The Historic District

There's a tiny bathroom on the main floor of our Craftsman. It was a converted sunporch. By using the tiniest wall hung basin we could find, a small profile toilet, a 28 inch pocket door and keeping the original small tub (but adding a shower fixture) we made it all work. The main problem has been t...

Hi I'm restoring a Victorian rowhouse and a Craftsman duplex currently. They have been affordable places for my adult kids to rent. But to get them at a good price, they were handyman specials, and we've had to do most of the work! We previously owned a Victorian farmhouse that we spent seven years ...

Good morning Our stairs had been covered in carpet which our tenant trashed. We pulled the carpet off and underneath was old vinyl over top of a brown furry underpad which was glued onto the stairs. That has all been removed and now we are down to the original painted treads and risers. The main pro...

I uncovered the second window that had been covered over with insulation. Why were there so many snails and rodent droppings in the insulation? Once uncovered, the reason was clear. The sill had disappeared into compost. I removed one bucket of compost that used to be wood. The window had dropped do...

Can you post a photo? We have a flat roof with parapet on our Victorian row house too that needs repair.

Lots of great options here. Thanks, everyone.

Reading through this thread years later, I never answered your question about what wax I used. I went to a janitorial supply place in Kitchener and bought a big jug of self polishing liquid wax, and a cotton head mop. I used to love shining those floors! In my enthusiasm, I even did the stairs...whi...

Our double hung windows in the Victorian rowhouse have had the sash cords and weights removed. The top window has been fixed in place. The bottom sash is the only one that moves and it slams shut without a stick in there to keep it open. I remember seeing a stick that someone had made from wood that...

lol Jade. Thanks for the reminder...

Matt, you are truly inspirational.

Could someone post a picture of a hopper window with the hook/eye set up? I think that was the original set up.

I'll try and get photos tomorrow.

So our basement windows were covered over on the outside with plywood and on the inside they were covered with pink fibreglass insulation. The basement of the Victorian rowhouse is "pretty terrifying" to quote my 6 yr old grand-daughter. I can't help but think that unveiling the windows wo...