<p>Ooh, we had the pink/black plastic tile in the powder room; talk about glue… 1908 or so American Foursquare, but not typical. Instead of the left or right door, it’s center, leading into a large foyer. Here they call 'em NE Colonial or American Colonial, which is somehow distinuished from colonial colonial.<br>
One afternoon, DH saw some guys eyeng it and went to say hi- turns out they were the great grandsons or so of the orig owner. (An old house moment.) Their great aunt sent us an old photo of it, which was neat beause it shows the orig porch (which we couldn’t figure out.)</p>
<p>We have functioning knob and tube, aluminum and copper wires- which doesn’t seem to bother any inspectors or city folks. The issue with the wiring comes more from the fact that we don’t have light switches in all rooms. Our furnace, btw, is pushing 35 years. One issue in some decisions we have had to make is that some old products beat out what’s come in the decades since. </p>
<p>And, yes, mrsef, keep posting. How old are others’ houses?</p>
<p>ps. if you do install an exhaust fan, you have to be vigilant that it exits to the outside, not into the attic.</p>
<p>Thanks for taking the time to reply, mrsref. </p>
<p>The can of exterior paint I looked at that said “interior/exterior” was a “low-sheen” paint. If this helps, it also has the “greener by design” (trade marked logo) on the side towards the bottom of the can with the following logos: “Bio-Pruf rated”, “RAVOC rated”, “100% Acrylic”, and “EG-FREE- contains no Ethylene Glycol or other toxic air contaminants”.</p>
<p>^Looked at the Dunn-Edwards website. I think I know which int/ext low-sheen paint you have.</p>
<p>For my effort / money, I wouldn’t use that particular paint for exterior.</p>
<p>Dunn-Edwards makes very good paint. Every major paint company makes very good paint. They also make multiple “lines” of paint at various price points to fulfill different market needs.</p>
<p>People who know what I do or a living often ask me “What’s the best paint?” My standard answer (because of the previous paragraph) is: Find the brand / manufacturer /store that you like best, and buy the top-of-the-line option at that place.</p>
<p>I have found that the best way to remove wallpaper is to steam it off. This lets you get the paper and glue off with minimal damage to the plaster underneath.</p>
<p>You can rent a steamer, although my house had so much wallpaper I bought one (and have since lent it out many times).</p>
<p>In my rentals I typically use the mid-level Glidden. It seems to hold up pretty well.</p>
<p>Has anybody used a sprayer for interior work? I’m debating about getting one for the next time I paint.</p>
<p>not in my case. I tried everything, including steamer. The paper was so frailed that any force touched it will break up and you have nothing to remove but a mixture of paper and glue. I won’t flood my house if that is not the last resort. Believe me or not, I did it in two hours for the entire room, whereas any other methods will take a week.</p>
<p>We have Dunn-Edwards outlet in town, next time I will try it.</p>
<p>That is it. And the code requires certain number of staples per length. In order to be 100% legal, you need to pass the inspectors before close the walls. In a plaster situation, you will have big holes all over the place when rewiring the whole house. I did it to my kitchen ceiling and you mind as well drywall it over, replaster is not going to be pretty. I used 1/4" dry wall to close the ceiling, left big holes in the plaster up there.</p>