How to Insulate a Finished Attic

Thursday, November 20th, 2008

By William Kibbel, Old House Inspector In response to an e-mail, you were kind enough to explain how to best insulate our old house attic. We are now seriously considering finishing the attic. I'm guessing this would change how to insulate. Would we just put the insulation between the roof rafters, ...

Posted in Uncategorized, obsolete design elements | 3 Comments »

Whitewash: An Historic Cover-up

Monday, November 10th, 2008

By William Kibbel, Old House Inspector I was searching for information about stone foundations, and came across your article. We have a very old bank barn with the lower level divided into stalls. The stone foundation doesn't have the mortar coating you describe, but some remaining white paint. It's the same ...

Posted in Uncategorized | 3 Comments »

Taxpayer Buildings

Wednesday, July 30th, 2008

By William Kibbel, Old House Inspector Paul in Vermont was reading the New York Times and saw an article that referred to a building as a "taxpayer-style."Paul couldn’t find anything with Google, so he shot me an e-mail, asking if I knew something about this style. So, for Paul and Google, ...

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

Fireplace Safety

Tuesday, July 29th, 2008

By William Kibbel, Old House Inspector I recently received an email from a woman who purchased a home with a family room addition whose only source of heat is a wood-burning fireplace. Her husband is nervous about safety issues. This is a pretty common — and important — concern among owners ...

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »