Yikes. I just bought an 1898 Victorian house
Hi,
I have always loved old homes and had the opportunity to buy an 1898 Victorian and so my partner and I did. The house had been neglected and unoccupied for the past 4 years. Fortunately the interior of the house has not been ruined by any bad remodels. Besides some large projects (fixing the foundation and electrical) the interior mostly needs a lot of cleaning and has a lot of cracks in the plaster that need to be repaired. I will be posting pictures as requested and along the way as we try and figure out what we are doing. I would say we are handy around the house but not craftsmen of any particular home remodel trade. I am hoping that the advice and prior posts on this website along with countless hours watching HGTV will help along the way.
I have attached a picture of the house as it appeared the first day we saw it a month ago. I am not certain what style of Victorian the house is.
I sometimes wonder if we are crazy for taking on this project. This is a wonderful online community and I welcome any of your thoughts or opinions.
Comments (21)
weedyacres
9 years agoRelated Discussions
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Comments (3)flo_va: I did the same thing - about 3 weeks ago I rescued an unidentified orange mini from the Lowes "death's-door-going-cheap" rack. When I got it home I took it out of the awful algae-covered mix it was in, and potted it in my standard mix without disturbing it too much. (I lifted it out of its nursery-pot and let fall off what would with a gentle shake, then potted it in new soil - I think I got about a 75% change - the roots are sparse). I then covered the pot with a ziploc, but left the bottom un-zipped. This was a two-stemmer, one is re-sprouting, the other has blackened - saved it with a 50% success rate. Now I just have to wait till it gets a little warmer outside and start the transition process to outdoor plant. How's your patient?...See MoreJust bought a dishwasher...did I do good?
Comments (7)I can't wait to find out tomorrow am. I think the only reason I'm not too concerned is the guy told me I could use it for 90 days and then bring it back for any reason. I said what if I don't have a reason and he said I will give you your $$$ back no ?'s asked and no restocking fee or anything. I guess the seriel number will tell us a lot more. I have tile floors. :) It has 9 cycles...isn't that alot? I would not return it because of energy, sorry being honest. I got it for $600 and I know it was a high end model but I also need it to not break in a year. Although, I do have a full warranty that is good for 5 years on some things and 10 years on other things. I would just like more info on it...you know?? I'm so curious I wish I could call today. My husband said for $600 he figures it's better than the $600 models of other brands out there and for that price even if it does break in 5 years we can buy another one. It just seemed like too good of a deal to pass up but then again usually those are the ones you should pass up. ;0 hee hee We just ran it and it was sooooo quiet!! It doesn't even have a door panel on it yet and I could hardly hear it. I love it already is the problem. :) My sister in law has a 9 year old one and it is running like new still. I hope tomorrow brings good news. Keep your fingers crossed for me. I will post tomorrow am after I get some more details. Thanks for your help....See MoreYikes! Just looked at my bank account
Comments (20)That bank account balance grows on you, doesn't it? I loved looking at it. But now I have almost everything bought except for the last couple thousand dollars worth of trim, sheet rock, nails, etc. All that stuff that isn't fun to buy. The bank balance isn't so fun to look at any more. I've never lived in a kitchen with tile back splash. the closest I've come to a backsplash that wasn't hooked on to the formica counter was this house! It had formica counter, metal edge trim, and Formica from the counter to the bottom of the cabinets. The best I can remember for a time line on this house is that it was remodeled in the 70's. I think. My friend's parents lived here when we were already adults with kids of our own. They did a nice job on everything but still......it's time. I'm going to forgo the backsplash for now. I am decisioned out! And I think I will carry my wallpaper over to the backsplash area. I've had that before and I like it. I'm still on budget BUT nothing has been ripped out yet. The house was built in 1880 so I am anticipating all sorts of problems. Soon, very soon, we will start. And then I'll know. I hadn't planned on any new appliances since all of mine are new enough. If I go over budget there's no where to cut....See MoreGreat provenance! Some interior pics of the house we just bought
