I get where that’s coming from, but I’d push back a bit. Old houses are full of surprises—sometimes the “impossible” attic actually turns into the bes...

I swapped a patch of lawn for wild violets and buffalo grass last year—figured it looked close enough to “regular” grass that nobody would bat an eye....

I hear you on the “lottery” aspect—sometimes it feels like the rules shift depending on who shows up. When I put up a pergola last year, the inspector...

Permit delays seem to be the universal excuse, don’t they? I get that historic homes come with their own set of surprises, but I actually found the pr...

That made me laugh—I resorted to texting photos of our empty backyard just to jog our contractor’s memory. Our pool project stretched out over five mo...

I hear you on the wiring—my place is nearly a century old, and the thought of disturbing the yard (or, honestly, the ancient flower beds) makes me ner...

I hear you on the sticker shock. When we redid our porch, I hesitated over the higher-end materials, but after a couple hurricanes and endless sun, I’...

Yeah, those anchor bolts are never as straightforward as the instructions make them sound. I had to pick up a masonry bit halfway through—turns out my...

I've had pretty good luck with sanding screens, actually. They definitely don't clog as quickly as regular sandpaper, which is nice because you don't ...

I learned this the hard way too. My old place had these beautiful original plaster walls—charming, but after our first quake, hairline cracks appeared...

Mineral wool definitely has its quirks, doesn't it? I've been through the insulation gauntlet myself—living in an old Victorian means I've tried just ...

I see your point about cracking open a window—fresh air is always nice—but from my experience with an older home, relying solely on windows might not ...

I totally relate to the salad dressing mishap—been there myself with coconut oil (don't ask, haha). Vinegar definitely has its perks, but you're right...

We had a similar experience when we restored our historic home and decided to go with reclaimed wood countertops. The inspector was quite skeptical at...

We definitely found ourselves upgrading beyond our original plans because of the rebates. When we replaced windows in our historic home, we initially ...