Just Bought a Philly Rowhouse
Posted: Sun Apr 09, 2017 3:23 am
Hello folks!
I'm Devyn.... We just purchased a circa 1852* rowhouse in South Philly (Pennsport) and are super excited (and terrified) of all the projects we get to undertake to turn this 2,000 square foot, five bedroom, three story rowhouse into our home.
I have always been an old house person, but have always lived in (old) apartments in cities where home ownership is beyond the reach of ordinary folks. After spending the past several years fixing up our 1910 apartment in another northeast city, we just wanted more space, a quieter life, and I have always wanted a house. Philadelphia was the logical choice with its plethora of very old houses and relative affordability.
Unfortunately, the vast majority of the old rowhouses in Philly have been renovated multiple times over the years. Nearly every house on the market being mostly a sheetrock box with all new everything inside of an old brick shell. When we stumbled across this house, it was immediate love. The interior is about 70% original (save for the kitchen and baths) and in desperate need of a lot of love and attention. I am so looking forward to bending a few ears on how-to's as as well as advice on dealing with the inevitable old house issues which will arise.
Our house has the original 6"+ wide T&G floors (no subfloor) in most of the rooms, the majority of the wood trim is original, as are the thin four panel doors including rimlocks with porcelain knobs. Our living room and entry hall have original plaster crown molding, and the mosaic tile floor and tile walls in our vestibule are all intact.
Or first priority is the electrical. It's a mix of K&T (light fixtures and switches) and 1990's (outlets) wiring. We also have a few structural issues with one of our brick walls bowing outward and will be having some reinforcement rods put in over the next few months.
Once we get the structural and electrical stuff out of the way, we want to settle in and start one project at at time. Future projects include converting a small bedroom to a master bath and walk in closet, updating the guest bath, replacing the 1990s kitchen, and a lot of cosmetic stuff.
I did a video walk-through (if you are curious: https://youtu.be/_48sR47vuv0) I am also blogging about our adventures (link in my profile)
(*How did I arrive at 1852? It's an educated guess based on research. First, I came across an 1849 land use map showing the locations of buildings at the time and the block was empty of any buildings, although there were other buildings on adjacent blocks. Then I spent many hours pouring over McElroy's Philadelphia city directories from the 1850s. I was able to find residents of the block going backwards to the 1853 city directory, but when I looked at the 1852 directory, none were on that block. )
Below are a few photos of house shot over the past few weeks
Entry vestibule with original tile walls and mosaic floor
Living room:
Plaster crown molding:
Staircase needs a lot of work, but we love it.
Rimlocks!
There are more images here: http://s135.photobucket.com/user/iconeon/slideshow/Our%20Philly%20Row
I'm Devyn.... We just purchased a circa 1852* rowhouse in South Philly (Pennsport) and are super excited (and terrified) of all the projects we get to undertake to turn this 2,000 square foot, five bedroom, three story rowhouse into our home.
I have always been an old house person, but have always lived in (old) apartments in cities where home ownership is beyond the reach of ordinary folks. After spending the past several years fixing up our 1910 apartment in another northeast city, we just wanted more space, a quieter life, and I have always wanted a house. Philadelphia was the logical choice with its plethora of very old houses and relative affordability.
Unfortunately, the vast majority of the old rowhouses in Philly have been renovated multiple times over the years. Nearly every house on the market being mostly a sheetrock box with all new everything inside of an old brick shell. When we stumbled across this house, it was immediate love. The interior is about 70% original (save for the kitchen and baths) and in desperate need of a lot of love and attention. I am so looking forward to bending a few ears on how-to's as as well as advice on dealing with the inevitable old house issues which will arise.
Our house has the original 6"+ wide T&G floors (no subfloor) in most of the rooms, the majority of the wood trim is original, as are the thin four panel doors including rimlocks with porcelain knobs. Our living room and entry hall have original plaster crown molding, and the mosaic tile floor and tile walls in our vestibule are all intact.
Or first priority is the electrical. It's a mix of K&T (light fixtures and switches) and 1990's (outlets) wiring. We also have a few structural issues with one of our brick walls bowing outward and will be having some reinforcement rods put in over the next few months.
Once we get the structural and electrical stuff out of the way, we want to settle in and start one project at at time. Future projects include converting a small bedroom to a master bath and walk in closet, updating the guest bath, replacing the 1990s kitchen, and a lot of cosmetic stuff.
I did a video walk-through (if you are curious: https://youtu.be/_48sR47vuv0) I am also blogging about our adventures (link in my profile)
(*How did I arrive at 1852? It's an educated guess based on research. First, I came across an 1849 land use map showing the locations of buildings at the time and the block was empty of any buildings, although there were other buildings on adjacent blocks. Then I spent many hours pouring over McElroy's Philadelphia city directories from the 1850s. I was able to find residents of the block going backwards to the 1853 city directory, but when I looked at the 1852 directory, none were on that block. )
Below are a few photos of house shot over the past few weeks
Entry vestibule with original tile walls and mosaic floor
Living room:
Plaster crown molding:
Staircase needs a lot of work, but we love it.
Rimlocks!
There are more images here: http://s135.photobucket.com/user/iconeon/slideshow/Our%20Philly%20Row