Tabla de contenidos para September/October 2024 en Old House Journal

I’VE often been asked, “What is your favorite style?” and even, “What’s your favorite house?” My usual answer is, “Depends on where I am!” Visiting a First Period house in Massachusetts, as a teenager, I’d have answered that someday I hoped to live in a dark, low-ceilinged Colonial redolent of history. Later, when I was living in brownstone Brooklyn and invited into houses with working gaslights and their original pocket doors and sitz baths, I was won over by Victorians, a passion that grew as I traveled to tour Gothic cottages and Queen Anne tower houses being restored and decorated in period splendor. The first time I went into the Log House at Craftsman Farms, in New Jersey (before it was a museum), I was taken aback by how closely…

Is there anything better than a New England sunroom in January? Big windows invite what daylight is available, your relief from the gloom. Plants survive the winter. If the room is insulated and weather stripped and the floor is masonry or tile, passive solar gain radiates through the house. Sunrooms are, however, popular from Seattle to Miami. • Architectural devices for bringing sunlight (and often ventilation) into a house include the orangeries and conservatories of the Victorian era, porches later enclosed to extend the season, and even purpose-built “sun parlors,” especially after 1915 or so. Here’s a glimpse of these gracious amenities, with hints on furnishing, whether in porch or more elegant parlor mode. PORCHES sunlit in all seasons Countless archival renderings and photographs, particularly from the years 1870 to…

GUTTER A shallow channel, typically of metal but sometimes wood, set immediately below and along the eaves to collect rainwater from the roof. DOWNSPOUT (also leader or conductor) A vertical pipe, often copper or aluminum, that allows the water collected by the gutter to drain away effectively. FRENCH DRAIN A trench filled with a perforated pipe and gravel that allows water to drain naturally through the soil. LEADER HEAD (also conductor head) A funnel-shaped enlargement or catch basin between the gutter and the down-spout that prevents water overflow. The head amplifies air flow that helps avoid clogging and that vacuum-locks. MERLON The solid upright section of a battlement or parapet. The space between two merlons is called a CRENEL; a succession of merlons and crenels is a crenellation. PARAPET A low guarding…

MAKING THE PATCH Remove any crumbling plaster around the area to be patched. Cut the hole opening to a regular shape, preferably back to the nearest stud. A regular shape makes the drywall patch easier to cut; exposing studs lets you nail the patch directly to the studs. Secure edges of the old plaster with wood screws. If the plaster is sound but the plaster keys holding it to lath have broken, use screws along with plaster washers to stabilize the plaster. Cut a drywall patch to fit neatly in the opening. The gap between patch and plaster should be minimal so that the tape will span the joint. Shim the drywall patch as needed to bring it flush with the surface of the plaster. Nail or screw the drywall…

Did you know that a water-reed thatched roof can last more than 60 years? Headed by Colin McGhee, The Roof Thatchers is based in Virginia but they’ve traveled from Michigan (for a Charlevoix Mushroom House) to the Czech Republic. Their work is seen at Plimouth Plantation and the Bronx Zoo, in movies and on houses old and new. • “Thatch” may be any vegetation used for roofing; straw and reed are most common in Europe and North America. “When settlers arrived in Jamestown in 1607, they found Powhatan Indians living in houses with thatched roofs,” McGhee says. The Colonists followed suit. Natural water reed has great insulation value. The reed is dried to prevent shrinkage after installation; it is then gathered in bundles and secured to a framework that has…

Rain or shine, water popping up through a basement floor drain is a sign that there’s a blockage somewhere along the line, usually from clogs or tree roots—issues common in old-house landscapes. In the case of Glencairn, the line from the front window wells takes a deep dive into and under the basement, turns 90 degrees, then passes out to the lawn to cast-iron and terra-cotta pipes that slope away toward a ravine.…

1. ELEGANT ESSENTIALS Leader heads collect and funnel large amounts of water away from roof surfaces. Designs including Spherical and Traditional come sized to fit 3", 4", or 5" downspouts. In copper: $140 to $205. Classic Gutter Systems, (269) 665-2700, classicgutters.com 2. CEDAR-CLAD Replace damaged or missing cedar shingles with a choice of three thicknesses and lengths. These shingles are sustainably harvested and come in three grades, topping out with defect-free, edge-grain shingles cut from heartwood. Call for pricing. Wolf Creek Cedar, (541) 747-8004, wolfcreekcedar.com 3. IT’S HEAVY DUTY Create the appearance of hand-hewn slate, hand-split wood shakes, or a custom blend of both with concrete roofing tiles in the Yorkshire Cottage profile. Made from recycled materials in more than 700 colors, tiles come in varied widths and lengths. Request…

“The irony is that our attempt to protect the precious finishes, along with my lacka-daisical slicing, directly led to the damage.” We’d just installed a whole kitchen-full of new cabinetry and were doing the final cleanup. In an abundance of caution, we’d taped cardboard to the fridge to protect the pristine stainless steel from the clunky shop vac. The cardboard kept a cabinet door from opening; we needed to vacuum inside. So I grabbed a box cutter, put a few fingers behind the flap as a spacer, and ran my knife down the length. My coworker had his hand on the offcut; as he pulled it free he gasped, hand to mouth, like a scandalized Southern belle. THE FIX The stainless-steel refrigerator was fine … not so the molecularly perfect,…

