Hello from Philadelphia!
Re: Hello from Philadelphia!
Finally done moving! Still had my studio space to pack and move, huge task. Finally everything is here at the house, too bad we have so much stuff that I can hardly SEE the house (or garage, or greenhouse) anymore!
Well, thank you all for the warm welcome. Now that moving is pretty much officially over (shhh... don't talk about the storage space...) and I can recover from the stress of it all, I will be able to get some pictures up.
I'd agree on the vernacular house part, it's a normal house, built like any small working class house was built in the area around that time. It's essentially built like a row, only freestanding. So, a single house, with windows all down one side and front, and one window on the other that was closed up when the kitchen had it's cabinets installed at some point around 86, I believe. So much more light than a row, but essentially the same shape, with a home built greenhouse of brick, block, wood and glass.
I'm a little shy about pictures, given its not a grand dame, but it has a yard and I LOVE to garden and was never shy about my garden pictures, so hopefully the before and afters will one day reflect not only the house but the garden as well. Looking forward to that, too!
My studio was a few feet from Philadelphia Salvage, so I was in and out as I was moving. They are moving in April, too, to their main Warehouse not too far away.
We do have lots of resources for older homes in Philadelphia, and yes, Killians is my best friend. Been there twice this past week just for moving supplies. Todays trip will be for new guts for the toilets. Maybe some other goodies!
Well, thank you all for the warm welcome. Now that moving is pretty much officially over (shhh... don't talk about the storage space...) and I can recover from the stress of it all, I will be able to get some pictures up.
I'd agree on the vernacular house part, it's a normal house, built like any small working class house was built in the area around that time. It's essentially built like a row, only freestanding. So, a single house, with windows all down one side and front, and one window on the other that was closed up when the kitchen had it's cabinets installed at some point around 86, I believe. So much more light than a row, but essentially the same shape, with a home built greenhouse of brick, block, wood and glass.
I'm a little shy about pictures, given its not a grand dame, but it has a yard and I LOVE to garden and was never shy about my garden pictures, so hopefully the before and afters will one day reflect not only the house but the garden as well. Looking forward to that, too!
My studio was a few feet from Philadelphia Salvage, so I was in and out as I was moving. They are moving in April, too, to their main Warehouse not too far away.
We do have lots of resources for older homes in Philadelphia, and yes, Killians is my best friend. Been there twice this past week just for moving supplies. Todays trip will be for new guts for the toilets. Maybe some other goodies!
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Nicholas
- Shakes a cane at new house owners
- Posts: 578
- Joined: Mon Aug 17, 2015 10:23 am
- Location: The Winter Strawberry Capitol of the World
Re: Hello from Philadelphia!
Big Blue wrote:I'm a little shy about pictures, given its not a grand dame, but it has a yard and I LOVE to garden and was never shy about my garden pictures, so hopefully the before and afters will one day reflect not only the house but the garden as well. Looking forward to that, too!
Don't be ashamed to show pics!
What got me interested in old homes was the mixed character of the City of Brotherly Love.
Although most of my time growing up was spent in a post war Airlite row in the northeast, both my grandparents lived a few doors from each other on 24th and Allegheny, and I spent a lot of time in my grandfathers home, a detached row/twin in Germantown.
Do you know how close I came to buying into Fishtown in the late 80's despite the naysayers? I now kick myself!
Show the pics!.....(please)
1915 Frame Vernacular Bungalow
"If it ain't leanin' or a little crooked then it ain't got character" - local resident
The BumbleBee House
"If it ain't leanin' or a little crooked then it ain't got character" - local resident
The BumbleBee House
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mkeller234
- Been here a while
- Posts: 181
- Joined: Mon Aug 17, 2015 10:07 pm
Re: Hello from Philadelphia!
The home and greenhouse sound very cool. I also bought a working class colonial home, built in 1940. There is absolutely nothing fancy about my house, but we still really love it and work hard to repair it. No shame in that.
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Ireland House
- Been here a while
- Posts: 133
- Joined: Mon Feb 15, 2016 3:04 am
- Location: Central Illinois
Re: Hello from Philadelphia!
Hello! Please do not be shy about pics. While my home may have had a glorious past for our area, it was one step away from a bulldozer when we found her. Looking forward to seeing the greenhouse, as my folks have an attached greenhouse here in Illinois. They have an herb farm. When doing repair work, they retrofitted automatic vents in the roof. Best thing they ever did.
