NBraun
Reader
4/9/20 6:39 p.m.
My fiance and I have found an acreage that seems to really fit the bill for what we want, however the only draw back is the house that's on it was built in 1917. I'm not very knowledgeable on house ownership, let alone living/renovation an old house like this. I don't currently know too much about it, but I do hope to take a look through it soon. I was told it was a fairly high end house when it was built, it has a poured concrete basement, the acreage has propane heat, a fireplace, fiberoptic ran to it. Someone is currently living in the house as well, so it's not dilapidated and neglected.
(Prefacing this with, we will hire a home inspector if we decided to buy it) What sort of things do I need to look out for when we do a walk through? The house has stood the test of time, so i'm assuming the bones of it are good, but i'm assuming the walls will need to be converted to dry wall, wiring, windows, insulation, shingles are all things that need to be looked out.
Does anyone have an idea on what things cost to do a renovation of this scale? I know that's a hugely open ended question, but i'm trying to get an idea of everything before I get my hopes up. Any advice on home ownership or personal experiences you wish to share? I've attached a photo of the outside, as well as a google maps photo of the acreage.
That's a nice looking house. It's a bit hard to answer your questions without you knowing exactly what state the house is in. The other thing is, are you looking to modernize it? Or are you trying to keep the history and heritage of the house intact? The biggest killer on a house like that will be termites, damp and leaks( which will cause rot and attracts termites) and settling/sinking ( think cracks in walls, uneven or potentially unsupported floors ).
I wouldn't just assume you need to convert to drywall unless you have a specific reason to? It's probably lath and plaster lined, possibly horsehair plaster sheeting. Either of which could still be in quite good condition if the house has been well maintained over its life.
I'm currently doing up a place of a similar vintage, what I'll say is some things will be better than you expect, others will be worse. Go in with open eyes and a fair idea of what you want to achieve and what you're willing to spend.
That looks RAD! Way nicer than the 1900's house were living in. Go check it out! There's no telling what it needs till you put eyes on it.
Plaster can easily be patched with setting type drywall compound (like easysand) and as long as the stuff inside the walls is in good shape you have no reason to remove it.
Foundation, roof, termites. Major systems--wiring, plumbing, heating and cooling. A qualified home inspector that you trust will give you a good idea of what needs attention. The house looks to be well-sited, so if rainwater has been properly diverted from the foundation, there's no reason age alone should be reason for concern. Prioritize, then let your budget dictate what gets done and how quickly.
Converting to drywall is great if you plan on taking a wall down. Otherwise, I'd leave it. I've got an old house, and all but a handful of walls are the original plaster and lath- no reason to take it down, as it's a pain to clean.
One other big thing I bet you will find- nothing is fully square or straight. Which is fine, in reality.
One thing that bugs me about my house is the floors are very not stiff. The floors are generally 2x8 (I think), and there's one large beam in the middle supporting the structure. Since I don't want to tear into the floor joices, I'm just dealing with it.
It would be great if one of the recent PO's insulated the whole house. Mine wasn't, as the previous owner bought it in the 40's, and when the energy crisis happened- apparently they could not afford to do it.
Modern electronics are your friend. And I'm not talking the home- I'm talking your stuff. Unless updated, you will find not many outlets, and many of them not grounded. So modern USB systems and LED lights rock in terms of keeping loads down.
For 4 months before we got married, we did many renovations ourselves. And did hire someone to do some major ones. If you keep them small and manageable, you can do them. If you do a lot, which tears things up when you need things ASAP, it's VERY stressful. The skills are not hard to pick up- just hard to do after 8 hours of real work.
Cool house. And great to have property around you, too. That would have been something I would have looked at 30 years ago. But we ended up in town, and still love it.
alfadriver (Forum Supporter) said:
One other big thing I bet you will find- nothing is fully square or straight. Which is fine, in reality.
Can confirm! I'm fussy so it drives me mad, but it's amazing how far out of square or plumb something can be and still manage to look square. It's not till you get a square or tape onto things that you realize how far out they are.
I have to cut the floor opening for the fireplace hearth around +/- 5° out of square to soak up some of the difference in the chimney from one side to the other so that both the floor and the hearth 'look' square
NBraun
Reader
4/9/20 8:18 p.m.
To answer a few questions,
Without seeing the inside of the house, it's hard to say for sure, but we'd like to keep it the way it is as long as it's in good shape, and we can do it affordably. We're not going to go out of our way to modernize it. I have no reason to replace the plaster as long as I don't have too, I just wasn't sure if that's something that people considered a need for an old house.
