I’m an architectural historian. I research old houses and I write books and I galavant around the country telling people how to restore their old homes. When people are trying to locate hard-to-find supplies for their vintage homes, they contact me. This is what I do, and it’s been a fun career.

One day I dropped by my brother’s house to visit him. He said he had “a little problem” in the bathroom that he needed help with. His house was a gorgeous 1930s Dutch Colonial, well-maintained and well-loved, and the crowning jewel of the old house was the vintage bathroom, complete with subway tile, black and white tile floor, beautiful wainscoting, original fixtures, etc.

As he and I walked upstairs and he explained that he’d hired a plumber to put in a new manifold (tub and shower faucet assembly) and the plumber had charged him $500 to do this little “fix.”

I asked him where he found this “plumber” and he said, “Well, he’s not really a plumber actually; it’s just something he does on the side.”

No kidding.

I understand the guy threw in the duct tape for free.

Wow. Just wow.

To learn about Sears Homes, click here.

To buy Rose’s book, click here.

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