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old houses have lousy kitchens,they dont expect the lady of the house to be slaving much in the kitchen.
and no shower stalls.
century old dirt hiding in corners hard to remove.
Not appealing for modern lifestyle
When she wasn't tending to her garden, where do you think she was? Many women didn't work in those days. Cooking, housekeeping and kids were her job.
I wish I lived in the world that some folks live in. "Install new period-style windows". "Redo your siding". "Toss that new 10k boiler and install mini-splits. While your at it, rip out those radiators as those are not what buyers are looking for these days."
There's a reason most of this stuff is still in place from 100+ years ago. Working class people work with what they have. I'm no different. And I gotta say its a testament to the incredible workmanship done in 1915 that a 107 year old electrical system still works, and 107 year old radiators still work, and 107 year old plaster still (sort of) stays on the ceiling. 'Mother of pearl' push button switches that still click precisely as the day they were installed. But not everything works like that.
I'm not a wealthy man. The families that predated me in this house couldn't upgrade them either. Its not the world I live in.
I wish I lived in the world that some folks live in. "Install new period-style windows". "Redo your siding". "Toss that new 10k boiler and install mini-splits. While your at it, rip out those radiators as those are not what buyers are looking for these days."
There's a reason most of this stuff is still in place from 100+ years ago. Working class people work with what they have. I'm no different. And I gotta say its a testament to the incredible workmanship done in 1915 that a 107 year old electrical system still works, and 107 year old radiators still work, and 107 year old plaster still (sort of) stays on the ceiling. 'Mother of pearl' push button switches that still click precisely as the day they were installed. But not everything works like that.
I'm not a wealthy man. The families that predated me in this house couldn't upgrade them either. Its not the world I live in.
+1
I'm with you. Then there's the subset who just buys a different house every 5-7 years.
There is a phrase in historical communities that goes something like this: Blessed are those who don't have the money to do wrong.
Well it's close anyway.
The "non-wealthy" people really consider all changes and are more likely to keep up with systems because they are important vs any trendy things that will be out of date in 10 years.
When I bought my house, one of the "kids" complained they were the last on the street to get cable or do anything. But you know what? I got a great, intact house, spoiled only by vinyl siding in the 70s (doesn't last forever despite what our realtor said). The next person will get the same from me. Hopefully it means the same to them as it did to me. I know the original owners family was thrilled I didn't rip the house apart and change it.
ps - jealous of your push buttons! I had two remaining when I bought the house but they both jammed up. Eventually I'll get replacements.
I wish I lived in the world that some folks live in. "Install new period-style windows". "Redo your siding". "Toss that new 10k boiler and install mini-splits. While your at it, rip out those radiators as those are not what buyers are looking for these days."
There's a reason most of this stuff is still in place from 100+ years ago. Working class people work with what they have. I'm no different. And I gotta say its a testament to the incredible workmanship done in 1915 that a 107 year old electrical system still works, and 107 year old radiators still work, and 107 year old plaster still (sort of) stays on the ceiling. 'Mother of pearl' push button switches that still click precisely as the day they were installed. But not everything works like that.
I'm not a wealthy man. The families that predated me in this house couldn't upgrade them either. Its not the world I live in.
It’s funny that you think we all have money. I live in a small almost 80 year old fixer upper. To change our windows we saved up. We didn’t change all of them at once. Same with many other projects. Little at a time. Nowhere did you say you have a new broiler. It’s all still there because no one has bothered to replace it yet. Chances are high that the next owner will if you don’t.
Depends very much on the individual house. They can often be tight, but certainly not always. The kitchen in our 1870 house is an 1877 addition, a huge room with a cathedral ceiling. It was originally more of a 3 season type of room, a later renovation fully enclosed it but left enormous windows and it has great light and tons of room.
All of these things are so dependent on the individual house and can't really be extrapolated to all old houses. Our 1870 has a shower stall haha, shower upstairs, tub downstairs.
Century old dirt is only there if it hasn't been cleaned in a century
I agree. Many century homes had large kitchens because they had individual storage and prep units rather than the compartmentalized cabinets that we see today (think Hoosier-type cabinets that can be moved). As for the "old dirt", one only has to read any housewives' guide to see the numerous detailed instructions for cleaning to bely that notion. Even I remember getting down on hands and knees and scrubbing the checkerboard linoleum tiles in my 1927 kitchen.
The number of people who want things like radiators is dwindling. People want maintenance free or close to it today. The street I live on is filled with houses from the 30's and 40's. Our house was the last one to replace the wooden windows. We have zero regrets about changing them. We live in a house not a museum.
I have lived in a Victorian with radiators. When something goes wrong with them a flood ensued. The plaster wall was damaged along with the floor. It cost the owner a pretty penny to make repairs. This was 25 years ago. I can't imagine even trying to find someone today who could and would work on them. Finding parts is probably a nightmare.
Window unit acs are hideous. Mini split and central air look no worse.
Just because people picked up the pieces and parts on the curb doesn't mean that they kept them. Many people pick up those pieces and sell them especially radiators to scrap metal dealers.
People who replace hot air steam radiators with forced air electric heat are only fools. Hot air steam radiators are among the best forms of heat there is. It's a nice heat that keeps the house moist while forced air heat dries out the house. I live in a neighborhood built primarily in the 1920s-1940s and just about everyone has their original radiators for this reason.
This thread is devolving into the silly because there are way too many variations between houses to make blanket statements about old versus new. Where I live, the houses have all been well maintained and lovingly updated over the years so most people now do have central air (and are often on their third or fourth generations). If windows have been properly kept for 100 years, you don't need to replace them. Most people have updated kitchens. But not everyone wants huge kitchens either. New materials can easily warp and break in just a few years. There is no "maintenance free" house out there!
That's true. Those people also bought at a time when Archie Bunker was still on the air, and a man could support a family on one salary. I bought now during different times.
Sure it’s already said but the rate of repairs on the older house should eventually level out to the point of not being much more than a newer house…might be 5 year or 10 years but eventually all the major stuff will be fixed or replaced.
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