Indholdsfortegnelse for January/February 2019 i Old House Journal

As we readied these pages to go to the printer, our art director noted that a piece entitled New Life for an Old Door was followed on the very next spread with New Life for an Old Dresser. Two different writers had the same idea, and the redundancy wasn’t noted during initial editing. Well, that’s often what we’re about, right? New life for old things. I’d already caught other repetitive language. It seems writers and editors can get stuck on a word; I remember realizing that I’d used “twilight” and “twilight blue” half a dozen times in one issue, years ago, right after I’d painted the recesses of a beamed ceiling the perfect blue-sky-at-dusk color. In this issue, our indefatigable contributor Brian Coleman had a minor affair with “gleaming.” Used…

“The two-year-old couldn’t resist sliding her index finger under the wallpaper—such fun!” I had a guest whose little daughter loves nothing more than going up the stairs, down the stairs, and up again. That’s what she was doing while her mom visited the powder room. When mom came out, she saw that a section of wallpaper was peeled off at toddler height on the landing. Apparently the little girl had found a cut made to avoid bubbles in the paper. —Melissa Salamovka THE FIX What’s the back-story on those cuts in the wallpaper? “Oh, that’s Charlotte’s fault,” says homeowner Melissa.“Years ago my father-in-law was here with his larger-than-life girlfriend, who noticed the wallpaper lifting at a seam in the humidity. She said she used to be a paperhanger and asked…

Q: Just discovered your amazing magazine… we are about to begin restoring a beautiful house in San Antonio. We're wondering if you have any back issues or related resources on Spanish Revival homes? Our goal is to stay true to the existing architectural details. —Wayne & Molly Knutson, San Antonio, Texas A: Welcome to the club! We have indeed covered Spanish Colonial Revival houses over the years. Printed back issues aren’t available, but you can see many articles and related items at oldhouseonline.com. Search “Spanish Colonial” and “Spanish Revival.” At our website, try other key words, too: San Antonio, California tile, tile roofs, stucco, metalwork, old house kitchens. And check out suppliers in the online directory. Be sure to tap into the very active preservation movement in San Antonio, to…

STEVE WALSH visited the Roycroft Inn in East Aurora, New York, while he was in graduate school in the 1980s: “I still remember how captivated I was,” he says, describing his reaction to the simplicity of the spaces, the use of wood and stone, the metal strapwork and oak trim lit by glowing lanterns. “I knew that someday I would have a home furnished like this,” Steve says. Fast-forward a few decades… Steve was in Seattle in 2011 to see his brother when he noted that picturesque bungalows are prevalent in many of the city’s older neighborhoods. It didn’t take long for Steve to decide to move to Seattle, where he bought a 1921 bungalow on a steep lot overlooking Lake Washington and the Cascade Mountains. Still charming, the bungalow…

Bats love old houses: All those crumbling chimneys, cracks and holes, and vents with missing screens are open doors for little mammals that can squeeze through a ⅜" x 1" crack, or into a hole smaller than a quarter. Forget mothballs, aerosols, and ultrasonic deterrents. They don’t work, particularly if you have an established colony. (A few bats during migration season may be a temporary situation and nothing to worry about. If there’s bat poop—guano—all over the place, you’ve got a problem.) Bats are a critical part of the ecosystem, controlling the insect population. It’s impractical, inhumane, and probably illegal to kill them, so you have to go through a live exclusion. If the infestation is large or has been recurrent over years, call in a pro for both exclusion…

AHOSKIE, NC /$199,500 Seven Oaks is an 1837 example of a five-bay I-house with a deep front porch and end chimneys. Interior period details extend to wide board floors, 9/9 windows, original mantels and mouldings, a clawfoot tub. RAPHINE, VA /$449,000 Bookended by stone chimneys, the board-and-batten 1853 Ott farmhouse has a porch with elaborate corbels and fretwork railings. See original pine floors, staircase with hand-carved handrail, antique light fixtures, sensitively restored kitchen with nickel-plated Glenwood E cook stove. COLTS NECK, NJ /$850,000 Built in 1831 for Henry Green Wyckoff, in the same family for generations, this I-house retains the original “pumpkin pine” staircase and floors, and Rococo Revival marble mantels. Doorknobs are set low in the children’s and maid’s rooms. JEWELL, GA /$30,000 The Cason–Veal House is ca. 1830,…

