Questions tagged [old-house]
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63
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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 ...
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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 ...
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Upstairs wall studs sitting on top of subflooring that needs to be removed
I am currently renovating the entire second floor of my 1920's home and have run into an issue. The subflooring is currently unleveled and had intentions of pulling up the subflooring, adding a sister ...
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How to clean/maintain shellacked hardwood floors?
I'm fairly sure* I have shellacked hardwood floors. It has been surprisingly hard to figure out how to best clean/maintain them. For cleaning, the main suggestions I've seen are "use a solvent-...
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How can I cover the window space for winter
I reside in an older residence, and unfortunately, the windows in my living room are non-operable. Each summer, I've faced the challenge of accidentally breaking a window pane while installing a ...
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How to identify ash deafening in the joist bay?
I have a Queens brick Townhouse built in 1906. I was attempting to repair my basement ceiling joists and found several joist bays under my front door threshold/atrium with wooden boards encasing what ...
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What is this wall covering in our 1908 USA house?
We are working on a house built in 1908 in the USA and have found what a local old-timer called “deadening felt” attached to the walls and ceilings, which are shiplap. The internet returns no images ...
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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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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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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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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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355
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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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239
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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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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 ...
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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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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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Blocking Arizona Termites
So, the termites in Arizona live in the ground, and they make mud tunnels up the side of the foundation of a house to get into the wood. I was thinking, if I make a plastic lip which curls down, and ...
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Old electrical box - how to cover?
I'm replacing and old Rittenhouse doorbell transformer as part of a smart doorbell upgrade. My problem is that the screw spacing of the cover (of which the transformer is embedded) doesn't seem to ...
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What's this exterior wall treatment and how should I paint it?
I need to paint the exterior walls of this house, but I am not sure what is the material of the walls.
I know this type of houses came from Finland to to south of Argentina because they are excellent ...
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156
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Can I use old cloth-jacketed wiring to power a new light?
I removed some wood paneling in a hallway closet and found this wire bundle between the studs. Is this electrical wires? Can I reuse this to install a light source for the closet?
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Air brick in old Toronto home?
We have a house that was built in 1937 in Toronto. It is a double brick design. On one of the outside walls, I can see what appears to be a single-brick-sized vent and I don't know what its function ...
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324
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bleeding radiator without access to the bleeder valve
I've got a cast iron radiator where the end with the bleeder valve is shoved up against a wall. Is there any other way to bleed a radiator? Supply and return pipes are at top and bottom of the ...
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538
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Can I ground a new light to an old metal box via a switch yoke?
All of my switches are installed in old metal boxes with no threaded ground screw holes. The boxes are wired using old cloth BX with no ground wire(grounded via casing). Some of the BX wire ...
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Hitting something hard drilling a screw near my curved molding in a 1906 ceiling - looks like sandy stone with hair in it - what is that?
** Updated with what I found in the drilled hole
Can I just drill through it with a masonry bit, or do I need to be careful? It's a 1906 brick row house that was gut renovated in 2015. Nothing shows ...
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How should I connect a new light fixture to my wiring?
I’m new at electrics (UK-based) and am rewiring a new light. All the advice I’ve read notes that the black wires are L & N and the red are the loop with the bare coppers being the ground but when ...
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How to fix a bump over central main beam and level floor?
I reside in a 1950s-era bungalow. In its basement lies a wood beam, connecting and upholding the joists (2x10) through a 2x4 ledger that's been nailed in place. The structural walls on the main floor ...
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Switch old light switch to new dimmer
I've moved into a older US home
I'm trying to update a light switch to a dimmer.
The wires are clothed but in good condition.
There are two wires going to the top side screw and one on the bottom.
I ...
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64
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What is this storm-window part called?
I removed all my ancient triple-stack storm windows to paint my house, but as I’m reinstalling them I misplaced one of the metal shims that holds the entire storm frame into place. This thin piece of ...
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Deodorizing Cigarette smell; getting conflicting opinions
Maybe someone here knows, or at least can point me in the right direction. My husband and I recently bought his parent's house, they were both smokers for 50 plus years, in the house. Needless to say,...
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Utilizing a broken lamp socket
I have this reading lamp socket which is broken for 20 years, home is also very old, but I am unable to put it for any good use; no one uses this lamp or will use it. Can I use it for any good use ...
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What is orange fine dust after vacuuming a new carpet in an old house
I installed a new carpet in an old house. Vacuuming the new carpet picked up orange fine dust. Do you know what might cause the dust? Do I need to worry about it?
Is it possible a hidden dry-rot issue ...
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67
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What style of home and type of construction is my home built in 1900 in Georgia, USA?
Just purchased this home this year, it was built in 1900 and is Northwest of Atlanta, GA. The real estate and hazard insurance companies considered it a "wood frame," but upon trying to ...
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DIY Stucco Repair on a 100 year old brick rowhome
Hello fellow home improvement masochists.
My partner and I are in a 100 year old rowhome in South Philadelphia, and we have a rear exterior wall that is stucco over brick in need of some repair. There ...
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Best temporary solution for a cracked single pane window
History/Problem: This question is pretty much a duplicate of Old single pane House window has a crack, can I fix it using a resin? however this is for an old house where the entire window needs ...
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Installing front Door
I’m in Cleveland and are renovating 100 year old building. It has a retail shop on the street level and apartment above with commercial kitchen in the back of the building.
I’m replacing the front ...
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Fixing up beat up wide plank floors
My farmhouse is about 120 years old. There is a lot of carpet upstairs, which I would love to remove. I have pets and allergies and I just think carpets are gross.
I can understand why someone decided ...
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Trouble identifying hot and neutral in old house (no ground?)
I am replacing a ceiling fan and did not note how it was previously wired before taking it down (i.e. which are the hot and neutral wire). The house is quite old (some parts over 100 years - including ...
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Leaking Doorframe
Just bought a home, rental, and tenant recently sent me video of the back doorway leaking through the bit of wood that stops the door from closing during a heavy rain. There is definitely caulk ...
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Is it safe to parge historic interior brick basement wall with hydrulic cement at grade?
I have a historic house from 1906 with soft bricks that had water leaking through top of basement wall near ground/grade level. Opening up the basement ceiling I can see that the mortar is all gone, ...
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Hooking up new light/fan switch with dimmer and fan control, only single power in, no ground or common
Good morning, as stated above, I'm wanting to install a new light/fan switch w/dimmer and fan control, however our house was built in 1925 and has no ground or nutral at the box, only single power ...
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How do I install a new light fixture to this old exterior junction box?
I have a large exterior junction box for front porch 1953 addition. Trying to install a new LED flush mount light fixture. Nowhere to put a metal bar to hold the light fixture up due to the box being ...
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Insulating a Deep Rim Joist Cavity In Old Home
Recently bought this 1880's home and there are several very deep rim joist cavities.
There are three in total, 2 under the vestibule of the house, 1 running along the rear wall of the home (under one ...
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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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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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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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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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