Blondee - see at the bottom of this forum, where it says: Search: This Entire Site. Type in, Posting pics in messages.

I use PictureTrail.com. It's free for a month or so. Follow their instructions closely, then practice in the Test Forum. It took me awhile to get the hang of it, too.

Blondee,

Here's a dissussion of this topic from the kitchen forum.

Here is a link that might be useful: Posting pic thread from Kitchen Forum

If you go to the linked message, there are some pretty thorough instructions on adding pictures to PhotoBucket and including them in your thread.

Here is a link that might be useful: Photobucket instructions

Hi all,
i hope this works. Thanks for all the helpful postings on how to post pics. I hope this works.

Once again, can anyone help with identifing what type, style our "new" old house is. It's brick with balloon framing. The front used to be an open porch. The back was added so they could put stairs to the second floor(it's been turned into a 2 family). We really want to bring it back to what it once was.

Any help would be wonderful. Thanks all.

Here is a link that might be useful: Pics of our house

It worked! I like the house. What is balloon framing?

I'd say that there's no real definitive style to your house, other than what I call "19th Century American Farm." It looks like so many of the farm houses that were built in Pennsylvania from about 1850 to about 1880-1900.

Balloon framing is an old style of construction in which the exterior walls of the house are built with single, long pieces of dimensional lumber and then the floors are hung from the walls.

This was possible when there were enormous stands of long, straight timber that could be converted into dimensional lumber by steam and water powered sawmills that came into existence in this country starting around the 1850s.

Essentially, the wall cavities between the wall studs are open from where they rest on the foundation members all the way up to the eaves. Makes it easy to fish wire and the like, but harder to insulate.

When the supply of long, tall timber began to get scarce around the turn of the 20th century, platform framing came into existence.

In platform framing, the basement ceiling/1st floor is built on top of the foundation.

Then, on top of that, the first floor walls are erected. On top of those walls, the ceiling and 2nd floor are built as a platform.

Technically, Blondee, your house probably isn't balloon framing in that it's a self-supporting brick outer shell. Balloon framing really only refers to stick-built homes (wood walls). The floors for your home are supported on joists that are recessed into pockets in the brick walls.

Or, at least that's my guess given what I know about how homes of this age were traditionally built.

In your home, the

kframe, I'd guess the same as you on the construction of that house.

Our house is load-bearing brick, with the floor joists and roof supported in the side walls. All interior walls are non load-bearing.

Holy cow...

I have a feeling that you may have the Sears Kit Home - The Roanoke. Please click on the link below, scroll down about 3/4ths of the way to the picture of the Roanoke.

I know your house is brick, but lots and lots of Sears Homes were brick. Your house has a number of striking features that suggest it is The Roanoke.

Principally, that side entrance with its hipped roof, the placement of chimney, the fenestration (windows and such) and more.

Where is this house??

BTW, when looking at the picture, remember that these houses were often "flipped" - so you may have a mirror image of the catalog home.

Rose

Here is a link that might be useful: Pictures of a Roanoke

BTW, what are the exterior dimensions of the house???

Here is a link that might be useful: {{!gwi}}

Wish I knew how to do editing here...

Balloon framing was used almost exclusively into the 1920s. Platform framing (which replaced balloon framing) came into vogue in the mid-1920s because it was considered safer against fire hazards.

Balloon framing got its name from onlookers who claimed that it looked like a house framed this way would "blow away with the first breeze."

Rose

Rose,

You can't edit.

Thanks for that old ad pic, rosethornil. $1,555.00! But did you read where it says: brick, cement and plaster extra?
Price is under "Options". Very interesting.

Hi All,
We thought it might be a Roanoak. There are many houses in the area that look to be "Sears" homes. But I have not been able to find any like ours. We're in New Haven county in CT. But there have been many alterations to the house when they changed it into a 2 family. The side door was never there. You can see how it was just cut out and poorly modified to fit a door. All original windows and doors have arches in brick over them and granit slabs under them. At least when they closed in the front porch and made the front room bigger, they never bricked in the orginal Front door and window. They only closed them in on one side of the wall. Why not both is beyound me. And yes, there is no insulation in the whole house. Which will be one of the first things that must be addressed. And we have the typical crazy wiring and plumbing. My husband, who's an electrician, just goes down in the basement and traces wires all weekend, and then shakes his head and can't figure out why in the heck did they do that.

