Old-House Journal November/December 2009

Editor’s Note
Winter’s here—what’s an old-house aficionado to do? While the weather’s not conducive to a majority of hands-on projects (particularly outside), it’s a good time to step back and look at the big picture—like how to keep yourself and your house safe in the event of an emergency. Fires are scary—like the one that destroyed a landmark 1909 Neoclassical house in Jacksonville, Florida, its grand porch columns and original 12-over-1 windows now lost forever (luckily, no one was hurt). According to newspaper reports, the cause was all too common: restoration work gone awry. In this case, it appears a blowtorch was being used to strip paint. Similarly, the historic Georgetown Library here in Washington, D.C., was engulfed by flames two years ago when a heat gun was used improperly, causing serious damage. Find out what you can do to make your house less vulnerable, and keep your family safe. The off-season is also a good time to work on digging up your house’s backstory. A variety of documents can help on this front, including early deeds, census records, and old newspapers.

Speaking of research, when regular contributor (and former OHJ staffer) Lynn Elliott decided to repair a leaded glass window fronting a built-in cabinet in her 1906 home, she hit the books to bone up on the best approach, leaving no stone unturned. Before you decide to dive into leaded glass work in your house, be sure you’ve looked at her step-by-step article. And for another look at methodical work practices, both Insider and Old-House Living explore restoration projects undertaken with professional help, handled the right way. In Insider, a nondescript Queen Anne built as a double gets turned into a grand single-family home, while in Old-House Living, a homeowner slowly retools her Second Empire house with the help of a contractor, turning it into a jewel. Hope you enjoy these stories, and this holiday season, too.

Demetra Aposporos, Editor-in-Chief of Old-House Journal

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