80-year old vinyl floors need some love
sardino
5 years ago
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lindac92
5 years agoRelated Discussions
80 Year Old Gloxinia--Need Advice Please
Comments (36)Hi Byron, I'm Patrick in the Seattle area. Until recently, I was a member of both the Gesneriad Society and the Puget Sound Gesneriad Society (which has/had a few members in the PDX area). The main GS is sometimes referred to as the Mother Ship, to differentiate between it and any of the regional "clubs" or subgroups, such as the PSGS. You might consider joining the GS's Hybridizers' Group, where you can not only get fresher seeds but also newer hybrid seeds. Altho some Gessie seeds have a long shelf life, not all of them do. And I don't believe the GS seed banks keep track of the age of the seeds. I hope you enjoy your membership...Gessies can be really addictive! I've had fluorescent lights set up in the dining room, living room and 2 bedrooms and ran out of room everywhere. I'm looking forward to seeing pics when your Sinn. speciose seedlings bloom....See MoreMoisture problems in 80 year old basement
Comments (2)Any interior drainage system will not stop water coming through the rubble walls. That's the nature of rubble walls. You can clean and parge them from now to forever and water will seep through. If you're not waterproofing from the outside--a potentially risky job with rubble walls--what you can do to keep the space dry is provide a way for the seepage to drain away. Then you can insulate the walls and finish in front of them. Unless relief cracks or separators were used in the slab, cracking is par for the course and isn't necessarily the result of hydrostatic pressure. Also, rubble foundations didn't require concrete floors to brace them laterally. See link below for detailed information on how North America's most famous building scientist tackled the same job. Here is a link that might be useful: Rubble foundations...See MoreAdding A/C and HP to 80 year old home! Big difference in quotes!
Comments (2)Can't really improve upon tigerdunes minimun specs above, efficiency performance dehumidification (if sized correctly..)staging electric strips. R-8 should be for all ductwork supplies and returns. All connections should be mastic..not foil or duct tape but paint on mastic and/or mastic tape. load calc to show how much air is needed and how to distribute air.(duct sizing & design) I'd invest in the room by room load calc and see how they plan to size the ducts and lay them out. you don't mention where ahu & heaters will be located. one in crawl space the other in attic? both in conditioned space with ductwork in attic and crawl? one thing to know going in is that sheet metal duct is best under houses. animals love flex duct, while you can usually deal with mice in attics..coons, possums can wreak flex duct. also sheet metal duct ( I call it hard pipe) leaks air at all connections. in addition to screwing duct together all joints and seams should be mastic sealed...before duct is wrapped. duct wrap should be stapled, and taped with duct tape (fsk tape) 80 years ago we built houses for ventilation. tall ceilings, balloon framed walls. to add central air to these homes is to change the dynamic of the house. in my area we usually foam floors with closed cell as it is the most cost effective way to both air seal and insulate the floors. here is a link to LaHouse (LSU Baton Rouge, La) about insulating floors: http://www.lsuagcenter.com/NR/rdonlyres/D33F711D-DC4B-4E4C-9ED6-A97DCE9DB026/79806/pub3187insulatingraisedfloorsHIGHRES.pdf you'll have to cut and paste for it to work.. if ductwork is in attic, another option is to foam the roofline and keep ductwork in a conditoned space. this will minimize problem areas like recessed lights that are not air tight, which allow attic air and insulation particles to enter the house. we use open cell installed in rafter bays and covering the face of the rafters. in my experience with older homes you have to fix the house in terms of air leakage and insulation for the central installs to provide comfort, dehumidification and savings. otherwise you just throw more tons of a/c at a leaky structure. insulating floors and attic would be to your benefit. air sealing the house is a good investment. there are lots of energy raters in Texas. you should talk to a few and get more information before spending so much for a/c. unlike a lot of audits an energy rating unbiased information that provides a blue print for efficiency, recommendations specific to your home and performance & install verification. best of luck....See MoreReplacing Foundation of 80-year old Craftsman
Comments (6)I agree w/ spam. Hiring a structural engineer shouldn't be too expensive. He might tell them forget it, or he might say go ahead. I would think in this case, though, hiring an "expert" would be in order first. We are considering moving our 115 year old house w/a similar foundation situation (plus lots more). We have gotten an estimate on jacking and moving, and it's not as prohitively expensive as you might think. And, if needed the engineering costs on top are also, in comparison, are also not hugely expensive....See MoreM
5 years agosardino
5 years ago_sophiewheeler
5 years agolast modified: 5 years agoredhouse27
5 years agowritersblock (9b/10a)
5 years agoNicole
5 years agolindac92
5 years agoM
5 years agosardino
5 years agolindac92
5 years ago
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