Imagine this double sconce in a big room or turret, or over the fireplace. The ‘Medieval Castle Wall Light’ is from the custom-fabricator and importer Lights of Tuscany. Various options for metal finish and “candles.” Fixture is 18" high x 25" wide with a 13" extension, $449. lightsoftuscany.com The frieze and the “high wainscot effect” area are wallpapers. The figural frieze has two separate groups and an extension without figures; two 10" bands above and below create a deep, 40" frieze. The mantel is unusual with its extended pilasters at the sides. Substantial andirons and hand-wrought fire tools fit the room. In the colors of an illuminated manuscript, “The Orchard” tapestry wall hanging based on a William Morris design is 48" x 100". Cotton and viscose, jacquard-woven in the U.S.,…

Epoxies are two-part systems. The product typically comes in cans or tubes labeled as A and B. These are mixed (thoroughly) immediately before application. As thermosetting compounds, they cure through a heat reaction. The epoxies used in rehabilitating wood are made up of a resin and a hardener. When they are mixed together, a chemical reaction changes the resin into a gel and then a solid. Chemists formulate epoxies with a wide range of pre-cure and post-cure characteristics. The product may be watery to penetrate porous materials, or thick and viscous for use on a vertical surface. The cured epoxy can be hard and brittle or soft and rubbery. Chemists can adjust the rate at which the epoxy cures. Additives may make them more flexible or spreadable. It’s important to…

PROTECTED ACCESS Secure the basement for winter with sturdy Classic Series bulkhead doors. In steel with a primer finish, the doors have a patented gas-spring lift assistance. Measuring 55" x 72", they install on areaways with sloped sidewalls built into the house foundation. $640 and up. Bilco, (800) 854-9724, bilco.com FOR ICE-FREE EAVES Keep snow from melting and forming ice dams under a standing-seam roof with SS2 snow guards. Choose from ¼" and3 /8" sizes in cast aluminum or cast bronze. All come with stainless-steel set screws. $10.75 or $26.25. Snow Guard Warehouse, (814) 786-9085, snowguardwarehouse.com SMART ALARM The Protect Smoke and CO Alarm alerts you to danger from fire and carbon monoxide. The self-testing unit is powered by a 9-volt battery rated to last for years. Get warnings and low-battery…

When Roy Morton bought his 1910 bungalow in Birmingham, Alabama, adding a period-appropriate mantel was on the project list. The fireplace had been updated with a modern configuration: flat stones set beneath a cedar beam as a mantelshelf, and a raised hearth below. Morton owns a salvage store and makes regular buying trips to England—where he found an Arts & Crafts mantel rescued from a 1920s house. The oak piece has its original, gently worn finish. Details include carving and small shelf niches to hold books or knick-knacks. Owning a salvage store has its benefits: a rusty iron gate, refinished and retrofitted, became the firescreen. Roy Morton’s store is Architectural Heritage: architecturalheritage.com 1. MODIFICATION The old mantelpiece was too short to meet fire-code requirements (which set the distance the wood…

Roycroft founder Elbert Hubbard opened an inn in East Aurora, New York, in 1905, in the former Print Shop on his arts and crafts campus. Initially designed by Hubbard in a country Gothic style, inspired by St. Oswald’s Church in Grasmere, England, the Inn was remodeled and updated over the years but always with a focus on its Arts & Crafts mission. Rooms were identified by the names of famous people, including William Morris and John Ruskin. Guests enter from the Peristyle (porch) through a heavy door with carved mottoes into the Reception Room. Oak wainscoting is highlighted by medieval-inspired, stone and brick fireplaces built by Roycroft craftsmen. The Dining Room was built in a portion of the building originally used for assembling printed books. Meals were prepared with fruits,…

