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Consider this page your neighborhood chat room.  If you have ideas or tips for preserving or restoring your home, please email us and we'll add it to this page.  Perhaps it's a new tool you've discovered, or advice you'd like to pass along for painting your home.  Or maybe you have something for sale that would be of use to others - tools, clapboard, other building materials, etc.  Email webmaster1@broadwaydistrict.org, and we'll add it to this page!

Sculpted Foundation Block for Sale

Steven Castrey, owner of Castrey Auto Body, 1833 First Street, Rock Island, has a pallet of sculpted, or rough-faced foundation block available.  It's been on a pallet for quite some time, so most of the paint and mortar have been removed, making re-use easier.  If interested, contact Steve at 786-1509, or cell phone 309-738-0509.  Posted as of 6/16/08.

Paint Can Cleanup

Trying to reseal a can of paint after use can be a real challenge, but there's a nifty little gadget now to help.  As featured in This Old House Magazine©,   "this foam-rubbery tool pushes paint out of the can grooves and and back into the can, so the lid fits more tightly.  Only 79¢ from www.foampromfg.com.  They also have several other innovative products, so check them out.

Eagle Estate Brokers Flea Market

Are New Windows Worth the Cost?

You've no doubt seen the advertisements or had a salesman tell you how inefficient your old windows are, and that new replacement windows can save you a ton of money.  While it is true that new windows are more efficient, the question is how much will you save.  If it will take you 30 years to save enough money to justify the expense of new windows, is it worth it?  Especially when your new windows are warranted for only 20 years!  Luckily, there's a web-site where you can find out this information.  Check out www.efficientwindows.org/selection.cfm, and you can compare the energy savings between different types of windows, in different areas.  If you select Des Moines, IA ( the closest region, and served by the same utility as the Quad Cities), Existing Construction, and Windows, you'll find that even with the most efficient triple-glazed windows, you can expect to save about $450 per year over standard single-glazed wood windows.  You can spend that much on a single window!  You can expect to save just $250 per year with a double-glazed clear window.  You can compare up to 33 different window types. 

Often, you're much better off keeping your original windows if they are in decent shape, and adding good aluminum, or even better, wood storms.  You can save money at a far cheaper cost per window, and reduce the payback time.  Plus, you're doing your part to preserve the integrity of your home. 

Build your own silent paint remover

I wish I could take full credit for this, but my neighbor Mark McVey turned me on to this.  You've probably seen a "silent paint remover" advertised for several hundred dollars.  Well, turns out a man out east discovered how to build his own using a quartz heater for under $100!  Visit www.oceanmanorhouse.com , and you can see his web-site dedicated to documenting the progress on his own restoration.  Download the following two pdf documents to see how he built his paint remover, and how others have improved on his original design.

How to Build a Silent Paint Remover

Other Designs

A few tips for using this tool.  It works great to remove thick layers of built-up paint from flat surfaces, such as clapboard, but obviously can be difficult to use for curved molding or other tight areas.  A regular heat-gun can work better in these circumstances.  You do have to be careful in how long you hold the paint remover over an area, as you can burn the surface of bare wood if you're not careful.  Also, it does create a lot of heat, so be cautious in holding the tool and setting it down.  It doesn't work as well if you're removing just a single layer of paint, especially if it's latex paint.  You're better off using a tool like the Porter-Cable Paint Remover to "grind" that paint off. 

We're on our second exterior restoration, so I've gleaned a lot of useful information over the years.  Stop by our house at 830 22nd Street if you'd like to see either of the tools mentioned above.  So far, at least three of us on our street have built our own paint removers, so something must work!

Daryl Empen

Native Woods Urban Logging

Did you know you have access to quality hardwoods from someone right in our neighborhood?  Mike Lawrence, 1037 21st Street, is the owner of Native Woods Urban Logging.  Mike salvages local trees that have been cut down or fallen in a storm, and mills them at his sawmill outside Carbon Cliff.  He has two kilns to dry the wood into useable lumber. 

His woodshop is located on 6th Avenue and 20th Street in Rock Island, where he mills the rough-sawn lumber into boards, flooring, and other custom woodwork.  If you need to replace flooring, trim, or other woodwork, call Native Woods at 788-3355.  He has a huge variety of soft and hard woods, and has decades of experience in woodworking and millwork.

How Energy Efficient is Your Old House

One of the perceived downsides of owning an older home is that they are inefficient and drafty.  While it can cost more to heat our old homes, often they are not as "leaky" or as bad as salespeople would have you believe.  Kouba-Cavallo Associates, Inc. has come up with a way to measure your energy efficiency, and compare it to others.  Read the attached article to discover just how to measure this for yourself.  They also have more useful tips related to energy usage here. 

Finally a Way to Save to Caulk

Have you ever used just a portion of a tube of caulk, and ended up throwing away the rest because next time you go to use it, it's hardened up and unusable?  Or you try using screws, nails, duct tape, electrical tape, wire connectors, or whatever you can find to try and seal the tube again (I've used all of the above!).  I ran across this cheap gadget in This Old House Magazine, and someone has finally designed a simple solution to this problem.  I thought I'd pass this along.  Go to www.caulksaver.com.

Help with Air Quality

Colleen Simpson, 836 20th Street, emailed the following after checking out the new Broadway website.  "I noticed that if we have an item or business that is helpful in renovating or just "living" in our old houses, that you can add it to "useful stuff" category.  I have an air purification business.  I don't know what I'd do with my home - the dust, musty smell, old horsehair plaster decomposing, sanding, painting smells, etc. - without my purifier.  A website to see it is www.tryfreshair.com  My email is:  csimp6@hotmail.com."  Please email or contact Colleen if you would like more information on this system.

The Broadway Historic District Association is not responsible for and does not endorse any specific product on this page.