Many of the longer Gardenweb kitchen reveal threads lost text and photo content when they were imported into Houzz. The good news is, Tamara says the data is not lost, but the threads will have to be repaired manually. No time frame yet, as they’re still working on other issues. We’re keeping up with the lost content issue in this thread: Kitchen Reveal Threads Missing Photos and Text Currently, you can still see 2LittleFishie’s intact threads by finding the cached version in Google. I have some info about how to do this in the above thread, about 20 posts down. (Feel free to message me if I can help.)

Basic gist--redid entire porch/railing. Kept original windows, reglazed them all! Still repairing 4 of the 46 windows on this beast of a house (you can see today's glazing project in the side view--top right window has a new/old piece of glass and then gets it's storm on). All new storms. New paint job. We have 16 pairs of almost-the-right-size and totally right look right shutters, but still working on matching the hardware to what's already on there. Original house had shutters on all three sides (will be dark green to break up all the white). That project is taking a back seat as we are redoing the back deck and mud room this fall. Hope you like it!! It's a labor of love, that's for sure. I've dubbed this house "Special Order"--you can't get ANYTHING off the rack for this thing! Even try replacing storm doors. Special order due to height and triple the cost. Ugh. Sarah

Sarah...maybe this applies somewhat to you, but I found this on John Leeke's website, which I am studying to memory in gearing up to do my window restoration. It's about vinyl. John Leeke's Historic HomeWorks(tm) Vinyl Siding Q: "I purchased an 1840's house in northwestern N.J. in 1991 which has been a great deal of fun to restore. However, I have been ignoring its largest problem: the house is covered in a disgusting, light-green vinyl siding. There was evidence of termites in the basement when I bought the house. I exterminated the termites and have seen no evidence of them since '91. Should I consider painting the vinyl siding? What is the advisability of ripping vinyl siding off, considering I don't know what's underneath. Is there any way to tell whether or not the clapboard underneath is damaged, or is continuing to be damaged." A: You face the two common problems with vinyl siding: it is not "maintenance free" and it hides conditions beneath. I am now seeing many vinyl siding projects that have 12 to 18 year's age on them being painted due to poor appearance. To improve deteriorating appearance vinyl siding is sometimes washed with high pressure water. This must be done carefully with a downward blast to prevent loading the wall with moisture through the ventilation slots. When cleaning does not help the vinyl siding contractors' response to deteriorating appearance is to replace the siding. So the time proven actual maintenance method for vinyl is little or no maintenance until it fails and then the very high maintenance treatment of replacement. If you have a term of interest in the building that is less than the life of the vinyl product, this approach may make economic sense to you. Even if you plan to sell before the vinyl needs to be replaced vinyl's short-term economic advantage may be limited. Vinyl siding is now becoming recognized as a liability by some astute real estate buyers, because its long-term life is not as cost effective some other siding materials and because it can hide serious problems. Vinyl siding hides changing conditions of the wood and paint underneath. You need to investigate conditions underneath the vinyl siding. Begin by looking at the exterior surfaces of the siding for visible signs of buckling, trails of light tan insect wood dust sifting out of the vent slots of the siding, etc.. Suspect underlying damage in the walls at inside corners where two roofs drain into one location, and north and east walls in particular which are susceptible to moisture decay problems. Look for major cracks in the foundation which might have telegraphed up the walls underneath the siding. As an historic building investigator, I use moisture meters to sense high moisture content in the wood underneath the vinyl. This is quickly done and does not damage the vinyl. You can also spot moisture problems by looking for black streaks of dirt left by water from cornice leaks at the top of the wall. Locations of high moisture usually indicate trouble spots. Selectively remove sections of siding where you find these signs of trouble and where you saw the termites. There are special tools for removing vinyl siding so you might want to hire a vinyl siding contractor. It can usually be done carefully enough to put the vinyl siding back up without damage. Look for dampness, peeling paint and decayed wood. Paint peeling to bare wood indicates there has been high moisture, which could also have lead to decay. Look for dampness that indicates the moisture problem is current and not historic. You might need to remove the old siding in areas of concern. This should be done by a finish carpenter or cabinetmaker. Again, it can sometimes be done carefully enough to reapply it without much damage. Look for deep decay in sheathing boards and the structural members beneath such as sills, studs and plates. Here is a link that might be useful: Historic Homeworks

Molly, lucky you with the easy apart windows. Mine have tenons secured with dowels, but the dowels have never been easy to remove. This post got me going and I put a final exterior coat on my window yesterday. It's a second story window so I try to do as much on the ground as I can. I'm in a race against age, mine more than the house. I may try drilling a dowel out of a rescued sash to see if I can get it apart. We are making wooden storms with tenons and dowels and repair pieces can't be much more difficult to fabricate. Can you hear my husband moaning? I think it is going to become more and more difficult to purchase anything oil based. Do you think linseed oil will also "evaporate" from the market? I know I'm starting to sound old, but I just can't completely accept the latex is better theory. Will oil based glazing compound also be banned? I think there are water based glazing compounds that do not require any wait time to skin over. I use UGL compound and it sometimes takes 10 days before I feel comfortable enough to prime over it. I'm usually ready to have an excuse for a break at that point. If you know of a better compound, please let me know. I'm sure the original poster is well on his way to complete his painting project, but I thought this site had a decent sequence of repair for a variety of old house projects. I'm sure many of us can identify with the "before" examples. It would also be nice to have input from the forum experts on the methods used on the site. Has anyone used the Multi Wood Primer mentioned on it? I think I'll order a can and try some if no one here has negative reports. I'll bet someone on the Old House Journal forum has an FPL formula for you. I can't imagine having to repaint our barn with latex paint on the next go round. I get a mental image of us crossing some border and smuggling the banned ingedients and paints back into the country. I hope people will chime in on the site I've included. If it has been discussed in the past, someone just needs to yell at me and direct me to the thread. I'm up early to finish prepping the the parting bead and stops and am praying that I have enough sash cord to finish this. Here is a link that might be useful: repair and paint old siding, etc