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Hi everyone!! The oldest house we've bought was in the 1950's range. I know the basic things to check into, the mechanicals, electrical and all and will have it inspected. But I'm sure there are specific concerns related to the 20's - 40's like plaster problems, dirt basement floors, etc.
I always was hesitant regarding homes built in the 30's just thinking about a shortage of materials in the depression. Or conversely maybe the 30's era houses were "better" because the men that worked on them were glad to be working and gave it their all.
I have lived in houses of this era for 30 yrs. The biggest issues would probably be 1) not enough electrical service (usually need to upgrade to 100-200 amp service), 2) often need to improve AC and or duct work, 3) need to confirm that the electrical system is safe (no aluminum or knob and tube wiring or fuses). In some areas you want to check for termite damage, in others for shifts to the foundation. Personally, I have never encountered anything difficult to remedy.
The biggest issues to me were the number and quality of remodels in some of the houses we looked at. That is where you begin to get the real problems, from cut joists to hidden wiring and dodgy plumbing. Sure, there are issues with the original build, generally over things like knob-and-tube wiring, old cast iron piping, very little/no insulation, but those tend to be more straightforward than the "what the &^% did they do here?" of remodels.
I have lived in houses of this era for 30 yrs. The biggest issues would probably be 1) not enough electrical service (usually need to upgrade to 100-200 amp service), 2) often need to improve AC and or duct work, 3) need to confirm that the electrical system is safe (no aluminum or knob and tube wiring or fuses). In some areas you want to check for termite damage, in others for shifts to the foundation. Personally, I have never encountered anything difficult to remedy.
Quote:
Originally Posted by PNW-type-gal
The biggest issues to me were the number and quality of remodels in some of the houses we looked at. That is where you begin to get the real problems, from cut joists to hidden wiring and dodgy plumbing. Sure, there are issues with the original build, generally over things like knob-and-tube wiring, old cast iron piping, very little/no insulation, but those tend to be more straightforward than the "what the &^% did they do here?" of remodels.
Thanks guys! Exactly what I was looking for, looking forward to radiator heat! PNW, as far as reno's, I can absolutely see that. I would much rather have the 1940's kitchen which is still sturdy and only needs an update if desired v. the diy.
Probably different across the nation but here you need to look for termite damage, water damage, human damage, small electrical system, leaded cast iron sewer, black water pipe, all in that order. Human damage is the one that usually you don't find until it fails, like a beam somebody cut because they were a clueless weekend warrior. Or it could be something that was installed wrong, like a tub, a commode, or added a wire to the system mixing aluminum and copper wiring. Then there's load bearing walls that are mickey moused over and removed, think of something that can go wrong and it's pretty much been done. Here our local building code dept requires any permits issued on houses with cast iron sewer, 2 wire system, knob and tube system, black pipe water system, be upgraded to new code or no permit. They consider all of it a safety hazard and it will be changed out.
Agreed about delving into all the remodeling that's been done over the years -- or, in the case of my current home, remuddling. Whoever owned my house in the 80s needs to be hunted down and prevented from remodeling ever again. The 30-year-old problems are worse than the 90-year-old problems.
So, I'm starting year 3 with a 1930's built brick tudor house myself. Here's a (as brief as I can make it) rundown of the issues that caused more than a minor headache:
The biggest is easily that there is/was drainage issues that has caused one wall of my house to lean out (maybe .5" over 20', not enough to crack the plaster inside, but enough to need re-pointing on the bricks outside). I'm still working on preventative here...
roof leaks caused water damage to the plaster (watch the vent stacks for lead covers, squirrels like to claw at this and cause leaks). Plaster removal/repair/replacement is a Major nightmare. I easily spent a solid month of work do something with plaster (and drywall in the worst room).
****-poor DIY on a kitchen remodel, zero romex/electrical connectors on electrical boxes (that were more than stuffed). When I got to that part, I found charred wires at junction boxes.... well on the way to an electrical fire. Plumbing was equally bad (pvc connections that just came apart, main drain had too little slope)
Exterior hadn't been painted in a long time, several window sills required replacement and a few others I patched.
We've had an endless battle with rodents nesting in our attic (and crawlspace, see below on how I fixed that), I'm having a new roof and gutters installed this week and just finished up fixing the holes in our soffits. Holes big enough that opossums and racoons liked to use the attic as well as squirrels. I'll need to remove all the insulation in the attic to get rid of the stench.
All HVAC is in the crawl-space (dirt covered with plastic for termite/wood boring beetle mitigation), the ducting has rusted through in several spots. This is more an issue in high humidity states, I fixed the root problem by encapsulating the basement (closing off all vents to outside, installing a dehumidifier) which has several Other benefits as well.
Most of the issues are from neglect, some from poorly done DIY "updating", a few from pros (like the roof access for animals, root cause was from installing gutters where they had to remove crown molding to fit them but that left massive open spaces). Each house will be different. For instance, I have a 200amp box with all new wiring and newer PVC plumbing. Floors, while ugly, were very usable original oak (the flooring pro figured they had another 2~3 sandings left).
It takes one of two kinds of people to be happy with an old house. Those who have the money to simply pay a pro to "take care of it", no matter what "it" is... and those who have the background knowledge and skills to do the work themselves, and do it right. It takes a long time though, we were 8 months of 6 days a week work to just get it ready to move in and as I said above, just finishing up our 2nd year in the house now.... about half-way done with the Initial stuff I knew was needed.
Probably different across the nation but here you need to look for termite damage, water damage, human damage, small electrical system, leaded cast iron sewer, black water pipe, all in that order. Human damage is the one that usually you don't find until it fails, like a beam somebody cut because they were a clueless weekend warrior. Or it could be something that was installed wrong, like a tub, a commode, or added a wire to the system mixing aluminum and copper wiring. Then there's load bearing walls that are mickey moused over and removed, think of something that can go wrong and it's pretty much been done. Here our local building code dept requires any permits issued on houses with cast iron sewer, 2 wire system, knob and tube system, black pipe water system, be upgraded to new code or no permit. They consider all of it a safety hazard and it will be changed out.
Thanks. What exactly is that; black water pipe. I looked it up and came up with polybutylene, is that the same??
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