The Historic District

Around the turn of the century there was a lot of 'faux mahogany' being used. It's a wood dye, not a stain, and I understand that it can be 'washed out' but I can't remember which chemical was used to do that. The usual problem with dyed wood is that it tends to bleed color through new the new finis...

There's an episode of the PBS show "The Woodwright's Shop" where Roy Underhill makes a sash from start to finish by hand. You can easily learn the techniques from that and adapt them to modern power tools. Viewable for free here: m My preferred method of sash repair when the wood is too fa...

I've always lived in poorer neighborhoods where drugs and theft are not uncommon. Being a contractor I have a lot of tools to worry about too There are some things you can do nothing about such as what your neighbors and their visitors are like, and who goes up and down your street. But you can lear...

Yes Casey, it's me. I followed you here when you weren't looking and I'm glad I did. And thanks to all for your answers. It seems like Ebay will be my best option so I'll start looking there. Luckily I'm thinking ahead and will have time to do this with- we're still restoring the exterior and there'...

I'm looking for sources of replacement bedroom locks for the old hotel I'm rehabbing. I've found expensive ones which the owner can't afford given the large number of doors involved but we don't want to be stuck with using modern hardware or with using the cheap replacement rim locks which would be ...

Ideally, sash weights will perfectly balance a window and be equal on both sides but it's never been a perfect world and there's never been a perfect carpenter building them. If you needed 11 lbs balance you used a 5# and a 6# because 5 1/2# weights didn't exist Unlike today's construction, waste wa...

I think that most people don't fully comprehend the differences between a restoration and a renovation. And with some things, to make a house usable for anything other than a museum piece, a true restoration is usually simply out of the question. For me anyway, the idea is to keep as much of the his...

Welcome to the neighborhood y'all! There aren't a lot of resources for old houses here in Greenville but I know a few. And while it's not the small city I grew up in anymore, this is stull a great place to live if you are a summertime kind of person. Looking forward to following along with your home...

Wonder if I could clip the ends? Certainly. The best way to do this is using "end nippers" or "side cutters". I like the first because I can see exactly what I'm cutting, then matching that to the spot I'm working with. I also now use a narrow wood chisel instead of a putty knif...

I'm a small contractor who loves old houses and believes in preserving history. The care and craftsmanship which went into old homes is unseen today and more's the loss. I do my best to keep history alive though most of my work is on newer homes. Recently I've dumped my previous main customer for an...