Featured Blog Posts (86)

I was at Lowe's over the summer looking at tile saws. I have two big tile projects to do in my house - the kitchen and bathroom - and if I add another bathroom later as planned, that will be a third. I wanted to get a tile saw instead of renting one for many reasons, not the least of which is that if I rent one, I will spend as much or more on renting the thing than I would if I just bought a good one.

So, back to my opening sentence. I was at Lowe's over the summer looking at tile…

Late in the day on Labor Day, a car drove by my house, slowed, stopped, and the driver leaned out the window. "Thank you! It looks great," he said. Car after car, neighbor after neighbor driving by, walking by - their first words were "thank you."

Much of the work I have done on my house has been inside, so even though I have done a great deal of work that has improved the property, very little has been visible from the outside. And let's face it - my house is, well, in a word, ugly.…

We are making progress! We have decided to keep the house on the hill on a 1.5 acre lot. The house is in the process of being approved for an historic restriction which has just been drafted. Preservation Worcester has agreed to hold the restriction and the house has moved to market! Wish us luck as we are looking for someone to fill the home with a family and to restore the old lady! Another photo by Andrew Barr, Photographer, for your pleasure!…

Many developments in these last weeks. Sanding, cleaning, priming, plating, excavating, concrete, water diversion. I can't believe how much

we've accomplished in so little time.

We finally finished the sanding, hallelujah! We were all tired, happy, and incredibly sore. So the next weekend, we rounded up wash buckets and rags and after vacuuming the entire upstairs - every blasted surface - walls, ceilings, woodwork, floors, radiators (amazing how much dirt those buggers can…

Hi everyone,

I just bought a 140 yr old farmhouse in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Right outside in front of the barn is a 18" square "lid" that lifts up and underground is a 12 foot x 12 foot concrete room that has a drop of about 10-15 feet. You would need some type of ladder to get down. Above ground is the only access to this room. I was told that this area used to be a throughway for the Underground Railroad. I tend to think maybe it was a panic room during Prohibition. Any thoughts? I…

In a previous blog post I described my “2x theory” of renovation, which states simply that it takes twice as long and costs twice as much as you anticipate. Regardless of how carefully you budget. Regardless of how tightly you keep control of your contractors. Regardless of how much of the grunt work you do yourself, or are able to get done by people you’ve rooked for free labor. It just doesn’t matter. At some point in the…

I think I just posted this in the wrong spot...so I will retry again.

Since I last posted....we bought out my brother that wanted to tear everything down. Currently we are working to separate the house on 1.5 acres to keep the land from endangering the house. The land is under contract. We put the house up for review with the Massachusetts Historic Commission and it was deemed "eligible" for restriction and "eligible" for nomination in the national registry. We are…