John Leeke's Historic HomeWorks(tm)

Weathered Shingles

We have an historic Shingle Style house that was reshingled a few years ago. The exterior finish is now mostly gray rather than the rich wood color it once had. Is there a way to restore the shingles to their original appearance? -Kathy Kline, Bass Lake, CA

When unprotected wood is exposed to the weather it gradually changes from the "bright" tan (for typical softwoods) to a silvery gray. This happens because the ultraviolet rays of the sun break down the tan colored lignin content of the wood at the surface leaving the gray cellulose fibers. This is the "natural" appearance of weathered wood. If you want that "fresh" look you will be bucking this natural process and setting yourself up for routine maintenance.

To renew the original look of the wood you can spray it with one part of ordinary household bleach mixed with three parts water. Apply it with an ordinary garden sprayer set for droplets rather than mist. Protect all adjacent surfaces, including roof, windows, vegetation and yourself. This will tend to loosen the cellulose fibers which you can rinse away with a garden hose. Scrub with a soft or stiff natural bristle brush to increase the renewing effect. Bleach and rinse, bleach and rinse, until you get the look you want. Test at least three different methods and materials on a small section first to determine what works. Keep written notes on each method you use, including materials, techniques and timing. These notes will help you reproduce the selected effect on the rest of the house. Add a water-repellent treatment, such as Thompson's Water Seal or Curprinol Clear, to the fresh wood surfaces which will help prolong the fresh look. Eventually it will turn gray and you can clean and treat again. You may have to repeat this every 2 to 5 years.

Floor Finishing

I have uncovered wood floors (maple) in my 1920s bungalow home that have been covered with carpeting for many years (I would guess more than 20). Is there a method that I can put a new finish on these floors without sanding them down? There are not a lot of scratches or stains in the floors and I don't want to retain the current color of the wood. Can I put a new polyurethane finish over the old varnish finish? -Jerry Langley, Atlanta, GA

First clean the newly exposed wood flooring. Begin with a damp mopping and warm water and progress by steps to more aggressive cleaning methods and materials. An intermediate step would be hand scrubbing with a mild detergent like dish washing detergent, Murphy's Oil-Soap, Simple Green or Minwax's new wood floor cleaners. You might have to go all the way to a power scrubber with hot water and a tri-sodium phosphate detergent. If bare wood is exposed excessive water may swell and warp the wood. Use as little water as possible and have handy a wet-dry vacuum and ventilation fans. You may find at any step along the way that the floor looks good and requires no further treatment. With the floor clean you can assess its condition. Is the existing finish worn down to bare wood? Are there extensive cracks and peeling? Is the current color the natural color of the wood? You can determine if it has been stained by cutting through the finish and into the wood with a sharp knife or chisel. If the color of the wood is much lighter below the surface it is probably stained. What is the condition of the wood? Are there splits, slivers or excessive cracks between the boards? Is the surface worn near doors and along walkways?

It is unlikely a polyurethane varnish will be very long lasting over an old varnish finish since it might not adhere well. You might be able to rejuvenate the old finish with a coat of alkyd-resin varnish or a rub-in-wipe-off treatment of tung oil floor finisher. If you want to change the color of the floor you will have to strip off any existing varnish and possibly bleach the wood surface to lighten it, and then stain and varnish the floor.

Federal Funds

Are there any Federal funds available for private restoration projects? -Nathan Wilkenson, Dover, NH

Generally, Federal grants are not available for privately owned properties. However, you can get a tax credit for rehabilitating an historic building, or a non-historic building built before 1936. Federal tax law offers a 20% tax credit for rehabilitations of historic buildings, and a 10% tax credit for rehabs of non-historic buildings built before 1936. The credit is a dollar-for-dollar reduction of taxes owed. The 20% rehab investment equals 20% of the amount spent in a certified rehab of a certified historic structure. The 10% rehab investment tax credit equals 10% of the amount spent to rehab a non-historic building built before 1936. What buildings qualify? For the 20% credit, the building must be listed in the National Register of Historic places, eligible for the Register, or be located in a registered historic district. The work done on the building must meet strict guidelines that preserve its architectural character and historical significance. For the 10% credit, the building must be built before 1936. For both credits the building must be income-producing. The tax credit program for historic buildings is administered by each state's historic preservation office. For more info on preservation tax credits call your state historic preservation office. The office in your state may have a different name than that, but every state has one. Call your state government general information number and they will help you find the correct office.

