Anybody else have an antique house?

[Jon O.]

Our house was built in the late 1800s and has a ton of "Jim fixes" aka slap up whatever you have laying around, and hope it works. Haha I was just wondering if anybody else has to deal with a home where someone from the past thought they were a home improvement expert!

 

[commando1]

The Old House Forum

 

[Newport 66]

We purchased an old home and are in the process of updating, without changing the character, of the house. Nothing like an older home. New stuff has no charm or character no matter how hard they try, can't replicate old world......imho

 

[live4theking]

When my wife and I got married I instantly became Harry Homeowner with zero experience. The elderly gentleman she bought it from was named Jack. Once I started working on the home I gave him a bit of a nickname "Jack Cobble" because many things were cobbled together. The home was built in the 1880's and was in his family for many years. Some of the things were just totally laughable.

 

[Carmine]

Mine was built in 1950, just old enough that everything needs replacement and was poorly insulated. New enough to lack craftsmanship and charm. The best worst of both worlds!

* the bright areas beneath my feet in photo #2 are "daylight" in the form of a 1/4 to 1/2" gap between the basement and a stupid cantilevered floor section.

 

[GJS]

I bought a bungalow in Montreal that was built in 1907. Brand new Square D service box with 3 breakers in it, one ran the two original knob and tube circuits in the ceiling which ran every outlet and light in the house .. most of which was wired off with used lamp and speaker wire. One ceiling light was run off a switch which was plugged into an outlet that had been plastered over some years back (no kidding, fabric wrapped wire with a Bakelite plug hiding behind plaster).

The floors seemed to have little wave .. then I opened the kitchen closet and noticed that the floor was about 8 inches lower than the floor I was standing on. The actual floor dropped 8 inches from the center supporting beam to the sides of the foundation.

Yea .. I fixed all that. Never EVER again.

 

[cm23uoc]

Demo Derby, no cars got hurt

Some info I already showed from our purchase. From 1963-1966 planned, drawn up and built by the original owner. This is a solid build by a craftsman though.

 

[Jon O.]

When my wife and I got married I instantly became Harry Homeowner with zero experience. The elderly gentleman she bought it from was named Jack. Once I started working on the home I gave him a bit of a nickname "Jack Cobble" because many things were cobbled together. The home was built in the 1880's and was in his family for many years. Some of the things were just totally laughable.

Ours has been in the family since the late 70s. And it hasn't been updated since the early 70s. Some of those old repairs are a sorry excuse. Do you have a huge hole of missing plaster? Slap some wood paneling over it!
When our home was new, it was really something else. It has a ton of quarter sawn oak and beautiful woodwork, leaded glass cabinets, coffed ceilings, the works. It was originally owned by a doctor who had a lot invested in sharecropping.
I always thought houses like ours were neat for the old things everyone forgot about over time. Ours has an original button in the center of the dining room floor, and when you press it, it rings in the kitchen to signal for the servant!

 

[sixpkrt]

Old homes were built with pride. The quality to detail and craftsmanship with the woodworking would cost a small fortune today.
The home I grew up in was built in 1876, and was built by my great, great grandfather. My 88 year old father still lives there today.
When it was inherited and we moved in in 1971, it had a cast iron coal burning furnace in the basement which had a dirt floor. I remember taking sledge hammers with my brothers to that furnace to bust it up because it was too large to be removed any other way. The first thing my dad upgraded was the furnace after he poured concrete in the basement.
My dad has spent his life preserving the authenticity of keeping the home as close to original to the Victorian era of when this home was built, albeit livable to today amenities, even though it looks like a museum on the inside.
The front staircase has hand crafted woodwork which had a statue at the landing post, holding a light fixture. When it was recently removed to get it to work again, I remember the electrical wires were insulated with a cloth wrapping. That sure seemed like a fire hazard, but it lasted 140+ years. The back of house has a spiral staircase. Its kind of dizzying when going down the stairs, not so much going up.
These old homes are expensive to live in too. The 12 foot ceilings on the first floor take a while to heat up during the winter months. My dad closes off the parts of the house during the winter just to keep his heating bills down.
Stained glass windows, transoms over the solid wood doors, exterior walls with 4 deep brick thickness make this place seem like a fortress compared to todays construction.
I like old homes and the uniqueness of their construction. The funny thing is, after growing up in that type of surrounding, today the home I live in has nothing antique about it, inside or out. Go figure.

 

[Jon O.]

