Old House Hub

ERV vs HRV

Christopher Hewett, PMP — Thu, 27 Aug 2026 16:33:02 GMT

Is your Old House experiencing indoor air quality issues, like excessive dust, pollen, pet dander, etc? Maybe you live in an area with periodic wild fires, too. Have you "𝙩𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙙" up your Old House with insulation or air sealing, and now it's unable to properly ventilate?

Are you looking to improve your home's overall indoor air quality? If so, you may want to consider 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 via an 𝗘𝗥𝗩 or 𝗛𝗥𝗩. The air intakes also double as excellent bathroom exhaust fans that are completely silent!

Learn More HERE...

#myoldhousefix #erv #hrv #hvac #ventilation #airquality #indoorairquality #ventilationsystem #ventilationfan #oldhouse #oldhouserenovation #air #indoorair #indoorairpollution #exhaustfan #bathroomfan #bathroomvent

Other Uses For Infrared Paint Removers

Christopher Hewett, PMP — Tue, 18 Aug 2026 16:43:05 GMT

Hey, did you know that Infrared Paint Removers can remove more than just latex paint, oil paints, and shellac/varnish?

They also work well with glues and adhesives on wood and masonry, and for wallpaper removal.

Learn more here - https://www.myoldhousefix.com/collections

Tips For Re-Pointing With Lime Mortar

Christopher Hewett, PMP — Fri, 29 May 2026 20:27:46 GMT

From our Friends at Cornish Lime - 5 Tips for pointing with lime 👇

1. If your raking out old mortar, do so cautiously. We recommend keeping it simple with hand tools over power tools.

2. Ensure you dampen down your background to control suction. This helps prevent the mortar drying out and cracking.

3. While it might be tempting, don't over work the mortar when placing it in the joint. If you do, you'll likely smear mortar on your stonework.

4. Once you're ready to compact and finish the joint, grab your churn brush. If you strike the mortar and see pinholes, it's likely too wet and needs a bit more time.

5. Always budget for hessian. Fresh lime work requires protection from the elements.

Alternatives to Big Box Lumber Yards

Christopher Hewett, PMP — Thu, 28 May 2026 14:12:37 GMT

𝗟𝘂𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝗬𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗲𝘀. They are getting harder to find...we're here to help! If you've been around Old Houses for a minute, then you know the difference between old-growth lumber and the mostly inferior, quiclky-grown/harvested wood of today. It's pretty terrible! For this reason, it can pay off to visit your local lumber yards and sawmils. This way you can get locally harvested, and often better quality materials for all your Old House needs - siding, trim, millwork, etc. Browse our curated info and resources today to connect to local lumber yards near you!

#lumberyard #locallumberyard #carpentry #milllwork #woodisgood #oldgrowthlumber #sawmill #oldhousrresources #oldhousedirectory #oldhousrdirectory #myoldhousefix

Basement walls

Eliza — Thu, 21 May 2026 17:15:40 GMT

Hello all,

I have a typical unfinished basement with masonry walls. The walls are constantly shedding dirt - which I think is dried up lime mortar. The dirt is getting all over everything in the basement and making it very difficult for me to use the basement for storage.

I was thinking of covering the walls with some sort of temporary curtain, just so I can actually keep things down there. But now I'm wondering - is this something that would be solved by re-pointing? Or is there some other solution I haven't thought of?

Thank you,

Eliza

How to Remove 14 Linear Feet of Paint Every 15 Minutes

Christopher Hewett, PMP — Tue, 19 May 2026 19:59:01 GMT

This is my secret for exterior clapboard and siding! 👍

𝗤: 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗜𝗻𝗳𝗿𝗮𝗥𝗲𝗱 𝗥𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗞𝗶𝘁?

𝗔: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝙐𝙇𝙏𝙄𝙈𝘼𝙏𝙀 𝗛𝗮𝗻𝗱𝘀-𝗙𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗵𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝟭𝟭𝟬𝟬 & 𝗥𝗮𝗽𝗶𝗱 𝗦𝗹𝗶𝗺 𝗣𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘁 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗿!

Hand-held Infrared Paint Strippers get 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘺 in a hurry, am I right? Additionally, they spend 50% of the time on, sitting idle, and just hanging there while you are scraping. To make matters worse, it’s difficult, if not impossible to have one setup that 𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘢, fast and efficiently!

What if you could have your Infrared Paint Stripper simultaneously heating for you…while you scrape, and access nearly your entire work surface/area from one initial setup? The InfraRed Rack™ Kit solves these issues! I really hope you enjoy it! Check out all the details here:

#infraredrack #infraredrackkit #infraredpaintstripper #cooltools #diy #diytools #fixit #myoldhousefix #speedheater #infrared #infraredpaintremoval #fastpaintremoval #easypaintremoval #leadpaintremoval #safepaintremoval #leadsafe

Another wall construction question

Kim Aiken — Thu, 07 May 2026 12:35:49 GMT

This faux-tile paneling was installed in the pantry, apparently when it was built because it is applied directly to the lathe. The pantry and kitchen were a later addition to the original 1893 house. Has anyone seen something like this? Any idea of when it became available?

Plaster? Dry wall? What is on my walls?

Kim Aiken — Thu, 07 May 2026 00:04:24 GMT

My house was built in 1893. All the walls have what we assumed to painted wallpaper over plaster. However, as we've gotten deeper into some major renovations, it doesn't seem like there was ever a final skim coat of smooth plaster over the rough plaster, just paper. When the paper peeled off in places, it's all very rough underneath. When we cut into a wall to make a new door we found lathe, a very thin bit of plaster, then paper and paint. What is this? How do we deal with it? Put on a skim coat that was never there? Try to paper it? Give up and cover it with drywall?

So, You Don't Want a New "Modern" Old House Kitchen?

Christopher Hewett, PMP — Wed, 29 Apr 2026 15:21:16 GMT

Do you have an Old House Kitchen reno on your to-do list? What design elements do YOU use to help keep that "vintage ", non-Ikea look? Here's a little inspiration.

Pro Tip: Hide your backsplash plugs and switches 👍

Stunner Alert: Vintage inspired kitchen design and remodel featuring @houseofrohl @verona_kitchen_appliance @veronaappliances @shawsoflondon 😍

Appliances and Planned Obsolescence

Christopher Hewett, PMP — Fri, 24 Apr 2026 14:09:22 GMT

The struggle is real! Our Old Houses have endured the test of time...yet we are at a point in history with the highest level of info/technology and even super-expensive appliances barely last 5-10 years...

Can we go back to the "good old days" - basic appliances that last. No software, no WiFi, smart features, etc? 👍