ParadiseRoad
Member
...large windows on the south side let sunlight in during the winter...
...old time passive solar...
Old Houses
- Thread starter Kiwi cop
- Start date
...large windows on the south side let sunlight in during the winter...
...old time passive solar...
LoboGunLeather
US Veteran
I don't want to complain too much, but the house I was born in was so crummy that the second story had a dirt floor.
HOUSTON RICK
Member
I grew up in a brick home built during the Great Depression. They took their time with that house. It was well insulated had great wiring for the period and an old giant furnace with steam radiators that had a lot of character. During the winter my friends said the banging and clanging of the radiator sounded like axe murders. The lot had a number of huge trees whose massive roots reached under parts of the house and played "games" with the plumbing. The trees slowly died, several in the Dutch Elm epidemic, the largest, a great big oak tree, was struck by a massive lightening bolt (all the electronics in the house were wasted) and died within a year. My dad replaced the furnace with a modern furnace after I moved out and then it was sold as part of his estate. It was a great house, that selling was like saying goodbye to a family member. The large trees are all gone, but some trees that I planted on old Arbor days are now medium size trees. Lots of memories, enjoy your house.
Targets Guy
US Veteran
My house was built in 1847. Its construction is mud over masonry. It used to be the stagecoach stop and the ticket office for the river ferry. It needs constant work.
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I would really like to see a picture of that!
I guess I'm gonna need to take some pics. Nothing is ready to hand.
Our first house was built in 1839... It was the 2nd house on the site. First burned down. Bought it from my parents. It was used as a small grocery store from 1880 to 1961. I had a pool room in it for 3 years 1962-65. Bought it in 1970. Next place we had was built in 1968 for my parents. Bought it after mother died in 77. Then we bought the farm my In laws lived on after MIL passed in 1980. That house was built in 1777. 2 rooms upstairs 2 rooms down. Originally had a ladder to the upstairs rooms. Bath added in 58, and we redid the place in 2002 after we had some pipes burst during the cold winter. House we live in now(since 2006) here in Wy was built about 1970. We have done some upgrading over the years we have been here. Couldn't pry my wife outta this place with a crowbar.
Frank46
US Veteran
My house out on Long Island NY was my teaching house. old oil burner was leaking and had to go. They removed the old one, told me that the base was shot from the leaking water. Gave me all summer to do a new base. Here I am in the basement framing out the new base. 10-15 premix concrete later putting the finishing touches with the trowel. Braced the stairs for the new unit. Fit beautifully. Basement walls had to be resurfaced,fill in the cracks then trowel the compound on the walls finished just in time for Thanksgiving dinner, Started removing an old brick planter. Didn't know said planter was holding up the wood fence behind it. Just walked away and the whole 24' fence fell down. Spent the summer measuring the wood and painting it. Had to redig the fence post holes.Set the fence up, plumbed it and nailed 2x4's to hold it in place till the concrete set up. Had to repour the base for the chimney 30 bags of concrete mix. Basement window had been filled in due to water leakage. one day to frame it out prior to another concrete mixing orgy. Borrowed a hilti gin with spike and spade bits to clear away the old concrete. Installed drywell for one of the basement window so had to dig a leaching field fill with graveland run the drian hose. Getting tired yet?. Frank.
Targets Guy
US Veteran
TheHobbyist
Member
First, best wishes to your wife on a speedy recovery.
Our home was built in 1850...then in 1925 they did an addition. My wife wants to do another addition at some point, but it is going to be a few years out.
You are correct that maintaining an old home does cost a lot. In fact, many people cannot afford it, which is why a lot of them fall into disrepair. I won't say how much I invested into our house--that was in great condition--over the past few years.
It is truly a labor of love. We will never move and I will buy up all the land around it when I can and it is available.
The downside may be the maintenance, but on the plus side, the saying 'they don't make them like they used to' is especially true. The boards under my sub-floor are hand hewn beams/logs that are almost 40' ft long in sections. My sub-roof is all hand hewn and varies in size, by the width of the logs.....even after 150+ years, the wood is solid and better than anything I could ever replace it with. All floors are hardwood and some rooms have woods that would now cost a fortune...all tongue in groove.
I figure a few thousand a year in maintenance no matter what. But you couldn't buy a place like ours and yours today if you wanted to. Now it's all plastic everything and particle board.
Our home was built in 1850...then in 1925 they did an addition. My wife wants to do another addition at some point, but it is going to be a few years out.
You are correct that maintaining an old home does cost a lot. In fact, many people cannot afford it, which is why a lot of them fall into disrepair. I won't say how much I invested into our house--that was in great condition--over the past few years.
It is truly a labor of love. We will never move and I will buy up all the land around it when I can and it is available.
