Indholdsfortegnelse for October 2016 i Old House Journal

There’s nothing Marky and John Morel like better than touring vintage movie theaters, exploring the fantasy architecture and Art Deco details. So when work brought them to southern California, they looked for a house inspired by Twenties movie palaces—something with picturesque Spanish Revival or exuberant Art Deco design. Or both! In the Long Beach and Santa Barbara area, locals call these houses “Span–Deco.” The Morels were on cloud nine when they found the romantic Spanish house just a block from the ocean. Built in 1928 as a substantial residence, it had all the architectural bells and whistles of the period—fancy iron grilles, deep wall recesses and archways, coved ceilings and balconies, a tiled hall with a Hollywood staircase. Formal rooms inside were a counterpoint to welcoming tiled courtyards and gardens.…

“Our 165-year-old interior doors sometimes pop open without human help. Do we have a ghost?” THE FIX Old doors fail to shut properly, or swing open and shut by themselves, for any number of reasons. Houses tend to settle over time, which can mean the doorways are no longer plumb and square. Check the hinge first. If the pins are not stacked directly above each other, they tend to bind and pop the door open. If so, remove the hinge and tighten it in a vise to bring it back into alignment. Or replace it with a similar salvaged or reproduction hinge. If the door is warped or out of square, don’t try to fix it. It’s better to trim the stop on the door jamb (the upright piece of…

Q:My 1873 Victorian house, like many others I’ve seen, has a door in bedrooms that allows passage to the adjoining bedroom without going into the hallway. One bedroom not connected to the others has two doors opening to the hallway, one near the stair to the third floor. Did the set-up have something to do with servants? —Daniel Ranieri, Lambertville, N.J. A:“Interconnecting bedroom doors allowed occupants to communicate without being seen in public areas,” says editor Brian Coleman, an expert on historic houses in Britain and the U.S. “It worked for a variety of functions: easy access to infants, or for husbands and wives who kept separate but connected bedrooms, or even to allow a servant or caregiver easy access. The Hill House, designed by C.R. Mackintosh in 1902, had…

DON’T …ignore existing setbacks on the street. Don’t assume the zoning board is taking care of business. Don’t take a deli meat slicer to a hundredyear-old house. DO …notice the survival of the original driveway leading to a matching garage: concrete tire pads, with a grass median for looks and permeability. WHO’S THE BULLY? This scene was shot in Long Beach. “I call it a California bungalow, victim of the Philadelphia Experiment,” says John Watts of Cerritos. (But it’s not a hoax: We can still see the brave little bungalow, which appears to be pushing back.) “What a tragedy,” our visitor continues. “Who in the world would ever dream of doing this?” We wonder, was the bungalow encroaching on the lot next door, so a judge allowed the lop? The…

MISSION REVIVAL In this early variant of Spanish-inspired revival architecture, look for red tiled roofs and smooth stucco accompanied by “old mission” parapets or dormers. Spanish Baroque ornament may decorate walls or door surrounds. The suggestion of a church bell tower appears on some examples, as in the illustration. Various Spanish revivals were the Hispanic counterpoint to New England’s Colonial Revival. The genre is certainly related to the greater Romantic Revival: In the East and Midwest, some older suburbs boast grand Georgians, homey English cottages, and a Mediterranean villa—all in the same or nearby neighborhoods. Building innovations like masonry veneer over wood frame and cement-based stucco had made romantic associations more affordable to build. Exposed timbers were not structural, but rather decoratively superimposed on modern wall systems. “Weathered” stucco was…

EDENTON, NC / $347,000 Lavished with spandrels on two full-width porches and the petite gable, this 1904 Folk Victorian I-house features jewel-toned pattern glass in the entry door and sidelights. Inside: an original staircase with massive turned newel post, heart-pine floors, butler’s pantry, and period mantels. NEW ORLEANS, LA / $629,900 The overhanging eave on this clapboard cottage is supported by decorative brackets and finished with rick-rack trim. Inside the 1910 Folk Victorian example, the buyer gets oak floors, high ceilings, a clawfoot tub and marble shower, and a concealed two-storey addition. RISING FAWN, GA / $299,700 With its peaked, Gothic center gable, spindlework, and “Chinese Chippendale” porch railings, this 1885 mountain-view dwelling is graced with sidelights around the Queen Anne-style door. Interior features include five decorative fireplaces with period…