Also, what can I do to "clean" up the brick? There is writing scratched in it from old renters kids.

Thanks again for all your posts. They're great.

Hi Again,
Does anyone have any suggestions for the back? I know it looks just awful, fake brick and all that. We were thinking maybe clapboards. Dark green. It would be more trouble to tear it off. They cut major holes into the original brick exterior when they added the back on.

Balloon Construction:

Here is a link that might be useful: Balloon Construction

I said it may be a Roanoke (and it could well be) but there was a precursor to the Roanoke, known as Sears Modern Home #226, which was offered in the mid-1910s. (Sears used numbers instead of names before 1918. After 1918, their houses all had names, like "The Roanoke.")

By the way, is this house solid brick or veneer?

Rose

Hi Rose,
I know that it only resembles The Roanaok. No way of knowing for sure, I have to start looking around in the older construction to see if there are any markings that say sears or honor built. You know, on the ends of boards or maybe old hardware. The house itself is soild brick, the walls are almost 12 inches thick. The back addition is covered in fake brick shingles. UGG!!
Thanks for all the info, I've been doing my homework, but this home is just baffleing. And I've been to the historical socity, with no luck. The original deeds don't have any classification of what type or kind it is.

Linda

Blondee, you asked for suggestions for the back of the house. It looks like both the back and front of the house have porches that were enclosed a long time after the house was built. You might want to think about restoring both facades to their original appearance. That front enclosure looks like it could have originally been a very pretty sunporch.

Carol,
We do intend to bring back at least half of the front porch to original state. The rest will have to remain the livingroom. The front door and window next to it, and a window to the left side can be removed. They never bricked in the original front door archway and window archway. So they will become the front enterance again. The back is another story, the smaller addition we can remove without problems. The lager one will be tougher to tackle. On the second floor they removed nearly half of the exterior brick wall to widen the kitchen and accommidate the stairway up.

A house from that era would not have any telltale stamps on the lumber (such as A119). Pre-1920 Sears Homes did not have stamped lumber. However, you MAY find some markings in blue grease pencil on the joists. If you find any of those, please let me know what they say.

The term "honor bilt" (contrary to popular myths) is NOT going to appear anywhere in the house or on the hardware.

And there is also the possibility that I am simply WRONG about it being a Sears Home.

About the deeds, there might be a clue there. Sears started offering mortgages in 1911, so you might want to look and see if the house had a mortgage from Sears Roebuck, Nicholas Wieland or Lewis Walker. (These two men were trustees for Sears and the mortgage document was often recorded in their name.) If the house had a Sears mortgage, it was ALMOST CERTAINLY a Sears Home - especially in the pre-1930 years.

For more info, read my book. :)

Rose
author, The Houses That Sears Built

Blondee, by the way, you asked about putting a photo in your post. Since you're using Photobucket (which I use, too), all you have to do is copy the line labeled Tag under the picture, and paste it into your post. I did it, and here's the result:

Alisande,
That is so awsome. Thank you very much.

Here's a link to images of mine, which is in Western Penn. Predates yours by about 30 years (ours is about 1880), but they seem to have similar bones. At least you can see what yours might look like w/out the porch (south face, remembering that our south face is covered over w/ vinyl, so who knows what it looks like underneath). Our north face has a wide fascia board that's not really obvious on these pics. We took the vinyl off when we redid the small porch roof. On ours, the porch is probably not original adn stoop definitely isn't! I'm anxious to take off the vinyl all around to see if there might've been a porch on the south face originally.

There are bones of Greek revival in both, I think. Also, we have an architectural student drawing up an addition for us and he has mentioned Federal style (but I think that's a stretch). But I think, as was mentioned early in the post, it's probably more of a working man's vernacular style (if it's not the Sears home, can't comment on that one).

There's a very good book out there on American Architecture: McAlester, V. and Lee McAlester. 1984. A Field Guide to American Houses. Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.

I'm sure it's on Amazon, or, if you're not really into *all* of the styles, it might be worth just a checkout from the library.

Here is a link that might be useful: Druid's House

This house was built in 1893, the garage was put on in 1973, I think it's a colonial but not sure. It was remodeled (new roof, driveway, and windows) when the garage was put in. I would like to see if it is close to the original state.

Pic. Link: (If not below:)
http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u246/mr-man1994/House.jpg

Here is a link that might be useful: {{!gwi}}