What's the time period of this home

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springmoon33
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What's the time period of this home

Post by springmoon33 »

I am looking to purchase this home and would like to learn more about its architecture, any input will be appreciated!
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mkiehn20
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Re: What's the time period of this home

Post by mkiehn20 »

Looks a bit similar to my aunt and uncle's house, which was built around 1908. Dutch-Colonial homes like this were popular at the turn of the century.

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Mick_VT
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Re: What's the time period of this home

Post by Mick_VT »

My guess also is pre WWI
Mick...

phil
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Re: What's the time period of this home

Post by phil »

what a beautiful house !

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Neighmond
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Re: What's the time period of this home

Post by Neighmond »

Cute house, how does the inside look?

springmoon33
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Re: What's the time period of this home

Post by springmoon33 »

Thanks! Have it under contract now I'm excited as well as terrified. The house was abandoned a year ago, everything needs work. Roof in back of house is damaged, the whole upstairs in knobbing tube there's water damage on ceilings all walls are plaster and no insulation. Windows are original

1918ColonialRevival
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Re: What's the time period of this home

Post by 1918ColonialRevival »

Original windows are a good thing. Don't let a contractor or anyone else tell you otherwise. If the K&T wiring is in good condition, it doesn't need attention immediately unless all of the house is wired on a single circuit or something crazy has been done with it.

The house is definitely an adaptation of a Dutch Colonial, probably from a plan book design. Plan books were big in the early 20th Century and local builders would often modify a plan book house to suit an owner's needs. Hard to say for sure on a close date without more research, but it's likely no older than 1900 and no newer than 1920 if that helps.

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Sara
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Re: What's the time period of this home

Post by Sara »

Cute house. I can tell you that my grandpa build a 'barn inspired' home for my grandma when they first started having kids too. So honestly it could be anywhere from 1900 right up to 1940s I would guess. At least, that's when he build one. But then - there are anomalies all over.. and my grandparent's house might just fit in that group!

Welcome to the district!

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Re: What's the time period of this home

Post by phil »

true that Knob and tube systems can be safe. IF the wire is in good condition and has never been tampered with or damaged. You can have an electrician put those wire runs on ground fault breakers and that's pretty easy ( cheap) to do as it doesn't involve opening walls or drilling for new wire runs. a good electrician may also be able to do some resistance checks to look for signs of issues but he can't see the wires so can't make assumptions that its ok. Most electricians would probably advise to re-wire and bring it up to modern safe standards I have personally seen lots of connections that were twisted together , not soldered, wrapped in the old black cloth tape and left inside walls and other hard to find places. the chances are quite high that your house has at least one of them that you can't see.
These are definite fire hazards and I wouldn't jump to conclusions that all is fine.

While the chances that your house is going to catch fire are slim there is that chance and some insurance companies may refuse you insurance while others still will, but may not like it and charge more perhaps.

If I purchased a new to me old house I'd first focus on the mechanicals, water, sewer , electrical, heat etc. They aren't as fun and you won't get the visual satisfaction that you'd get with cosmetic improvements but they are most important to look after.

I love the house. The roof line is gorgeous. Can't estimate the date but we know it's old enough to have K and T and it does have an old looking chimney sticking out of it.

don't let me freak you out about the wiring , but when you have time or if you have an electrician around you could do some consultation. If you see reason to open walls then it's helpful to do electrical at that time. Are the walls insulated?
if you want to run new wires an electrician can usually use long bendable bits and "fish tape" to pull new wires in without doing a lot of damage to your plaster or drywall.

usually old homes with K and T didn't have a very high amperage service. If you want electricity for heat or hot water or to build suites it may not be adequate and to increase the panel size you may need new wires to the pole and that would probably include a new meter base and a larger panel. This can add some cost but it's an upgrade that is often worthwhile in this day and age.

old circuit breakers can stick. If they do and if you get a short, the wires can get red hot inside the walls and start a fire. . Its best not to rely on really old breakers, a new panel might be about 2 to 400 dollars so not the end of the world. If it has screw in glass fuses, they can't stick like the breakers because of their design so they are safer. as long as you don't put pennies in there ;-) if they are glass fuses I'd make sure there aren't any pennies behind the fuses by simply unscrewing each one and checking. You never know what a previous owner might have been up to. , again unlikely but that's an easy thing to check.
also look anywhere you can at the knob and tube wiring and if you do see any places where the wire has been wrapped with tape, or any connections that look like a T that are made outside the electrical boxes then investigate further as that's evidence of someone tampering with them. there should be no breaks or joints in the wires outside electrical boxes.

springmoon33
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Re: What's the time period of this home

Post by springmoon33 »

I already have been told I need to change Windows asap as I live in New England. How do we make old windows efficient? I been told that even w storms they won't be.

There's actually four of these homes on the same street they are identical.


1918ColonialRevival wrote:Original windows are a good thing. Don't let a contractor or anyone else tell you otherwise. If the K&T wiring is in good condition, it doesn't need attention immediately unless all of the house is wired on a single circuit or something crazy has been done with it.

The house is definitely an adaptation of a Dutch Colonial, probably from a plan book design. Plan books were big in the early 20th Century and local builders would often modify a plan book house to suit an owner's needs. Hard to say for sure on a close date without more research, but it's likely no older than 1900 and no newer than 1920 if that helps.

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