old comments (before the switch)

Q:

Here’s a picture of our barn with the 4.6 kw array. The rest of the system (inverter, battery bank, etc) are located in the main house.

"Hello Reggie,

I have a 100+ year old farm house just over the hill east of Horseheads N.Y. I know what it’s like fixing a place up when there isn’t a square corner anywhere to be found, even the small tasks end up being a major job. I’m very interested in the Freewatt boiler you are installing at the farm. I currently produce about 50% of my electric using solar power and I’m confident that the Freewatt would do a great job picking up the other half during the heating season. I was wondering if I could get the contractors name so I could possibly get in line for installation, and also your opinion on the system (noise levels, etc).

Thanks"

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Q: "Hi folks. I was wondering what you all recommend to deice historic walkways and (in particular) wood stairs.Thanks!"

A: "Hello All,

Here at the John R. Park Homestead Conservation Area (living history farm with 1842 Greek Revival House and related outbuildings) we use wood ashes.

They are in ready supply (we produce them in our hearth daily) and they work well. They are completely cooled before using of course! ;-) No damage to the wood, an instant ice melter and provide traction. I would highly recommend!

Kris Ives, Assistant Curator

John R. Park Homestead Conservation Area "

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Q:"Does anyone have any experience with this?

There are a lot of products out there, and I'd appreciate some guidance if you have tried one or more of these products to remove paint from decorative plaster moldings.

Kevin Chester,SC" To post a reply, email: howardhall.farm@gmail.com

A:

"There is one tool that will allow you to strip both the face and simultaneously the butt edge of lap siding. It is called the "paint shaver" and can be viewed at the following web site, http://www.paintshaver.com/paintshaver.html. It also has the benefit of connecting to a vacuum cleaner hose to collect all of the paint shaving mess, which is always nice and if you are dealing with lead it is essential. This tool is appropriate and is often used for lead paint removal from exterior surfaces." -Handy in Ohio

Q: Thank you so much!!! My next question is whether it is true that caulk should be applied after primer and before the paint? And what is a good way to remove the dust from the wood before priming? It seems like a tack cloth would be too slow . . . . Off to check out the paintshaver!

Veronica

A: Veronica, Caulk will adhere best if it is applied to a sound, dry and primed surface assuming you are using a paintable caulk. If you are using one of the non-paintable caulks, you would choose an appropriate color and apply it to the areas you intend to caulk after applying the final coat of your siding's colored paint. To remove dust on exterior surfaces after you are finished stripping the old paint and sanding the siding, you'd be best to brush it off or you could even use an electric hand held leaf blower. If you use the paint shaver, there won't be that much dust since it is collected by the vacuum cleaner attached to the tool along with the paint chips. A tack cloth is great for smaller jobs like a door you are sanding before staining and varnishing, or a piece of furniture you are refinishing. I'd hate to contemplate tacking off an entire house exterior!

Bill The Handymann

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Nov.28, 2007

"I am working with a small community grassroots volunteer group in rural Pennsylvania. They have saved a circa 1802 log house, home of the founder of the community, and are slowly raising the money to restore it. They will never have money to nor is there an audience to justify furnishing it.

As with all old houses, restoration is half the fun and it is a wonderful house from an architectural standpoint. They are interested in developing an educational or interpretative program using the house and "reading" the house as a focal point to augment their workshops on genealogy. I was wondering if any of you have or have seen a similar program on interpreting empty houses that you might be willing to share with us? Thank you.

Ann West Chester, PA"

To post a reply, email: howardhall.farm@gmail.com

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Our friend L. just sent us these before and after photos. She used artist oils: gold ocher transparent, raw sienna, burnt sienna, and burnt umber to make touch-ups on the baseboard. What a difference a good eye and a delicate hand can make!

