Question of the Day - Tuesday, January 27

SwampWitch said:

 
It was built around 1910. It's always falling apart somewhere.

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Shall we commiserate together? 

Our latest was the boiler went kaput.  Although, we should count our blessings that it lasted as long as it did, and we ourselves got another 4-1/2 years out of it.

Next up?  I have to have the rock chimney repointed.  Small cracks are in the masonry and I've put it off long enough.  Don't want it falling down on the house - or someone!

My house is around 150 years old as well!  Maybe a bit older. 

sivyaleah said:

 

SwampWitch said:

 
It was built around 1910. It's always falling apart somewhere.

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Shall we commiserate together? 

Our latest was the boiler went kaput.  Although, we should count our blessings that it lasted as long as it did, and we ourselves got another 4-1/2 years out of it.

Next up?  I have to have the rock chimney repointed.  Small cracks are in the masonry and I've put it off long enough.  Don't want it falling down on the house - or someone!

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IKR? I love old craftsman houses, yours must be beautiful. PHOTO PHOTO PHOTO!

I envy those of you with older homes. We have your standard late 70s/early 80s bi-level with no charm at all. I wanted to buy an older home so bad I could taste it, but Rick wanted nothing to do with them, largely because of the maintenance they need. 

I would love to see some pictures of your older homes. 

SwampWitch said:

 
IKR? I love old craftsman houses, yours must be beautiful. PHOTO PHOTO PHOTO!

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Ours is unique, for our area.  It's made out of terracotta block, stucco over.  Very imposing looking, 2 story. I had an historic specialist take a look some time ago and she wasn't quite sure how to quantify it either.   I'll post a photo later, when I get to work.  Working off my new Chromebook and there's no storage for pix on it.  

Okeedokee, here's some photos of our home:

First, some old photos before we moved in.  

Exterior, before being painted and re-landscaped:


Kitchen. Yech.  Had mold growing around the stove area, disgusting floor/cabinets.  Everything literally falling apart.  This was our nightmare renovation.  I cried every day over it, and I almost never cry.


Here's the new exterior, after being newly painted.  Landscaping wasn't finished yet.  We've put in flowering plants and shrubs in the front bed.  I have a photo somewhere, will have to find it.


Side facing street; port cochere has slate tiled floor.  Nice, but not exactly useful yet because we need to replace the door leading from the living room to this outside area.


Back yard area.  This was a jungle of weeds, dead trees, hornet nests and as we discovered, a well or cistern is under the ground too.  

Really happy with how this turned out, especially now that the bushes have grown even more since it was installed.  It's very private.


Living Room before we moved in.  We haven't done anything to this room yet, other than repairs as needed (and, new windows, the whole house got them).


NEW kitchen!  So much better but, I am not exactly happy with how it turned out.  Contractor was an ass.  Lots of mistakes made which I'll have to have fixed someday.  I still don't have a backsplash either.  Can't find one that looks right.  Maybe I'm too picky lol.


Another kitchen shot.


One last kitchen because - kitchens

We replaced the old regular window with a slider.  Pardon the crap shades.  They've been replaced since then. Still temporaries, can't decide what I want here either.


Oh found one of the front bed where you can see some of the new landscaping.


The house has all kinds of odd features.  There is a frieze in the fireplace, and another in one of the living room walls.  Original wood is everywhere.  We're working on the floors (just got one room done so far because it was splintering), still need a new front door/side door and the main bathroom is totally falling apart, but works and I just don't have the $$$ to do it yet.  Here's one photo for giggles.  It's totally vintage, and I do wish it was repairable but believe me, it isn't.

Oops forgot the bathroom photo.


It's actually a very good size, has an enormous closet in it too, with a stall shower opposite the toilet area.  We had big plumbing problems in here which effected my kitchen construction.  Remember that movie The Money Pit where the tub falls into the lower floor?  NEARLY HAPPENED!

I LOVE that bathroom!  Many of the old Italian style houses here have that kind of decor.  One house we rented had pink and yellow tile in the bathroom, and lots of recessed niches in the walls for displaying saint figurines and such.  I loved it.

betsygee said:

 
I LOVE that bathroom!  Many of the old Italian style houses here have that kind of decor.  One house we rented had pink and yellow tile in the bathroom, and lots of recessed niches in the walls for displaying saint figurines and such.  I loved it.

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We love it also.  Alas, the tile is falling off the wall now in numerous places.  Because the walls are plaster and lath construction, you can't just put them back on - there's nothing to attach them to any longer.  Plus, the plumbing chase had to be opened and closed again due to all the plumbing problems the room had when we moved in.  The shower was leaking into the kitchen, the piping in the chase itself had to be replaced to be Code compliant, etc.  Floor tiles are coming up, and the subfloor is concrete!  We've been saving all the tiles, and hopefully once we can get around to renovating this room, we'll be able to salvage enough of them to either sell them off, or utilize them in some manner.  We'll need a good tile person for sure if we reuse any of them.  They are so old, and aren't sized to exact measurements. 

My eventual thought process is to keep the footprint of the room because moving plumbing will cost a fortune.  But, keep it in a similar vintage style; mosaic floor tile, reproduction fixtures, etc.  I'd like to put in a 2 person sink which should be easy enough.  I'm considering taking out the stall shower, since our bedroom abutts that wall.  Our closet is pretty small and if we can capture that space for more storage it would be a lot better for us.  The shower certainly can be a combo w/the tub, although we may have to do something about the existing window.  So much to think about.  I've been saving photos to Pinterest and Houzz for several years now, only dreaming of the outcome    Darn thing will cost us at least $25K, mostly because of all the demo required.  Ugh.

BTW we have not once used the tub. We haz a scared!

WOW Sivyaleah, what a gorgeous house! I love your living room, I'm a huge fan of the dark wood trim, I wouldn't change much at all in there. Love the outside, too, just beautiful! You've done a great job fixing things up. I would be a very happy person if I lived in that house, especially after you've finished updating everything.   

SwampWitch said:

 
WOW Sivyaleah, what a gorgeous house! I love your living room, I'm a huge fan of the dark wood trim, I wouldn't change much at all in there. Love the outside, too, just beautiful! You've done a great job fixing things up. I would be a very happy person if I lived in that house, especially after you've finished updating everything. 

 

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Thank you!!!  We do love the house, it's just SUCH a financial burden at times.  

We just pick up what's most important year by year.  Like I said, the chimney is pressing as it's a safety issue.  Next year, I'm hoping to repair the front walkway and finally get the 2 new exterior doors replaced.

I think after that, I *might* be able to afford the bathroom.  You'd think working for architects would help, but it doesn't lol.  Especially since the company I work for are modernists

I truly love your house; it's just beautiful! I am GREEN with envy. As I mentioned, we built a bi-level. It's OK, but it has no character at all. Your house has character! It's way cool! 

I love it too! I love old houses. So much character. I used to help out at a B&B downtown, years ago. It is an old Italianate style house w/ a cupola on the third floor that looks out across the river. I miss that house!  You do have to be able to afford one though!  Always something w/ an old house, right?