I hear you on the mess—last time I took apart the trap in my 1920s place, I found a marble and a rusty nail. Never fails to surprise me what ends up d...
I get the appeal of “safe” brands, but sometimes I think we underestimate the longevity of older, more unique fixtures. My kitchen faucet’s an oddball...
Exterior walls are definitely less of a gamble, but even then, you never really know what you’re getting into with these old places. I once drilled in...
That sharp-angle work light trick is a lifesaver—funny how brutal it is before paint, but then you move the couch back and forget all about it. I’ve f...
French cleats are a bit of a game changer, but I get the skepticism. My house is over a hundred years old, so nothing is ever square, and the studs ar...
I’ve had a similar experience with my place—a 1915 foursquare with a backyard studio that’s basically a mid-century cube. At first, I worried the clas...
That bit about the salt monster is too real. I tried to “preserve character” on our 1920s place by keeping the original wood windows—bad move. Didn’t ...
You nailed it with the window cleaning tip—funny how that’s the first thing I forget, but it makes a bigger difference than any paint finish. I’ve got...
Ventilation's definitely key—I learned that the hard way. After sealing up my closets tight with vapor barriers, mold still crept back until I added a...
I've got a vintage house with original doors, and yeah, learned the hard way smart locks aren't always friends with 100-year-old wood frames. Ended up...
Interesting you mention resilient channels—I had a similar experience renovating our historic townhouse. We went with rock wool insulation initially, ...
I've looked into smart window treatments myself, but honestly, after some digging, I decided to go a different route. My house is pretty old—built in ...
Had a similar experience with my porch last fall—thought everything was solid until a storm revealed some hidden rot near the steps. Now I check more ...
I live in an older house and had a similar issue for ages. Tried plants too, but honestly, they mostly just looked nice and didn't do much for the air...
I've had mixed luck with budget tools, honestly. A few years back, I grabbed a cheap impact driver on sale thinking it'd be fine for occasional use. S...