The Historic District

Think carefully about how much time you plan to devote to stripping then plan to spend at least three times more than your worst estimate. I just finished stripping one of my living room windows (16 panes) so I could stain it and it took absolutely forever. It's definitely a labour of love. I had to...

Well I have a newfound respect for anyone tackling window restoration! This has made me think of having new replacements built (but of course I won't). It's taken two solid days of steady, painstaking work scrubbing, stripping and sanding to remove the glass and clean up this window. I had to sacrif...

Thanks guys! I had to go to couple art stores before I found one that carried dry pigments (and in limited colours) but I did get red and dark brown. I also picked up some oil based paints in reds, Browns and black in case I needed a bit extra on the color side of things. Grabbed a small bottle of l...

Maybe an odd question but can you stain window glazing putty like Dap? I actually planned on staining my refinished frames the beautiful original red color they were and was just thinking about how I'll end up with white putty! I wouldn't be painting over the putty like a traditional application so ...

Not sure where else to put this but I stopped at two salvage stores while in Rochester, NY. A couple thoughts- Historic Houseparts - These guys have a lovely website which has lots of items. The actual "store" is located in a red brick building and is filled with hardware to the brim. This...

What a diamond in the rough! Looking at the photos there is a ton of work to do there but it could be absolutely stunning. Seems like a steal at $360k..

Thanks for the suggestions. I checked into the U.S. websites and while the initial cost isn't too bad the shipping kills it. One small tub of Sarco is $39.95 + shipping to Canada of $60 usd. With an exchange rate of 1.35 this turns into $135 Can plus taxes of 13% and whatever import, duty and broker...

So I've come to the conclusion that Sarco putty is difficult if not impossible to find. I called all of the dealers in Southern Ontario (with the exception of paradigm shift - they weren't that helpful last time) and no one has it. Since I was just down in the US for a couple days I also called all ...

I looked at some tubs today in a salvage store. Prices ranged from $100 for a rusty tub with no hardware to $1000 for a completely refinished tub with new glazing and hardware. I think $400 sounds about right for a nice tub and hardware in good original condition. Sounds like you've made a great deal.

Well if anyone comes down here for this be warned its mostly a giant flea market. I thought I'd be able to find house pieces or furniture but there isn't much of that. A few furniture places but really not a lot of "good" pieces. Lots of glassware and estate sale type stuff and mostly over...