Should we lighten 153-year old wood walls?
2 years ago
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- 2 years ago
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Fun surprises when you open walls in a 60 year old house!
Comments (22)We found old business card like papers (1899) and receipts (1901) and hand written letters (1901 and 1902). A wooden umbrella handle, some metal decorative bands, a fabric sample book, and some old blouses. Structural nightmares around every turn, some far too recent to be acceptable. Horrible septic, no working well, and poorly done new electric that should have burnt the house down. Wood stoves were the only heating this house had ever had, and up until this past year, we had heated with stoves, but have upgraded to a wood furnace plus the stoves. Some walls still don't have insulation and some drywall is hiding crumbling plaster. We'll get to it one day. Here is the first page to the 1901 4 page letter. The envelope and letter were in amazing shape for their age....See MoreWhat should we do with the flooring of our 50 year old home?
Comments (23)I agree that the closed off wall and new door looks so much better. The challenge is that there is more railing which you can see in the image above. It may look odd closing off the wall to the entryway but unable to do it over the stairs where the ceiling currently ends and the railing continues into the dining room. By the way, can someone add the flooring from this house image to my entryway. Several comments have suggested some kind of gray tile. Would like to see a more clean, polished gray tile in the foyer. Thanks in advance....See MoreShould we paint the wood windows/trims/doors white? / Other options?
Comments (7)The doors and knobs are dating the house. If it's in the budget, it might save you time and effort to replace the doors with a different style in a pre-painted door. Lever handles would also update the look. Then you would have to paint the trim to match. However, wood products are one of things affected by COVID shortages and price increases, so if you do decide to replace the doors, it might pay to wait a year. While gray is going out, you have an overabundance of beige which is also dating the house. So as not to break the bank maybe selectively replace some of the beige flooring? Before doing anything, try to develop an overall plan for your update. Even if you spread the work and/or expense over a couple years, an overall plan will yield a more satisfactory, cohesive result....See More60 year old cinderblock house with cinderblock interior walls.
Comments (13)The electrical had to be done by punching holes in the cinderblock. Then patching with foam. Mostly the holes where the electrical runs are behind the cabinetry. The floor plan changes required new interior stud walls formed and were finished out with drywall. So we have some cabinets attached, lowers and uppers, to the cinderblock. There are some attached to the new interior walls from the floor plan changes. There is an open space of wall where the back door is in the middle. From left of door is cabinetry going to right of the door is cabinetry. On that wall I would like to continue the backsplash. It makes the kitchen look cohesive and solves the ugly wall problem in the kitchen area. The rest of the cinderblock walls that need to be covered are in the family room and two bedrooms. The bathroom was done 30 years ago and, thankfully, the tile in that bathroom still looks good. The tile was glued with thinset to the block and it has not budged. My decisions going forward are what to cover those ugly cinderblock walls. Shiplap? Durarock? Tile that looks like wood? Your suggestions are appreciated. Kathy...See MoreRelated Professionals
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