1. AROUND THE CLOCK Designed in Germany, the Sinatra Cuisine masonry heater with a bake oven releases heat slowly over a long period of time. Built of solid soapstone, it measures 75 ½" high x 56" wide. Customization available. $18,000. M. Teixeira Soapstone, (877) 478-8170, soapstones.com 2. BLANKET BLISS Made in a small, family-owned mill from sustainably produced wool, these blankets are detailed simply with a timeless pattern of three narrow strips and finished with whip-stitching. They’re available as a throw or in queen size, $198 to $398. Coyuchi, (888) 418-8847, coyuchi.com 3. ROMANTIC STEEL Conserve fuel beautifully with fireplace doors in the Mediterranean style, blacksmith-forged from quarter-inch-thick steel. Options include tempered or ceramic glass, and inset mesh and sealed gaskets. Custom price through dealers. Ironhaus, (866) 880-0900, ironhaus.com 4.…

The soffit—the exposed underbelly of any overhead building component, such as a roof overhang or projecting cornice—is often overlooked on many houses. Essentially a ceiled area for the eave, a soffit runs from the top of the exterior wall to the outer edge of the roof. Whether wood, vinyl, or aluminum, the soffit material is typically screwed or nailed to lookout rafters or tail pieces that extend beyond the edge of the house. The soffit exposure profile (from wall to fascia) on a building’s exterior can vary from 2–3" to 3' or more, depending on construction. It can be non-ventilated or ventilated, to prevent condensation. Soffit vents are usually covered with grilles to prevent insects and animals from entering the roof. How soffits are built is critical to longevity—one does…

WRONG WAY JUST TOPPING IT OFF The chemical complexity of concrete curing is beyond the scope of this page, but it is important to understand that although Portland cement can form a hard matrix around aggregate (sand, etc.), it has only weak adhesive qualities. Consequently, simply buying a bag of concrete or sand mix and applying it to a worn concrete surface will not stand up. It may look okay immediately after cure, but you’ll soon see delamination. RIGHT WAY TO ENSURE A BOND Clean the damaged surface scrupulously with a stiff brush and water. Use an etching wash (e.g., muriatic acid) to increase bonding potential on relatively smooth surfaces. Choose a topping mix chemically designed for thin set, and apply per the directions on the bag. Alternatively, brush a…

“Scale is of prime importance and I think that oversized scale is better than undersized scale…. I like to preserve simplicity rather than over-polishing. Fashions are changeable. Taste is in realizing the essence of a place.”—AMERICAN DECORATOR NANCY LANCASTER (1897–1994) The English country house style, oddly enough crystalized by an American decorator, is as likely to show up in Atlanta and London proper as in the Cotswold countryside. You may be aware of the look without having named it: an upholstered sofa mounded with pillows, a traditional rug, fabric-shaded table lamps, paintings on the walls, a profusion of flowers. THE FIRE IS LIT or looks as if it has just gone out. There is one formal piece—a French fauteuil or a Regency chest of drawers, perhaps, which is undoubtedly a…

Abandoned, the house had been decaying for years, its fate locked by a family trust. Like many other residents of the Wallowa Valley in Oregon, Steve Arment had been eyeing the Victorian house for years. The east end of the house and south end of the barn, built by Horatio Cole in the 1890s, had been moved a mile by horse and windlass, rolling on logs, to this location by James Haun in 1908. Haun then doubled the size of the house with a western addition, and doubled the barn as well. HISTORY IN THE BARN A considerable amount of Oregon history can be read through the barn at the Willows Homestead: • The 1890s Horatio Cole barn was moved to its current location in 1908 by James Haun, who…

“Looks like a bungalow kidnapping.”—Sharon Ferraro BUNGALOW BOTCHED, CASE CLOSED The house above is listed as a “great country home on 3 acres.” A long-time OHJ reader brought it to our attention: “I was looking over farmhouses for sale in Bureau County, Illinois,” he wrote, when he came across this buttoned-up bungalow, whose greatest asset would appear to be the “newer 30 x 40 steel building only 2 years old, plenty of room for horses or a few head of cattle.” The 856-square-foot house is described as having new siding and all new windows. Despite its newly commercial look, the house is still set up inside as a residence. The listing’s estimated build date of 1927 is plausible. The type is variously called a builder’s bungalow, foursquare bungalow, or workingman’s…