Please do not be shy about pics. While my home may have had a glorious past for our area, it was one step away from a bulldozer when we found her. Looking forward to seeing the greenhouse, as my folks have an attached greenhouse here in Illinois. They have an herb farm. When doing repair work, they retrofitted automatic vents in the roof. Best thing they ever did.Today is my happily ever after.
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homescribehistory
- Settling in
- Posts: 41
- Joined: Wed Nov 11, 2015 3:05 am
- Location: Glenside, PA
- Contact:
Re: Hello from Philadelphia!
Hey there Big Blue, glad to see someone from Philly-- I'm only a few minutes away in Glenside, wonder if you are anywhere near Lincoln Drive, one of my favorite thoroughfares for zipping past a bunch of great old houses. Like everyone else, I'm waiting with baited breath to see some pictures of that greenhouse! Welcome.
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Corsetière
- Knows where blueprints are hidden
- Posts: 1056
- Joined: Wed Sep 23, 2015 1:44 pm
- Location: Columbus, Ohio
Re: Hello from Philadelphia!
Ooh! I'm very excited to see your greenhouse! I grow orchids and other tropical plants and have been dreaming of getting a greenhouse!
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Don M
- Moderator
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- Joined: Sun Aug 16, 2015 10:19 pm
- Location: S. Central Pennsylvania
- Contact:
Re: Hello from Philadelphia!
Welcome to the District I agree with the others, this is a great place to visit & ask questions!
Re: Hello from Philadelphia!
Howdy, Historic District!
I’ve had a long gap between postings! I have been very busy, researching, cleaning, discovering things (some good, some, well, not so good) things about our new old house in the meantime! I’m always meaning to post, but had small computer meltdown (all fixed) and find myself doing things that keep me far from the computer, which is probably good, as there is much, much to do.
I’ve made many trips to the hardware store, often promptly misplacing my purchases in the chaos of the mostly still unpacked living situation, but have made some progress here and there.
My immediate goals are to open up the basement windows that had been cemented over by the previous owner, causing serious moisture problems, both in the basement and the plaster walls about 8 or so inches up along one side of the house interior. Nothing that cant be fixed, but it will mean replacing the sill plates above the windows, too, which have deteriorated badly due to moisture.
Ants are a serious problem. Serious. Never seen so many ants. Ants of all kinds. I’m sure brought in through the voids in the mortar of the schist foundation, attracted by the moisture. They have a ton of places to travel, and I think they are living in the walls in the lathe like an ant condo! Gross!
So, working out how to move along with that project, all being parts that seem to hinge on one another.
Oh, and we discovered it rains in the house between the back outer wall and the attached “shed” which was an original wood sided section of the house which is essentially a mudroom and bathroom, added much later.
That is also priority, of course, but we may be removing the shed completely, not sure about that yet. Until then, a roof patch must be done.
I did learn some interesting facts about the house today, which prompted my post. I went down to the Germantown Historical Society to try and find out some info about the building of the property. I could never put together how a house built in 1925 had no indoor plumbing, and could never find any zoning documents in the online archives for the houses around me. I told the Library archivist what I did know about the properties, and what my questions were. Now I may know why we had no indoor plumbing.
The archivist gracious pulled out several maps of my area. and went about comparing the dates on the maps with me. He showed me that my house and that of the 3 others built like mine on the block, do not appear on the 1889 map, but they are present on the 1895 map. So, the properties were built somewhere between 1889 and 1895, not 1925 at all. He also noted that on the 1925 map there was no waterline down the street, only a sewer line, which puts me at a closer date to when the indoor plumbing may have first been installed.
We also discussed how the property seemed so wet. I had always wondered if there was a cistern here, based on some weird pipes that are still present in the yard, as well as where there may have been a privy, or how they had potable water. without indoor plumbing. Although he said it is often the opposite, land above a cistern being very dry, it could be that there is a cistern and that it may be preventing water from draining past it’s top. My dream is a cistern for non potable water for the garden and maybe clothes washing, if able to be filtered, as we have a pretty good amount of roof area counting the greenhouse and garage, for collection. if there was a cistern, it would certainly help the dampness issue, too, as much of the runoff from these two structures does not go to the street sewer, just into the ground around the property.
He also pointed out that the “sheds” in these houses may have housed pumps for well water, as they would have been right outside the kitchen doors, which are exterior doors to the shed areas. The sheds were not built over basements, but I do have a big hole in the basement schist wall that now has plumbing run to the bathroom above..
All in all, great information learned! I now have a date range, as well as possible address differences also noted on the street next to ours which were built earlier that ours and renumbered. Now I can go to the main archives and have a better idea of what to look for. I read on the Philadelphia Archives site that the building permits from before July of 1889 are lost, and the ones between ’89 and ’95 are very minimal as far as info goes, but it is a start. maybe I will get lucky!
