The Historic District

Some of you may remember when I purchased this Wedgewood dual fuel stove...it was years ago now. Well it is finally going to the old stove hospital for a full restoration. They are picking it up this weekend! IMG_0678.JPG The company tells me it is circa 1927-28 model and a bit rare. He may have jus...

1918 - What a snappy looking Hoover - just love it!

I never imagined I would say this, but I have vacuum cleaner envy now

Started tearing out the 80's kitchen. Yay! The floor has been covered with multiple layers of plywood and vinyl or linoleum over the last 35-40 years. It is about 1-1/2" higher than the adjoining rooms. All of this will be removed down to the original wood - then we'll see what the condition of...

Took a couple of pics of the nails holding up the egg and dart. I don't see evidence of any prior holes in the cement or the siding where they were mounted differently. But I don't know for certain that they werent removed at some point in the past and original rods switched out for the nails?!? IMG...

Here's another thought for you on those wreaths Texas. If you could get one pretty clean then you might want to consider using it to make a mold and make a bunch of fibreglass (or plaster) replicas to use instead of the originals. This might be a lot less tiresome work. What a great solution to thi...

I'm 99% convinced these mouldings weren't nailed up in the proper sense - rather the nails were set into the wet cement during casting and thus became part of the moulding. They were then pushed into holes in the wall filled with some kind of mortar. Today you'd use epoxy for that kind of task. I m...

JRC - Thanks for understanding our decision of the moment. The wreaths will be quite easy to re-install. Just have to see how the columns look without them. We need to find a better / stronger paint stripper or they will stay in the barn. If it were me I would not remove the wreaths. I would paint ...

JRC - I'm definitely enjoying the paint removal & reveal on the egg & dart. I couldn't even imagine trying to strip them in place. Very high up and awkward under the deep eave. So far so good on removal - no serious breakage. Yes, we will be removing all of the wreaths and storing for later....

....Ta-Da! Finished this section in less than my 3 hour estimate. IMG_2566.JPG Unveiled a crack or two and lost a couple of chunks (found and saved) in the process. Overall this piece went quickly using the heat gun and some creative tools. Removing the sections from the house is pretty easy. Find t...

Texas red, old homes and impatience is not a good combination. How much time did you put into that much paint removal? Just curious. I would strongly suggest making a mold for future repairs. I sit here now staring at my plaster and thinking. Good point Gothic. Guess I should have said anxious and ...