Remember that old Tim Allen show, Home Improvement--the TV show about a guy who hosts a home improvement TV show called Tool Time? "Tim" would open each episode of Tool Time with the line, "Today I salute those amazing guys . . ." In today's post, I salute the guys who help keep our old homes working. There's no paper credential for someone who calls him or herself a "handyman," but the best have a firm place in my heart. A handyman is someone who probably grew up in a household where folks fixed things without a lot of fuss. He looks at pipes or wires as a doable puzzle rather than a formidable maze. As a boy, he probably helped a father or grandfather make plumbing repairs, paint the back porch, and install a backyard patio. He readily takes things apart, because he's confident he can put them back together again. He likes working with his hands, and learned a fair amount of carpentry outside of shop class. He's doesn't need a clerk's help in the hardware store. Above all, this person is thrifty by nature. He wants to tackle all repairs himself, and scorns elaborate, high-cost solutions. He never replaces when he can repair.
Architectural Salvage in Restoration/Remodeling Projects-I
When I decided to buy a 1928 Craftsman bungalow, its original features--yellow pine cabinets, birch floors, and natural woodwork--were a big part of the charm. Many of the house's original elements had gone missing over the years, however, so part of the restoration process involved hunting down replacements or reproductions of missing parts.
This was lots of fun for a veteran scavenger. I knew something about architectural salvage from a previous remodeling project in a Queen Anne house. I needed to find a new flooring material for the kitchen. It turned out that underneath the worn-out lineoleum was nothing but some scrap wood. New hardwood flooring just didn't look right. Luckily I discovered a local Cambridge, Massachusetts company that sells recycled antique flooring. Longleaf Lumber specializes in beautiful quarter-sawn heart pine flooring. This wood took my breath away. It's a gorgeous tawny yellow color with clear (free of knots) grain texture. The remilled and refinished heart pine gave the narrow, north-facing room a new warm tone. Antique lumber comes in wider widths than contemporary hardwood flooring, and this, too, adds to its suitability in old rooms. The price difference between recycled wood and high quality new hardwood is not always huge--in this case, I remember paying about 15% more.
This was lots of fun for a veteran scavenger. I knew something about architectural salvage from a previous remodeling project in a Queen Anne house. I needed to find a new flooring material for the kitchen. It turned out that underneath the worn-out lineoleum was nothing but some scrap wood. New hardwood flooring just didn't look right. Luckily I discovered a local Cambridge, Massachusetts company that sells recycled antique flooring. Longleaf Lumber specializes in beautiful quarter-sawn heart pine flooring. This wood took my breath away. It's a gorgeous tawny yellow color with clear (free of knots) grain texture. The remilled and refinished heart pine gave the narrow, north-facing room a new warm tone. Antique lumber comes in wider widths than contemporary hardwood flooring, and this, too, adds to its suitability in old rooms. The price difference between recycled wood and high quality new hardwood is not always huge--in this case, I remember paying about 15% more.
Recent writing on the evolution of American house types
For those who've wondered how American houses and neighborhoods came to be designed and built the way they are, I have a must-read for you. Christine Hunter's Ranches, Rowhouses and Railroad Flats: American Homes: How They Shape Our Landscapes and Neighborhoods (W. W. Norton, 1999) is a wonderful tour through 400 years of house design, construction, and urban development. With energy issues mounting and housing policy in the news, the book is even more pertinent today than it was at publication a decade ago.
Old Windows: Replace or Restore? A Hot Issue for a Cold Season
"Tax Credits!!!" "Energy Savings!!! You've seen the full-page newspaper ads. Before you dial that 1-800 number for replacement windows, read the following Q & A posted on the National Trust for Historic Preservation website :
"Are new windows truly "green"?
Tearing out historic windows for replacements wastes embodied energy – the energy required to extract the raw materials, transport them, make them into a new product, ship the product, and install it. What's more, when we keep our existing windows, we avoid all the negative environmental impacts associated with the manufacture of new windows. For example, the manufacturing of some windows produces toxic byproducts. And, the new wood that manufacturers use today can’t begin to match the quality of old growth wood in older windows.
