How old is your house?

[ButteMT61]

Wow. Such a cute home. Hard to believe what people do to them. I know we spent the first 10 years in our 1906 undoing the BS that was done to it. We're still working in it 17 years in. It never ends, and the 2011 windstorms that brought the 100 year old Walnut tree onto the roof didn't help either. I'm sometimes torn on home ownership. It's like kids - truly a double edged sword! Good idea on the renovation/fixing thread. Not sure I've seen one either...

 

[sheeplady]

Wow. Such a cute home. Hard to believe what people do to them. I know we spent the first 10 years in our 1906 undoing the BS that was done to it. We're still working in it 17 years in. It never ends, and the 2011 windstorms that brought the 100 year old Walnut tree onto the roof didn't help either. I'm sometimes torn on home ownership. It's like kids - truly a double edged sword! Good idea on the renovation/fixing thread. Not sure I've seen one either...

Thank you. Good luck on the renovation- it's never ending. But it's the kind of thing you don't do for money.

Part of our problem is that we're still finishing our current home (which we need to sell to replace those horrid 1960s windows). But we also need a place to live until the next house is livable, so it's balancing the two. Having two houses torn apart is totally chaotic and stressful. But it was a good time to buy the next house, it was a good price, and it is in a setting you couldn't beat. Here's the view in the backyard- the two mountains are part of state-owned wilderness (and we need to take down that sumac):


And here's a view of the wide part of the creek at the base of those mountains (we own halfway up this section, the rest is state land). I have yet to see how deep it is, it is at least 6 feet by my estimation:


We just couldn't pass it up. We're also slightly crazy.

 

[BigFitz]

Thank you. Good luck on the renovation- it's never ending. But it's the kind of thing you don't do for money.

Part of our problem is that we're still finishing our current home (which we need to sell to replace those horrid 1960s windows). But we also need a place to live until the next house is livable, so it's balancing the two. Having two houses torn apart is totally chaotic and stressful. But it was a good time to buy the next house, it was a good price, and it is in a setting you couldn't beat. Here's the view in the backyard- the two mountains are part of state-owned wilderness (and we need to take down that sumac):


And here's a view of the wide part of the creek at the base of those mountains (we own halfway up this section, the rest is state land). I have yet to see how deep it is, it is at least 6 feet by my estimation:


We just couldn't pass it up. We're also slightly crazy.

I see what you mean by the windows, UGH! But the potential looks fantastic. As well as the setting.

 

[Stanley Doble]

1903 American Foursquare. There are wood floors downstairs and radiant heat, which I love. I'm not too crazy about the modern bathroom, I wish it had an old huge bathtub. The kitchen was remodeled as well, and while I like the counter space and cupboard room, I hate the pressed wood. I would have loved an old kitchen as well.

I have a question about my house that maybe someone can answer--there are two staircases downstairs, one from the front room, and one from the kitchen. They meet on a common landing, and then there is just one staircase leading upstairs. I had heard this was for a servant that would live on the third floor and would use the kitchen staircase. My husband scoffs and says the house isn't grand enough to warrant a servant, I say back in the early part of the century you didn't have to be wealthy to hire a newly arrived immigrant woman as a live-in domestic. However, a friend suggested the back staircase might also be so you could shut off the front of the house in the winter and conserve heat.

Back stairs were a traditional feature seen in practically all 2 story homes of the 19th century. I have seen them in a semi detached 3 bedroom house that was too small to have servants. They were a convenience.

 

[sheeplady]

I see what you mean by the windows, UGH! But the potential looks fantastic. As well as the setting.

Thank you! I am all about potential. The worse shape it is in the more it appeals to me. I think I have a savior complex or something. It's like falling in love with the pet at the humane society with mange.

I like to think of myself as a visionary, but I know other people just think I'm crazy.