Intrepid DIYers

Kudos to old-house saints like Mark Reynolds, who take it upon themselves to save one house at a time. “I’m currently working on #4,” he wrote. First came a Kansas City Foursquare; in 1982 “my mom sent me a gift subscription to OHJ and I’ve subscribed ever since.” Next was a 1918 Dutch Colonial in Royal Oak, Mich., and then “I bought ‘the dead guy’s house’ in Detroit’s Indian Village Historic District. The roof had leaked for 20 years.” Mark still owns and works on the 21-room, ca. 1900 house designed by Stratton & Baldwin (Stratton was the husband of Mary Chase Stratton, Pewabic Pottery founder). In 2012, he stumbled on a deal for a 1916 Storybook Cottage, also in Indian Village.

RIGHT Reynolds has been working on the 1916 English Storybook Cottage for six years. BELOW Purchased in 1997, the ca. 1900 Victorian with Shingle Style and Queen Anne elements remains a work in progress; exterior restoration was completed years ago.RIGHT Reynolds and his late brother Chris rehabbed this 1918 house during the 1980s. About this one he notes: “Not all old houses were well built.” More recent, ongoing projects have been period restorations.