Questions tagged [old-house]
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Can I simply install a higher amperage breaker on an existing circuit?
I have 6 refrigerators plugged in on 1 breaker.
If I add any more, and I do need to add 4 more, and the breaker keeps tripping can I change it to a higher amp one?
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3
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What electrical work box should I use to replace this steel one?
I'm very new to all this but figured I could handle turning off the power and installing the hot/neutral/ground on a new and too-large USB outlet. I didn't get very far. This is how I found it when ...
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How to correctly ground BX cable in a plastic box
First off, I fully acknowledge that this may not be possible, CORRECTLY... but I have a 1939 house that has been through several generations of electrical wiring. The main panel and a lot of the ...
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Old ceiling light fixture with 9 wires (5 black/4 white)-how to install a new fixture?
I am trying to install a new light fixture, but there are 9 wires--I wasn't able to see how it was connected and I'm pretty sure it was wrong to begin with because bulbs kept burning out right away.
...
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Water Leak, Plaster Wall
thanks in advance for your thoughts.
I recently purchased a 1920s house that suffered water damage to a third floor (attic conversion) bedroom. The slate roof has been repaired--the chimney is on the ...
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What is the most effective way to put paneling on old style red brick
I live in an old cottage style house. The exterior is old red brick, I call it old red brick because I'm sure it's not used no more it is about the size of a cinder block. When built there is ...
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Need help identifying identifying exterior, in-ground valve related to residential swimming pool
We have an inground pool at our house in the US that was built sometime in the 70s-80s. Below the diving board is an unique and currently unused area covered with some 2x8s or 2x10s. Beneath the ...
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Can I remove all floor joists in a balloon framed house?
I'm remodeling an old early 1900s home that is balloon framed. I removed the subfloor so I could get to the crawl space and run new utilities. I noticed the floor joists are in really bad shape and ...
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Installing Fan, two live wires red and black and neutral not connected to switch
I am installing a fan where a light fixture use to be. My house is pretty old, built around 1938 and retro fitted. When I went to install the fan I found that there is a red wire which both are live. ...
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Why does home siding not extend to the ground? [duplicate]
I have noticed that the siding of single family homes in Colorado, at least my made-in-the-70's neighborhood, does not extend down to or into the ground. Why is this? Why not have siding (vinyl, brick,...
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Are these large horizontal wood planks structural in my 1900s home?
I'm currently in the processes of remodeling a home built in 1900 or even earlier. It has balloon framing and true dimensional lumber. I removed the lath and plaster on the walls and behind some of ...
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Should I add vapor barrier between lath and drywall if only on half the wall? [closed]
I’m renovating a bathroom in my 125 year old home in Northern Michigan. The bathroom has lath and plaster walls with old wood panel wainscoting on the bottom 1/3rd of the walls. The plaster above the ...
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Would knob and tube be used with modern conduit wiring?
Recently bought a single story house that was built in 1925, it has a basement and an attic space. I've doing some updates in it, and have noticed some confusing things with the electrical wiring. ...
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Internal sandstone mortar under sash window
Whilst re-decorating a sash window I, perhaps unwisely, removed a wooden board below the window to find exposed mortar (see photo). The mortar is crumbling and flakey. The external walls are sandstone....
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Installing new light fixture with too many wires
So I have 5 wires coming out of the ceiling two coming form one side three from the other there is a switch to this light which wires get put together to wire into a new fixture with white black and ...
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How do I wire a light fixture to these wires?
I have 5 wires out of my ceiling from an old light fixtures. I don’t know how it was wired and I’m trying to wire a new fixture in. Can someone help?
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Good approach to preparing badly damaged wood floor for tiling
I'm wondering the best strategy to prepping this for tile. It's 2x9 (actual) joists with 1x8 subfloor and 1/2x2 flooring. The strip flooring is full of gashes and cracks and the whole subfloor has ...
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ceiling fan Wiring with old house
How to wire up ceiling fan with a remote and receiver?
Three hot wires tied together, 4 white wires tied together, and 1 black by itself (I think it goes to light switch).
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Are my ceilings and flooring going to cave in?
Bought house a year ago. I can feel the wood upstairs has moved. Some areas sag bad, others the wood has lifted. The ceilings on first floor below have cracked and I can see the indentations all over. ...
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installing ceiling fan on old pancake box
Just bought a home built in 1945. Wanted to hang a ceiling fan where an old light fixture was. I am ignoring all the non-functional wiring. I purchased a ceiling fan rated box with brace from which to ...
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What is this framing technique?
1895 New Jersey USA. I almost asked "What is this crazy framing technique" because it looks crazy .... but I'm looking forward to someone with knowledge of older techniques to explain it, ...
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Help restoring old wood beam please!
I am in the process of trying to uncover an original beam in my 120 year old home. The beam appears to have been painted (possibly twice), then covered in drywall mud, then painted again. It's tested ...
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Old home clay foundation pipe?
My home was built in 1948. It's having a lot of bowing and shearing issues and I need to put steel beams up in the basement. An interior drain system has also been recommended but I'm reluctant - and ...
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Need help identifying old house interior wall panel
I'm fixing a hole in a wall that is made of a material I cannot identify and therefore locate. House was built circa 1940. I believe the wall was exterior before an addition. The material is ...
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What is this plank above the Joist pocket for
Why does this joist have a wooden plank above the pocket embedded in the wall?
Some of the other Joists in the house do not have this.
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What is the composition of this 1940s era main drain line?
