The Historic District

Oh gosh, those pink-handled "girls'" tools just drive me nuts! They are too lightweight and prissy to do the job right. I like an old-fashioned heavy hammer that will drive a long nail through a cedar clapboard or into some of the hard Douglas fir studs in my house - the "girly" ...

My dear, late father hand-dug a basement for the tiny post-WWII bungalow where I lived as an infant. That same night, there was a tremendous "whump" sound, whereupon he discovered that most of the basement had collapsed (this was the night before my family was due to go on vacation, btw). ...

I really don't think an appraiser would say much about lead paint for a 106 yr. old house. I bought mine (1927 bungalow) originally with an FHA loan, and they didn't care one bit. And FHA appraisers are notoriously picky.

I know no-one else here has used it, but I love Restorz-It. It's an oil-based finish that comes in light, medium, and dark, and the website explains which woods each shade work best on. I used it on my heart pine bedroom floor that had never been finished in 86 years (at that point). I had them scre...

Gothic, yes, the Navy is testing the Rail Gun, so I still get those bone-rattlers (twice this week). Actually, it was the day AFTER the foundation guys left , so they didn't get to experience the forces on the house. But, the work they did to stabilize a spot in the living room corrected a general r...

Here from the old site. My 1927 bungalow, built by a ship's carpenter and waterman, is located next to the Navy's premier over-water test range (since 1918.) The builder/original owner was (later) one of the first Postmasters of this tiny community, as well as a store owner and an employee at the na...

I finished cleaning up where my yard guys had taken out three "zebra" plants earlier this week. It took them using a machete, a pole ax, and a regular ax to get them out in clumps. These plants are only supposed to grow to around 10 ft. high and wide, but explode in my yard to about 14 ft....

I think my 6 X 8 ft. bathroom is pretty tiny, especially as 2 sq. ft. is not usable because it has the heat pump air handler (originally the electric furnace). The space was not originally a bathroom anyway, IMO - it was a dressing room for the back bedroom. Those two rooms share unique molding that...

Use either screw jacks or bottle jacks to support the house while you replace the bad lumber with same-size pieces of PT lumber. My rotted sill plate was 6X6 Douglas Fir that I figured I'd have to find salvaged lumber to replace, but they had 6X6 PT lumber in 8 ft. sections at Lowes. Thank heavens i...

WildGeeseLn, if you can get the silt dug out, I would recommend your putting it on a garden bed. it will be full of nutrients that will be really beneficial to plant life. BTW, I managed to satisfy, in part, my desire for waterfront by buying a small lakefront lot. I can at least see a major stream ...