Vinyl Siding

I purchased an 1840s house in northwestern N.J. in 1991 which has been a great deal of fun to restore. However, I have been ignoring its largest problem: the house is covered in a disgusting, light-green vinyl siding. There was evidence of termites in the basement when I bought the house. I exterminated the termites and have seen no evidence of them since '91. Should I consider painting the vinyl siding? What is the advisability of ripping vinyl siding off, considering I don't know what's underneath? Is there any way to tell whether or not the clapboard underneath is damaged, or is continuing to be damage?.

You face the two common problems with vinyl siding: it is not "maintenance free" and it hides conditions beneath. I am now seeing many vinyl siding projects that have 12 to 18 year's age on them being painted due to poor appearance. To improve deteriorating appearance vinyl siding is sometimes washed with high pressure water. This must be done carefully with a downward blast to prevent loading the wall with moisture through the ventilation slots. When cleaning does not help, the vinyl siding contractors' response to deteriorating appearance is to replace the siding. So the time proven actual maintenance method for vinyl is little or no maintenance until it fails and then the very high maintenance treatment of replacement. If you have a term of interest in the building that is less than the life of the vinyl product, this approach may make economic sense to you. Even if you plan to sell before the vinyl needs to be replaced, vinyl's short-term economic advantage may be limited. Vinyl siding is now becoming recognized as a liability by some astute real estate buyers, because its long-term life is not as cost effective some other siding materials and because it can hide serious problems. Vinyl siding hides changing conditions of the wood and paint underneath. You need to investigate conditions underneath the vinyl siding.

Begin by looking at the exterior surface of the siding for visible signs of buckling, trails of light tan insect wood dust sifting out of the vent slots of the siding, etc. Suspect underlying damage in the walls at inside corners where two roofs drain into one location, and north and east walls in particular which are susceptible to moisture decay problems. Look for major cracks in the foundation which might have telegraphed up the walls underneath the siding. As an historic building investigator, I use moisture meters to sense high moisture content in the wood underneath the vinyl. This is quickly done and does not damage the vinyl. You can also spot moisture problems by looking for black streaks of dirt left by water from cornice leaks at the top of the wall. Locations of high moisture usually indicate trouble spots. Selectively remove sections of siding where you find these signs of trouble and where you saw the termites. There are special tools for removing vinyl siding so you might want to hire a vinyl siding contractor. It can usually be done carefully enough to put the vinyl siding back up without damage. Look for dampness, peeling paint and decayed wood. Paint peeling to bare wood indicates there has been high moisture, which could also have led to decay. Look for dampness that indicates the moisture problem is current and not historic. You might need to remove the old siding in areas of concern. This should be done by a finish carpenter or cabinetmaker. Again, it can sometimes be done carefully enough to reapply it without much damage. Look for deep decay in sheathing boards and the structural members beneath such as sills, studs and plates.

[Editor’s note: The Connecticut Trust’s pamphlet, “Vinyl Siding: The Real Issues,” is available at http://www.cttrust.org/. Click on “Restoration Help.”]  

Wood Fencing

I'm getting 70' of fence installed in my yard, and the fence salesman told me that cedar would cost $250 more than spruce. He said it would last about three years longer and would be more resistant to insects. Is this true? Or is this just a quick way for him to raise the price by $250?

In general, most species of cedar are more decay resistant than most species of spruce, but there is great variation in resistance from one tree to another within a species, and from one fence post to another in the pile. I have even seen some better pieces of spruce outlast poorer pieces of cedar. So what makes one piece better than another? Heartwood (deep within the log) is far more decay resistant than sapwood (usually lighter colored around the outer part of the log). More growth rings per inch (look at the end of the log) means there are more of the mineral extractives that provide the decay and insect resistance. So you have to look at the posts. If the spruce posts are split so they are mostly heartwood and the growth rings are 20 or 30 per inch, that would look better to me than cedar posts that are half sapwood and have 5 or 6 growth rings per inch. While this is the extreme worst case, I have actually seen this in two stacks side-by-side at the lumber yard. The fence salesman is probably giving you a higher price on cedar only because his supplier is charging him a higher price. This has far more to do with market economics that it does with the life of the wood. The salesman says cedar will last 3 years longer than spruce. Ask him where the "3 years" comes from. It might be personal experience—he has see cedar last 3 years longer. That cedar was at least somewhat different than the cedar you are about to buy, it might have been better or worse by more than 3 years of life.

