Questions tagged [old-house]
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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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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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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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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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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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134
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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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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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113
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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 ...
user138192
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How can it be (much) cheaper to build a new house than to buy an existing one? [closed]
I'm not sure if this is unique where I live or something, but it seems to me that you can have an entirely brand new house built, where you are the first person to ever move into it, for way less ...
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How to use this intercom?
My home has this intercom (I was told they are intercom) in bedrooms. I am not sure how to use it, and I can not find the manual or model number.
My question is what it is used for and how to use ...
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How can I find the most upstream receptacle in a circuit to install a GFCI?
I have an old house (1870) that originally had knob and tube, and has subsequently been upgraded to modern service, except in certain areas there is no ground. I am trying to protect some of the ...
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A tale of two Victorian houses: one cracking, one sloping. Potential causes?
Did a viewing of two houses in London, revealing different problems.
What could be causing these issues?
Which one is potentially more serious?
Mr Slopy
No visible internal cracks inside; ground ...
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Overflow over gutters on roof. One story ranch
Straight to the point, there's too much water coming off my roof. Unfortunately I wasn't able to record this last rainstorm to show you.
My home is a 1950s ranch house one story obviously, the first ...
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Type of UK House Construction
not sure if this is the correct forum for this, so please let me know if it's not 🙂
Is anyone able to recognise the construction type of this house? I know it's concrete construction and likely built ...
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Me and my mom and dad moved to a older house since we have moved in we have had health problems
Me and my mom and dad have been having health problems since we have moved in our house in October , have brain fog and anxiety and my alleges and ashms and rashes and my mom and dad have been having ...
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Attaching porch roof or pergola to old brick home
I just took apart a very badly made porch attached to an old brick house (built circa 1890). I do not want to go into the details but the old porch was so badly built (cement blocks as footings, ...
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In an old house, do I need a ground wire to install newer outlets, lights, and appliances? [duplicate]
If I have an old house, as in 80 years old (the wiring is newer than that), and it only has two wires, hot and neutral, no ground, can I connect newer things like ceiling fans or hanging lights?
The ...
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Lights dim on a switch that was a 3 way
I have a Harbor Breeze ceiling fan with 4 lights in my kitchen that dims after I turn it on.
The house is over 100 years old and has been through multiple remodels. It appears as though that the ...
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What type of register and/or installation method to use for a inside duct mounting holes?
I removed the original register cover from my vent, the screw mounts were inside the duct.
I'm not sure if the fact that this is on an external wall has anything to do with it, but there was no bite ...
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Old refrigerator risks
I just acquired a double door Amana refrigerator. I'm not sure when it was manufactured but from the design and the dates on referenced patent numbers on the back, it seems to be from the late 70s/...
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Why does water accumulate on the hardwood floors in my 1930 home?
My home was build 1930 and nothing has been updated. In my downstairs bedroom under anything that sits on the floor from my bed, night stands, dog crate, and other things the floors will puddle with ...
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Plaster & Non-Standard Wire Mesh Patching
Had some electrical work done leaving holes in walls that need to be patched.
The plaster and wire mesh in my house (built in 1920) does not appear to be the typical chicken wire mesh that most search ...
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Black stains and discoloration on outer foundation wall of a house - water damage?
The outside foundation wall of this house has visible black stains and discoloration. The house is a bungalow built around 1970. No way to tell what the inside of the foundation looks like (covered ...
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Pulling treads and risers back into position in a housed / closed stringer staircase
I recently moved into an 80+ year old house and am looking to fix up the main staircase. It seems to be the original (oak?) wood stair that is built using the closed / housed / mortised stringers that ...
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