New Here and a Question

[amandawolf9]

Hello,
I am new to this site. I am in process of buying a 1921 Traditional American. I am trying to find original pictures of what this home looked like. Currently covered in Aluminum siding. Porch has been changed with wrought iron poles. Would love to see this home in the original state so the porch(s) could be put back to the way intended as well as figure paint colors. Has anyone seen this style of home or can point me in the right direction? I can't figure out how to insert images so I've linked the realtor.com link.

Any help is greatly appreciated!
Amanda

[phil]

Just my take but I think they have llifted up the roof on either side as well as added the dormer, so to return things to original you'd have a smaller house. the attic, or top floor might not have been living space so maybe they also added a staircase. I think the chimney was outside the house, that square bump out was added as well.

I think if you picture it with the roof only having two slopes and no angles you;d be pretty close. low handrails ( like 2 fee tall) on either side of the front staircase are probably original as well, and they would be grandfathered if they hadn't been changed , unfortunately if you pull a permit it has lost this feature and it wont' meet code to recreate it under permit, not saying you couldn't still do it

Rather than halving the size of your house I think you might want to try to remove the siding and replace with shingles but I dont' know if you'd want to remove all the additions. It doesn't have a bad style now, but I think it as been expanded in almost every direction.

Every house doesn't need to be put back to it's origional state to be nice, i would do updates to try to reflect the era and craftsman style, I think ? see what the others say , some here are much better with classifying house styles.

On mine 1924 they picked up the roof on one side like that and expanded the kitchen that made room to make stairs to the attic and basement. I feel thay have done similar to yours. I'd keep that but maybe look at the finish of the porches and try to lean toward more shingles. maybe railings made of 2x 12's , and tapered porch columbs. The look was kind of robust and overbuilt.

if you do some detective work you may find some studs made of newer lumber, if you can see any of the original floors you might see where walls were moved.

the heating system was probably in the basement if there is one and they didnt' have forced air so it was usually under the center of the house with a big grate to let the heat up into the house, probably it has had ducting and forced air added. You could look to see if you have signs on the basement floor where the original heater was, near the chimney.
If there is no basement maybe the heat source was a cast iron stove in the kitchen?

I don't think the roof style above the front entrance was like that , it might have had sort of a peaked roof. also the corners of the dormer don't seem to quite fit the style. I wouldn't remove the dormer, it probably made more living space and I guess they copied the low slope from what thhey did on either side of the house. I think the fascia boards were straight and those corner bracket things are original. It's nice ot have all the extra space they added, I would not try to make the house half as big for the sake of origionality but rather , you may choose to embrace the mods that have been done and make it look a bit more in keeping with the original style.

that's just my take , see what others think.

[Gothichome]

Amanda, first off, welcome to the District. We are a friendly lot with lots of experience in all things old homes. I think you have a proper Craftsman style home there. A very nice style indeed. As far as paint screams, think darker earth tones. As phill mentioned it does look like the dormer is an add on, probably to make the attic usable space.
It is considered wise advice here in the district, you live with the home for a bit before doing any thing major. You will most probably find that the home will tell you what it needs. This will change your priorities in the short term. From the pics your home looks like it has had some good owners over the years which will work in your favour.
We have many folks here with homes of your period and style so there should be no shortage of answers for you.
Once again welcome, hope to hear lots more.

[1918ColonialRevival]

Your house is a bungalow with Craftsman influence, but I wouldn't go as far as calling it a full Craftsman style house. Yours is representative of the working man's house of the first quarter of the 20th Century. From the 1900s through the Great Depression, there were many plan books printed with bungalow designs in them. Builders could use the plans as they were printed to construct the house, or they could use the plans as a guide, making modifications as the homeowner requested. Also, some coal and oil companies constructed multiples of similar styled houses for their workforce.

From what I'm seeing, the house underwent some renovations in the 1960s and maybe some minor ones in the 1990s. The original siding was likely either wooden or possibly cedar shakes. The "stonework" on the porch looks similar to Formstone, which was a fabricated cement product that was at its peak in popularity in the 1950s and 60s. Formstone was a brand, but there were over a dozen others that made a similar product.

[amandawolf9]

Thanks everyone. My family and I were leaning to the Sears Craftsman kits as well. The neighborhood would have been a working class neighborhood. I figured the dormers were added. The angles didn't match. Bungalo/Craftsman sounds about right. I dont' plan to change anything about the house other than the siding/paint and I'd like to get rid of the wrought iron porch supports(proper term?). I did see a couple other houses like this in the neighborhood. Looks like the porch supports might have just been square wood. Again, thank you all for your input!!

[Powermuffin]

Congatulations of your purchase of a vintage home! What ever the provenance is, it is a very nice looking home. We love pictures and I, personally, would love to see some interior pics. Welcome aboard!
Diane