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                • Introducing Kevin, homeowner no. 2

                Old House My House

                Life in front of the camera and behind the scenes at a This Old House renovation.

                « Previous PostCountdown to New Year's Eve
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                Next Post »To preserve or not to preserve...part 1
                • January 6, 2009

                  Introducing Kevin, homeowner no. 2

                  Backyard of TOH New York City Project before and after

                  Hello, everyone! I am Kevin Costello, the other first-time homeowner and blogger. I am very excited to be a part of a show that I've watched since I was a kid.

                  Welcome to our home! It doesn’t look much like a home yet, but all the work Mike, Vinnie, Randy and Eric are doing is starting to come together so quickly that every day there are drastic changes. There is so much to catch up on; over the coming weeks, I will randomly pick areas to talk about.

                  One of the first things is the complete transformation of the back of the house.

                  Brooklyn project house backyard during construction It gives me such great joy to be in the back yard―or stare at the back on the webcam from work. The back of the house was so beautifully stripped and repointed, the windows replaced, the backyard totally landscaped and the bricks masterfully laid  on the patio by Bob of Chelsea Garden Center. It has become a place of reverence for Karen and me. Take a look at the before and after. Wait 'til you see the pipes! Blog to you soon…

                  Posted by Kevin Costello | Categories: New York City - 2008-2009 | Permalink | Comments (10)

                  (10) Comments
                  Comment on this Blog

                  I have been watching TOH forever and would love to come by and see if I can catch any one of the hosts even from afar. Where are you located exactly?

                  Posted by: Diane|January 9, 2009 at 06:28 PM

                  Can you get a shot of the patio without the tarp on top of it?

                  Posted by: Marc |January 13, 2009 at 04:17 PM

                  Hello Kevin--My husband makes beautiful, handcrafted medicine cabinets at his shop in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Please support a local craftsman and have a look at www.woodessentials.com

                  Posted by: Karen|January 22, 2009 at 08:34 PM

                  Nice place! Is there anyway to find out the product they used on your brick to loosen the paint before power washing it off?

                  Posted by: Mike|January 24, 2009 at 09:31 AM

                  I join in Mark's request. I need to remove (milk?) paint from our circa 1860 house. The paint is on a kitchen wall that was once an outside wall .

                  Posted by: Gary|January 31, 2009 at 01:55 PM

                  Hi Mike and Gary,
                  So sorry for the delay in replying to your question. Mike's crew used a heavy-duty paint stripper called, SureKlean. It can be found at masonry stores. Hope that helps and good luck!

                  Posted by: Karen|February 1, 2009 at 08:38 PM

                  I also am interested to find out what the product was that you used to lossen the paint on the house before power washing it off. Currently I am using a steam jenny and could use a little help on the stuborn areas. Thank you.

                  Posted by: Douglas eklund|February 8, 2009 at 03:43 PM

                  We see the floor plan but what are the measurements of the space?

                  Posted by: Odell|March 24, 2009 at 04:09 PM

                  What is the width and depth of a Brownstone?

                  Posted by: Kevin|March 28, 2009 at 11:43 PM

                  Who was the company that did the power washing of the bricks? It looks great.

                  Posted by: Steve|November 9, 2011 at 01:56 PM

                  Post a comment

                  The comments to this entry are closed.

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