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Q:

"Hi Sarah:

[...] We took up the 1950s linoleum in the kitchen and what remained was sticky black tar attached to black paper; the sticky black tar was smeared all over a very beautiful maple floor. Around the perimeter of the kitchen the black tar and paper chipped away with little effort--in that area the black tar was dried out and chippable and the floor is so pretty. However 2 feet from the perimeter toward the center of the room the sticky black tar and black paper are stuck tight. Who do you think might have an idea how to get the black stuff off? Any ideas? I wish there was a way to manipulate dry ice to make the sticky stuff chippable--something like removing chewing gum with cold ice."

A:

Hi there. We had to deal with an issue like this one in May, when it came time to remove the hideous coating from our floors, and some of the gummiest years' worth of paint accumulation from our doors. They looked as if they'd been soaking in gloppy toothpaste for generations! (http://howardhallfarm.com/blog/2007/05/)

This might surprise you, but there's actually an environmentally friendly way to deal with the tar. We've experimented with many types of removal here and oddly enough, the thing that worked best was soy gel. It sounds crazy, but if you apply the soy gel, then cover it with a thick plastic, and let the tar stew under the soy gel for 24 hours, the next day, when you lift the plastic, the tar will come up quite easily! We used this process on our floors and doors, and it saved us hours and hours of elbow-grease! I'd recommend trying that before risking an abrasive and toxic remover. It actually works much better than the non-green techniques. Let us know how it goes, and good luck!

Floor scraping before and after:

Door before and after:

As you can see, this method is highly effective, and the soy gel will do most of the work for you!

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"Hello:

I'm sitting here this morning pondering whether or not to paint over the faux bois doors, windows, trim, and baseboards in our Wisconsin Victorian we acquired last April.

The house was built in 1893 (the year etched into the stone basement wall)--built by a man [...} who owned a lumber yard. Question: why did he build such a beautiful home with some of the most amazing fretwork I've ever seen, and use pine for all the doors and trim and add a faux bois finish? Even the floors are faux bois quarter sawn.

The second owners [...] bought the house in 1915 and it remained in their family for 92 years until we bought it last spring. We have the [...] original 1915 South Bend Malleable wood cookstove and their 1915 Model M16 P.J. Beckwith Round Oak Parlor stove. We fire up the wood cookstove every Saturday morning when I go over to work on the house. We are the 3rd owners. The house hasn't been lived in for 31 years.

The faux bois finish imitates quarter sawn oak and mahogany. The finish is beautiful from the waist up, but below that has a zillion knicks, dings, and small scrapes. The reason I am writing is to ask if it is possible to touch up the knicks without making it look like the faux bois has the measles? How do I find an faux bois artist? Is it possible for me to learn faux bois? Do I touch it up, or do I start from scratch? Do you have any videos on creating faux bois? Do you want to make a faux bois video at our old Victorian?

(I'm chuckling after asking the last question, but I guess you've met bigger fools than me before). If anything I've said in this e-mail is remotely interesting to you, please write back. I've got loads of photos. And, if you get a bunches of requests like this all the time and I'm just another, I understand totally and won't bother you. I realize you are the very best in the business, and that's why I decided to write.

Thanks for your time "

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REPLY:

"

Sarah, our fabulous blog "chief" forwarded this to me. I am the lady who cannot keep a manicure for all the paint under the nails, and find the photos of your house quite wonderful, indeed.

The example of the door in the photo is really great, but do you have photos of the floors? That is certainly less common, but not unheard of, as it was common in the 1800's here in the east to do all trim in faux bois as a fashion statement, or to upgrade the wood from pine to a wood of choice. I know less about the chronology of decorative finishes in the mid-west, but would imagine it would have been considered an embellishment, not a second rate choice.

Whether to paint over or not is hard to tell without really good photos from this distance, but I would NOT rush to do it yet.

I would love to know more about your project and love the little history you sent. I researched the history of our house, and found it a wonderful way of bonding with past.

Best Regards,

Nora Johnson

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• Best of luck, and all that, from me and from Lisa. Dick May

• I just found your houseblog and read everything. What an awesome house and in such a beautiful area!

I was shocked at how quickly the house fell into ruin as compared to the 1960's postcards. It's amazing what neglect can do.

I look forward to reading more as you move along repairing your home.