The rooms are: Three vestibules Receiving Room Grand Hall Telephone Closet South Hall Dining Room Most of the Lincrusta in intact. I have small areas with missing Lincrusta (the red lines in the above image). The two larger areas are in the dining room (where water damage over decades ruined a section about 4-feet…

            I have NO idea how to reattach all these bits, and am hoping to receive expert advice from you. I assume that I will have to lay out all the bits, on a HOT day, in the driveway so the bits can kinda melt back into a flat shape…

  I do not have a fear of heights, blessedly, but I freak out and get knobby knees and a quivering stomach if I am HIGH up on shaky scaffolding, and without railings. I just can’t do it. No way, man! Yesterday, before we finished the tippy-top level, I stood up there to see if…

                                  The main roof is 1920s cementitious tiles. These tiles will last till the end of time, so I am leaving them in place. The new roofing was selected to complement the 1920s tiles, and paint colors. The new…

I recently did a post about adding a structural beam to the foyer/stairhall of the Cross House. This post will not make much sense without reading the previous post. UPDATE: The installation of the new beam is moving along!                    

    At some point somebody thought it would be a good idea to paint the red brick…red. So, you are looking at red paint rather than red brick. Sigh. As a reader of Old House Journal since the 1970s (yes, I really am that old), I have known for decades the dangers of repointing,…

Ok. I admit it. And even though it is kinda scary coming out with such an admission…I am going to go for it. Ok. Here I go. Really, I am ready to admit my secret. Really. Ok, I am taking a deep breath. Breathe. Breathe. Ok! Now, scroll way down…but prepare to be…shocked!    …