My doorbell's most excellent adventure (many pics!!!)

16 years ago

As many of y'all know, I'm a nut about old houses. Inch by inch, I'm trying to restore my 1920s Colonial to its original condition. My husband won't let me do anything to the kitchen (drat!), but I'm having fun with the other parts of the house.

Like the doorbell chime. The house had a doorbell, but no chime. The wire from the doorbell went into oblivion, so we had to start from scratch.

First, I went looking for the perfect chime. Finally, I found just what I wanted. It was a 1949 vintage NuTone chime - new/old stock. It was still in its original box and had never been used.

Very cool.

As per the the written instructions, I donned a little frilly apron and some high heels and found a step stool and proceded to install the chime.

However, despite my hope and expectation that this crazy expensive door chime would function flawlessly, it turned out that the power unit (the plunger) didn't work.

Perhaps, sometime in the 1950s, someone had opened the box just long enough to drop some oil on it.

The literature promised that I could easily replace and re-order this power unit, in the unlikely event that it failed. However, I used my ultra-modern computer and went online and found that no one had sold this power unit since the years of the Korean War, so I swiped the power unit out of a new chime and did a little retrofit, inserting a new power unit from a 2007 doorbell into the old chime housing.

Then one Friday evening, my husband and I decided that we'd like to spend two hours playing "go fish the wire" and back and forth we went, from the basement to the first floor, wondering where on earth that little wire had gone. Finally, we got the wire into its proper place.

Next, we installed the 1949 K20 NuTone Door Chime in its rightful place, on the wall of our 1924 Colonial.

Now it dings and dongs and it's all very exciting. :)

The End.

Rose

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Comments (21)

nodakgal
16 years ago
LOL
I LOVED it! What an adventure!
mariend
16 years ago
You sound so talented. I would have wires everywhere. It looks great.
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hayjud_mn
16 years ago
Wow! Do those insides look familiar!

We recently replaced our old doorbell that had a different style housing for the very same innerds! LOL

Ours was from 1950 and it started ringing on it's own at times and sometimes it buzzed. It turned out to be the old coating on the wire near one of the doors was worn off and when there was high humidity outside, the moisture caused the wires to act like they were touching.

I love the color of your walls!
gwanny2three
16 years ago
How fun for you....loved your story! I would love to have a doorbell of any kind!
mikka_north
16 years ago
Good for you Rose! It sounds like you can have lots of fun every time you find an "new" piece to your "old" home!

I have to ask, did you have a frilly apron on, and wear cute little black pumps when you hung it on the wall!!
For the 50's crazy that it was the "woman" of the house that would be installing the door bell! Love that you added the directions. I just love anything old! :o)
User
16 years ago
that's really pretty! I would LOVE to see your kitchen though, to see why your husband won't let you touch it. Would love to know if I agree with him or not. hehehehe
glenda_al
16 years ago
Neato!
czech_chick
16 years ago
Oh my gosh! My mom has the exact one in her 1952 house!

It was nice to see its original packaging.

Thanks!

Carol
pattico_gw
16 years ago
I fell in love with my daughters first house....because of the doorbell.

You walked up on a cute little covered porch with round posts holding the roof up and a very old but fancy little door with a crank bell. You had to turn the middle of the bell and it would dinggggg a linggggg. I loved it.

Her house had been built by a builder who did each room different to show what different ways he could do the woodwork, and ceilings. Some were tin, some were wood.
The ceiling in the living room had been papered some where along the way...a little bit was hanging....we peeked under and found the ceiling was a mural painted of cherubs and such. I wanted to take it all down and expose the mural but her husband wouldn't let us. He's always afraid we wouldn't be able to finish it. I think if parts of the mural were missing I could have figured out how to refinish it. I dabble with oils if I'm in the mood.
It was an adorable house. But they found out that Taylor was getting lead from somewhere in the house..she had traces in her...so they sold and moved into our old home.

I'm rambling and stealing your space...sorry...but you made me think of it with the door bell...LOL..so it's your fault...hehe

patti
linda_in_iowa
16 years ago
OMG, that is the same chime my parents had in our house that my dad built in 1950. It's probably still there.
lynne_melb
16 years ago
Rosemary, that's great. I think the pictures should have included you in the frilly apron and high heels.
ronf_gw
16 years ago
What a great story.
Did you wear pearls like the Beavers Mom always did? To go along with the heels and apron?
Ron
jannie
16 years ago
When we moved to our house in 1964,we had a NUtone doorbell just like that. Mom still lives in the house,with my brother. Not sure if the doorbell still works. Dad's been dead for 9 years. He always kept everything in working order.
mtnwomanbc
16 years ago
You're so resourceful! It looks fabulous.

Of course, now I am curious about whether our doorbell works . . . NOT. Oh well, now I have another thing to troubleshoot.
dibby
16 years ago
I love it! What a great story and how clever of you both to adapt it to working condition. Thanks for sharing your story. BTW, I love your heels and apron!
susiesunshine
16 years ago
Thank you soooooo much for the lovely pics and for
sharing ! !! It took me back in time... and I enjoyed thinking of my childhood and my mother and grandmother...
I am a grand mother now... and I am 6o and just bought a home that was born in 1923...
I am hoping that my grand child .... will appreciate these things in life also.!!
Thank you so much! - those were the days my friend !!!
God Bless You and your family !
Merry Christmas !
susiesunshine
marilyn_c
16 years ago
Rose, I so much enjoyed reading this! I love the old things that I grew up with...I'm 61 years old now. We are working on
our house and everything in it with only a couple of exceptions are, as they say, "vintage". I can't wait to do the kitchen...I have a 1949 Maytag range and all of my kitchen stuff is from the '40's and '50's.
FlamingO in AR
16 years ago
Wow, what a swanky looking doorbell unit! That is a great story and you are very resourceful, Rose. Good job!
OklaMoni
16 years ago
Somehow I missed this post back when, but just found it and thought it should not fall off page 67 just yet. :)

Soooo, here ya go, read it again everyone! LOL

Moni
justlinda
16 years ago
Ahem, doesn't all the ladies here do house repairs wearing high heels, nylon stockings, dress and apron?
grinch_gut
16 years ago
Well I dress that way everyday when I cook clean and wait on Brian to get home with drink and pipe in hand LMAO! I love this story great great great.........STacy

My doorbell's most excellent adventure (many pics!!!)

Comments (21)

nodakgal

mariend

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