what I have learned about owning an old house...

[Queenofthecastle]

Here are some things I have learned thus far from living in (and with) my 1870's cottage:

- they never used to insulate, unless you count horse-hair stuffed into lathe boards
- removing old wallpaper was unheard of, they just painted or papered over it!
- old plaster just disintegrates into dust
- old houses are NOT kid friendly (ie. lead based paint, asbestos flooring, steeeeep stairs....)
- weather stripping is a more recent invention
- I miss having a dishwasher
- getting knob & tube wiring updated (to modern safety standards) is EXPENSIVE
- painting walls & trim takes 3 times as long as it does in a newer house because of all the holes/knicks/gouges you have to patch
- layers and layers of linoleum/glue oil/ cloth rugs over original wide plank floors
- everything costs more than you think it will and takes way longer than expected
- no doors are standard size
- people just shaved off bottoms of doors to fit the house as the house/floors shifted
- they burned and/or buried garbage in the back yard
- god knows what they buried in the cellar
- dust, dirt & debris are now part of my daily rountine
-caulking is my best friend lately


... my list will continue as I think of, or encounter, more fun stuff :rolleyes:

Feel free to add your own mis-adventures and revelations of owning and living in an old house!

[vintage girl]

OMG that is a long list:D My house is not nearly as old as yours, but we encountered some very interesting things when we moved into our house years ago:

They wallpapered around the furniture
A screwdriver is not a substitute for a lock on the front door. They took the lock and hammered a screw driver through the hole where the lock was, into the door jamb. Huh
The tank of the toilet is not an appropriate place to cool your beer EWWWW
Screens on windows would be nice
Actually windows in all the rooms would be nice. They decided to remove two of the windows and take them with them. Huh

Our house was basically a dump, plain and simple!! But it came on a huge piece of propery, was a corner lot and did have some charm to it. If you looked real real hard:rolleyes: Over the years we have redone the entire house. Only thing we have not touched is the kitchen cupboards, hall linen cupboard and the bedroom closets. Have replaced everything else. All electrical, plumbing, roof, windows, doors, flooring, popcorn ceiling, etc etc. Every single room had wallpaper. I never ever want to see wallpaper again. This weekend we are finally replacing our closet doors. We actually got rid of the ugly wood doors years ago, but put up drapes that were only supposed to be there for a couple of years. Well that couple of years turned into 15. I wanted raised panel doors, but they are a custom size, and it was way too expensive. I am getting glass doors with a bronze frame. We are doing our bedroom and the office. Will do daughters room in a couple of months. We still have to remove her popcorn ceiling first. Once we do that, we will be done. Famous last words:D

[Bungalove]

Sometimes you can find cool things under the floorboards. Sometimes you can find gross things under the floorboards!

[chyna]

I learned that you should never mess with plaster. Sheetrock sucks in an old house or maybe it is just my house. In any case you tear the plaster down and put in sheetrock and suddenly the trim doesn't work, the doors won't go in flush. Oh and putting up sheets of insulation isn't a good idea either.

Living in MT you should be glad you don't have insulation from pre-fiberglass. I think I got Libby insulation, I'm not thrilled. :(

[yarborough house]

How about when the plumbing breaks it is usually a major thing not a simple fit.
when you need new boards to fix your front porch they don't make true 1x4 tongue and groove so you have to have it milled.
The windows all leak air but dang if you want to give up that wavy glass
The electric just can't handle all our cool electronics

[jabbrley]

That they often come with powder beetles or termites
That they are sometimes built upon wood posts, rather than masonary materials
That cellars are often made of crumbling stone and floors are often nothing more than dirt.
That cellars such as that often leak...and flood, causing pilot lights on (newer) furnaces and hot water heaters to go out
That chimneys,fireplaces may not be safe to use without much work
That fuses blow often
That they have old cesspools (unsafe) and possibly built of crumbling brick...may be just a deep hole, covered by a cement square or cirlce. Dangerous.
That there may not be a single wall that is plumb, door or window that is level
That windows with ropes and pullys don't always go up...and if they do, they may not STAY up unless propped
The floors often 'roll'
There may be 4 or 5 layers of linoleum
There may be rodents...and one might die in the wall (eeeeew, stinky!)
(I didn't own this house...but my grandparents did) These are the reasons why my Mom wouldn't let me buy it and my Dad said, "Old house, old problems, new house, new problems...without so much expense to fix."

And after all that being said, I STILL have to say, I LOVE old houses!!!

[Queenofthecastle]

How about when the plumbing breaks it is usually a major thing not a simple fit.
when you need new boards to fix your front porch they don't make true 1x4 tongue and groove so you have to have it milled.
The windows all leak air but dang if you want to give up that wavy glass
The electric just can't handle all our cool electronics

Yup, got those old windows too. It is like floating money right out the windows trying to heat this place.

And the electrical. OMG. Before we got this place rewired, we couldn't use the microwave at the same time as the garbage disposal or the whole house would go dark!

