Questions tagged [old-house]
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148
questions
0
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1answer
44 views
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, ...
0
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3answers
98 views
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 ...
1
vote
0answers
43 views
Lights dim on a switch that was a 3 way
Significant edit to the original problem: The lighting dimmed because the current regulator in the fan burned (or was burning) up. I took it apart and found significant charring and plastic ...
1
vote
2answers
32 views
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 ...
0
votes
2answers
91 views
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/...
2
votes
3answers
124 views
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 ...
1
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0answers
26 views
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 ...
1
vote
2answers
45 views
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 ...
3
votes
1answer
154 views
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 ...
0
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2answers
109 views
Why do a lot of old houses have drop ceilings?
I've been looking at a lot of older home listings in different areas and I'm seeing a lot of drop ceilings in older homes, especially in less populated areas. In my areas drop ceilings are primarily ...
9
votes
2answers
1k views
What is this orange yellow substance on my wooden studs inside walls?
There's some kind of orange yellowish looking substance that forms into tiny bubbles (it looks sticky, but I haven't touched it). It seems to be on my floor joists and wall studs. The house is from ...
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votes
1answer
49 views
Weird cylindrical deadbolt housing
I am trying to change the locks in my house, and saw this weird housing for the old deadbolt. To me it looks like glued on as there are no screws or indentations, but is there any other way?
Adding ...
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2answers
41 views
What kind of material is this (for a shower pan) and how to remove it
I have a house built in 1962. I want to demo the bathroom and I'm seeing this patterned sort of cement looking material (perhaps it's granite?) that is the shower pan. Is this cement? And what is the ...
2
votes
1answer
102 views
What kind of wall material produces orange dust, and how should I work with it?
I live in a townhome that was constructed in 1890 in the US and remodeled sometime in the past 20 years. Most of the walls are drywall, but the walls that separate my home from the units on either ...
1
vote
4answers
72 views
Mounting to an old pan-style electric box
I did something slightly stupid when preparing to mount a new fixture to a very old unused ceiling pancake box in a 96-year old home: I unscrewed the bracket that attached the mounting nipple to the ...
1
vote
2answers
76 views
How is this electrical service setup to subpanel able to work?
I have setup on building where panel is feed from meter through disconnect.
The wire is #8.
There are two legs and a ground coming from meter.
There is a ground wire running to metal case of ...
0
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0answers
70 views
How should I handle grounding & neutral bonding when replacing my sub-panel?
Current subpanel was installed in the early 70s. We think we need to replace it as lights are not working (very dim, flickering/fading in/out) - we suspect an open neutral.
How do we wire in a new ...
1
vote
1answer
44 views
Suspending many lightweight acoustic panels from a plaster ceiling
I have a collection of fairly lightweight acoustic panels that I want to suspend from a plaster ceiling (see mockup images below). My question: What is the best way to attach them?
Here’s the shape of ...
2
votes
0answers
75 views
What is the right way to plumb bathroom drainage across small joists?
Finished the demo part of the bathroom remodel to find pretty significant damage to the floor joists caused by the original builder's "design" (see photos/video). Setting aside how I'm going ...
1
vote
1answer
590 views
Is there a cost efficient way to add windows to a brick house?
We bought this house built in the 60s and it has these small windows that don’t provide much light . The house is brick but I’m wondering how difficult it would be to put in larger windows instead of ...
9
votes
5answers
3k views
What are the dangers of hidden boxes?
I've been remodeling my 1924 house, and have been slowly re-wiring, and splitting up an old "mega circuit" where half the house is all wired into one circuit. In the process of doing so I ...
1
vote
0answers
42 views
Exposing brick chimney in kitchen
My 1916 house has a brick chimney (no fireplace) that runs through the corner of my kitchen and I was considering removing paneling/plaster to expose the brick.
I chiseled away a small test square and ...
0
votes
0answers
68 views
Electrical voltage is between box and wire, not between hot and neutral. Not OK?
I live in a house that has significant issues. Here's the current one I'm wondering about.
This electrical outlet box seems to be "live". There is 120v voltage running between one of the ...
0
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0answers
27 views
114 yr old building whooshing sound at inside water feed. No leaks/No drop in pressure inside
114 year old building, was once a commercial building, now residence: Sound is coming from what we believe to be the indoor main water feed, that is buried in the cement floor, except for nozzle, and ...
0
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0answers
68 views
Im a renter that recently noticed walls really bending zhould i be worried
Ive been renting an older house for about 3yrs now and the past 7 months or so I started noticing the walls didnt look even anymore they looked like they were curving. Then in spring I came ...
0
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1answer
153 views
Remove paint from stained glass windows
I have a couple stained glass windows that look to have paint around the outsides from previous owner painting the trim. Any suggestions on removing the paint without damaging or am I out of luck?
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0answers
38 views
old fan/light for new
I changed out an old fan/light for new. The new one has a fancy control (no remote). I finished installing and went to hook up switch. Old wires present are two red and a white, no ground. The new ...
1
vote
1answer
115 views
What should be done to check the capacity of a 100+ year old wooden floor joist?
Short version
A 7.5cm x 20cm wooden floor joist from an apartment constructed in 1906 in Rotterdam, the Netherlands will be subjected to an increased load. The type of loading the floor joist will ...
1
vote
1answer
66 views
What type of insulation/sheathing material is this?
