/r/centuryhomes
Century Homes is a place for those that enjoy homes that have reached or exceeded 100 years of age, or thereabouts. We enjoy sharing stories and seeking advice to help us be great stewards of our historic homes.
A place to discuss the repair, renovation, decoration, and stewardship of homes and grounds that were built around 100 years ago.
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/r/centuryhomes
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The post that seemingly supports the back corner of my house is rotting out.
We have an old 1910 foursquare. The back corner of our house was originally a porch and at some point, it was finished out and became part of the kitchen. Underneath is just a crawl space.
Yesterday, I was looking at turning the crawl space into usable storage and noticed this post rotting out. It lines up directly with the corner of the house.
It's hard to take good pictures but there's a concrete footer/pad under the rotting post. I don't see a bracket so I'm not sure if this was ever attached to it. I also took some photos that show the corner from the outside and inside the crawl space.
What should I do to address this? My gut says to call a structural engineer but I'm not sure if that's even the right person to call. Any help is appreciated, thanks!
23:03 UTC
What are my options for a ladder in this space to make attic access less precarious? I'm leaning toward just making something out of dowels. Already removed a ton of random nails and spray foam.
21:56 UTC
Does anyone keep a freezer in an old stone basement that also gets wet sometimes?
Really looking for some extra freezer storage space and the basement is the best candidate -- but it's an old stone foundation that gets wet now and again. In the spring, sometimes the water won't clear out for a few weeks. There are raised areas that don't get wet so it's safe to have the appliance down there -- but is it hygienically safe?
21:53 UTC
Paint, Refinish or Replace Stairs?
We bought an 1890s house and just pulled up the carpet from the stairs. Our contractor said he didn’t think we could refinish them and that we’d either have to paint or replace.
What do people normally do on stairs like this to retain the charm?
19:50 UTC
Can anyone help identity what this is? Rotting wood panel between stone foundation and yard/dirt.
There's a little patch of our yard that I noticed "sinking" next to our house. I dug it out a bit more, and found rotting wood. Upon closer examination, it appears to be a wood panel on the exterior of our stone foundation. It's breaking down, and it seems like there's about a 4" gap between the foundation and the wood that some dirt was falling into, creating the sinking effect.
The interior of the basement looks completely fine, the stone is intact and no water leaking in or anything when it rains. This is a 120+ year old house located in Wisconsin, no clue how old the wood is.
Is this just a form of foundation insulation paneling? Or maybe what's left of a previous exterior basement access...? I'm at a loss, and wondering if it's just a matter of digging out the old material and replacing it, or if this is something to truly panic about and get an expert involved in.
17:39 UTC
How can I strip the paint to show the original hardware?
The knobs were painted over so thick that I can’t unscrew the hardware. Thanks in advance for your advice!
17:27 UTC
Mini Splits? Are they too hideous?
I’m very motivated to lower my carbon footprint and energy bill
I’ve been told “old homes aren’t meant to be cooled” which makes little sense to me and I was wondering if any of you had success installing mini splits or if something else has worked better for you?
14:39 UTC
Looking for people's experiences with not-quite-code bathroom layouts
In the process of adding a laundry setup and hopefully a half bath in what is currently a pantry.
The width of where the toilet would go is 27.5 inches. It should be 30 for code. What have people's experiences been in terms of how much inspectors have cared? It's a 150-year-old house, but the room hasn't been previously been a bathroom to my knowledge. Many of our neighbors have done a half in a pantry or under stairs that's definitely not 30 inches, but I'm not sure if these were done closer to when plumbing would have been originally added to our homes.
In the event that they do care, does anyone know off the top of their head how much room you gain by removing plaster/lathe? This would obviously be a pain in the ass, but it seems like I might be able to get the necessary clearance if I replaced it with 1/4 drywall. Obviously plaster is all different thicknesses, but what tends to be typical? I feel like the wall that I did remove some years ago was more than an inch thick, but I didn't measure it.
14:07 UTC
Before and After: 1920 Southern Craftsman Bunaglow
I wanted to share a before and after with a group of folks who understand how much work these home need and how exciting seeing a big project like this come together can be. The picture of the left is the before. Prior to this the home was basically derelict with peeling paint and trash covering the front porch. I purchased the home from a flipper who did do some improvements but who had some questionable taste in paint and some not so great repair work. Hopefully it’s obvious that the right is the after. This little house required a new roof, paint, porch railing, 10 windows replaced, a huge tree removal, a new driveway and walkway and a complete relandscaping. We are still working on the interior. I’m super thankful for all of the incredibly people I’ve also met working on this house and could not have seen this portion of my project come to fruition without the amazingly talented trades people.
04:39 UTC
Are these vintage bricks anything?
I discovered a brick path under about an inch of grass next to my circa 1900 home. Are these bricks of any special significance/value? I havent seen emblazoned bricks like this before and there are a few that say "Beckett" and "Ward" with a border around them.
02:47 UTC
Buying a 150 year old house
We are contingent on a 150 year old home. The oldest home I ever lived in was built in 1956. My husband is anxious about it. I don't have photos because we don't own it yet, only real estate website photos. Is there a way I can add photos and ask for advice?
22:29 UTC
What’s happening behind my plaster wall?
Long time reader, first time poster! We own an 1853 townhome in Maryland that had plaster walls on the front wall of the house. Over the last few months, we’ve noticed a bubbling effect and figured that there was moisture damage (the opposite is the painted exterior brick wall) so we decided to chip away inside to see how bad repairing the plaster would be while we figure out how to address the exterior.
There’s no lathe, but is that brick-colored material just brick that’s eroded down into a sandy compound? There’s so semblance of any brick structure if it was. Otherwise, would this be some other type of plaster compound that was used over the brick? Is this something a total novice can handle?
We’ve called a mason in the meantime for the exterior painted brick!
22:01 UTC
Do I have to replace this?
They told me it needed replacing when I moved in a year and a half ago but SO much was wrong with the house that I was assured was fine and I’m totally out of money at this point. My dad replaced the outlets that weren’t working and I was just kinda going to let this slide but how much of a hazard is it?
17:30 UTC