We are seeing more and more use of PVC on homes. Vinyl siding and vinyl windows have been around for years. Now PVC trim is starting to become more common on the exterior of homes than wood. We all can understand why: we want to find the most resilient, maintenance free products we can and…
There come times when you are working with wood when you need to make a patch. Many repairs can be achieved simply with epoxy or wood filler. Sometimes though the repair area is just too large for either of those options. Other times you need to be sure that fasteners such as screws are able…
Despite the fact that people have been working on old windows for many years, when we started out there was a dearth of information on how to actually do so. Over the years we have tried things many different things. Some methods and materials are more effective than others. Sometimes unpredictably so. Nevertheless, there are…
At the start of the summer of 2019, we were fortunate enough to begin work on the exteriors of the windows at Mount Pleasant Mansion in Fairmount Park. It is a beautiful Georgian style home that was built in 1761. At the time it was built it was one of the finest homes in the…
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…
