A Few of My
Favorite Things
by Walter Jowers
ECEMBER 1988 JLC · D
RESTORATION PRIMER
When you renovate old houses, your
building tools and materials are likely
to be a little different from other
people's building stuff. Here's a review
of some of my favorite old-house
building aids.
Heat Guns
If you do a lot of old-house
renovation, you just about have to
own a heat gun. Heat guns entered
the building trades when a veteran
old-house renovator figured out that
these tools, originally used for shrinkwrapping,
were useful for many
renovation jobs. Heat guns work well
for stripping paint off old woodwork,
especially woodwork with intricate
detail, like Victorian mantels and
newel posts. They also soften the glue
of old tile and