A Dirty Old Place

[1948berg]

There is something fishy going on. Houses are turning green. If it is the weather, modern paint, or just me noticing such things better as I grow older I dont know. I washed one end of the house today, with soap and high pressure washer. It was dirtier than I had thought. I feel good now, after the job is done, relaxing with a glass of vine, watching the result.
The building is from 1825, the walls have never been changed, neither has (most of) the windows. I was born here, I love the place!

 

[MrJimi]

Very nice home, that rear is just itching for a big deck to enjoy the pond from
in Florida we have mildew that grows on siding, I use a bleach and water solution to wash it off and with real wood siding I would rinse it off real good

 

[elalexander]

Hey Mr. Berg. Looks great, and what family history you and it share. Shouldn't it be snowing in Norway now? It is August here in America

 

[woodchuckie]

Back in the good ole days they put plenty of lead in the paint to prevent that problem. Now days the north side of most painted houses will mildew.

 

[Egon]

Very nice looking well maintained home.

Did it meet codes when it was built!!!

 

[tallyho8]

Many people are using pressure washers now to remove mildew from their siding. This is probably the worst thing you can do to your siding. The high pressure results in water getting trapped behind your siding and can result in even more rot and mildew. The best thing to remove mildew is a hand pump sprayer with half water, half Clorox and a teaspoon of detergent. Spray it on, in the shade, let it soak for a while and hose it off. In most cases, it will all come off then with a regular garden hose. In stubborn cases, I reapply it and brush the side of the house with a push broom, then hose it off. It is usually, faster and easier than using a pressure washer.

Many cheap off-brands of bleach are already diluted with water to this mix so check the % of ingredients against Clorox to determine if you need to mix it with water.

 

[Ductape]

Neat old house ! No way to get character like that in a new house. What-Her-Name and i bought a house built in 1888 a few years ago..... we sure coulda used your pressure washer then !!!

 

[Kyle_in_Tex]

Gunnar, very beautiful house. It must still be summer over there.

Ductape, you need to call "This Old House" guys and tell them you have a project!

 

[Ductape]

Kyle,
Though this picture was taken last year, the house looks more like this today. I still haven't gotten around to rebuilding the original shutters, but i hope to this year. The house is still a long way from being done (will it ever be??).

Gunnar, since you were born there, i would think that would make it impossibe to ever sell the place !

 

[dbdartman]

Ductape, those pesky kids let the air out of your truck tires again? It's too low!