I spent the day yesterday re-setting a flagstone path through a client's vegetable garden. My assistant, Mallory, initially wondered why we were bothering, as the existing path seemed fine to her. (In Mal's defense, she was only a few sips into her hyper-caffeinated energy drink.) The old path had been competently laid--the stones had been set in sand, they didn't wobble, the area between the stones was filled in with ...

(4) Comments »

In 2001 the New York Times ran an article about home improvement websites that were most helpful to the DIY set. Old House Web was one of the sites featured prominently in the piece. Last week I wrote about the growing trend of women renovators. I thought it would be fun to revisit one of the women who was featured in the NYT article, to see what she's up to ...

(3) Comments »

I’ve had the pleasure of inspecting several dozen mills that were built in the 18th and 19th century.  Some were going to be converted to residential or commercial space, two were going to be preserved for interpretation, but most were already converted to a new use.  These were all water powered mills, with a majority having the primary function of grinding grain into flour.  It’s fascinating for me to be ...

(1) Comment »