Flat or pointed, rampant to four-centered ogee, arches developed as a structural device to span an opening while supporting vertical mass. Adopted by the Romans in the 4th century BCE, the arch dates to the fourth millenium BCE. A true arch is a load-bearing arc with masonry elements held together by compression. In houses, arches in wood or plaster most likely have no structural purpose. Round, flattened, and shaped arches in houses 1890–1945 were to lend historical revival, Old World connotations.…

1. COPPER COLONIAL Light a path or driveway with the #24 copper post light. Modeled on an original from Boston, the handmade lantern is available in plain, painted, or oxidized finishes. In sizes from 29" to 8' tall: $1,169 to $2,100. Gates Moore Lighting, (603) 464-0382, gatesmoorelighting.com 2. SHADES OF MACKINTOSH Rated for outdoor locations such as an entry or porch, the Aberdeen pendant is shown in the verdigris patina with gold-white iridescent art glass. The pendant measures 7" wide x 14" tall and comes in other combinations; $644. Arroyo Craftsman Lighting, (708) 547-5757, arroyocraftsman.com 3. HORN IN THE ROUND The original of this custom-made Sultana ceiling light was an 18th-century cow-horn lantern. With mica for the lenses and a bull’s-eye rondel at the bottom, it measures 8 ½" high…

I’ve written before about the restored houses of my friends Patricia Chidlaw and Robert Sponsel; they went from a 1912 bungalow to a 1925 Norman Revival cottage, both beautifully done to the period. I recently revisited the cottage to see the transformation of their bathrooms. This house was built by a Swedish-born carpenter. Its picturesque details include a steeply pitched roof and a prominent chimney, eight-light casement windows, and built-in window seats. The setting is absolutely enchanting as the house sits amidst live oaks above a meandering creek; the area was once a park owned by Mission Santa Barbara. Patricia and Robert nicknamed it Scottie Cottage after their beloved dogs. They’d held off fixing the two bathrooms—for almost 20 years. The rooms were functional but ugly. With unflattering lighting, the…

“My clients were really struggling to figure out how to marry their desire for a brighter kitchen with Craftsman style,” says Oak Park designer Jill Warren. “The room felt dark and closed-up.” To visually open the space, the designers reworked the floor plan. One long wall, centered on a custom copper hood over the range, is open and airy with windows and plain shelves. On another wall with white cabinets, “we packed in a lot of dedicated storage,” Warren says. The bright white is anchored by lower cabinets painted a deep green. Shelves and the island’s countertop are of dark, reclaimed walnut. The floor, too, is warm in oak. The whole room takes inspiration from the colors and materials of nature. Warren offers a pro tip: “To offset the cost…

Almost everyone fixing an old house will end up at a lumberyard—whether it’s a local supplier or the organized aisles of a big-box home-improvement store. SHOPPING FOR LUMBER Lumber is wood, needless to say: a natural material. Even with modern production controls, the quality of boards in a stack will vary. Most lumberyards expect customers to inspect boards and cull a stack (to a degree) for best-quality materials. Think of a cook choosing among steaks for cut and optimal marbling. In most retail circumstances, be it a traditional lumberyard or a big-box outlet, you will find the top of the pile scattered with boards rejected by previous buyers for warping or such visible defects as excessive knots or wanes (missing corners or edges). Unless you’re a prized or big-dollar customer,…

WRONG WAY USING WATERPOOFING PAINT Don’t attack the problem from the wrong side—by coating interior basement walls with a thick waterproofing paint. This might work if your only problem is dampness, but it’s a bad idea for water incursion. Water can be redirected (as to a sump pump) but rarely can it be stopped. Even if the coating temporarily stops water from coming in, it will cause trouble as it traps water in the masonry. Even mildly acidic water will eventually dissolve the mortar in lime and sand/clay mixes. RIGHT WAY FIND THE CAUSE Address the source. Check that rain gutters aren’t clogged (wet basement or not, you don’t want rainwater running down the siding); position downspouts to send water several feet away from the building. Be sure soil around…

1920S BATHROOMS CONTRACTOR Thomas Heath Construction, Santa Barbara: (805) 957-4601 ARTIST/OWNER Patricia Chidlaw through Sullivan Goss Gallery sullivangoss.com  p.16 TILES NS Ceramic nsceramic.com MERMAID TILE Sher Sullivan Stevens, Sirens and Goddesses etsy.com/shop/sirensandgoddesses  LACE ‘Mimosa’ COOPER LACE cooperlace.com  p. 17 TILES NS CERAMIC nsceramic.com SINK vintage Santa Barbara Architectural Antique Salvage architecturalantiquesalvage.com SCONCES vintage Santa Barbara Lights sblights.com Related Resources CALIFORNIA TILE Native Tile nativetile.com Handmade architectural tile in Malibu, Hispano-California, Tunisian, Craftsman, Modern styles SUNROOMS DESIGNS p.22 Locale Design • Build, Minneapolis, MN: localedesignbuild.com Related Resources OUTDOOR RUGS Mad Mats madmats.com Ruggable ruggable.com Sisal Rugs sisalrugs.com/outdoor THATCH ROOFS McGhee & Co The Roof Thatchers LLC thatching.com Related Resources Custom Cedar Solutions customshingles.com Cedar shingles for Storybook-style wood-“thatch” roofs Endureed Thatch endureed.com Innovative thatch-roofing system CRAFTSMAN KITCHEN DESIGN Jill Warren jill warrendesign.com CONTRACTOR ELEMENTWORX CONSTRUCTION, Oak Park,…