He also determined that the greenhouse was built between 1923 and 1955, based on the available maps, too. I noted a different structure on one of the maps, which is now gone, but could have been the original garage or something like that as it was marked as “industrial” space, like the greenhouse was. Forget what year that map was, and forgot to put it in my notes.
So, that is my update on what is happening in my new old Philly house!
Oh, and we did tear off some of the terrible pressboard from the greenhouse interior ceiling, and did discover more wood rails with routed areas for glass, some channels that seem to still have some glass in them, and areas in the walls long tinned and shingled over that have windowpanes, some with and some without glass! All in all, some nice discoveries! still have a ton of structural work to do out there, but it was nice to see some intact glass in a couple sample areas, if nothing else!
Off to deal with ants, carpet and not sure what in the basement!
Good day full of learning, and a good start to make some decisions with more info under my belt to do so!
Photos next... our modest little abode, before pictures.
I’ve had a long gap between postings! I have been very busy, researching, cleaning, discovering things (some good, some, well, not so good) things about our new old house in the meantime! I’m always meaning to post, but had small computer meltdown (all fixed) and find myself doing things that keep me far from the computer, which is probably good, as there is much, much to do.
I’ve made many trips to the hardware store, often promptly misplacing my purchases in the chaos of the mostly still unpacked living situation, but have made some progress here and there.
My immediate goals are to open up the basement windows that had been cemented over by the previous owner, causing serious moisture problems, both in the basement and the plaster walls about 8 or so inches up along one side of the house interior. Nothing that cant be fixed, but it will mean replacing the sill plates above the windows, too, which have deteriorated badly due to moisture.
Ants are a serious problem. Serious. Never seen so many ants. Ants of all kinds. I’m sure brought in through the voids in the mortar of the schist foundation, attracted by the moisture. They have a ton of places to travel, and I think they are living in the walls in the lathe like an ant condo! Gross!
So, working out how to move along with that project, all being parts that seem to hinge on one another.
Oh, and we discovered it rains in the house between the back outer wall and the attached “shed” which was an original wood sided section of the house which is essentially a mudroom and bathroom, added much later.
That is also priority, of course, but we may be removing the shed completely, not sure about that yet. Until then, a roof patch must be done.
I did learn some interesting facts about the house today, which prompted my post. I went down to the Germantown Historical Society to try and find out some info about the building of the property. I could never put together how a house built in 1925 had no indoor plumbing, and could never find any zoning documents in the online archives for the houses around me. I told the Library archivist what I did know about the properties, and what my questions were. Now I may know why we had no indoor plumbing.
The archivist gracious pulled out several maps of my area. and went about comparing the dates on the maps with me. He showed me that my house and that of the 3 others built like mine on the block, do not appear on the 1889 map, but they are present on the 1895 map. So, the properties were built somewhere between 1889 and 1895, not 1925 at all. He also noted that on the 1925 map there was no waterline down the street, only a sewer line, which puts me at a closer date to when the indoor plumbing may have first been installed.
We also discussed how the property seemed so wet. I had always wondered if there was a cistern here, based on some weird pipes that are still present in the yard, as well as where there may have been a privy, or how they had potable water. without indoor plumbing. Although he said it is often the opposite, land above a cistern being very dry, it could be that there is a cistern and that it may be preventing water from draining past it’s top. My dream is a cistern for non potable water for the garden and maybe clothes washing, if able to be filtered, as we have a pretty good amount of roof area counting the greenhouse and garage, for collection. if there was a cistern, it would certainly help the dampness issue, too, as much of the runoff from these two structures does not go to the street sewer, just into the ground around the property.
He also pointed out that the “sheds” in these houses may have housed pumps for well water, as they would have been right outside the kitchen doors, which are exterior doors to the shed areas. The sheds were not built over basements, but I do have a big hole in the basement schist wall that now has plumbing run to the bathroom above..
All in all, great information learned! I now have a date range, as well as possible address differences also noted on the street next to ours which were built earlier that ours and renumbered. Now I can go to the main archives and have a better idea of what to look for. I read on the Philadelphia Archives site that the building permits from before July of 1889 are lost, and the ones between ’89 and ’95 are very minimal as far as info goes, but it is a start. maybe I will get lucky!
He also determined that the greenhouse was built between 1923 and 1955, based on the available maps, too. I noted a different structure on one of the maps, which is now gone, but could have been the original garage or something like that as it was marked as “industrial” space, like the greenhouse was. Forget what year that map was, and forgot to put it in my notes.
