I'm not sure. Was diagonal sheathing common during that time? We plan to remove the aluminum siding very soon! The date of the house is definitely not certain. I do know the history of ownership, but haven't had a chance to review the deed for a more definite date of construction.
I don't know, I haven't came across it really. I know our sheathing is horizontal and our place is 1900. And that's great, my next question was about if you guys planned to remove siding.
I have a few more pics today, and I'll give some more background. Trying to balance form and function has been our biggest challenge thus far. For instance, the downstairs bathroom was originally the butler's pantry. While I would have loved to return it to it's intended use, the need for a bathroom on the first floor won out in the end. We are a family of six, and one bathroom just doesn't make sense. So, the downstairs bathroom is not original or period, but we like it, and it matches the rest of the house well. The kitchen is also a functional decision. The 60's remodel that closed in the back porch and left us with layers of linoleum stuck over the original one inch marble tiles made that an easier decision. As for the rest of the house, we are saving everything possible! Floors have been restored. They are made of one inch slats all hand laid. I've never seen anything like it before. Pocket doors restored. Windows restored. Etc. We did remove the plaster and lathe due to crumbling. We also rewired the entire house as it was still knob and tube. We also chose to insulate all exterior walls. After all of the dirt and debris collected from cleaning out the walls, I don't feel bad about putting up dry wall, as I know we will all breathe well! We are about to start work upstairs. We would love any input from experienced restorers!
Love the pocket doors and the stairway!!! Too bad about losing the plaster, but it is understandable. I can't wait to see the exterior once you pull off the vinyl. The work you've completed looks very nice and I totally get the form vs function thing. Sometimes we have to make hard decisions.
My only old bath opens to the dining room, which really bugs me, but it is a pretty, original bathroom so I have kept it as it was. Like yours, our kitchen was chopped up and redone. Originally, the house had a completely unfitted kitchen; nothing is left of that. But the 1920's (or so) built-in cabinets are there and when we refurbished the kitchen, we kept those and remade the kitchen around them. Now it is fully functional and pretty!
Vala wrote:Gorgeous house, inside and out. We have that thin flooring on the first floor. The 2nd floor has wider boards.
Same here! The thin planks are throughout the downstairs, and upstairs are wide pine planks. all of the trim and woodwork downstairs is oak, and upstairs its pine, but the mill work is all the same. I'll post pics of upstairs soon. We haven't touched much of it yet. Someone did a number on the master bedroom. all of it's trim and original windows are gone...sigh
Vala wrote:Gorgeous house, inside and out. We have that thin flooring on the first floor. The 2nd floor has wider boards.
Same here! The thin planks are throughout the downstairs, and upstairs are wide pine planks. all of the trim and woodwork downstairs is oak, and upstairs its pine, but the mill work is all the same. I'll post pics of upstairs soon. We haven't touched much of it yet. Someone did a number on the master bedroom. all of it's trim and original windows are gone...sigh
How can you tell what the wood is? Sometimes I feel like everyone knows this secret but me. I think all our woodwork is pine, its definately a soft wood as it can get nics and scratches with your fingernail. And yea yea have wide pine flooring upstairs too.
How can you tell what the wood is? Sometimes I feel like everyone knows this secret but me. I think all our woodwork is pine, its definately a soft wood as it can get nics and scratches with your fingernail. And yea yea have wide pine flooring upstairs too.[/quote]
I'm no expert for sure! I rely on my grandpa for a definite ID. Oak and pine are very comon around here though. Color, pattern, density and texture of oak are pretty unique. It's much harder than pine. Pine is very soft and much less dense than oak.
momtaks wrote:I'm no expert for sure! I rely on my grandpa for a definite ID. Oak and pine are very comon around here though. Color, pattern, density and texture of oak are pretty unique. It's much harder than pine. Pine is very soft and much less dense than oak.
All our woodwork is soft wood. Someone told me my clapboards are redwood, my claps are 1/4 to 1/8 thickness and only 3.5 inches tall. They're very thin. A mill told me my original windows were fir.
