What I want to talk about today is wood of course. More specifically I would like to discuss the proper treatment of old wood in prepping for a durable painted finish. As with all painting tasks, understanding your substrate is the first step in choosing your finishing approach. You should approach metal different than you…
Last fall we started working on a project at Haverford College. They were planning on renovating and re-purposing their old Ryan Gymnasium. We were hired to restore all of the existing original windows in the building as well as build a few custom windows to match the original windows exactly. It is now a year…
Many of us love the old wavy glass we find in our old windows. However, we often have a hard time finding old glass to replace the broken panes in our windows. Often this leads to an all too common act that most of us old house lovers and owners don’t like to admit we…
I have encountered a number of people of late that have mentioned the interest in or the actual execution of removing the aluminum capping from around their exterior trim and/or the aluminum or vinyl siding from their homes. I must say that I am so glad to hear it. As with most issues I encounter…
I felt compelled to write this post after a series of unrelated experiences over the past few weeks. It all started with another blog. There is a woman that does incredible things re-purposing old items and constructing new items and she writes a blog about it. My mother follows her blog and occasionally shoots me…
It is amazing how things come full circle. It seems the wooden storm window, which fell into obscurity after the mass availability of their aluminum counterpart many years ago, is experiencing a bit of a renaissance. The aluminum storm, namely the triple-track storm window, found favor originally due to its fantastic functionality and low maintenance…