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Phil
  • Male
  • Williamsport, PA
  • United States
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The market is what it is and appraisers are appraising the what they think it could be sold for right now. Around here, houses with unfinished projects do scare away buyers, because people don't like to move into something that they will immediately…
yesterday
Does it sort of rest on the curved wall below it, or is it cantilevered out?
yesterday
This is an interesting detail: rounded bay entryway with a square wall bay on the 2nd floor above it. Or am I seeing the picture wrong and it is curved upstairs too?
yesterday
This looks like raised panel wainscot to me. What is it?
yesterday
This is all new construction? Even the glass? Nice!
yesterday
Yup. When the PO painted my daughter's room, they used white caulk to fill all of the imperfections. I spent hours with dental picks trying to get as much out as possible. It was originally shellacked, but between the finish being so thin and water…
on Wednesday
I don't have enough experience with shellac to know typical thickness. What I found most annoying was white the spackling and fillers used to fill cracks and gaps during one or both paint jobs. That is white but doesn't come off with the stripper. S…
on Wednesday
Was the old shellac coat as thin as it appears in the photo? That's unfortunate, if true; it made your job twice as difficult.
on Wednesday

Profile Information

Tell us about yourself:
My family has lived in a c. 1895 Queen Anne Victorian since 1995. I am an economist.
Tell us about your old-house experiences and dreams:
Over the years I have slowly learned about how it was built and how to maintain it, as well as how not to maintain it. Whenever possible, I try to use original materials or ones that could have been used originally, or at the very least ones that look like those materials.

My house had many original elements, and I have maintained or restored most of those. Other things like lighting and doorknobs had been "upgraded" over time, so I spent the better part of 10 years haunting antique shops and ebay to find replacements that matched the style and level of my house. In the case of lighting, we have only one original gas fixture in our entry. I have tried to purchase a restrained level of gas lighting for the rest of the house, avoiding the temptation of lighting that would have been too fancy for my nice, but ultimately middle class Victorian. Lighting of that type is surprisingly cheap (much cheaper than repro), and I enjoyed collecting them.

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Phil's Blog

Phil

The window is stripped

I fully stripped the stained glass window shown in a previous post. I haven't stained it yet, though, because I didn't want to be distracted with painting or work, and I want to try to get a decent color match with my stairway. I ended up putting multiple coats of zip strip on it and scrubbing it down with 000stainless steel dipped in lacquer thinner. One day I will have to take the plunge and stain it, but I am afraid that there is paint in the pores that will end up making the wood blotchy. Al… Continue

Posted on August 31, 2010 at 8:37am — 5 Comments

Phil

Much progress on the painting

Things are almost wrapped up. The second floor landings and hall are done and the furniture is back. Those floors are painted pine, so I felt that the paint had to cure for at least 2 weeks before the furniture was put back. We decided to put furniture felt on the bottoms of everything to reduce paint damage on the floor. If it works so well on clear coated floors, why not on paint? Also, we took this opportunity to put less stuff back on the landings than we used to have. We like the new less c… Continue

Posted on August 31, 2010 at 8:31am —

Phil

More Summer Painting

The entry foyer has an open stairway that goes up to the 3rd floor. Tomorrow I tackle the foyer and the landings on the 2nd and 3rd floor. 10 windows, 9 doors and some painted floors to boot. I have assembled lots of sandpaper, plastic sheeting, drop cloths, quick setting plaster (for rapid repairs on some water damaged drywall) for an all day prep fiesta. I have hired a student to help. Also, just in case that doesn't absorb all of the time, I have decided to strip a stained glass window down t… Continue

Posted on July 24, 2010 at 10:08pm — 1 Comment

Phil

Summer painting jobs


So far, more than expected

Posted on July 8, 2010 at 8:02pm — 4 Comments

Comment Wall (24 comments)

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At 5:33pm on August 27, 2010, Shelley said…
Phil-I've used SoyGel to strip the paint off with GREAT results-no smell either. I also brushed it on thick and applied PeelAway paper over it. For the small grooves, I used the nut picker from my Christmas nut set. Worked like a charm to get the paint out of the grooves. Good Luck!
At 9:15am on July 23, 2010, Lair Tienter said…
Thanks for the request. I look forward to reading your replies on every subjest. You are more diplomatic that I am when replying. I have to work on that but my excuse is I am a grumpy old man. I'll try to set a better example as your friend.
At 3:18pm on July 19, 2010, TRichter said…
Thank you, Phil. I actually have the LaFonda in my pile of colors. It's been too hot and humid here to even think of painting so I have some more time to decide.
At 10:22am on July 3, 2010, TRichter said…
Hi Phil,
Thank you for the advice on making my own octagonal shingles. I've started the process.
I just looked through your pictures and have some more questions.
What paint colors did you use for the olives? Did you make your own scaffolding? Do you have a full length picture of it? Any advice for replacing the front stairs? I see you used drainage holes on the newel posts. Did you do anything for the meeting point of the spindles/bottom rail/newel? I have rot/moss/mildew at these points.
Thank you for any tips. Tami
At 9:34pm on April 25, 2010, Susan said…
It is on the outside, above a band, with another band, or belt course above it. Then the lap siding, another belt course, then the half cove cut cedar shingles.
At 6:07pm on January 19, 2010, Craig Phillips / B & C Emporium said…
sorry Phil I do not do any plating
Craig
At 12:29pm on October 28, 2009, Susan said…
Thanks for the tip. I am going to the lumber mill this afternoon. We are supposed to have warm sunny weather (62 degrees) tomorrow with no rain. Here's hoping.
At 1:50am on September 30, 2009, William J. White said…
Thanks for the advice on the crown molding. Will follow that when I get to that part. Still have hundreds of square feet to remove asbestos and strip clapboard.
At 8:12am on September 16, 2009, rue said…
Grim death LOL Don't worry, I will! As far as the dormer, I talked to a man that grew up in the house during the mid 1940s and he said it was falling apart, so his father decided to just take it off. The porch was taken off before he lived there or at least doesn't remember it, but when we took off the plastic siding we found the evidence of exactly what size it was. We're thinking someone either took it off due to rot or tried to make it look more colonial, which would have been popular in (I think) the 1920s or 30s.
At 7:16am on September 16, 2009, rue said…
Thank you for commenting back Phil. To be honest, I'm not sure what it is, but that's the closest description. You're right, it has four rooms (one being a foyer with a side staircase) with a kitchen and what used to be the butler's pantry attached to the back, upstairs is what used to be four bedrooms (one is now a bathroom) and another original bathroom updated in the 50s. The porch and the dormer were taken off the front sometime before 1945. I'm new, but should I ask this on the forum?
 
 
 

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