 Of far more importance is the question: How long will the cedar last, and how long will the spruce last? If you can get him to be as specific on this question we could do a quick life-cycle costing for both that would answer your question of whether cedar is worth $250 more. You could be better off putting that $250 into soaking the ends of the posts in a preservative treatment. Ask him if he can offer a borate preservative treatment. This might be a liquid soaking before setting the posts, or the installation of little rods of solid borate inserted into holes bored into the post at the ground line. If you soil is heavy clay or loam, ask if they will be installing the posts packed with gravel and stones for good drainage, or just they will just refill the hole with soil that will trap moisture against the posts promoting deterioration. Installation details like preservative treatments and good drainage make far more difference than which species of wood you choose.

For more on details on assessing conditions of exterior woodwork, making repairs and understanding how to make exterior wood last longer refer to the Practical Restoration Report, Exterior Woodwork Details. This 10-page report is available for $9.95 at http://www.historichomeworks.com/.

Paint on Bricks

Can paint be completely removed from brick?  We just bought an old brick house that has who knows how many layers of paint on it. I prefer brick but don't know what my options are. Someone mentioned steam cleaning to me, another said sand-blasting.

First determine if your bricks need to be painted. Some brick is rather soft and will not hold up to the weather, so it should be painted. This may even have been the intent of the original builders, or a condition that developed later. To do this you will have to remove patches of paint from various points around the building and examine the brick. It takes experience and knowledge to determine the type and condition of the brick; you should bring in a specialist if you don't know all about bricks. If you have harder brick that doesn't need paint then consider paint removal. Don't remove the paint with any kind of abrasive blasting. Blasting will remove the hard outer skin of the brick exposing the softer inner brick which is not as resistant to weathering. Chemical paint removal won't cause this type of damage. Whether you do it yourself or hire someone else, do test panels (say 3' x 3') to select the specific methods and materials for removal and then do a test section from foundation to roof to determine time and cost data that you can project to the rest of the building. This also gives you a chance to test whether or not you want to do the whole job yourself or whether you can work with the contractor doing the testing.

Hinges

I am looking for a resource for old hinges. I have looked in Renovator's Supply and in Garrett Wade catalogs without success. I am sure there are other catalogs but I don't know where to look. Could I send a picture of the hinge to someone and stand a better chance of matching it? It is a black 3x3 door hinge, with an engraved Victorian design with a Steeple on the hinge. --John Turney 

Talk to Lance Dobson at Eugenia's Place (5370 Peachtree Road, Chamblee, Georgia 30314; telephone 800-337-1677 or 770-458-1677, www.eugeniaantiquehardware.com). He carries a wide variety of antique hardware. The Old-House Journal has a Restoration Directory that lists dozens of other speciality hardware companies. (202-339-0744, ext. 101; $14.95)

 Fireplace Tiles

I have an older house (approximately 85 years old). In one of the fireplace hearths some tiles are missing. They are approximately (2" by 6") in size with a depth of about 7/16". They are dark gray in color. The color match isn't too important to me since you can't really see the tiles being inside the fireplace. However, the size is since I'd like to be able to salvage what is left. I have brought a sample to a large distributor who told me that my only chance of finding replacements would be through some type of renovation supplier. I don't know what the tiles are made of; however the distributor thought they may be English quarry tile. I'm located in Massachusetts and am wondering if you know of renovation suppliers in this area.

We used to search far and wide for replacements, spending a lot of time and money in the process. Now we often find local talent to reproduce tiles. Try going to a nearby potter or ceramicist who does arts-level or crafts-level work. While they may not be used to doing architectural reproductions, they do often have the knowledge, skills and equipment to make replacements. Usually they do this work for quite reasonable fees.  

