Fixed-Price or Cost-Plus Fee: Which is Better?

A historic home has numerous perks for its owners; original hardwood floors, high ceilings, intricate detail, and the fact that you have, and are living in, your very own piece of history. However, with the good also comes the bad; poorly insulated...

As renovation contractors, we love it when we have the opportunity to take a neglected old building and - with the help of dedicated clients and a good designer- give it a new life.

I posted a few months back about a new barn that we've been building in Weston, MA. Well, apart from the landscaping and a final coat of paint on the exterior, this project was wrapped up this week. 

We're known primarily as Old House Renovation guys. Maybe that's why we have so much fun when we get an opportunity to do some new construction from the ground up. A year or so ago we teamed up with the timber frame company Bensonwood to build a new...

Several times a year I am asked to look at old houses for potential buyers.  I'll walk through the house and give them my opinion on the condition of the house, the feasibility of renovations and additions, ballpark costs, etc. 

From time to time I see projects tabled or postponed due to budgetary reasons. It's unfortunate at any point in the process but it's particularly heartbreaking when the clients have spent many months and many thousands of dollars on design fees, only to...

Most people have probably heard by now about the new rules put into place by the EPA concerning lead paint and renovations. The goal of the rules is to increase awareness of the danger of lead paint and decrease the risk of harm to occupants of old...

Yesterday Landmark Services co-sponsored a symposium called "The Greenest Building is Already Built". It was meant to explore the relationship- good or bad- between sustainability and historic preservation. Five panelists provided wonderful...

We have worked with the owners of a ca. 1895 Shingle Style house just south of Boston for over five years.  We started by renovating the exterior, stripping the house of its shingles and installing new ones, rebuilding the porches, and restoring the...

There are many methods to protect historic properties. Here's a quick primer.

I wanted to take an opportunity to explain our approach to managing renovation and addition projects. Residential construction is a challenging business but we've learned a lot in the twenty years since we started the company. That experience has led us...

Kitchen design is a very personal thing, especially when it comes to old houses. Some people want the kitchen to match the period look of their house while others don't mind having a more modern looking space.

Last time we did a survey of the Greek Revival houses in my town of Medway, Mass. There are some great examples of the style in town, ranging from humble to high style. Now let's take a look at the potential pitfalls of altering the original siding and...

One of the things that I appreciate about historic houses is the thought that the builders put into the ornamentation. They seemed to have an almost innate understanding of the use of proportion and, of course, a deeper understanding of the...

The selection of exterior paint colors for historic houses is, admittedly, a very subjective topic. Color schemes that please some people might give their neighbors nightmares. As subjective and personal issue as this topic is, however, it is clear to...

While we're primarily known as historic renovation contractors, we've broken ground on a new timber frame house on a picturesque horse farm west of Boston. From time to time I'll be updating you on our progress. It should be a pretty interesting...

As an old house renovation contractor I am often approached by homeowners who want to replace their old windows. Sometimes this is the first item on their list when they buy an old house. They reason that the old, drafty windows are inefficient and hard...

As a renovation and restoration contractor here in Massachusetts, I have built a lot of additions on to historic houses. Contrary to the philosophy of some preservationists, who feel that new additions should read as new additions and not pretend to be...

Last time we discussed how important it is to place the roofline correctly when adding on to an old house.  If the roofline is too high or set at the wrong pitch, the addition could look awkward or even overwhelm the original part of the house.