[Queenofthecastle]

That they often come with powder beetles or termites
That they are sometimes built upon wood posts, rather than masonary materials
That cellars are often made of crumbling stone and floors are often nothing more than dirt.
That cellars such as that often leak...and flood, causing pilot lights on (newer) furnaces and hot water heaters to go out
That chimneys,fireplaces may not be safe to use without much work
That fuses blow often
That they have old cesspools (unsafe) and possibly built of crumbling brick...may be just a deep hole, covered by a cement square or cirlce. Dangerous.
That there may not be a single wall that is plumb, door or window that is level
That windows with ropes and pullys don't always go up...and if they do, they may not STAY up unless propped
The floors often 'roll'
There may be 4 or 5 layers of linoleum
There may be rodents...and one might die in the wall (eeeeew, stinky!)
(I didn't own this house...but my grandparents did) These are the reasons why my Mom wouldn't let me buy it and my Dad said, "Old house, old problems, new house, new problems...without so much expense to fix."

And after all that being said, I STILL have to say, I LOVE old houses!!!

:) all of the above!

My brother bought an old house last fall (circa 1905) and it was infested with fleas! He has had the Orkin man come in 3 times and the fleas are still there in the floorboards!

[shabbychick]

:) all of the above!

My brother bought an old house last fall (circa 1905) and it was infested with fleas! He has had the Orkin man come in 3 times and the fleas are still there in the floorboards!

Ewwwww! You all are totally putting me off the idea of ever owning an old house. This sounds like a multiple-income proposition to me. I think I'll set my sights on a brand new little cottage in the old style. :)

[jabbrley]

Might be wise, Shabby.... I do LOVE old houses, but they can surely be money pits. If you have all money to fix, repair, redo, and restore, they are diamonds in the rough.... but unfortunately, we don't. I think restoration is a wonderful idea...and keeping a family house is too, if you can. I hate to see them knocked down...and redone in some wild way.
I guess most of us who commented were somewhat negative in our lists...but the truth is the truth, I'm afraid. We didn't mean to be discouraging...I don't believe.

[chyna]

I think it is just a word to the wise however there are many ways around these "negatives" like there is a special paint you can use over lead paint (saw it on Flip this House) or as long as it is not flaking don't mess with it. Above all don't ever sand it. Otherwise use liquid paint stripper and you should be good as long as you dispose safely.

Those drafty old windows. Invest in storm windows and you should be good, also repairing the windows would go a long way. Weatherstripping is a good thing.

I think the thing that freaks me out the most is the asbestos possibilities. What is ironic is that the rush for the newer and better is probably what is what is the most dangerous. If they had just left the linoleum I'd be good. :rolleyes:

I would say that owning an old house is not for the easily put off. You gotta be stubborn and willing to sweat and bleed. And bruises are a badge of honor. Once you have brought something back from icky it is something great. To strip paint and find that wood underneath is so proud.

[jabbrley]

Good points, Chyna There are definitely ways around the bad stuff. I'm glad you brought up the asbestos issue...I'd forgotten about that and the lead paint. As long as it's left undisturbed, it's supposedly safe. Otherwise, a pro should be called in to take it out and dispose of it in a safe and correct way.
Welcome back! We've missed you for the last few days. :)

[Gigi]

Was an old well and septic field mentioned?:confused:

[chyna]

I'm going to vote for old pipes and wiring in general. :) Honestly I think the stuff that was original to the house was safer than the stuff the former owners did around here. Somewhere in my backyard is the line the previous people "buried" and now has a short in it. We had to hire a professional to rerun that line. I feel better knowing it is done right now at least. Now we have to deal with the waste pipe that for whatever reason backs up whenever. The lines in my town were put in decades ago and are failing now.

[Bride]

Good , it's a good habit stick in:confused:

[allen820]

Our first house back in the mid-70's was a 1920's stone house. In the twenty years we lived there, I think we had repaired or renovated about every inch of that old house, but we learned a lot, and we spent much time together planning and doing. Then, as the town began to more and more encroach on us, we sold out and moved to the big, new traditional in the suburbs. We raised our kids there, and certainly this house should have everything we needed. But, it didn't. It was missing something our first house had plenty of -- something hard to describe that old houses have and new houses simply don't have. The creaks, the ghosts (that is, the history and contributions of the other lives spent in the special space), the feel of a decades old wall or ballaster . . . Old houses are to be embrased, enjoyed, appreciated, and protected. Having spent 15 years in the new construction, we found and bought a 30's home in a cottage community. I now have the challange of figuring why our chimney sometimes leaks and sometimes doesn't. A tile has come loose in the bathroom because it appears the floor may have settled a bit, and a couple doors stick when the weather changes. But it's all real, and it's all wonderful!

[shabbychick]

Great tribute to the attractions of a vintage home! Very nicely said!

[vintage girl]

What a wonderful post Allen:) I agree with you 100%. Our home is semi-old (60 years). Many many times for the 20 plus years we have lived here, we have had family and friends try and get us to sell and buy a "new" house. I am so happy we did not. While I would like another bathroom, as we only have 1, I would not move for all the tea in China;) My hubs and I have redone this entire house. Everything from plumbing, electrical, paint, flooring, windows, heating, lighting, etc etc. We did 99% of it ourselves and it truly was and is (it is ongoing), a labor of love. Sometimes hubs and I will look around the house and reminise (sp???) about a particular project. Sometimes a project turned out to be way more than anticipated and we even came close to divorce a couple of times:eek:, but it always worked out in the end and we had the pride of something we did ourselves. Our daughter has learned a lot also, and recently when we redid her room, she did 90% of the work. I just hope that the next person who comes along when I am gone, will love this house as much as I do:)

[RoseMary]

Great post, Allen. I've always wanted an older home, but living on property that has passed down through the family, the older home had burned. We built our home ourselves and it is, as Vintagegirl said, an ongoing labor of love:).