How many forum members own pre- 1865 homes? I need some opinions.

[Mudlark mess]

I purchased a home five years ago in N.E. Mo. It is a two story brick Federal built in 1850. I am restoring it. It has had very little done with it since 1930's. I am looking for sources of quality ca:1850
wall paper and also anyone that has experinced restoring this type of homes . I have alot of knowledge on restorations just need some more input on what others have done on there homes the proper way. John (Alvae) Cullifer/Paris Mo./Al-Asad,Iraq

[Vuhginyuh]

Re: How many forum members own pre- 1865 homes? I need some opinions.

The home I grew up in has been a work in progress for about 150 years.
The orginal first floor front rooms are mortise and tenon.


The new kitchen addition in the back dates to the 1920's. I've seen it all.

My folks used Aldelphi Paper products.

[Canton Zouave]

Re: How many forum members own pre- 1865 homes? I need some opinions.

Does disassembled and stacked ready for rebuiling some day, count? If so, I own the boyhood (and retirement) home of Samuel Beatty, Colonel of the 19th OVI and Breveted Major General. The home was built in about 1825, is all mortise and tenon construction, from solid Oak. All wall studs are motrised into the sill and the sill beams are 10x10m 28 feet long and solid Oak. It was a true adventure taking it apart by hand. With some luck the basic framing will be revived and the little house may rise again.

I have a few samples of the original wallpaper from the kitchen addition, which dated from the 1850's, however, the remainder of the house was painted, and only once or twice in it's 180 year life span.

[CompanyWag]

Re: How many forum members own pre- 1865 homes? I need some opinions.

I live in a country home originally constructed in 1845 by English immigrants that saw its owner set off for the war in 1864, then return and continuously added onto it until the early 20th century. The farm house runs the whole gamut from hand-hewn timbers to 1920's millwork trim. Although it retains a lot of its 19th century flavor, the floor plan has changed so much over the years that I am at a loss as to which period would be most appropriate to restore to. All the additions are simply a part of the history of this Old Northwest Territory farm house.

Paul McKee

[M.Latham]

Re: How many forum members own pre- 1865 homes? I need some opinions.

John,

I occupy a circa 1740 New England colonial.

I would adivse you to visit as many historical homes as possible in your area, often you can get some great ideas and if you are fortunate can make some great contacts to quality local preservation contractors.

I will include some links:

http://www.adelphipaperhangings.com/

http://www.restorationtrades.com/

http://www.tfguild.org/

http://www.tremontnail.com/

http://www.preservationnation.org/

http://www.nps.gov/history/preservation.htm

Hope this helps, good luck!

[Stonewall_Greyfox]

Re: How many forum members own pre- 1865 homes? I need some opinions.

My wife and I bought our first home this past December. Dry Bridge is a typical mid-century (ca. 1854) country farmhouse with Ell addition. The house was the Overseer's house for the nearby Baker Plantation prior to the war, and sometime following - the Baker Family took up residence in the smaller house. The house sits along the RF&P Rail-line (original Brick Pilings still present), and the land behind the house abuts the South Anna River.

The house has had ALOT of invasive work done to it throughout the years...

Truthfully, I must be a little nutty because we closed on the house knowing ALL the work this home needed, and that was alot...the work started in January with the replacement of the 16ft. 14in2 main girders (these had been eaten up by termites). The termites had also made their way up to the 2nd story attic...this framing was replaced. All the 'original' framing of the house appears to be Chestnut, with exception to the Ell addition which appears to be framed out of Yellow Pine. The framing of the house is of mortise-tenon construction.

The 200+ year old White Oak Tree in the front yard had fallen across the chimneys and roof last Spring (resulting in the chimney rebuild & roof replacement)...

The house had been sinking in a few areas due to moisture instrusion and decayed (termite eaten beams)...the house is now mostly level, following the 2-week job of lifting the house as much as 8 inches in some areas.

