OHJ November/December 2009

Products of the Week

Manufacturer of adhesives, wood consolidants, and wood replacement compounds for structural and decorative restoration.

Give a rustic look to your closet, bathroom door, kitchen cabinets, islands, bathroom vanity or entertainment center by adding a sliding door and attaching it with a HIGHPOINT® Barn Door Hardware Kit. Find tools, supplies and DIY advice at Woodcraft to complete your home improvement projects with style.

Architectural Salvage & Antiques

Architectural Accents provides architectural antiques and reproductions in a variety of period styles. Specialties include antique fireplaces, mantelpieces, chimneypieces, columns, corbels, doors, entryways, chandeliers, sconces, wallbrackets, bathtubs, washbasins, antique tile, mirrors, trumeaux, pediments, overdoors, garden statuary, fountains, planters, and more.

California's Bidwell Mansion is clad in tinted plaster, a finished appearance that can be combined with repairs.

Period Paints & Finishes

Plaster walls are like a thin skin applied over wood or steel lathe, so is it any wonder they yield as buildings settle or traffic vibrations wiggle them loose? While plaster is a remarkably resilient material, it’s inevitable that it will gain a few cracks over time.

Attaching a hinge with a Yankee screwdriver

Tool Reviews

An old-fashioned hand tool steps up when cordless drills give out.

For many years the embassy of Indonesia, this 1903 French-inspired mansion was built for Thomas Walsh, who made his fortune in gold mining.

Old House Styles

The Beaux-Arts style, also called the American Renaissance, is about as formal as architecture can get.

House Tours

Restoration Projects

Finding just the right contractor for your restoration project can be tricky—but these questions will get you started down the right path.

Web Exclusives

Digital

E-newsletters

The author's 1949 cinder-block Bauhaus home is now fully restored.

Mid-Century Modern Houses

In the hot real-estate market of 2004, it took a true "fire sale" to find our home—a 1949 cinderblock house that had suffered major damage from a serious blaze. We purchased it "as is."