all surfaces. Don't want to spend an arm and a leg, but Mike also only wants to do t...

We believe the sink is original to house. (1907) I hope we can save the tiles. They are new. We did loose some original tiles in both bathrooms upstairs due to bad plumbing running through the concrete floors and po changing fixtures. I finally found a supplier that makes them, now we are thinking a...

The faucet we wound up with looked like the one we took out, but who knows if or when it had been replaced over the last 100 years or so. We were looking for a porcelain cross handle faucet, but the width was not at all standard. Could have "built" one, but Mike really wanted a cast body. ...

Closer together? It is only about a 7 hour drive. While I was stripping paint, my hubby got my main floor bathroom sink installed. It has been down for at least a year while he swore at it. Couldn't find a faucet set that would fit and looked old, so he gave up and bought one from a supply house. T...

Can I join this heat gun party? Finished stripping that nasty carpet glue from my living room floor this last week. Starting on the kitchen/butler's pantry today. Who needs a furnace?

Try American Restoration Tile. My 1907 bathroom tile was an in stock standard item. The curve on the top is caused by the glaze. (I grew up in a ceramic shop.) You probably have either an un-glazed tile or a less common "cut" tile that was cut after the glazing and firing process. My tiles...

My folks grew bushels of iris on the herb farm. They usually had fewer blossoms the first year, mostly because of the trimming of the corms. To get the best blooms, iris should be dug every 3 years. If you leave them longer than that they crowd themselves and you get borers. Many people plant them t...

There are two floors above the kitchen, so venting out the roof is out. If we took it to the side, we would have to run duct across the kitchen ceiling and it would come out either right next to the door or on the porch. Did not consider going down, the coal room is below the kitchen, so maybe out t...

My fear is not build up in the duct, but in the fireplace chimney to which it is connected. Will look into downdraft ranges, but I am really looking for a mid century look for the appliances. Not sure what might be available in a downdraft. I have looked at Big Chill and North Star.