Old House Journal – September 2019

Remuddling

TWO WAYS TO WIN! If you spot a classic example of remuddling, submit it to lviator aimmedia.com. We’ll give you $100 if your photos

are published. If you want to see your witty words on this page, enter our monthly caption contest at facebook.com/oldhousejournal.

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OLD HOUSE JOURNAL (ISSN #0094-0178) is published eight times a year: February, April, May, June, August, September, October, and December by the Home Group of Active Interest Media Inc. The known office of publication is located at 5720 Flatiron Pkw y., Boulder, CO 80301. The editorial office is located at 5720 Flatiron Pkw y.,

Boulder, CO 80301; 303-625-1600; 800-826-3893; fax: 303-440-3618. Periodicals postage paid at Boulder, CO, and additional offices. Vol. 47, No. 6. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Old-House Journal, P.O.Box 37274, Boone, IA 50037-0274. SUBSCRIPTIONS: For subscription questions, call 800-234-3797 (US only), or email

us at [email protected]. Subscription rates are: US: $24 per year, Canada: $44 per year. COPYRIGHT: 2019 by Cruz Bay Publishing, Inc. This publication may not be reproduced, either in whole or part, in any form without written permission from the publisher.

The deteriorating

parapet concerns me ... the

porch can be restored.

—Joseph Perron

CLASSIC HOMES OF ROCK-FACE BLOCK

“I live in a 1906 American Foursquare;

seeing this once grand old lady near

Pittsburgh made me very sad,” writes

the OHJ reader who snapped the photos.

The house with the compromised porch,

resized windows, and boxy addition

was built of decorative concrete block.

So is the transitional Colonial Revival

house nearby, shown above, which

has fared better.

Concrete block (aka ornamental block,

cast block, rock-face block) was popular

from the end of the 19th century through

the Depression years. Sears sold

concrete-block houses as kits, complete

with the simple machine (also sold

separately) for moulding blocks on site.

The moulded face might look like plain

ashlar, a beveled panel, cobblestone,

brick, or rough-cut rock. Ornamental

rope, wreath, and scroll designs also

were made. Decorative concrete block

was common for foundations, garages,

and farm buildings—but in many areas

it was also used in the construction of

entire houses, even grand ones.

A NEIGHBOR

D0...

respect historic

materials (such as

decorative concrete

block) that mark the

transition between

traditional and modern

construction.