The downside may be the maintenance, but on the plus side, the saying 'they don't make them like they used to' is especially true. The boards under my sub-floor are hand hewn beams/logs that are almost 40' ft long in sections. My sub-roof is all hand hewn and varies in size, by the width of the logs.....even after 150+ years, the wood is solid and better than anything I could ever replace it with. All floors are hardwood and some rooms have woods that would now cost a fortune...all tongue in groove.
I figure a few thousand a year in maintenance no matter what. But you couldn't buy a place like ours and yours today if you wanted to. Now it's all plastic everything and particle board.
My farm house was built in 1850. The "new" part was added on in 1870.
Never owned an old house. We're on our 3rd and they have all been built in the late 60's or early 70's,
The house in St. Louis my parents owned when I was born was from around the turn of the century. Crown moldings, lath & plaster, 9 foot ceilings, wide milled ornate wood trim around all the door & window openings, basement/foundation of hand laid rock with a dirt floor, complete with an oil furnace that had been converted from burning coal.
It started out as a 4-family "flat". Two side by side 3-room "shotgun" apartments upstairs and two more downstairs. My dad installed stairways between the upstairs and downstairs floors to convert it into a two-story duplex with 6 rooms per unit. That was in about 1965 or 1966 when I was 3 or 4 years old. I can just barely remember him working on it.
It was a nice neighborhood when they bought the place in 1960. By the time Dad sold it in 1974, the neighborhood had turned into a slum. Within just a couple of years after we moved the old house had burned down. The neighborhood underwent "gentrification" in the late 1980's and last time I drove through there it was still looking pretty nice. Pity the old homes were mostly all gone though.
The house in St. Louis my parents owned when I was born was from around the turn of the century. Crown moldings, lath & plaster, 9 foot ceilings, wide milled ornate wood trim around all the door & window openings, basement/foundation of hand laid rock with a dirt floor, complete with an oil furnace that had been converted from burning coal.
It started out as a 4-family "flat". Two side by side 3-room "shotgun" apartments upstairs and two more downstairs. My dad installed stairways between the upstairs and downstairs floors to convert it into a two-story duplex with 6 rooms per unit. That was in about 1965 or 1966 when I was 3 or 4 years old. I can just barely remember him working on it.
It was a nice neighborhood when they bought the place in 1960. By the time Dad sold it in 1974, the neighborhood had turned into a slum. Within just a couple of years after we moved the old house had burned down. The neighborhood underwent "gentrification" in the late 1980's and last time I drove through there it was still looking pretty nice. Pity the old homes were mostly all gone though.
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My current house was built in 2005. I'm the first owner. When does it become an old house?
I was lucky to find a great builder in Hanover, PA, who did a fabulous job on it. My aunt and uncle came by the job site every day and my aunt took pictures of the construction and settlement which she put into a beautiful album for me. Having the construction album was a help whenever I refinanced my mortgage. I helped design the house and my late mother was the inspiration to put in handicap and senior citizen amenities with the initial construction. Those came in handy when I had my knee surgery.
I was still working when I had this house built with the intention of it being my forever house. When I lost my job in 2009 my first priority was to make the house payments and not lose this wonderful house. I'm retired now and my plan is there will only be two ways I will leave this house, in a straightjacket or feet first.
I was lucky to find a great builder in Hanover, PA, who did a fabulous job on it. My aunt and uncle came by the job site every day and my aunt took pictures of the construction and settlement which she put into a beautiful album for me. Having the construction album was a help whenever I refinanced my mortgage. I helped design the house and my late mother was the inspiration to put in handicap and senior citizen amenities with the initial construction. Those came in handy when I had my knee surgery.
I was still working when I had this house built with the intention of it being my forever house. When I lost my job in 2009 my first priority was to make the house payments and not lose this wonderful house. I'm retired now and my plan is there will only be two ways I will leave this house, in a straightjacket or feet first.
I like old houses. This year I'm planning to buy a house near the coastline in Fethiye, Turkey. I've found local company in London which offers perfect property in Fethiye at affordable prices. I want to make some renovation and lease this house for summer
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BearBio
Member
Playing around with Google Earth to learn how to use it for work and zoomed in on my house and my big male pointer was in the back yard (He's passed over the Bridge last year).
There is another web site called showmystreet.com. Type in an address and up comes a clear picture of that property. When I was asking the HOA for approval of my home generator, I told the agent how to look up the picture of my property so that she could see where I intended to put the generator. She was impressed, and I received my approval within a few days.
Bullseye 2620
Member
My farmhouse, built in 1928. Beautiful oak trim throughout and all of the original glass. I love the ripples in the windows and they way they rattle during thunderboomers. Of course, there is nothing like the sound of rain on a tin roof.
