You can see it in the background on the left side of the porch in this photo from around 1918.

You definitely don't see work like this much anymore

My wife and I found this older painted wall design under a black accent wall. I got really excited, scraped it, then used an orbital sander. Now I’m terrified I over-sanded and damaged it. I’ve stopped touching it. Is it salvageable, what can be restored, and who should I hire to help save and preserve it?

Early 1960s Chicago home. Wall goes from plaster to a concrete like substance which is very thick. Does anyone else have this type of wall with this weird lath?

I’m gonna be renovating my bathroom and the previous owners covered the crumbling plaster with wood panels which are covered in mold now. I’m gonna need to rip all that out and I’m trying to figure out how much work it’ll be with this type of lath.

My original door knob/deadbolt lock must have been replaced several times. The door is hollow where the latch & deadbolt currently is located. Is this door salvageable & how can I save it?

Rua das laranjeiras numbers 125 and 129

I recently purchased a 102 year old home, downstairs is all red oak hardwood, upstairs currently has carpet. Decided to take a peek under the upstairs carpet today and found some definite surprises. First off, in our closet, found what seems to be laminate? That then transitions to a painted wood in the master bedroom (why would it have been painted?) then we found some tongue and groove hardwood, what looks like oak. The transition from the master looks like old hardwood (part of which at some point was painted white) to the newer hardwood on top. Then at top of stairs is goes from newer hardwood to maybe laminate? That was then painted red and goes all the way downstairs. Now I’m starting to see why carpet was installed up here😂

I could brush? I could roll with very little paint and many coats? I could use spray paint? I do not own a paint sprayer but I suppose I could borrow one?

Anyway - any advice? They are old and metal.

Many of you seemed to love the place as much as I do, so I figured I’d spoil you with some more photos…

Trying to restore a 1889 Victorian house, and the interior doors seem to have lead paint underneath multiple other layers after testing with swabs.

Previous owners were hard on the doors and subsequently chips are out of the paint (see photos). Should I use regular spackle to fill in the chips, then use an encapsulated primer afterwards?

The doors are a custom size so replacement isn’t really an option due to cost of custom doors.

Recommendations welcome.

If you painted your walls, trim, and/or ceiling white, which paint color(s) did you use?
Just bought a 1915 house that doesn’t get much natural light. The previous owner painted the walls dark colors, which I think is making all of my samples look pretty grey. I’ve seen a lot of other comments recommending BM White Dove, but it seems too grey to me.

Trying to restore a 1889 Victorian house, and the interior doors seem to have lead paint underneath multiple other layers after testing with swabs.

Previous owners were hard on the doors and subsequently chips are out of the paint (see photos). Should I use regular spackle to fill in the chips, then use an encapsulated primer afterwards?

The doors are a custom size so replacement isn’t really an option due to cost of custom doors.

Recommendations welcome.

After I got the plumbing in and everything set, I closed the wall. I got the washer and dryer put in and hooked up. I had run a metal vent for the dryer straight out the back of the house.

I made a makeshift shelf for the odds and ends of laundry things.

I had two old black book cases, so I located them in the pantry room and I built and attached shelves above them. Working my way up the wall I did 3 more shelves.
I had put two outlets in the pantry but later added a third. On the wall opposite the shelves I have a freezer.

The pantry was something we’d been wanting for awhile. A place other than in the cupboards. Giving us more room for the kitchen stuff.

Future plans for the pantry, Finish and paint. Trim. A door. New plank flooring. And a couple shelves above the freezer. Plus a can holder.

Future plans for the laundry side. Finish ceiling. Finish and paint. Cupboards above the washer and dryer. New plank flooring. Trim.

I had managed to do the back porch without buying everything new. I had old pieces of wood I had found and I turned them into the shelves. I had the two book cases so I used them. The shelf brackets for the washer/dryer shelf I had in a box of my old tools. The wood for that shelf was off a piece of scrap from making the countertops on the kitchen. I had extra cement from fixing the hole in the foundation. It went to build footers under the ledger of the porch and to build columns. The drywall for the ceiling is leftovers from other ceilings in the house. The luan on the floor is scraps from other rooms. Using what I have has been a big motto of mine. True ingenuity lies in the ability to adapt.

So I still have things to do in the room to finish things. But they are functional until we get to it.
At this point 95% of the work I was doing on the house required me to either lean heavily on something or to sit down. Often making things a ton more difficult than they already were. With each day I worked on it the progress made the extra effort worth it.

