Just Bought a Philly Rowhouse

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OurPhillyRow
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Just Bought a Philly Rowhouse

Post by OurPhillyRow »

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

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Entry vestibule with original tile walls and mosaic floor
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Living room:
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Plaster crown molding:
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Staircase needs a lot of work, but we love it.
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Rimlocks!
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There are more images here: http://s135.photobucket.com/user/iconeon/slideshow/Our%20Philly%20Row
Devyn - Old House Lover
1852 Brick Rowhouse - Philadelphia

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Willa
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Re: Just Bought a Philly Rowhouse

Post by Willa »

Welcome ! Your new home looks fantastic. I love the encaustic tile entry and well, everything you've shown so far.

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Old house lady
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Re: Just Bought a Philly Rowhouse

Post by Old house lady »

Welcome Devyn! She's beautiful and was waiting for just the right new owner.

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Nicholas
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Re: Just Bought a Philly Rowhouse

Post by Nicholas »

Welcome from a former Philly rowhouse dweller. Back in the 80's I was telling folks to watch Fishtown/ Northern Liberties. I was naysayed, look at those places now.

That is a cool house with the original features like that vestibule. Glad to see your house still has the original outside features also, the cornices etc. I hate the way a lot of those are covered up like your neighbor on the left.

Geno's or Pat's?
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Gothichome
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Re: Just Bought a Philly Rowhouse

Post by Gothichome »

Well hello Devyn, you have a fine survivor of a home on your hands, we have several row/townhouse owners in the district. I am sure they will be interested in your adventure in restoring your home. I think you have a good plan, fix the stuff that absolutely needs repair and deal with the rest as time permits. The general view of most her is to live in the home for a while before doing any major changes. You will be suprised at how well these old homes work as is. Also, the home will tell you what it needs.

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Re: Just Bought a Philly Rowhouse

Post by JRC »

Welcome, and congratulations on finding a house with interesting original features!

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OurPhillyRow
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Re: Just Bought a Philly Rowhouse

Post by OurPhillyRow »

Willa wrote:Welcome ! Your new home looks fantastic. I love the encaustic tile entry and well, everything you've shown so far.


Thanks Willa. We weren't sure if the entry tile was original, but a few days ago, I was walking past a neighbor's house a few doors down, and they have the same tile as ours, only in different colors.

Old house lady wrote:Welcome Devyn! She's beautiful and was waiting for just the right new owner.


@Old house lady, Thanks! Given how few early homes in Philly retain this much of the original interior, we were thrilled to be the ones to keep as much in tact as possible.

Nicholas wrote:Welcome from a former Philly rowhouse dweller. Back in the 80's I was telling folks to watch Fishtown/ Northern Liberties. I was naysayed, look at those places now.

That is a cool house with the original features like that vestibule. Glad to see your house still has the original outside features also, the cornices etc. I hate the way a lot of those are covered up like your neighbor on the left.

Geno's or Pat's?


@Nicholas, Thank you. I considered the Northern Liberties and Fishtown, but we wanted to be within reasonable walking distance of downtown - It's only a mile away. There are a few houses on our block which retain the majority of their exteriors, but our neighbor loves his awning! It's really quite tragic how many cornices are hidden behind vertical aluminum siding.

Geno's or Pat's? - I prefer Tony Luke's :)

Gothichome wrote:Well hello Devyn, you have a fine survivor of a home on your hands, we have several row/townhouse owners in the district. I am sure they will be interested in your adventure in restoring your home. I think you have a good plan, fix the stuff that absolutely needs repair and deal with the rest as time permits. The general view of most her is to live in the home for a while before doing any major changes. You will be suprised at how well these old homes work as is. Also, the home will tell you what it needs.


@Gothichome I am looking forward to participating in the HD community. As for major changes... ? We plan to leave as much of the original interior in place as possible. Our only renovation plans are to convert a small "L" shaped bedroom next to the master into a master bath and walk in closet (the walls are going to stay in place.) The kitchen is a small (8'x11') poorly planned big-box kitchen from the 1990s at the very back of the house. There is nothing of any redeeming value in the space. We want to gut it completely, move an interior wall two feet into the current dining room (which only retains the original baseboards), and move the door to the backyard to a better location. The structure is all brick, so it will be an adventure changing the exterior openings.

Other than that, we plan no changes to any of the spaces. The vast majority of houses in the area removed the wall separating the entry from the living room to make a bigger open space. We love the separation of the space with the living room being 11'x21', it is plenty big enough. I do hope to restore the staircase which has countless coats of paint on it and an unsteady handrail, but I may need to call in a restorer for the staircase.

Here are couple of close ups of the 1852 vestibule tile. We haven't officially named them yet, but one of the early residents was named Horace Hill (1865), so we may call him Horace. I am thinking Evelyn for the lovely lady.
EDIT: I have come to learn (Thank you @1918ColonialRevival!) that the tile is from the Trent Tile company. Most likely manufactured in the 1880s. The artist is Isaac Broome, who is known for his portrait tiles.

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A few more shots of the stairs:
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Looking up from first floor:
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And the basement door:
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We expect it will take a number of years to get the house in shape. We plan to restore what we can and thoughtfully recreate what we can't.
Last edited by OurPhillyRow on Sun Apr 09, 2017 10:09 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Devyn - Old House Lover
1852 Brick Rowhouse - Philadelphia

Sweetpeastacy
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Re: Just Bought a Philly Rowhouse

Post by Sweetpeastacy »

Welcome, I am new, too! Your house is gorgeous!