Comments (15)The minute we walked into this house, we knew it was the "project" house we'd been wanting. It is old enough to have charm and to need work, is well-built and well-maintained so it doesn't need massive structural work, and has not been updated for many decades (excepting some fixture replacements...not all...and a few things here/there...all perfectly acceptable!). A blacksmithing family built the house in the late 1800s--we have a photo dated 1890 in which the house figures prominently, so it was built at least by then--and five generations of the family subsequently lived there. The folks who sold it to us were doing so to settle the family estate. They are the last of the family line and live very far away, so they cannot live in the house themselves, but they wanted to ensure that the "right" buyers purchased it. Apparently it has been in limbo for some time and they have turned down flat several offers to buy the house/land because they feared the house would be torn down or unappreciated. My DH and I wrote a letter to accompany our purchase offer: he is a planner with an architectural background, and I recently graduated with my MAHP, so historic houses are just our thing. :) It's the funniest thing...when the realtor was showing it to us she was very apologetic about the kitchen/bathroom and how dated they are. To me, the kitchen is one of the best rooms in the house because it hasn't been gutted of any of its 1940s-50s charm. It's an addition that hasn't changed much since it was built, as far as we can tell. PERFECT! I had to tell the realtor after the closing how much her apologies had fallen on deaf ears. Every time we walk through the door I'm struck by how it feels like home. We have an electrical crew rewiring right now (fishing new wiring into the old K&T chases), but once they're done it'll be ready to move into. I can't wait. As we've explored the various trunks, dressers, hutches, etc. that are there we've found some fascinating family history as well as some great house history. I have shivers just writing about it. Of course, there are a few problems. At one point the upstairs bath (a closet with a toilet and the tiniest sink in the world) had a minor leak. We'll need to do some probing to ensure that there's no rot or fungal problem lurking. And, probably because of the moisture and heat, the kitchen plaster walls are not in the greatest of shape. However, the plaster in the other rooms is lovely, and from what I could see in the attic, at least the second-story ceilings are remarkably well keyed. Woohoo! The woodwork has not experienced the dozens of paint layers that frequently accompany old houses. There's no real wood rot, even on the exterior wood, that I can find. We'll need to strip off the steel siding to reveal the clapboard underneath, but that will wait until spring, after we've gotten a few other things taken care of. I know this is the longest post EVER, but I can't resist telling the story of this house to some folks who will appreciate it! Most of our friends/family seem to fall into the camp of "Are you nuts? You must be absolutely nuts!!"...See More
hoovb zone 9 sunset 23
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worthy
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party_music50
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adamsmile
9 years agoI have attached a pic of the sunroom. I'm not sure how to attach more than one picture but will see what I can do to figure it out.
sunnyca_gw
9 years agooldfixer
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PROJoseph Corlett, LLC
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9 years agojacqueline9CA
9 years agojacqueline9CA
9 years agoThree additional thoughts - I think that the sun room is an enclosed porch.
I agree that this house has a Craftsman look. In our neighborhood, we have Victorians, very early Craftsman large houses built right around 1900, and later Craftsman bungalows. My house (1905 -see pic) is a late Queen Anne Victorian (with some Craftsman elements) on the outside, but has Craftsman type panelling, built - ins, and fire places on the inside. We know (because my DH's great grand parents bought our house new in 1905) that our house was built as a "spec" house by a builder who built two in the neighborhood. My DH, who is a retired contractor and builder, told me that the interior Craftsman elements were just coming in to popularity, so the builder used them (possibly cheaper too). Not all houses are pure one style.
Just a thought - you might want to look into house insurance that is tailored for old houses. It is more expensive, but they will exactly reproduce all of the details of your house if they are destroyed. We got that kind, and one room burned, and they re-built it exactly (except it had to be upgraded to double pane windows, which was a blessing), including making new knives to copy the remnants of molding that was lost to reproduce it.
Jackie
stanlie_gw
9 years ago
PROOld House Guy LLC
9 years ago
Chadoe3