Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
My house was built in 1976 and it has copper romex wires throughout. One thing to think about re houses built in the 1950's is lead pipes and smaller water service pipes.
Houses built with galvanized waste pipes do tend to have problems often. Most of these developement houses do have copper water piping though.
If there is no basement, and no crawl space, that means pipes are buried in the cement slab. So if something goes wrong, the slab needs to be dug up.
^^This. I've known a few people who have had to jackhammer through their living room floor.
Also, don't forget a lot of these houses had radiant heating, which did not stand the test of time being buried in that slab. And if there is ever a flood, houses with basements at least have a place to catch the water.
Although neither of these things have to do with quality of construction.....
I can say that I have owned a 50's house with no basement and was happy with my tounge-in-groove roof, which i generally havent seen on 70's houses.
Houses built with galvanized waste pipes do tend to have problems often. Most of these developement houses do have copper water piping though.
Yes, these pipes rust on the inside and are notorious for clogging. Even if you remove the clogs, they will continue to rust and you will have the problem again.
^^This. I've known a few people who have had to jackhammer through their living room floor.
Also, don't forget a lot of these houses had radiant heating, which did not stand the test of time being buried in that slab. And if there is ever a flood, houses with basements at least have a place to catch the water.
Although neither of these things have to do with quality of construction.....
I can say that I have owned a 50's house with no basement and was happy with my tounge-in-groove roof, which i generally havent seen on 70's houses.
Correct me if i'm wrong, please!
That is a good point about the tongue&groove sheathing. The 70's produced many homes with 1/2 plywood sheathing on roofs and without proper ventilation these roofs have become like cardboard. They also did Sheetrock sheathing under asbestos siding and homosote under brick.
Actually, pigtail it.
I think its only on 73 and newer.
Late 60s early 70s stuff was pretty solid.
Crooks
Al wiring can be found from late 60s to mid 70s.
There are different Al alloys used , some are worse than others. If pigtailing or checking on existing pigtailing, was it done properly and certified? Was every fixture pigtailed or just receptacles? A google search on Al wiring is a must if considering a house with Al wiring.
I lived in a 50s ranch and it was built like a fortress, probably because it was brick. My current 1976 colonial is much weaker construction. The comments about waste pipes are definitely true for the older homes, much better to have PVC to prevent clogs.
My house was built in the 1971 and it has aluminum wiring. I know about this time, they tried to cut down costs with copper so used aluminum but after using it, they found it wasn't a safe conductor. If you pigtail the outlets (b/c this is where a fire would start), you should be okay. After we purchased our home, we had an electrician come in and check all of the outlets and light switches, etc. Also, I found out whatever was added later on (high hats, switches, etc) is all copper b/c this is what they are allowed to use today for code. Aluminum is no longer in use. I had my son's b/r totally gutted and when I did this, I replaced the alumunim wiring with copper this way I knew his room was okay. Even if the inspector tells you there is aluminum in a house, they can tell by the electric panel if some things have been changed to copper. I was worried about this when I first moved into my home. However, a home inspector and my electrician put me at ease when they told me that most of the house is now copper b/c of additions and new wiring, etc. I recommend, if you gut a bathroom kitchen, bedroom or anything else, when the walls are open, repalce the wiring with copper and abandon the aluminum. Most houses in the last 60's and 70's were built with this wiring. Pigtailing is the easiest and is effective at preventing issues with this wiring.
Also, I believe most houses today, are not built with those nice hardwood floors. I belive they are built with plywood.
Also, I believe they installed a lot of forced hot air in homes back in the 70's. If you ask me, baseboard heat is much better. However, when I was looking for a home on the north shore, forced hot air is the main way to heat houses.
Also, cesspools. In the 50's and 60's, block cesspools were used. However, in the early 70's they started using precast which is much safer than block as the precast do not collapse like the block. My house was the builder's house and I'm not sure if most houses had precast in 71 but mine does. Thank God! Those block pools scare me! However, most people probably have repaced their block cesspools by now b/c they've probably either collapsed or due to age didn't work well anymore.
My comment about design alluded to the fact that they are ugly. And you are right, they are more mid 70's than late.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
