Sean Maher's Page

"Looks like some rafter tails and brackets under the roof eave.  Looks vaguely arts and crafts-ish, and the stair and newel post match that.  20's or 30's would be my guess. Looks like you have some serious later…"

"The green color is a very common color, particularly in service areas (back halls, kitchens) from the late 18th century to late 19th century.  It makes sense to find that color on the third floor, as that wouldn't have been…"

"Hi, I would be careful with jacking and leveling a house that old.  Having a perfectly level and square house of that age is not likely. Many of the structural beams sagged and bent over time, and trying to level them may result in lots…"

"I pulled up a section of hardwood flooring in my house to use in another room.  What we did was take a nail set and drive the nails through the boards, instead of trying to pry them with the nails still attached.  We then used a very thin…"

"Thanks!"

"Had a similar comment from my contractor.  Told me to rip it down and put up a nice new house.  When he came back, he was surprised at how good some of the rooms looked.  He asked me what I did.  Answer:  I cleaned and…"

"It sure did sound high.  Wasn't for flex tube though.  But still..."

"The quote I got for stainless liners was about $5000 per flu.  With 8 fireplaces, we, respectfully, declined.  That didn't count any masonry work. Someday we'll do some, but I'll be pretty selective about which rooms get…"

"From what I have gleaned from taking to chimney people: Poured liners are preferred by the companies, because they are the easiest, and fastest, way to do it.  Insert balloon, fill it, pour.  I was advised against them because, as…"

"The adventures of Pollyana and Parcheesi were the two I found.  "

"Found lots of stuff.   Original hand blocked wallpaper from 1807 Kids shoe in the attic Phone box from the 1920's Parker brothers board games from 1890's Original box for knob and tube wiring Roll of wheat pennies from 1950's"

"Second the Arts and Crafts era, with Colonial Revival touches.  Pictures of the insides?  That may be more definitive, especially the second floor.  "

"One thing to keep in mind with poly is that it wont stick to itself, so if the floor needs to be refinished, you have to sand.  With a floor like that, you may want to limit the amount of sanding.  We used waterlox on our old pine floor…"

"When I got my quote, the insurance was based in part on replacing the 8 original fireplaces, which drove up the value.  I opted out of 8 and went with 2 or 3, and the premium dropped substantially.  They basically look at all the hand…"

"I know in this area (MA), there are companies that will re-create wallpaper from fragments.  Can't be cheap, but it is possible.  You can also contact Historic New England, they have a wallpaper data base and may have suggestions for…"

"How do you even rationalize siding a brick house like that?"