The Historic District

Just to toss in my two cents ... Consider a counter-depth refrigerator. I have seen so many beautiful kitchens overtaken by a behemoth (standard sized) fridge sticking out into the space six inches in front of the adjacent base cabinets. This is especially true in smaller/tighter spaces where every ...

It's an elegant house, and with a park across the street - very nice. I see you have a handsome cornice and the shutter hardware is in place. (I have a "thing" for functional shutters; unfortunately, they're not correct on my house, so I'll have to live vicariously.) Enjoy the ride and ke...

Now the fun begins, bringing it back to life. (Yeah, exposed brick is a 70-80s thing. 19-, that is!) I have a special fondness for the Philly row houses. Could you post a photo of the front? Ours is part of a block of 14 homes we think were built in 1852, overlooking a park. Located in close-in Sou...

Go with it.... Dark moody spaces are fairly popular right now and the paper is rather nice.

Although there is no wallpaper in this home, the dark theme really works.
http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/house-tour-a-dark-rich-amp-moody-victorian-in-virginia-236730

Those couldn't have been a cheap repairs, but don't underestimate the value of peace of mind. You are right, this was not an inexpensive endeavor, but peace of mind that our home is solid is completely worth it. We were fortunate to find an excellent structural engineer who introduced us to a relia...

Very interesting about the buried waterways in Philly. Looking at the map, there are certainly some nearby our house, but from what I can ascertain, our block is on solid ground. I should probably clarify that the cause of our structural issues have nothing to do with our foundation or settlement. T...

I am admittedly biased towards old houses, so while this is a pretty house, it doesn't compare to an old house on so many levels. The scale of things is wonky, there is little that is quirky about it (cause we all know old houses were delightfully quirky). The exterior is trying to look old, but it ...

Surprise! Our 165 year old brick rowhouse has structural problems. Ugh, where to begin!? This is a long post (a story really) with LOTS of images, so sit back and let the insanity settle in. Before you start, I want to be clear that in spite of all of this and the $$$ spent to fix it, we still love ...

To get back to the original question in this post on the use of silicone sealant on the front brick wall, I have confirmed that they will be using a silane/siloxane water repellent which my research tells me is safe for old brick walls. It is a water repellent not a sealant, which is important. Our ...

Devyn, saw you post under another heading, got me thinking. How did you make out with that structural issue? Work is still ongoing. The structural issue was much worse than anyone anticipated, but my contractor has done an excellent job of repairing a stabilizing the rear brick wall. I plan to put ...