The local real estate market is getting tight. Home prices are going up in general, but prices are going up even more so for houses at the bottom of the price range. In a nutshell, this means the price of a fixer-upper home is getting closer and closer to the price of a maintained or...
I read your recent column about building stairs for a deck. I can handle that, but I’m worried about how to make all the complex cuts required for the deck stair railing. Can you give me a few lifeline tips so I don’t mess up my railing? — Mandy C., Clemson, S.C. It’s impossible for...
Had he known then what he knows now, Michael Cook probably would have walked away from this project. Renovating the 1870 brick rowhouse in Old Town Alexandria proved more difficult than he anticipated. But in the end, Cook overcame the unforeseen obstacles to transform the home into a modern space with a Brooklyn vibe. “We...
How can I match the stucco finish on my 80-year-old front porch? I tried using white Portland cement and buff sand, but as you can see in my photo, the results are atrocious. I added some dry cement pigment to try to get a match and it just didn’t work. I noticed the old stucco...