Old House Lovers

[ninnymary]

They are a labor of love. We love ours. Can't put a price on love.

Mary

 

[Nyboy]

A client told me, she and her husband where restoring a old house. I said what year was it built 1972

 

[ninnymary]

A client told me, she and her husband where restoring a old house. I said what year was it built 1972

Wonder what she considers on that is over 100 yrs. old?


Mary

 

[ducks4you]

You gotta REALLY have a good reason to live in an old house that needs repairs. There are many things I still need to do to my 100+yo home. EVERYTHING has to be put in a priority list. Right now, we paid for the new house roof 3 years ago, still paying on replacing the barn roof (metal) in 2015, and leaving the 4 car garage roof (circa 1992) for another 2 years. Can't mind if it springs a few leaks until then. Why does IT need a new roof? Because roofers decided to use cheapo shingles. My metal roof won't need replacing in my lifetime. My shingled house roof will probably last 35 years, so it's the same.
I can live with the old pipes. I love my boiler heating system, which we switched over the natural gas from heating oil about 12 years ago, and I have decided to keep the old radiators.
DD's had to have a 5+ hour repair on their boiler and then one of the kitchen radiators crack an intake valve, which had to be replaced, everything circa 1920's, maybe a little newer.
All the buildings on my property were sided by the previous owner, so 25 years ago. When I'm done paying for the garage roof, I get to replace the siding on 5 buildings.
3/4 of the electrics are 10-30yo. Very little is old, and I had my (now retired) electrician check them in 2000, he didn't think the oldest wiring needed immediate replacement. I would LOVE to pull all of the pipes and all of the wiring and replace it with brand new.
Watching "This Old House" I just saw new storm windows with frames that are identical to MY 50yo storm windows. I think I may be able to start replacing those piecemeal, only the worst places first.
BUT, I get wonderful sunsets, and I get to school my horses 100 foot from the house, and my animals in the backyard with AG2 zoning. You cannot BUY agricultural zoning or change it back from residential. I'm not moving.

 

[baymule]

I remodeled a 2007 doublewide.

 

[Chickie'sMomaInNH]

all homes no matter the age are a labor of love as long as you put the work into keeping them.

i can at least say i own the house i am in. the only thing i have to pay are taxes and those are cheaper than having to pay a mortgage or equity loan.

 

[Beekissed]

I think the mistake most people make in getting those old homes is in thinking they need restored so much. As long as you can get the wiring, the plumbing and the roof in good shape, you are golden...and that costs less than building a new home. Who cares if the floors roll like a roller coaster, as long as you don't fall through them. Who cares if the siding isn't perfect...slap some paint on it and call it a day. Windows? As long as you can open and close them and staple plastic over them in the winter for warmth, do they really need to be new?

The place has stood for 100 yrs and you think it needs your help? Most of them don't, especially if they have a good, metal roof on them. Just buy the place, make it safe, warm/cool and live in it. Live it down to the nub. I've seen people living in old places you could throw a dog through the floor and they never once complained about the place being a money pit. They lived, had families and died in that old place and it outlived them, never having had a ton of money spent on it.

I've lived in a lot of old, old houses and we never spent much money on them at all, lived comfortably and cleanly all the same...and some of those houses are gone now, some still stand and some have folks living in them to this day. It's all in how high one sets their expectations and pride that gauges how much money they will spend on an old house.

It doesn't have to be perfect or even look charming, just safe and comfortable.

 

[aftermidnight]

I love old houses, modern homes with all the bells and whistles are fine for folks that enjoy them they just aren't for me, a place that is warm and dry in the winter and one you can open all the windows and let the breeze if there is one blow through on a hot summer day is what I like.
Back in the 60's we bought the home we are in today, when this house was built it didn't include a bathroom, but later owners took part of the large kitchen and made one when the water line came through, until then they had a well and of course the ol outhouse. When we moved in the lath and plaster walls were in sad shape but we lived with them, raising three children didn't leave much for redecorating. It was only a two bedroom house and we needed three so one summer when DH was on strike we took out a loan and added two more rooms, another bedroom and a new kitchen, we also added an inside stairwell to the basement, actually a cellar, half still has a dirt floor. We did all the work ourselves.

After the kids were out on their own, slowly I started to fix the plaster walls, another coat of plaster hides a multitude of sins. The bathroom was tiny a horror, I so wanted a better layout. DH kept promising, saying we have to wait for good weather because we have to change that window, but darn, it wasn't happening, summers came and went until one summer day DH came home from work to find I had ripped out the walls and they were sitting in the middle of the now dining room was the old kitchen floor. He just took one look at my face and said it looks like I'd better pick up some fittings and a new window tomorrow, it short order we had it done, still tiny but a much better layout if I do say so myself .

The new kitchen kitchen isn't fancy and doesn't have the best layout but hey I have a Jenn aire grill, that makes up for a lot. We couldn't agree on what kind of floor to put in so for many years I painted the plywood sub floor . The whole house is tiled now with the exception of one bedroom and DH's man cave, but hey that's another story on how that came about . All I can say it's not fancy but it's cozy.
Annette

 

[ninnymary]

Our house is over 100 years old and needed work when we bought it but I wouldn't call it a money pit. We've done major projects on it throughout the years. Because it needed work, we were able to get it at a good price, knowing full well we could afford the mortgage payments.

Mary

 

[Nyboy]

I remodeled a 2007 doublewide.

Bay that should be cira 2007