insulation and older homes (Massapequa, Massapequa Park: real estate, houses, buying)

[middleman18]

There are some gorgeous homes built in the era between 1920 and WWII which have been kept in good shape by their owners.

Some of these homes can be found in Brightwaters, and to a lesser extent, Sayville.

My concern is about heating costs in these places.

Having lived in a building that had been built circa 1920 in the past 10 years, I found that the walls were essentially useless in keeping out the cold, and my heating bills astronomical. I can actually remember waking up in the middle of the night because of the cold!

Has anyone had experience with one of these older homes? Is it common for the owners to have had insulation installed during their occupancy, or would I be looking at buying a gingerbread looking house with the equivalent of cardboard for walls?

Thanks for your input.

[Redd Jedd]

Originally Posted by middleman18

There are some gorgeous homes built in the era between 1920 and WWII which have been kept in good shape by their owners.

Some of these homes can be found in Brightwaters, and to a lesser extent, Sayville.

My concern is about heating costs in these places.

Having lived in a building that had been built circa 1920 in the past 10 years, I found that the walls were essentially useless in keeping out the cold, and my heating bills astronomical. I can actually remember waking up in the middle of the night because of the cold!

Has anyone had experience with one of these older homes? Is it common for the owners to have had insulation installed during their occupancy, or would I be looking at buying a gingerbread looking house with the equivalent of cardboard for walls?

Thanks for your input.

I had a house in Massapequa Park built in the 1950's and renovated in 1974. Unfortuately for me, the insulation they used was basically tin foil. Nothing was behind it. Luckily (or unluckily) they used a poor quality wall paper which neccessitated me to replace all of the sheet rock in the house, at which time I put real insulaiton in. Point being, in a house that old, you don't know what they used back then or what happened in the following years.

If you could find a trusted source who knows the area well - history of construction-wise, maybe they could give you insight as to the building practices of the day. I'd rather go to a local lumber yard and ask around rather than a real estate agent.

[NY62]

I grew up in a house in sayville that was early 1900s or late 1800s . I can tell you one thing they do not build houses like that anymore. They were built to last . the problems you may face though are plaster walls and aspestos. Back then aspestos was wrapped on all the pipes. As for heating they had those old radiators and they worked quite well. god knows what insulation was in the walls . I think if you change out the windows though, that will be the biggest help. I never found the house cold except near the old windows you could feel a draft. I think every house back in the day was built different so there is no telling.