I have a main drain line running from my 1940s era single family residence in Las Vegas, NV to the city sewer. Given the time period I had assumed it would be cast iron, but when I dug down to it, it ...
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Determining hot and neutral on old unmarked wires
This house dates back to 1900, give or take 10 years in either direction. The previous fixture was removed when I was not present, and perhaps I should not trust how the last fixture was wired anyway. ...
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1
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Long Crack in External Wall. What has caused this?
Viewed this victorian, end of terrace house- The only glaring problem is a lengthy crack running down the side. The estate agent has said that the owner had these addressed in a structural survey and ...
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2
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How do I replace this very old dimmer switch with a standard switch
There appear to be a lot of furry wires, 1 black, 1 white wire, and no ground. How do I go about wiring this up to a standard switch? And which remaining wires should I cap together?
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Advice on injectable silicone-based damp-proof course
I have a 140-year-old house of heavy masonry (bluestone/basalt) construction. It is built into the side of a hill with about 25% of the "basement" actually below ground level:
You can ...
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Coupling for 2 inch metal drain pipe
The kitchen drain pipe cracked in my old house so I decided to cut and replace with PVC.
Unfortunately the effective diameter of the pipe is about 2.5 inches which is slightly bigger than 2.4 inches ...
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Repairing heating element and plug for old electric cooktop
I'm repairing an old Thermador TM45-1 electric cooktop (22" by 45" with two 6" burners, two 8" burners, and a griddle in the center).
It's in surprisingly good shape except for 1 ...
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Removing/replacing Drain stub out corroded
I'm replacing a sink drain in a house originally built in the early 1940s. Under the house is cast iron drains. I have this stub out that is corroded to the point that a rubber boot union cannot ...
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New GFCI outlet shows hot/neutral reversed either way I attach old 120V power line
Some circuitry in my old house is just two wire w/o ground and as I'm renovating I replace these outlets with GFCI if I'm not pulling two wire w/ground. I've found such an outlet that shows HOT/NEU ...
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254
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Can removing one outlet in a room affect the power in the whole room?
I'm in the process of replacing a few of the 2 prong outlets in my home with GCFI outlets. My house is old and does not have a ground wire through it so from what I've read it is unsafe to install ...
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2
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A constant vibration is happening in my home. Like a motor is running
I have 3 story single column load bearing house. Recently I made a room at the terrace. After the construction my house is vibrating all the time. My house is between 2 houses; there is no gap in them....
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Remove plaster from brick
We recently purchased a 130+ years old house and have been restoring the plaster walls. We realized one of the walls is the chimney to the fireplace. I removed the plaster as best as I could before ...
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Disconnecting Your House From Your Neighbors House
I'm buying a new house, displayed on the right in the picture below, and about 10 feet of the house in length is connected to the neighboring home, displayed on the left in the picture. I know it's ...
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Anyone know what this wire sticking out of my wall is?
Moved into a new (but old) house recently and found this sticking out of my wall. Any idea what it is? Old telephone or radio wiring assembly?
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Need advice on replacing a load bearing steel column/ post
In the 1960’s my house was remodeled. A load bearing wall was removed and replaced with an I beam. Eventually, I will be rebuilding the former wall to load bearing specs again, but also leaving the I ...
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Replacing old electrical work
Bought an old house (1911) over the summer and I'm looking into making the upstairs more livable.
The upstairs is a converted attic, there are three rooms and a hallway and only three outlets in total ...
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0
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Fastening material for panelling an old plaster wall
I have a 100-year-old garage made of yellow bricks and with plastered walls inside. The paint and the plaster on the walls are chipping due to humidity and age. A part of the walls has been covered ...
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What Rigid Foam Insulation Thickness is Comparable to 300mm Rock Wool Insulation?
I'm in the UK and in a house built pre-1900. In there I have rock wool on top of old rock wool and vermin are finding this very inviting (found out after I bought the house).
Because of the smell and ...
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Insulating and leveling sunroom floors
We have an old, 1911 house in Minnesota. Our front room is a converted porch which is drafty and quite sloped. Our plan is to rip up the old linoleum floors, get down to the joists, and essentially ...
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Fiction Writing Research: What Kind of Electrical Service in 1920?
Please note: This is NOT a current or actual electrical installation. But I'm putting together a novel, and one of the plot points concerns a garage apartment which was built in an urban area in 1920. ...
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How should I insulate my old brick house?
My house was built in 1920 out of a single layer of 8-inch thick hollow brick. I am looking to insulate the walls in the upstairs entirely from scratch -- there's no insulation on them at all right ...
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How to reattach a cast iron drainpipe
The cast iron drain pipe fell off my wall this morning. It’s the entire length from guttering to drain. It looks like it was attached with very old nails which have worked their way out, taking some ...
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How to hang drywall on uneven horizontal plank wall
I'm removing many layers of wall remodels in a 1913 house. The last layer is 1x6 horizontal planks. They are not pretty like shiplap so I need to put up drywall. The three interior walls are pretty ...
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Can I screw through wood floor and plank subfloor to joists to prepare surface for tile?
I’m renovating my 100year old house’s kitchen and found that the old existing tile was attached directly to hardwood flooring. This explained why so much of it was cracked even though it is the only ...
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How do I self-repair a section of crumbling basement wall, or should I hire a professional?
How do I self-repair a section of crumbling basement wall, or should I hire a professional?
Background:
How I discovered it:
I removed some exposed blue foam insulation from my basement walls to ...
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