Indholdsfortegnelse for March - April 2017 i Old House Journal

EAST GLOUCESTER, where I live, has plenty of Victorian-era houses, mostly Italianates but also a few Second Empires and Queen Annes. My secret favorite wears exuberant, sawnwood Gothic details and a whimsical, scrolling mansard pierced by miniature dormers with round-top windows. The house is charming, not at all brooding, more the size of a large cottage even if it has villa pretensions. It nestles into a quiet intersection down the hill from a main road, so it can be viewed in axonometric perspective—passersby get a low-flying bird’seye view of two elevations at once, plus that fanciful chapeau of a roof. The house was dutifully rehabbed during the early 1980s and treated to a reserved polychrome scheme. Later it was restored again, much more meticulously, inside and out, by an artist–designer,…

We tried to make the best of a really bad remuddling in the kitchen of our 1909 Craftsman Bungalow in Portland, Oregon. Dark-brown particleboard cabinets and a chipped sink that was impossible to clean had been installed in the late 1970s. The printed asbestos-tile floor was also damaged. The room did have one saving grace: its wall of original built-in cabinets. They sagged and the doors wouldn’t stay shut, but they indicated that the room had once exuded period charm. We (Michael) redid the roof, attic, and basement, but we couldn’t figure out what to do with the kitchen. So at first, we amused ourselves. Given the late-’70s cue, we painted the kitchen electric pink and turquoise, and then hung posters of Farrah Fawcett and Lionel Ritchie. Eventually the “mod”…

What gives an old-house kitchen the feeling of authenticity? It’s the cabinets that connect a new installation to an earlier time, whether or not you choose marble countertops and vintage appliances. Getting cabinetry right is tricky, given social and technology changes—and because the kitchen has evolved from being a closeted area for servants to the center of family life. Kitchens are larger and filled with such appurtenances as pot fillers and espresso makers, and contemporary homeowners demand storage capacity beyond even the pantries of old. Finding the right balance between, say, a late-19th-century appearance and a 21st-century lifestyle is a juggling act. Few kitchens before about 1910 had what could be considered built-in cabinets. Islands were rare, worktables plentiful. Even in so grand a structure as the Gamble House, built…

Finishes have come a long way since the days of shellac and oil varnish. Contemporary finishes are often sprayed and then heat-cured, which makes cabinet surfaces more durable and resistant to fingerprints. The insides of drawers and cabinets are typically given a melamine-resin finish, sometimes with an ultraviolet (UV) clear coat to prevent component materials from off-gassing volatile chemicals. While easy to clean and long-lasting, melamine finishes often have a telltale pebbly texture that doesn’t really fit the historical vibe. Restoration cabinetmakers, naturally, offer more aesthetically pleasing alternatives that also meet modern standards for longevity and ecology. For its stained wood cabinets, for instance, Crown Point uses a catalyzed varnish that’s sprayed on, then rolled into a 130-degree oven and baked for 20 minutes. The process is then repeated for…

HOUR Freshen a Musty Dishwasher No one wants an appliance that smells like mildew—which can happen to a dishwasher. To banish odors, clean the drain filter, a likely culprit because food debris gets trapped here. First remove top and bottom racks to scrub them. Wipe the bottom pan of the dishwasher and remove debris. Twist the filter out. Wash it in hot, soapy water. Next, scrub all sides of the gasket with a thick paste of baking soda and water. Wipe off paste residue with a clean, wet sponge. Replace the filter and the racks. Put one cup of vinegar in a glass or a bowl on the top rack of the dishwasher and run the machine at the highest temperature and its longest cleaning cycle. (The vinegar will break…

“We’ve heard of leaking pipes… but leaking fireplaces?!” Share Your Story! What have you, your spouse, pet, contractor, previous owner (you get the picture) screwed up? Email us at lviator aimmedia.com. THE FIX Moisture may appear on the walls or floor of a fireplace (with chimney and flue) for many reasons. Rainwater can be driven through cracks on the chimney’s exterior and percolate through to the firebox. It may leak through damaged or failing flashing where the chimney projects through the roof. Or it may result because the chimney crown is damaged, or just because the flue lacks a cap. Since you mention that the flashing and the firebrick are both in good condition, it’s likely that rainwater is coming in through the flue some other way. The simplest reason…

Founded in 1565 as a military outpost on northeast Florida’s Atlantic coast, this is the oldest continuously occupied European settlement in the continental U.S. Descendants of Spanish and Minorcan settlers live in this thriving tourist destination—a multicultural town of 14,000 that endured sieges, fires, pirates, epidemics, five governments, and Hurricane Matthew. Strolling the narrow lanes of Old Town, visitors see Iberian influences, houses built to the curb for defense purposes, and street names that appeared on 16th-century maps. Structures here date from the First Spanish Period (1565–1763), Second Spanish Period (1784–1821), and British Period (1763–1784). Some houses reflect the St. Augustine Vernacular style, a Spanish/British hybrid that used coquina, an indigenous building material. COLONIAL MUSEUM HOUSE The Ximénez–Fatio house, ca. 1797–1806, was built as a residence and store. Characteristic elements…

