I recently posted about whether to repair or replace plaster walls in older homes when they start to crack and show their age. I argued that while repairing cracks is possible, if arduous, it's often easier over the long run to replace the plaster with drywall. Reader Andy Fisk rightly pointed out that "easier" isn't something that old house owners embrace, or even comprehend. (If you doubt me on this, check out this post ...

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In the early part of the twentieth century, there were several types of wall board materials that were quite different than the traditional interior wall finish - plaster.  Most were made with compressed wood fibers or pulp. Some were smooth-surfaced, some manufactured with a wood grain texture and some were striated to look like boards.  The wall boards were simply nailed to studs and joists in unfinished work or nailed ...

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Brett recently wrote about biomass stoves and furnaces, and before that Scott weighed in on the pros and cons of pellet stoves. So I thought I'd provide a little background on the fossil fuel that preceded these newfangled methods of heating your home. Coal Heating: When Was It Common? When inspecting old buildings, there's often some evidence that it was heated with coal at one time. Even really old buildings, originally heated ...

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