I really appreciate everyones input! I'm glad to hear that it maybe isn't such a scary idea. Luckily my fiance and I have family that are willing to help us out.
Knob and tube wiring. If there is any of it in use, it's gotta go.
Foundation cracks, majorly not-square doors and door frames, rotten floors, etc.
Lean on an experienced home inspector. If at all possible, be there when they inspect. You can ask questions and they will verbally call out things as they see them, not on a paper report.
I'm living in a house that was built in 1900 and I'm loving it. I made an offer within one hour of when it hit the market. Home inspector found very mild (and very old) termite damage which I used to negotiate a bit more. This house had been flipped in 2012 and they did a fantastic (not shine-ola) job. The only things I'm doing to it are cosmetic renovations.
The thing I've found about older houses is that (in general) they are still standing because they were built well. The last house I bought was built in 1944... which is rare, because most materials were going to the war effort and not many houses were being built. That told me to look hard. I knew it probably wasn't built by pros, which means some handy guys put it together with whatever was laying around.
The house apparently had been built from salvaged barn lumber; rough-cut 2x6s, and some massive 6x8 beams in the floors. My mind was put to ease when I saw the construction behind things. I was afraid it was duct tape and hopes, but it was like they built a daily driver by salvaging the frame from a Freightliner.
I'm with Curtis on this, if the house survived 100+ years, it should be decently built.
Assuming it's not being eaten by termites or otherwise about to fall apart, the likely headaches are going to be electrical and plumbing, plus any fun "renovations" that left their, err, tasteful mark in the past century.
Is this house currently being used as a rental?
The complete lack of shrubbery is a landlord trick. Eliminating the landscaping therefore eliminates the need to maintain the landscaping.
Generally, I am not house handy.
Generally, I am not a fan of this property.
Is it cheap? I ask because I expect it to have zero insulation and that combined with the old windows are going to lead you to some significant heating bills. Could be expensive cooling too but that then belabors the question of does this place even have ac?
Dirt driveway (not even stone.) Is this common in your area? So much for clean cars. That dirt will get into the house too as you track it in every time.
That telephone wire/electrical pole looks to be undersized. If that is telephone and I then see the dish blatantly on the front of the house...I wonder, does this rural house have internet capability
Poor paint, poor windows, poor front porch, poor driveway, poor etc. I hope the good parts are on the inside.
Much depends on what your expectations are in the long run. Budget. And how much you can do yourself if budget is low.
Many times i can build a complete new home for less than remodeling an old one. Concerning an older building, I'm looking for "good bones"... things like foundation, framing, structure.
The gotchas can be mechanicals, wiring, septic, old plumbing.
4 weeks ago we bought a fixer upper. Good structure, great roof, modern double paned windows, multiple acres. Since then I have filled a 20 yard dumpster. Replaced all the plumbing, 80% of all the electric, tore down walls, built new walls, and put up 45 sheets of drywall. Replacing all the baths and kitchen. That said, its what i do daily, and at the end of the day i go home to a really nice pad. The goal, June 1st, old looking house on the outside, totally modern inside. I can't imagine that sort of overhaul while still trying to live in it.
NBraun
Reader
4/9/20 9:04 p.m.
Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) said:
The thing I've found about older houses is that (in general) they are still standing because they were built well. The last house I bought was built in 1944... which is rare, because most materials were going to the war effort and not many houses were being built. That told me to look hard. I knew it probably wasn't built by pros, which means some handy guys put it together with whatever was laying around.
The house apparently had been built from salvaged barn lumber; rough-cut 2x6s, and some massive 6x8 beams in the floors. My mind was put to ease when I saw the construction behind things. I was afraid it was duct tape and hopes, but it was like they built a daily driver by salvaging the frame from a Freightliner.
Good to hear about your experiences! We have a trusted home inspector too as well.
BoxheadTim,
That was my thought as well.
John,
Just a bit of history on it. A family friend bought it from the 85 year old owner 30 ish years ago for the pasture land that came with it. I'm not sure if it's been inhabited for the whole time, but I can only assume he rented it out, as that's what he did with his other unused property. Currently his son is living in it, but plans to move out within the next few months. He and his wife have been keeping an eye out for acreages for my fiance and I, so once they decided to sell this one they asked if we were interested. Right now i'm assuming that the insulation is sparse, and may need updating, but I could be wrong. I have yet to talk to him about a price. That conversation will decide quite a few things, however. Dirt/gravel Driveways are pretty much the norm in this area, as pretty much every neighbor has just that. The house does have fiberoptic ran to it. I was told that the inside is much better than the outside, but again, without seeing it in person who knows.
