October 15th, 2010The Cape Cod: An American Original
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Several months ago I touched on several of the old house architectural styles that have developed a devoted following who chronicle their restoration efforts on informative and interesting blogs.
October 9th, 2010Create Your Very Own Old House Tour
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I do my best to keep readers up to date on any up coming old house tours I happen to hear or read about and enjoy getting feedback from anyone who had the opportunity to visit any of the tours. I heard from an OldHouseWeb.com blog reader who attended the Harvest of Homes old house tour in Reno recently and she reported the event was a big success and there were some great old homes available for touring. I have
September 27th, 2010Fences: The Good Side Out
I love fences. I love planning them. I love building them.
I sort of see them as clothes for my house. And, yes, I’m a carpenter and I dress the part. But I don’t wear Carhartts to a wedding or on a date with my wife. And while our home is a modest American 4-Square (as opposed to something a little — okay, a lot — more filigreed like a Victorian or Second Empire) I still think it is neighborly and right to put my best foot forward.
When I design and build a fence the baseline criteria is that the “good” side always — always, even if he is a jerk — faces the neighbor.
On the fences shown here, which I built from one of my favorite materials, Western Red Cedar, I designed them with two good sides so that everybody wins. The posts are 4x4s, the rails are 2x4s and the fence slats are tongue-and-groove 1x6s. I even included
September 19th, 2010Stepladders: Can’t Just Have One Size
Stepladders are front-line home improvement tools.
For most projects, a 4-foot and 6-foot stepladder will get you to the ceiling of an average home for anything from working on lights to hanging crown molding to hanging pictures and decorating.
They work well as a team too. For example, a 6-foot stepladder is too tall for hanging cabinets (it gets in the way) or setting door and window casing. While a 4-footer isn’t tall enough to reach a 10-foot ceiling; its tray is too low once you climb it to reach hand tools for hanging a ceiling fan. It depends on your home and projects, of course, but generally I’ve found having both really helps me all over a house.
Mark Clement is host of MyFixItUpLife and HGTVPro’s home and how-to ace.