1918ColonialRevival
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Re: Just Bought a Philly Rowhouse

Post by 1918ColonialRevival »

Welcome! You've got a nice specimen on your hands there. The best advice I can give someone who has just bought a "new" old house is to take your time and research both the house and the best way to get different jobs done. You've already mentioned that you are tackling structural and electric issues first, which is good. If the K&T is only to the ceiling fixtures, I wouldn't necessarily make it a priority if it is in good condition and there haven't been any hack jobs done to it. The reason I say this is I've seen several overzealous electricians destroy beautiful plaster ceilings to get to that cursed K&T, only to find it in good condition. Ceiling lights don't pull that much current, so there's no danger of overheating unless there's a short somewhere and if there was, you would constantly be blowing fuses or the breaker on that circuit to the point it wouldn't be usable. If the wiring to the outlets was redone 20 or so years ago, it should be ok, but I would check to make sure no one did anything insane like tie new wiring onto old or connect several rooms to a single circuit. I've worked inside quite a few older houses over the years and have seen some strange things done by homeowners.

Your vestibule is beautiful. I'm thinking the tilework in the vestibule was done in the 1890-1905 timeframe, as there are some Art Nouveau elements there that weren't around yet in the 1850s. I'm almost positive the wall tile was made by the Trent Tile Company of Trenton, NJ. Here are some examples of their work:

https://www.google.com/search?q=trent+tile&tbm=isch&imgil=_xdSZbwaTtxetM%253A%253BvFZRwHA0g4IfIM%253Bhttp%25253A%25252F%25252Fwellstile.com%25252Fcatalog%25252Ftag%25252Ftrent-tile-company%25252F&source=iu&pf=m&fir=_xdSZbwaTtxetM%253A%252CvFZRwHA0g4IfIM%252C_&usg=__oe6fAG7hv04Kt4HrdsQ7Httznsw%3D&biw=1536&bih=755&ved=0ahUKEwjAz4-7lpjTAhXCfpAKHXbGABYQyjcIPA&ei=bpTqWMDgIcL9wQT2jIOwAQ#imgrc=_

Decorative tile from Trent was used in a lot of DC, Baltimore, and Philly rowhouses around the turn of the 20th century. You are very fortunate to have that intact and in good condition.

What kind of condition is the plumbing in?

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OurPhillyRow
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Re: Just Bought a Philly Rowhouse

Post by OurPhillyRow »

1918ColonialRevival wrote:...If the K&T is only to the ceiling fixtures, I wouldn't necessarily make it a priority if it is in good condition and there haven't been any hack jobs done to it...

...Your vestibule is beautiful. I'm thinking the tilework in the vestibule was done in the 1890-1905 timeframe, as there are some Art Nouveau elements there that weren't around yet in the 1850s. I'm almost positive the wall tile was made by the Trent Tile Company of Trenton, NJ.... Decorative tile from Trent was used in a lot of DC, Baltimore, and Philly rowhouses around the turn of the 20th century. You are very fortunate to have that intact and in good condition.

What kind of condition is the plumbing in?


@1918ColonialRevival - Thanks for the information!

The tile.... It is so interesting you point out the Victorian time period. First of all, I call it "ugly/beautiful" because I would never choose to put it in my home, but I would never ever think of taking it out either. When I first saw it a few months ago, I initially thought it may not be original as it seemed too ornate for the 1850s when compared to the relative simplicity elsewhere in the house.

But, then last week, I was passing a neighbors house and their door was open (See Photo Here). They have the same tiled walls, only difference being the colors were a bit different. That led me to think it may have been original. But you made a good point that it was a fashion thing and that is likely why both houses have it.

This may have been when the original marble mantle was removed and replaced with the current one, which is also too fancy for the 1850s. I found out that the house had an old octopus gravity heater which was removed in the 90s. My research shows that the heater was likely installed in the 1890s when the fireplaces were sealed up and cast iron ventilation grills added to utilize the flue as a way to deliver heat. There were originally six fire places, only the mantle in the living room remains.

The K&T is an issue primarily because of insurance reasons, but also it is in the attic and we want to be able to add insulation (there is no insulation at all in the entire house). I have confirmed that there are no outlets on the same circuits as light fixtures (with one single exception) and the wiring for the outlets is somewhat recent (no more than 30 years old) and tests out as safe and to code.

The electrician will be upgrading the panel from 100 to 200 amp service in anticipation of adding air-conditioning next year. As for the inevitable holes... I am going to pull some of the floorboards (no subfloor) to minimize holes in the plaster ceiling below. We will be converting one small bedroom into a master bath and closet, and I plan to salvage the floorboards from that area to patch in where needed elsewhere. There is also a shortage of switches for hall lighting (you have to climb to the third floor in the dark to get to the light switch), fortunately, wireless technology will allow for easy additional switch placement. I am also seriously considering having a plasterer come in to patch the holes (until I can become proficient at doing my own plaster work). Fortunately, our electrician is an old house lover (he went gaga over the entry tile), he is well aware of my concerns about plaster damage.

Plumbing? Well, none of the existing bathrooms or the kitchen are old (1980s/90s). The main floor half bath is copper, but the kitchen and bath are PEX, and I suspect not more than a few years old as there is some abandoned copper plumbing in the basement coming from the back of the house where the kitchen is located (accessed via crawlspace).
Devyn - Old House Lover
1852 Brick Rowhouse - Philadelphia

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