1. IT GLISTENS The Libratory pendant will dazzle over a sink or as a series above an island. Shown in a light antique brass finish, the fixture has a cast-brass canopy, a mouth-blown glass shade, spun-copper holder, and a handmade chain. $1,360. Heritage Metalworks, (610) 518-3999 heritage-metalworks.com 2. WISELY MODERN Go sleek and clean with cabinet pulls from the Philosophy collection, named for sages of the past including Aristotle, Tacitus, and Sartre. All three are shown here in brushed stainless steel. $12.13 each. Acorn Manufacturing, (800) 835- 0121, acornmfg.com 3. LINES AND CIRCLES A recent introduction, the Metro Mosaic tile collection features bold and earthy colors with a hint of metallic sheen. The horizontal tiles come in a variety of sizes. $95 per square foot. BonTon Designs, (612) 270-2533, bontondesigns.com…

DECO DELIGHT RENOVATIONS/CONSULTANTS Martin Munske, Das Haus, Portland, OR: (503) 772-2632 • Bo Sullivan, Arcalus, Portland, OR: (503) 467-4135, arcalus.com VINTAGE STOVE/REPAIRS Buck’s Stove Palace, Portland: stoves.com ANTIQUE LIGHTING Vintage Lights vintagelights.com Hippo Hardware, Portland: hippohardware.com RETRO APPLIANCES Heartland Appliances heartlandapp.com DRAWER DISHWASHER Fisher & Paykel fisherpaykel.com CERAMICIST Helen Bommarito, Bend, OR: redchairgallerybend.com ANTIQUE OBJECTS Eric’s Antiques, Eugene, OR: (541) 345-1676 Related Resources LIGHTING House of Antique Hardware houseofantiquehardware.com Extensive collection of kitchen light fixtures Vintage Hardware & Lighting vintagehardware.com Reproduction period lighting BOLD INSPIRATIONS PAINTED FURNITURE/DESIGN Chez Bohème chezboheme.com OUTDOOR FURNITURE Pier 1 Imports pier1.com/outdoor PAINT Kitchen ‘Marigold’, LR ‘Floradale Isle’, Den ‘Americana’, DR ‘Majenta’, BR ‘Brazilian Blue’, all Benjamin Moore benjaminmoore.com p. 24 LOVE SEATS Burlington Furniture Co. burlingtonfurniture .us LAMPSHADE/ATOMIC LAMP/TOLE SCONCES The Lamp Shop, Burlington, VT: thelampshopvt.com p. 25 CHANDELIER…

DECO DELIGHT RENOVATIONS/CONSULTANTS Martin Munske, Das Haus, Portland, OR: (503) 772-2632 • Bo Sullivan, Arcalus, Portland, OR: (503) 467-4135, arcalus.com VINTAGE STOVE/REPAIRS Buck’s Stove Palace, Portland: stoves.com ANTIQUE LIGHTING Vintage Lightsvintagelights.comHippo Hardware, Portland: hippohardware.com RETRO APPLIANCES Heartland Appliancesheartlandapp.com DRAWER DISHWASHER Fisher & Paykel fisherpaykel.com CERAMICIST Helen Bommarito, Bend, OR: redchairgallerybend.com ANTIQUE OBJECTS Eric’s Antiques, Eugene, OR: (541) 345-1676 Related Resources LIGHTING House of Antique Hardwarehouseofantiquehardware.comExtensive collection of kitchen light fixturesVintage Hardware & Lightingvintagehardware.comReproduction period lighting BOLD INSPIRATIONS PAINTED FURNITURE/DESIGN Chez Bohèmechezboheme.com OUTDOOR FURNITURE Pier 1 Importspier1.com/outdoor PAINT Kitchen ‘Marigold’, LR ‘Floradale Isle’, Den ‘Americana’, DR ‘Majenta’, BR ‘Brazilian Blue’, all Benjamin Moorebenjaminmoore.com p. 24 LOVE SEATS Burlington Furniture Co. burlingtonfurniture .us LAMPSHADE/ATOMIC LAMP/TOLE SCONCES The Lamp Shop, Burlington, VT: thelampshopvt.com p. 25 CHANDELIER The Lighting House, Shelburne, VT: vermont lightinghouse.comOVERDYED…