And here's the kicker. New windows will often have a life span of just 10 to 20 years. Historic and older windows, when properly maintained, can last for many more decades. Furthermore, studies have shown that with proper weatherization and use of a good storm window, older windows can be made nearly as energy efficient as new windows – even in severe climates such as the Northeast.
Home Improvement Tax Credits
There's a useful article in today's Wall Street Journal on tax credits for energy-saving home improvements. "What You Need to Know about Home-Improvement Tax Credits," is written in an easy-to-read Q & A format. Reporter Mara Lemos Stein identifies which home improvements qualify for the soon-to-expire tax credits, explains when installation costs are covered, and clarifies some essential tax issues. She also touches on the tax incentives for solar-power rooftop systems. Stein stresses that above all, homeowners need to act fast, because some of the credits expire on December 31.
Print edition: WSJ 11/29/10: R4
Web: online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704635704575604753113714686.html
You might also be interested in the other articles devoted to energy issues in Section R of today's WSJ.
The energy section on WSJ's website features many articles on energy and home energy issues.
Print edition: WSJ 11/29/10: R4
Web: online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704635704575604753113714686.html
You might also be interested in the other articles devoted to energy issues in Section R of today's WSJ.
The energy section on WSJ's website features many articles on energy and home energy issues.
Imagine: An Old House Neighborhood becomes an Intentional Community
RETROFITTING AN URBAN NEIGHBORHOOD:
A MIDWESTERN FANTASY STORY
All persons in this story are fictional, as is the neighborhood entity, “Presidents Park”
A new type of housing development will soon appear on Blooming Grove’s southeast side. The residents of President’s Park, a three-block residential parcel of twelve single-family homes, mostly frame bungalows built between 1913 and 1930, have formed a cohousing association in order to strengthen the neighborly ties between current households. This type of residential association reflects a growing enthusiasm for tightly-knit “intentional communities” in which residents share not only common facilities and amenities such as those found in condominium developments, but also closer ties with their neighbors.
A MIDWESTERN FANTASY STORY
All persons in this story are fictional, as is the neighborhood entity, “Presidents Park”
A new type of housing development will soon appear on Blooming Grove’s southeast side. The residents of President’s Park, a three-block residential parcel of twelve single-family homes, mostly frame bungalows built between 1913 and 1930, have formed a cohousing association in order to strengthen the neighborly ties between current households. This type of residential association reflects a growing enthusiasm for tightly-knit “intentional communities” in which residents share not only common facilities and amenities such as those found in condominium developments, but also closer ties with their neighbors.
Tucson, Arizona's West University Neighborhood: Architecture Tour
April's a fine time to visit southern Arizona, especially if you come from New England where spring is always iffy. Recently I visited Tucson with my daughter (she wanted to visit the U of A), and felt lucky to experience the Sonoran Desert at its greenest.
While we were exploring Tucson and the university campus, we frequently drove down the city's main east-west drag, Speedway Boulevard. East of the campus, I noticed that the boulevard was lined with fine old Craftsman houses and apartment buildings, some of them derelict, but others clearly occupied. Intrigued, I took my camera and walked through this area, known as West University Neighborhood. It was Tucson's first suburban enclave, developed to house faculty and staff after the university was established on a large land grant in 1885. Back then the campus was a small group of buildings sitting on desert land outside the city limits. Over the next 50 years, the West University area grew to be a middle-class neighborhood of some 600 homes, most built in the Craftsman and Mission Revival styles.
While we were exploring Tucson and the university campus, we frequently drove down the city's main east-west drag, Speedway Boulevard. East of the campus, I noticed that the boulevard was lined with fine old Craftsman houses and apartment buildings, some of them derelict, but others clearly occupied. Intrigued, I took my camera and walked through this area, known as West University Neighborhood. It was Tucson's first suburban enclave, developed to house faculty and staff after the university was established on a large land grant in 1885. Back then the campus was a small group of buildings sitting on desert land outside the city limits. Over the next 50 years, the West University area grew to be a middle-class neighborhood of some 600 homes, most built in the Craftsman and Mission Revival styles.
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