HYDRO DRY Equipped with patent-pending 1mm spacers, HydroGap Drainable Housewrap sheds up to 100 times more water than other weather-resistant barriers, preventing damaging mold and rot. In 500-square-foot rolls: $126. Benjamin Obdyke, (800) 523-5261, benjaminobdyke.com HISTORIC, DOUBLE-GLAZED The Nantucket is an insulated window featuring recycled, historic glass on the outside and new glass on the inside, offering double glazing without the need for a storm window. No need for putty, either. $1,900 and up. Cooper Windows, (860) 599-2481, cooperwindows.com RUGGED WRENCH The Ridgid 24" heavy-duty pipe wrench is made of sturdy cast iron. It has an I-beam handle with a full floating hook jaw that can handle pipes up to 3" wide. With a full lifetime warranty. $70.90. Ridgid Tool Co., (800) 474-3443, ridgid.com New and improved products help with…

The fireplace, like the staircase, is a focal point and key element of style. Its design is a clue to the intentions of the builder: Does your house lean toward Greek Revival (simple post-and-beam mantelpiece), late Victorian (lustrous tiles or an oak overmantel), Craftsman (beveled mirror and ochre art tiles), or Colonial Revival (white paint and swags)? If it’s as obvious as those examples, decorating will be easy! Choose period- and style-appropriate hearth accessories and displays to further the point. If, on the other hand, your fireplaces are plain and mundane, you can use accessories and objects to add a style vocabulary to rooms. Though decorating is personal and may be spare or eclectic, a nod to period style plays up a house’s best features. For Federal homes (ca. 1789–1840),…

DON’T …ignore existing setbacks on the street. Don’t assume the zoning board is taking care of business. Don’t take a deli meat slicer to a hundredyear-old house. DO …notice the survival of the original driveway leading to a matching garage: concrete tire pads, with a grass median for looks and permeability. WHO’S THE BULLY? This scene was shot in Long Beach. “I call it a California bungalow, victim of the Philadelphia Experiment,” says John Watts of Cerritos. (But it’s not a hoax: We can still see the brave little bungalow, which appears to be pushing back.) “What a tragedy,” our visitor continues. “Who in the world would ever dream of doing this?” We wonder, was the bungalow encroaching on the lot next door, so a judge allowed the lop? The…

Our 18th-century house doesn’t have a straight line—after weathering for more than 250 years, it’s completely cattywampus. Living here is like walking on the deck of a ship. But my wife, Ellin, and I didn’t want to do anything that would ruin the historic integrity of the pre-Revolutionary War, center-chimney colonial that once served as a tavern and schoolhouse in Sandown, New Hampshire. The large center room, which we use as our dining room, was surely the hub during tavern days. When it came to addressing the drafty but still-beautiful old windows, we took care. Historic preservationists had told us that a sure way to hurt the value of this unique structure was to replace the windows. But the exterior storms that had once protected the prime sash were falling…

TURN IT OFF (OR DOWN) We’ve heard the drill for years. One of the simplest ways to save energy and cut electric bills is to turn off lights and appliances when not in use. That goes for energy-hogging appliances like flat-screen TVs and internet modems, too. (You may want to invest in a timer that reboots both shortly before the household wakes up.) That said, more than 40 percent of household energy consumption is generated by heating and cooling. To keep costs in check, install a programmable thermostat, if you haven’t already. For every degree you cut back on heating or air conditioning over an eight-hour period, you’ll save one percent on your energy bills. These devices can be tricky to install, but once up and running, they allow you…

WRONG WAY BLASTING IS A NO-NO Many well-meaning homeowners have ruined their brick or masonry houses by having them “professionally” sandblasted. The process is fast, relatively inexpensive—and very harmful to the fired surface of brick. Abrasives and even a high-pressure power wash may irreversibly damage the protective layer of brick, changing the surface look and admitting moisture. That said, some lower-abrasive systems in the hands of professional operators have been effective, in that they remove mostly the coating and only the merest amount of surface. These methods include dry-ice blasting and shell blasting. I would choose chemicals. RIGHT WAY CHEMICALS ARE GENTLER Removal of paint from brick, particularly old brick, is most easily and safely done through the use of chemical strippers. Different formulations of chemical removers will work under…

Braided from wool cloth and handlaced into shapes oval, round, or as overlap circles, braid rugs from Country Braid House come in all colors. countrybraidhouse.com What’s a big colonial hearth without forged iron and the occasional meal cooked over the fire? Find cranes and pots, reflector ovens, andirons, and tools. historichousefitters.com The iconic Massachusetts lowboy dressing table is a custom piece by Doucette & Wolfe, with aspects of William and Mary and early Queen Anne styles. Traditional joinery, hand-cut dovetails, 36" wide. doucetteandwolfefurniture.com Here’s a plan ($14) for building an authentic 18th-century hooded cradle with a scrolled fascia board and pegged joinery. Item #151523, woodcraft.com Famed tastemaker Wallace Nutting (1861–1941)—pastor, antiquarian, author, photographer, and furniture maker—all but created 20th-century Colonial Revival symbolism: the good old days as we wish they had…