I have a house that was originally built in Chicago in 1954 that had an addition put on in the 90's. The original roof and part of the original exterior was built over is now visible in the attic of ...
0
votes
2answers
128 views
When removing siding with a mildew smell, and then replacing it, should I wrap the house in something airtight first?
I have a home built in the late 1960s in Massachusetts. The prior owner covered the house with vinyl, which was not done with care. Water gets behind the vinyl. The cedar wood clapboard and trim is ...
0
votes
1answer
65 views
mice and sound traveling through brick party wall joist pockets
We live in a 1912 row house that I believe has joist pockets that allow sound and mice to travel freely between me and my neighbors' houses. For instance, my neighbor hired pest control to deal with ...
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0answers
54 views
In old houses is it normal to use multi wire wiring bundles out of the breaker box?
I have an old house, ca 1928.
A lot of the wiring is old. A lot has been replaced over the years.
I'm not an electrician but I am very comfortable doing wiring. But I don't have the experience of an ...
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0answers
34 views
Is there a way to refinish underside of a toilet seat?
I have an old-ish toilet seat that has eroded a bit on the underside. Picture below. Is there a way to fix this? Is there a material I can use to paint over it or something?
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0answers
40 views
Date written on bottom of basement sink
Not exactly about home improvement, but we just bought a house and our inspector showed us that, at least here in the Northeast of the US, they would often write the date the house was completed on ...
1
vote
2answers
386 views
How do you wire and replace an old bathroom vanity light fixture
I am replacing a bathroom light fixture in an old condo built in the 70s. There is armored cable coming into the fixture from the wall.
From my understanding is that I need to do these steps,
1) ...
2
votes
0answers
50 views
Changing out ceiling light fixture and found no box, - how to proceed?
I am replacing a ( hanging ) ceiling fixture in the dining room and found only wires and no box ( see photos ).
There's no junction box and the wires are old and gnarly looking. The house was built ...
0
votes
1answer
93 views
Is this asbestos? (Insulation, transit pipe, wall board)
These pictures are from a house I just purchased in Western NY. The house was built in 1950 and I believe there are gypsum boards with plaster and lathe over them. Pipe is above a 1944 Pennco boiler. ...
1
vote
1answer
84 views
Is this flowerpot insert made from asbestos?
I own three flowerpots with strange white inserts. I haven't bought them in fact they were already part of the 1970 built house when I moved in.
I've heard of asbestos flowerpots but couldn't find ...
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0answers
38 views
Old-style ceiling vent in DC rowhouse, top-floor bathroom
I'm looking to recreate the original mechanism for opening and closing the ceiling "window-frame" vent in the topfloor bathroom of my 1938 Wash DC rowhouse.
Problem is, I have no friggin' idea what ...
16
votes
10answers
15k views
How do I drywall when the studs are not flush? [duplicate]
I have a problem with my bathroom. I recently had someone come and switch the door from the kitchen side to the other side while redoing my kitchen. He did a great job and the kitchen looks great. ...
20
votes
8answers
12k views
What is this pipe coming out of the basement floor?
I’m finishing an old (1930) empty basement and have a random pipe coming out of the floor. I have no clue what it is or what it went to as it sits alone in the space. It is metallic (tested with a ...
3
votes
1answer
78 views
Properly Updating Drains for Basement Bathroom Update
Pictures https://imgur.com/a/olBlrHG basically explain it. It was a "full bath" when we bought it and sold as one, (and its recorded as such for tax purposes). I want to convert it to laundry room/...
3
votes
4answers
1k views
How to straighten a sagging wooden house?
I realize that this question is probably the least DIY-type of question one could imagine, certainly for an amateur.
I'm for now simply curious about what options exist. This is an old wooden house, ...
1
vote
0answers
45 views
Motion sensor light fail on this old house
My old home has a mixture of knob and tube, 2-wire, and 3-wire (w/ ground). I replaced an incandescent floodlight with a motion sensing, LED light. The circuit also has another switch in the garage, a ...
0
votes
3answers
93 views
Need help identifying baseboard cap profile
I know it's a long shot, but I'm hoping someone knows/can identify (or at least can point me in the right direction in terms of search terms) the style of this cap. I'm hoping to find a router bit/...
2
votes
1answer
100 views
Fixing leak in tub overflow with old style drain closer
I couldn't find any examples of my tub drain lever online, so I can't figure out how to remove it. The overflow is leaking, so I'd like to open it up and see what the gasket is like to replace it. On ...
0
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3answers
359 views
What is the best way to fix broken OLD plaster in a very old house? [closed]
I've recently bought a house which was built in the 1900s. The entire plaster walls are covered with wallpapers. First time home buyer mistake, our first project is to remove the wallpaper and paint ...
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0answers
729 views
How to repair a brass toilet flange connected to a lead pipe
I went to replace a toilet recently and I found the following situation (images below):
The toilet flange was brass and connected to a lead pipe
The brass flange had a crack in it, possibly because
A ...
1
vote
2answers
717 views
How to take a house apart in sections to move? [closed]
I live in NC and looking for a free house to move and relocate. First, does anyone know of or how to find one within reasonable distance and second, is it possible to move one in smaller sections ...
0
votes
2answers
418 views
During what construction era was plaster installed over metal lath?
My home dates to the 1890s. It has clearly been through many renovations over the years before I owned it. The walls in my living room have defied all stud finders: normal ones find nothing, magnetic ...
