High ceilings in old Houses - looking for Documentation

[kelt65]

I hadnt heard of its use for heat either, unlike kerosene, but I think that was only used for heat once lamp and wick designs had evolved

It wasn't used for heat, that was incorrect, just lamp light and industrial soap.

[phil]

I have been wondering if the height of the doorway to my living room is original. Ill open up walls soon and should be able to see some evidence. I have a doorway just inside the outside door and the ceiling drops considerably there. It's the same as the hieght of the outside door pretty much. also the doorway into the living room has this drop down at the opening. maybe there were doors in these two places but i see no evidence without opening walls. no door jams in either spot. other rooms also have normal hieght doors but higher ceilings, nothing strange there..

I was thinking that this might be original , or not but since I heat the living room with the fireplace when we are around, I think it reduces the heat loss as there is about 3 feet from ceiling to the top of these doorways and the air in that space is somewhat captive. It can't rush out the open door because that warmer air is lighter and trapped in the house.

so it might make the room warm up a bit faster after someone has opened the outside door or the one to the living room presuming there was one. once the door is closed again there is some "new" cold air in the room from it being open , but then the heat mixes. This captive heated air remains in the room. this helps it come to a more comfortable temperature than it would without these dropped doorways. so high ceilings make the house more comfortable or that's my theory and I'm sticking to it

in my area heat loss was a lot more important than cooling since it isn't super hot in the summer, not like the southern states anyway. they didn't have or need AC, they just opened windows and dealt with it being warm out, but we couldn't live without heat.

[SouthernLady]

I am in North Carolina, and many old homes that I have been privileged to visit have high ceilings if they were mid-middle class and higher. Seems around here at least everyone wanted the highest ceilings they could afford to help draw the heat up and away in the summer. The more money you could spare, the higher the ceilings were. We have a good bit of humidity in our area in the summer (stifling in late July-September, in my opinion), and the higher ceilings help a great deal with keeping the rooms cool. I considered purchasing a Queen Anne that had 12' ceilings on the main floor and 10' ceilings on the second floor.

If there aren't high ceilings, there are going to be plenty of windows to bring in a good, strong cross breeze when the top and bottom are opened. My home has roughly 7 1/2' ceilings, but my 5' windows sure bring in a strong pull when I have the tops and bottoms opened. When I am home during the day in the summer and able to do it, I open the windows throughout the house first thing in the morning and leave them open until right before nightfall. My AC is rarely used. I also find my dirt cellar and very, very old trees help keep the house cool as well.

I grew up being accustomed to the old farm houses that used wood, not coal, for heating. My house used coal, but unfortunately neither chimney is functional at the moment. Radiators also heated the home, which are since long gone.

Many old homes in my area still don't have AC. It gets humid, but again if the house has those large windows, the air keeps moving so it really isn't that bad, even if there aren't any high ceilings to keep the heat up and away.

[Corsetière]

As some of you must know I am a Civil War reenactor.

Slightly off topic, but I am going to be working on an 1860's ballgown soon.
There's an 1860's New years eve ball this year that I am going to have to miss out on but I vow not to let that happen again.

[Wackyshack]

Corsetiere.....I consider old clothing to be part of an old house decor.... love to see the dress when it is done!!!

[mjt]

Our house, built in 1895 in Minnesota, has 10-foot ceilings on the first floor, 9-foot on the second floor, and 8-foot on the third (the maid's quarters). Originally it was heated with a handful of coal-burning fireplaces. One each in the living, dining, library, and master bedroom.

[arwenmark]

Our 1929 American Foursquare has 9.5 foot ceilings on the first and second floors, and 8.5 on the third floor, but what surprised me was we have 9.5 from cement floor to first floor joists in the cellar. and yes I know this is an old thread.

[Manalto]

I think it's great that you revived it. This thread ended before I came to THD so otherwise I would have probably missed it. Ceiling height is interesting to me because it's a compromise, in many places, of getting rid of the heat in the summer (and anyone who calls Connecticut a cold climate hasn't been there in August) and conserving it in the winter. This December, when I was in Alabama during the unusually severe cold snap, I was replacing a ceiling fixture and thought, "Gee, I should spend more time up here, it's nice and toasty." The ceilings in my modest house are 9' - it doesn't get any muggier than Gulf Coast Florida/Alabama/Mississippi/Louisiana/Texas. Once in a while (this year, for example) there is a real winter, and that extra foot of ceiling height gets all the precious warmth, especially in houses that weren't particularly careful about insulation.