The Decatur Old House Fair is Back!!
Decatur Metro | February 8, 2012
Regina Brewer sends in this one-of-a-kind press release for us!.
The Decatur Old House Fair or as some like to call it “Why did I buy this money pit and will these people tell me how to fix stuff?” event
Yep, it’s spring, when a young man or woman’s thoughts turn to “what color should I paint our house?” or “I’m not going another summer without insulating this place” or better yet “I am not sharing a bathroom with my three boys any longer! I need an architect and a contractor!”
It’s time for the Decatur Old House Fair on Saturday, February 18th at the NEW Courtyard by Marriott! That’s right, you too can wonder around from seminar to seminar trying to listen to really smart people tell you how to do cool stuff to your old house. What kind of cool stuff? Fixing those wood windows that are currently painted shut and have tub and tile caulk for glazing (oh, wait, those were my windows!). How about learning how to research the history and style of your house and find out if Leila Ross Wilburn designed it. died in it, walked by it, or maybe she ignored it entirely, but you love it anyway. Hate your weed filled yard with bald patches and three half dead Nandina’s as “landscaping”?
We have a seminar to give you advice on hiring a landscape company given by, that’s right, a landscape company. Pam Dooley’s cool, so it’s okay. There’s info on all the other seminars if you go to the website www.decaturoldhousefair.com. For those with a short attention span (if you haven’t already stopped reading this) they can enjoy “short bite” sessions. 30 minutes quickies (whoops, did I say that?) on electrical, plumbing, building inspections, restoring that darn fireplace chimney, and more. Go to that same website for info on that too!
Interested in talking to tradespeople who will not laugh at your questions, take you seriously, and actually know stuff about old houses? We’ve got a huge exhibit area stuffed with them. We’ve got the M. Cary daughters and the toilet plunger challenge (you have to be there to see It.), contractors, architects, insulation specialists, wood floor guru Michael Purser, and two banks to help you finance all this work you are going to start after coming to this event.
BIG Fun this year! We have Jodi Marks, an HGTV celebrity, who will show you how to make some neat projects and throw lots of freebies into the audience. Let me repeat that-FREEBIES! And then we have flown Dr. Roger Moss in all the way from Philly to give a swell talk on “Paint Colors in America”. He will also be available for private consultations to help you select any color but puce and tangerine. We’ve driven by your house. You need him to help you! Finally, we will have an hourly raffle of incredible items including the projects that Jodi Marks will make, free hotel stay at our new fancy pants Courtyard by Marriott, gift certificates to yummy restaurants, free haircut (looked in the mirror lately?!) a $250 gift certificate from those bawdy M. Cary girls, and more. We’ve got so much free stuff rolling in; we’ll probably have two drawings every hour.
So let’s recap- GREAT presenters, smart people telling you good stuff, nice tradespeople who will NOT laugh at you, banks that will loan you insane amounts of money, and load of FREEBIES! All for $10 dumb dollars. $15 if you wait and buy the ticket at the door (sorry, we need to add incentives to get you to make a decision!) What are you waiting for?? Go to www.decaturoldhousefair.com and buy those tickets. Questions, comments, just want to laugh at me? Regina.brewer@decaturga.com.
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I like this press release. It brings a sense of humor to the house situation. I rarely say “I’m going home” any more. Instead I say, “I’m going to the job site.”
Amen Bryan! Come scrape the tub and tile caulk off my windows!
Will consider it if you will replace the gosh-awful fiberglass shower stall in our master bath.
Wow, this advertisement almost makes home ownership sound fun, even for someone non-handy like me!
Re god-awful bathroom decor: Our tub has been reglazed so many times that now when new cracks and flaking appear, it’s like an archeological dig. I keep covering the tub with an oversized bath mat but the kids find it fascinating to look underneath.
Been there done that! My tub just has the weird pink finsih showing in patches underneath my less than successful glazing job. Sigh……
Argh! Every year I want to go to this – every year there is at least one seminar that addresses an problem/challenge I have with my old house – and every year I’m out of town! Can I get a do-over? Or will someone PLEASE tell me what I do about those painted-shut windows?
We’re looking to purchase in Decatur, how much work is an old house?I had a house before this built in 1996 and we had a ton of work such as repainting the hardiplank, replacing appliances, HVAC system, Water heater, sealing the deck, etc etc what additional work is required in managing an old house? We were told old homes were sturdier and could endure more and were considering it for that reason since our newer build had felt like it was made of a stack of cards in terms of its fragility.
IMHO, it’s a wash. Older houses were built better but they’ve had more time to degrade in one place or another. Plus they may have had some weak renovations with all the problems of new construction. And what is old? To get the more sound construction of “older” homes, you have to go back aways, at least before the 1970s. The 1970s were a very bad decade in terms of home architecture and building!
The ideal for me would be a classic, even historic, home with charm that has just been completely updated, painted, and refurbished with care by someone knowledgeable with high standards. Of course, anyone who just sunk all that money and effort into such a home in Decatur probably wants a real high price for it. But that’s my dream….. Given that that’s not happening anytime soon, my second choice is a condo. IMHO, the basic ecology of home ownership in Atlanta is that water, mold, mildew, bugs, settling, wear and tear from children and/or pets, not to mention the occasional tree falling, ensure that you will always have a home project to do!
contact me at . Or call me at 404-371-8386. Lots of great benefits to ownning a historic home. some challenges too.
You can buy a house in Decatur and have no money to renovate or buy a great home just outside the city limits and have renovation money plus lower taxes. For people with no children, it’s a no brainer to me.