NBraun
Reader
4/9/20 9:10 p.m.
Purple Frog (Forum Supporter) said:
Much depends on what your expectations are in the long run. Budget. And how much you can do yourself if budget is low.
Many times i can build a complete new home for less than remodeling an old one. Concerning an older building, I'm looking for "good bones"... things like foundation, framing, structure.
The gotchas can be mechanicals, wiring, septic, old plumbing.
4 weeks ago we bought a fixer upper. Good structure, great roof, modern double paned windows, multiple acres. Since then I have filled a 20 yard dumpster. Replaced all the plumbing, 80% of all the electric, tore down walls, built new walls, and put up 45 sheets of drywall. Replacing all the baths and kitchen. That said, its what i do daily, and at the end of the day i go home to a really nice pad. The goal, June 1st, old looking house on the outside, totally modern inside. I can't imagine that sort of overhaul while still trying to live in it.
That's where we're trying to decide what to do. If it needs an overhaul, we can do that before we move, it's only 15 minutes away from our current house. If a new house is the financial better option, we'd probably do that, but from my research that wasn't the case. However, without getting quotes that's hard to say exactly.
In reply to John Welsh (Forum Supporter) :
Dude! Negative much? Let me guess, you live in a townhome or a condo or an apartment in town. Your bias is showing! 
Yes. My review was more negative than the others.
My intention was to highlight that this could be a big undertaking and more undertaking than I would be willing to or be capable of. Just facts.
Many were accentuating the positive. I chose to balance with accentuating the negative. My intentions were to have him keep his eyes open and not get glossy eyed and blinded by the excitement of the purchase.
My house
NBraun
Reader
4/9/20 9:28 p.m.
John Welsh (Forum Supporter) said:
Yes. My review was more negative than the others.
My intention was to highlight that this could be a big undertaking and more undertaking than I would be willing to or be capable of. Just facts.
Many were accentuating the positive. I chose to balance with accentuating the negative. My intentions were to have him keep his eyes open and not get glossy eyed and blinded by the excitement of the purchase.
John, I appreciate your negativity! You're right that this could be a huge undertaking, and very expensive. All the things you mentioned we're concerns of mine as well, and I really hope the interior is better than the exterior.
Speaking of the exterior, Is repainting my only option? As much as i'd like to stick with what it has, i'm not a huge fan of painting houses, and in my experience painted houses are a big pain compared to vinyl siding or the like.
In reply to NBraun :
Here's how to decide if you are ready for this.
Can you restore a car?
Do you work on it until it's done?
When it's done do you make excuses for why it wasn't done better?
Your answers have to be
Yes
yes
no
In reply to NBraun :
Vinyl siding will also provide you with the opportunity to add some insulation between the current exterior wall and the siding.
Contradictory thoughts: I wouldn't buy a house that old unless there was no place to pitch a tent.
I love watching This Old House, and I think Tom Silva is one of the greatest humans to ever walk the earth.
John Welsh (Forum Supporter) said:
Yes. My review was more negative than the others.
My intention was to highlight that this could be a big undertaking and more undertaking than I would be willing to or be capable of. Just facts.
Many were accentuating the positive. I chose to balance with accentuating the negative. My intentions were to have him keep his eyes open and not get glossy eyed and blinded by the excitement of the purchase.
My house
Working on a house is easier than a car. But Yes it requires the ability to see a job through.
Economic repercussions can be more serious. But so can the rewards.
Time and money aren't really the question. They are too variable. But you either are the type of person who sees things through to the finish or your aren't.
my initial idea to build my house was a budget of $50,000 and a time of 2 years. That is 4080 man hours) instead I spent nearly $300,000 and 31,000 man hours so far. Hopefully I have less than 5000 man hours left. And very little money.
I just kept adding more and more because this has turned into the great joy of my life.
I can't predict how you or your family will react. Joy, Pride, eagerness? Or frustration anger and resentment. Or some combination?
Tom Silva's "restored" old houses are much like a high end Resto-mod Pro Touring car. It only looks old on the outside. Everything inside is high dollar modern.
Just get a highly qualified home inspector and he will answer all of your concerns. I would recommend that he be ASHI certified and CABO/IBC (or equivalent titleage) certified.