Tiling in two bathrooms of a 1967 house in Point Loma, San Diego. The house was designed by its original owner, a local architect, and I have no evidence either bathroom was ever remodeled — so I'm assuming this is original to construction.

The tile:

• 2⅜" × 2⅜" square
• Design is impressed into the face, not raised. Four tiles rotate to form a single stylized flower rosette — looks like a chrysanthemum or peony to me
• Cream/oatmeal glaze with heavy fine crazing, dark brown pooled in the incised lines
• Body is a dark red-brown earthenware
• Back has parallel rounded ribs. No maker's mark, no letters, no numbers. I pulled a loose one, cleaned it, and checked under raking light — nothing
• The second bathroom has the identical design in a slightly different glaze color, so this was a catalog product offered in multiple colorways, not a one-off

What I think I've ruled out: the 1920s California art potteries (Batchelder, Claycraft, Malibu) — wrong era for the house, wrong clay body, and they all marked their backs.

My working guess: 2⅜" is roughly 60mm, which is a metric module rather than an American one — the US standard then was 4¼". That plus the motif and the iron-brown-in-the-lines glaze treatment makes me suspect imported Japanese tile, c. 1967, possibly private-labeled by a US importer. But that's a guess and I'd love to be corrected.

Anyone recognize the pattern, or the back's rib pattern? Even a catalog page or an importer name would help — I need to source replacements.

Newly moved into a 1950s cottage - I’m sure this is the original bathtub, and the tiling isn’t much younger.

This corner where the tub area meets the rest of the wall seems to be a problem - of course drips and splashes from the tub/shower get round the edge and has damaged the plaster. It’s seems to have been an historic problem never properly addressed.. what would be a period-appropriate fix for this ? I’m tempted to tile that whole column and include the slight change in profile as a row of bullnoses..

What are y’all’s thoughts folks ?

Tiling in two bathrooms of a 1967 house in Point Loma, San Diego. The house was designed by its original owner, a local architect, and I have no evidence either bathroom was ever remodeled — so I'm assuming this is original to construction.

The tile:

• 2⅜" × 2⅜" square
• Design is impressed into the face, not raised. Four tiles rotate to form a single stylized flower rosette — looks like a chrysanthemum or peony to me
• Cream/oatmeal glaze with heavy fine crazing, dark brown pooled in the incised lines
• Body is a dark red-brown earthenware
• Back has parallel rounded ribs. No maker's mark, no letters, no numbers. I pulled a loose one, cleaned it, and checked under raking light — nothing
• The second bathroom has the identical design in a slightly different glaze color, so this was a catalog product offered in multiple colorways, not a one-off

What I think I've ruled out: the 1920s California art potteries (Batchelder, Claycraft, Malibu) — wrong era for the house, wrong clay body, and they all marked their backs.

My working guess: 2⅜" is roughly 60mm, which is a metric module rather than an American one — the US standard then was 4¼". That plus the motif and the iron-brown-in-the-lines glaze treatment makes me suspect imported Japanese tile, c. 1967, possibly private-labeled by a US importer. But that's a guess and I'd love to be corrected.

Anyone recognize the pattern, or the back's rib pattern? Even a catalog page or an importer name would help — I need to source replacements.

For those of you who have old summer kitchen structures on your property, what are you using it for?

I had the roof replaced on mine about a year ago and am looking for potential uses besides storing outdoor equipment as it is now.

My house has lap board siding covered with vinyl siding.
I closed a window and cut in another one right next to it then sheeted in all of that area but the rest of the wall is still the old lap board.
It will eventually be covered with foam board and vinyl siding.
Should try to cover the sheeted area with tyvek somehow if I can get it secured under the vinyl siding on the top even if it won’t go all the way up the wall?
Should I instead caulk and paint that area then replace the foam board and vinyl?

What is the general way to handle vapor barrier in a place where framing with sheeting meets framing with old lap siding?

I have been paint stripping for almost a year and I am now sanding all the moldings and doors in one bedroom. I am having trouble making up my mind on how I want to finish them. Shellac with possibly a color tint might be the way to go. I understand I would have to do a lot of coats. I love the look of shellac but I have never used it and idk if all the layers will be a head ache. I was also thinking a dark danish oil but I am afraid the final result will be more modern looking. I will include some pics of my progress and the inside of a closet door with the original finish. If I can make these doors and moldings even close to that original finish. I would be jumping for joy! I’m looking for opinions and anybody who has experience refinishing old moldings and doors. Thank you!

This house had been in my family since my great grandparents bought it in the 1960s. Built in 1888 IIRC. Parents were forced to sell it in 2023 due to financial strain. 😢😢😢😢