Painting Window Sash

I am painting new wood windows. I know from prior experience that latex paints will cause the windows to stick closed once left closed for a while. Is there another type of paint (oil base, epoxy, etc.) that is better for wood windows and reduces or eliminates sticking? —David Alpert

We never paint the parts of the sash that slide against the frame, especially the side edges of the sash. On the edge of the face of the sash that will be hidden behind the stop bead we sometimes prime with a tinted primer but do not add top coats. After painting is done we treat these bare and primed surfaces with a waxy water repellent such as Thompson's. This protects the wood from moisture and helps the sash slide smoothly. The horizontal rails of the sash should be completely primed and top coated. The only way we have found to keep these from sticking is to let the paint cure fully before they are installed. This might take several days or a few weeks of drying in a well ventilated, heated area. You could add Japan drier to oil-based paints to shorten cure time, but don't exceed the recommended amount since too much could lead to premature failure and limit the long-term performance of the paint.

I have an 1890s building with plaster walls probably from the 1920s or before. The plaster was installed for wallpaper since it has a rather rough texture. In one room, a skim coat of finish plaster had been put over the top of this original plaster (date unknown) and has developed several cracks both along cracks in the original plaster as well as surface cracks in the finish coat. The skim coat comes off the original plaster easily with a putty knife. I am in the process of removing the surface coat back to the original plaster, but would like to paint the room again. Since the original plaster is too rough to paint, I will be skim coating the plaster again.  As the previous skim coat did not form a good bond with the underlying plaster, I feel the original plaster was probably coated with a wallpaper sizing when it was originally installed. Is there anything I can do aside from scrubbing the original plaster with a strong solution of TSP to get the new skim coat to adhere to the original plaster and will the skim coat stick this time?  Thanks. —Calvin Wells 

I suspect you are right in assuming this rough and relatively soft plaster was intended for papering. The skim coat may have failed for many reasons, but the most likely is differential expansion. The underlying plaster and wood lath system moved with changes in moisture and possibly structural shifting. The stiffer skim coat cracked because it was stronger and then lost its bond at the relatively weak surface of the old plaster. I suggest you back up a little and reconsider your plan to skim coat. The original builders knew this plaster would move and that is why they papered. Whatever you do, it should allow for the continuing movement. If you really don't want to repaper you could applying a fabric backing to the surface and then paint the fabric with latex paint which is more flexible than most oil-based paints. If you must skim coat, stabilize the old plaster surface by coating with bonding agent. Bonding agent will soak into the porous surface sealing it and acting like an adhesive for the skim coat. It is available at masonry suppliers. I can't recommend a specific skim coat material without seeing the wall, but whatever you put on should not be stronger than the plaster beneath or you will run into problems later on. Test different kinds of joint compound, fillers and skim coat plasters by applying them to cardboard sealed with bonding agent. Determine which is weakest and most flexible by bending the cardboard, breaking the coating. If this is too much trouble, the Glidden Company makes a plaster impregnated fabric product that you hang on the wall, dampen and trowel into place. This bridges over a certain amount of gaps and cracks in the old plaster surface. Always test your selected materials and methods of application on a small section of the wall in an out of the way place to be sure they work and give you the results you want.

Squirrels in the Attic

We have squirrels in our attic. What can we do to keep them out? (name withheld)

In the winter squirrels are after food they hid in the house during the fall. They will never forget it is there and will do anything to get at it. If you block one hole they will simply chew another and another as long as you keep filling the holes. One of my clients happened to block a squirrel in the house and then left for the weekend. It went crazy, chewing up all the new sash and interior woodwork just installed around the windows. If you can, try to live with the squirrels this winter. By spring they will have cleared out all the food and you can concentrate more effectively on keeping them out. This technique is from a book called Outwitting Critters by Bill Adler Jr. (Harper Perennial, ISBN 0-06-096584-3, $10). It has 11 pages of other tips and tricks for squirrels including how to trap them.

  Copyright 2004 John Leeke 

John Leeke is a preservation consultant who helps homeowners, contractors and architects understand and maintain their historic buildings. You can contact him at 26 Higgins St., Portland, Maine, 04103; or by email: johnleeke@HistoricHomeWorks.com; or log onto his website at: www.HistoricHomeWorks.com.