Ours has been in the family since the late 70s. And it hasn't been updated since the early 70s. Some of those old repairs are a sorry excuse. Do you have a huge hole of missing plaster? Slap some wood paneling over it!

Old homes were built with pride. The quality to detail and craftsmanship with the woodworking would cost a small fortune today.
The home I grew up in was built in 1876, and was built by my great, great grandfather. My 88 year old father still lives there today.
When it was inherited and we moved in in 1971, it had a cast iron coal burning furnace in the basement which had a dirt floor. I remember taking sledge hammers with my brothers to that furnace to bust it up because it was too large to be removed any other way. The first thing my dad upgraded was the furnace after he poured concrete in the basement.
My dad has spent his life preserving the authenticity of keeping the home as close to original to the Victorian era of when this home was built, albeit livable to today amenities, even though it looks like a museum on the inside.
The front staircase has hand crafted woodwork which had a statue at the landing post, holding a light fixture. When it was recently removed to get it to work again, I remember the electrical wires were insulated with a cloth wrapping. That sure seemed like a fire hazard, but it lasted 140+ years. The back of house has a spiral staircase. Its kind of dizzying when going down the stairs, not so much going up.
These old homes are expensive to live in too. The 12 foot ceilings on the first floor take a while to heat up during the winter months. My dad closes off the parts of the house during the winter just to keep his heating bills down.
Stained glass windows, transoms over the solid wood doors, exterior walls with 4 deep brick thickness make this place seem like a fortress compared to todays construction.
I like old homes and the uniqueness of their construction. The funny thing is, after growing up in that type of surrounding, today the home I live in has nothing antique about it, inside or out. Go figure.View attachment 178624 View attachment 178625 View attachment 178626 View attachment 178626

What a beautiful home. If it has two staircases like you said, Then the second staircase would have been for a servant. (It was customary to have the parts of the house with servants like kitchen, laundry, and a separate bedroom closed off from the guest section of the house.)
Our house used to have one of those coal burning behemoths too! Ours was converted to oil though. With cast iron registers at least 3 times bigger than a new one, and a giant wooden one in the dining room. I think ours was called a gravity furnace. Ours had a $600 a month bill back in the 90's!
New houses are nothing more than a glorified cardboard box. If these homes are so nice after 100 years, imagine when they were new.

 

[sixpkrt]

My great great grandfather owned a bakery and as the story goes, he was a prominent member of the community.
When I was younger my dad had told me in the back of the house on the second floor, where now is the laundry room, it used to be the maids quarters. The room is about 10x15, and right off the rear staircase. So you are correct with your assessment.

 

[Jon O.]

My great great grandfather owned a bakery and as the story goes, he was a prominent member of the community.
When I was younger my dad had told me in the back of the house on the second floor, where now is the laundry room, it used to be the maids quarters. The room is about 10x15, and right off the rear staircase. So you are correct with your assessment.

View attachment 178627 View attachment 178628

Our servant's quarters are at the very back of the house, and has one of those swinging doors. Back then, the basement had a coal room, furnace room, and laundry room. The laundry room would have had a large stone sink, as most back then did. Our house also has a cistern that fed into the sink. The downspout from the roof goes into a brick water tank underneath the back porch. whenever you needed water, you could pump it out in the days before city water.

 

[rapidtrans]

I've looked at a few older homes around here. The first thing i learned was to stay away from any home with a "Historical Home" designation.

 

[jct]

one thing i will never do again is level a house... talk about a pain in the *** and it still didn't help much...

 

[Zymurgy]

I do not own a historic home, but as a paint contractor of 28 years and working for a company IFACS - International Fine Art Conservation Studios - Restorers and Conservators of Historic Art when they come to town, I have had the privilege to work on many over the years. In my own business I am typically correcting so many less than professional remolding attempts. I get the biggest job satisfaction in working on these homes.

 

[Pete Kaczmarski]

late 1930's Tudor lannon stone home. The bones were good and improved upon it over 30 years. The walk in attic is now a master suite and is one of four bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. Remember homes with character costs money, whether new or old.

 

[Red63440]

I owned a home just outside of Fredonia, NY that was built in 1852, it was the manor house for an 800 acre farm. Later in life it served as part of the underground rail road and later on a stage coach stop between Buffalo and Rochester. Like many old homes of that period it was added on to as the family's needs changed and each addition had a slight step up as you entered. When all sections were combined they added up to almost 3500 square feet. If that house could have spoken I am sure it could have told some very interesting stories.