House Restoration vs. Budget: This is the biggest question which will drive your decision making process...for example, I'd like to think of myself as a purist, but the reality is that anyone on a budget will ALWAYS have to make compromises, even if these are short-term. For example, with the replacement of the solid chesnut girders (2) in our house, we had to go with built-up 2 x 12s as opposed to the original material 16ft. 14in 2 beams. The job to replace these members was about $2000, this included partial lifting/bracing, cutting/removal, and re-installation of the new members. Had we opted to replace with materials of the original configuration, this figure would have easily exceeded $15,000. Since the framing under the house will never be visible (except from the 18in. crawlspace), we figured it prudent to replace with modern materials (acceptable per the NPS guidelines for restoration/rehabilitation) and apply those $$$$ saved towards other home improvements. These are COMMON compromises one has to make when restoring an old home...other examples may be more short term compromises; for example the original front, side, rear porches of the house were floored with Mahogany - currently the flooring is comprised of modern 6 inch pine deck boards; for the short term these deck boards provide a necessary function and so we'll keep them for the next couple years as they stand, until such a point that we have the $$$ to purchase mahogany flooring, or the rough mahogany to mill ourselves on a router table.


Plaster Walls: Your house probably calls for plaster walls...plasterer prices are scarey...when we looked at the market, a good price to have a plasterer do walls was $2,000-$3,000 per wall...average price is considerably higher, but the market has been a little rough lately. Naturally, my wife and I don't have another 50k+ laying around for this element...and so we're once again making compromises...we'll be doing the skim coats ourselves, learning as we go through 'On the Job Training' (OJT)...this is how I learned to glaze windows last weekend...and after a few hours the product was pretty good. The biggest thing you pay for with the trades is efficiency, what they make look easy, and only takes them a couple hours to bang out, you may spend weeks/months at...but it's all doable.

I'd like to echoe Mark's recommendation to check out other local historic homes within your area. My own experience in Virginia, is that architecture and design elements are generally specific to the region...so an Icehouse built in Central Virginia is most assuredly different in design (and perhaps function) than an Icehouse built in the Shenandoah Valley.

Read, Read, Read, Read...I've improved my knowledge base 10x since I first contemplated tackling this house last summer. The web is a great tool, and you'll want to check out Old House Web, This Old House, Van Dyke's...and a plethora of other websites, but you won't find everything you need...You'll need to consult your local bookstore, and the library @ some point when undertaking projects.

Be aware that there's ALOT of products out there that aren't 100% (for example - short of a custom roofing job, you're not going to get Terne roofing in 18 inch panels, without a severe upcharge from the roofer...tin roofing today comes in bigger sheets than it did historically, and most roofers would just assume have a more minimal amount of seams).

It's a long-road friend, and a road rarely trodden (before undertaking this project, I always wondered why folks let old houses fall apart, I now know the answer), the end product of these old-houses is incomparable to what you find on the McMansions, and modern Colonials of today. True craftsmanship in every element, even the blemishes/mistakes of our forebearers is a testament to the product (imagine finding bricks with finger marks/ paw prints in them...drip glass...etc.

Best of Luck, for pictures of Dry Bridge check out my profile.

Paul B.

[Mudlark mess]

Re: How many forum members own pre- 1865 homes? I need some opinions.

All of you have been alot of help to me on this adventure. My kitchen I am told is done. Though modern it has a 19th early 20th century feel. My bed rooms are done small but nice. My den room I have to

finish.I have to get my original windows ready and insulate for winter. I am looking for wall paper for my parlor and stare way. I have my furnishings all ready. My GGG grand mother's table from the

Lexington Kty. plantation My GG grand mother born on the same wagon the table was in .Lots of family antiques.I wil post my images here of the home when i am content with it's progress. John Alvae

[tomarch]

Re: How many forum members own pre- 1865 homes? I need some opinions.

A good mag to subscribe to would be "Old House Journal". They've been a great help in my business (I'm an Architect).