WACO, TX / $24,000 This ca. 1910 Folk Victorian cottage sports a gable roof with staggered buttcoursed shingles and a front porch with original decorative millwork. Inside find high ceilings, some original windows, and period door and window trim. COVINGTON, KY / $16,900 This diminutive Second Empire brick cottage retains most of its distinguished exterior elements, including a slate mansard roof with fish-scale pattern, a fish-scale shingled dormer with gable roof, bracketed cornice with saw-tooth detail, and sculpted window and door lintels. CINCINNATI, OH / $19,000 This substantial brick Foursquare of 1905 has a broad front porch supported by brick columns. The front door is missing, but original entry transom and lintel are intact. Inside are high ceilings, window trim, and possibly original flooring. DORTCHES, NC / $10,000 (structure only)…

A kitchen cabinet setup from around 1910 consists of upper and lower cabinets built to standardized proportions. Lower cabinets stood about 36" high and were shallower than those of today, about 15" to 22" deep. They were often built in place with the wall serving as the cabinet back, especially if the wall was already finished with a beadboard surface. Upper cabinets were typically only about 12" deep. They hung lower over the counters: as little as 12", rather than the 18" or more typical of modern construction. Mortise-and-tenon construction is a hidden feature of good cabinetry that gives great longevity. Two common types: • blind mortise (top) • through-mortise with square pegs Traditional joints for drawers (top to bottom) • simple dado: the right angle cut permits room for…

hiding the dishwasher or refrigerator beneath paneling that matches the cabinets has become a standard option for kitchens, historic and otherwise. A different tack is to turn the largest elephant in the room into a showpiece by cladding it to look like an icebox. Constructed of thick oak or pine paneling and trimmed with icebox-specific nickel hardware, iceboxes were often small and much shorter than modern refrigerators. (Many allocated as much space to the ice, delivered in large blocks, as to space for chilling the milk.) In fancier homes, they were larger in both width and height, dominating the kitchen or back hall in the same way contemporary refrigerators do today. Building icebox paneling is more straightforward than constructing cabinets yourself, but requires similar techniques, says Bill Ticineto, who built…

WRONG WAY WEAKENING JOISTS You must avoid cutting large holes or slots in successive floor joists, without regard to the reduction in load-bearing capacity. Remodeling often uncovers dangerous conditions from past work. Well-fastened flooring is sometimes the only thing preventing individual joists from failure. Replacing damaged joists is possible, but disruptive. An easier solution is to firmly and correctly fasten a new joist next to the old one, which is called sistering. RIGHT WAY DO LEAST HARM Ideally, design for the upgrade or installation of a bathroom in an old house should take advantage of the orientation of the existing floor joists, by using the spaces between them to accommodate large drain lines; the toilet should be placed as close to the vent/drain line as possible. Or, if necessary, consider…

As a before-and-after story, says architect Stuart Cohen, “This one shows there’s always hope!” The 1890s Free Classic Queen Anne house in Illinois had been botched during a 1980s remodeling, when the interior was largely denuded and “opened up.” The front porch had been altered awkwardly with stock lumber and an ersatz vinyl “Palladian” entry that took away from the original Palladian window in the shingled gable. On the rear, a terrible family-room addition with little relation to the yard wore a blank McMansion stare. Happily, the redesign program went far beyond “do no harm”: • Restore the façade to authentic period style and proportions— fixing the entry door and porch roof line, adding appropriately sized wood shutters, and replacing the 1980s columns and balustrade. • Redesign the rear elevation…

FROM REAL TO FAUX Grosse Pointe Park is a Detroit suburb filled with classic homes of the 1920s. This one must have been avant-garde when it was built—Modern, even International Style in its massing, with red tile and stucco alluding to Pueblo and Spanish antecedents. Apparently it survived intact until a recent remodeling. “We noticed the house immediately when our son moved to the neighborhood,” says our correspondent. “We couldn’t take our eyes off the misshapen mess of prefab roof trusses, stock windows, and vinyl siding, all of which seemed to have smothered a vintage stucco house”—in an attempt to recast it as a disproportionate bungalow? “With a little snooping,” says the neighbor, “we located a picture of the original house. The massive addition on top destroyed its character.” After…

FROM REAL TO FAUX Grosse Pointe Park is a Detroit suburb filled with classic homes of the 1920s. This one must have been avant-garde when it was built—Modern, even International Style in its massing, with red tile and stucco alluding to Pueblo and Spanish antecedents. Apparently it survived intact until a recent remodeling. “We noticed the house immediately when our son moved to the neighborhood,” says our correspondent. “We couldn’t take our eyes off the misshapen mess of prefab roof trusses, stock windows, and vinyl siding, all of which seemed to have smothered a vintage stucco house”—in an attempt to recast it as a disproportionate bungalow? “With a little snooping,” says the neighbor, “we located a picture of the original house. The massive addition on top destroyed its character.” After…