So, that is my update on what is happening in my new old Philly house!
Oh, and we did tear off some of the terrible pressboard from the greenhouse interior ceiling, and did discover more wood rails with routed areas for glass, some channels that seem to still have some glass in them, and areas in the walls long tinned and shingled over that have windowpanes, some with and some without glass! All in all, some nice discoveries! still have a ton of structural work to do out there, but it was nice to see some intact glass in a couple sample areas, if nothing else!
Off to deal with ants, carpet and not sure what in the basement!
Good day full of learning, and a good start to make some decisions with more info under my belt to do so!
Photos next... our modest little abode, before pictures.
Re: Hello from Philadelphia!
This is the outside of the house. You can see where it may have been brick or smooth stucco above the foundation, if you look close at the windows you can see where the lintels were stuccoed over. Sad. One map I was shown from some time in the 50’s was where the archivist said that it went from being described as “Rock” (not brick for some reason) to “Stucco”. That made sense as that was when a neighbor said all the houses on the block were redone in stucco. I think it may have actually been smooth plaster, could that be a possibility? The back door in the mudroom shed which is deteriorating due to what may have been the way way way too heavy gate pulling away the doorframe and causing a leak above shows the wall to be smooth plaster (maybe) over brick. With an exposed lintel, too. That may explain what it is listed in the late 1800’s map as “Rock” not “brick”, but I still need to find that out, hopefully at the other city archives.
Way in the back there was one window on one side that was cemented in when the last owner built the kitchen cabinets. The only window on that side, wish it were still there! Contemplating changing around the cabinets to open it back up, but it would be a hard configuration. He built them himself, and they have cabinets that open upwards across the top and turn the inside corner, which would make reconfiguring them hard.
Pretty front door, with still existing transom window. The back door to the shed is not ornate like this, but has angled detail around the doorframe like the front door, so perhaps original, too.
The past owner removed the chimneys (2, brick) when the roof was redone, and closed up a triangular vent side window and instead put in a vent through the roof itself.Also had the roofline covered so the dentals are not exposed. Not so happy with any of that. This photos is of the house across the street with the original roofline and lintels. Would love to see it looking like that again.
The back shows my one (maybe two) original wood windows. That would have been the third walk through bedroom, now a small room outside the bathroom, which is the little window. Shed is below. Been covered with siding, believed to still have wood siding of unknown condition underneath.
The whole back porch/roof is confusing. Not sure what to make of that but it does have some nice wood in the ceiling, or so it seems.
- IMG_4570.JPG (1.69 MiB) Viewed 601 times
- IMG_4572.JPG (1.83 MiB) Viewed 601 times
- IMG_4531Housesideviewshowinglintels.JPG (1.17 MiB) Viewed 601 times
Way in the back there was one window on one side that was cemented in when the last owner built the kitchen cabinets. The only window on that side, wish it were still there! Contemplating changing around the cabinets to open it back up, but it would be a hard configuration. He built them himself, and they have cabinets that open upwards across the top and turn the inside corner, which would make reconfiguring them hard.
- IMG_3356ClosedKitchenWindow.JPG (1.68 MiB) Viewed 601 times
Pretty front door, with still existing transom window. The back door to the shed is not ornate like this, but has angled detail around the doorframe like the front door, so perhaps original, too.
- IMG_3209FrontRoof.JPG (1.68 MiB) Viewed 601 times
- IMG_3380frontdoor.JPG (1.78 MiB) Viewed 601 times
- IMG_3375frontdoor.JPG (1.75 MiB) Viewed 601 times
The past owner removed the chimneys (2, brick) when the roof was redone, and closed up a triangular vent side window and instead put in a vent through the roof itself.Also had the roofline covered so the dentals are not exposed. Not so happy with any of that. This photos is of the house across the street with the original roofline and lintels. Would love to see it looking like that again.
- IMG_3371AcrosstheStreet.JPG (1.49 MiB) Viewed 601 times
The back shows my one (maybe two) original wood windows. That would have been the third walk through bedroom, now a small room outside the bathroom, which is the little window. Shed is below. Been covered with siding, believed to still have wood siding of unknown condition underneath.
- IMG_1675ShedandOriginalWoodWindow.JPG (1.22 MiB) Viewed 601 times
The whole back porch/roof is confusing. Not sure what to make of that but it does have some nice wood in the ceiling, or so it seems.
- IMG_2898ShedandPorch.JPG (1.71 MiB) Viewed 601 times