What's the time period of this home

[springmoon33]

I was actually able to find the previous owner via the Internet. He knows house well and did say electrical and heating need update. Most of my monetary effort will be there. I will def need to insulate walls as it currently isn't.

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.

[Gothichome]

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.

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.

Springmoon, old windows not efficient! That is BS. They can be better and most cases are more effective at keeping out the weather and cold than modern ones. The trick is maintenance, poor glazing bad paint etc. If you realy think about it they have been doing the job for many many decades, and will continue to do the same for many more. The windows in Gothichome are all original and are as good as they were new. Don't be fooled by the sales pitch.
Oh and welcome to the District, you'll get all the help you may need to restore and preserve your old home from folks who have done almost every thing old home related and from some generous restoration pro's who keep us from messing up.

[phil]

I think we all agree that it's best to keep the windows original. They are a very obvious part of the heritage look of any old home and replacing them with plastic windows isn't an option that's worth a moment's thought. If you do have any rotted wood it can be repaired or duplicated.

Others here can advise on the installation of bronze weatherstrip. usually the windows are just held in by a couple of thin strips of wood. sometimes there is wear and shrinkage and you might need to do some work to refit them , scrape paint,etc. Usually it's something that can happen over time and not something you need to address quickly.

If you want to look at insulating you have to determine how you'd get it in there. Usually it involves opening the plaster walls but in some cases people have opened exterior walls instead or spray it in through holes. Most of the heat loss is upwards so you;ll usually gain the most in that direction. In my house sound is a huge issue so I want to open some walls and insulate. Everyone has different circumstances. In some cases it's beneficial to do renos like that before moving in that and in many cases that's not financially viable and we must live in the renos. If the house is larger and you can clean up living space that's easier to take than living in a house with open walls. In some cases the house is of historical importance to such an extent that one may choose to forfeit insulation in the walls in order to keep the plaster walls. Lots of trade offs to consider. If you have two bathrooms then renovating one might be relatively painless. the worst renos to live through are kitchens and that's where the bulk of your wiring runs are needed. If you reno the kitchen you might want a new panel first. every plug in the kitchen needs a breaker so that could be half your panel.

sometimes you are best to slap a coat of paint on (don't paint any wood without thinking that through) and live than to go ripping into everything at once becuase it can often cause one to become overwhelmed so you need to be cautious of how everyone involved can deal with the mess, the financial stress and living in less than ideal conditions.It's super important to be on the same page with your spouse as many times one may be totally into living in reno world while others suffer a great deal or make decisions that put them in financial difficult places.

Often people here will say , look , live in the house a year before you consider any major renos because it's easy to make quick decisions under the high of new ownership and in some cases such as window replacement you may regret major decisions after you have thought things out and learned more. somethign like a sewer pipe that is prone to plugging and needs to be dug up or a leaky roof of stopped drain or burst waterpipe could easily change your priority list and you don't want that to happen while you are in the middle of a kitchen reno.

I think pretty much all of us here like doing the renos. they provide cheap entertainment, we can even make a dollar an hour by investing sweat equity. Some of us are wired in such a way that we kind of feed off the personal satsfaction we get by envisioning projects, making decisions and seeing the projects to completion . it gives one a sense of accomplishment but we do forfeit doing other things to make time. If you dont' want ot give up lots of time to work on renos then it helps to have lots of money

[JacquieJet]

Others have provided more info on old windows than I could, so I won't comment much on the mechanics of it. I just wanted to say that once you replace your windows, they are gone for good- usually doing a disservice to your house.
Everyone who sells windows/is in the home reno industry will tell you to replace your old windows because they are drafty, poorly insulated, and just all-around inefficient. What they won't say (because it doesn't translate into $$ for them) is that even the best "new" vinyl window on the market still has a super low R rating, so regardless of how "high tech" your windows are, they will still be where you lose most of your heat in the winter, etc. Unavoidable. Even with eco coatings, etc. And to make up the cost of buying them through your energy savings usually takes about 20-30 years, which also happens to be the lifespan of modern windows.
Don't listen to the hype. Original windows are worth keeping. Live with them for a while and you'll see. Definitely not something to rush into changing.

[Mick_VT]

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.

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.

What you have been told is a common myth spread by the window companies. In fact old windows properly maintained and weather stripped with good quality storm windows can come to within just a few percent of vinyl windows in terms of efficiency. You will get all the help you need here to do that for a fraction of the price of replacement.

[BungalowMo]

As far as the window restoration goes, if I can do it, anyone can! Here's my before & after of my first one..

sash1.jpg (35.41 KiB) Viewed 968 times

Same sash...same side...

sash5.jpg (42.55 KiB) Viewed 968 times

It's NOT hard and the results are SO rewarding!!

[springmoon33]

Yea everyone gives me the same story about Windows. Went to the home today to asses things needing immediate attention. It seems hard with contractors as right away they want to fix everything. It s somewhat confusing to me as I wanted to do some things myself and leave rest for professionals. I am def starting with roof which needs to be done as soon as possible same with rotted areas on siding and paint. Once inside I'm thinking heating and electricity.

Any thoughts or suggestions, even stories about your own process will be helpful I'm feeling overwhelmed. One of the contractors said 'your taking over a monster'

[springmoon33]

That looks beautiful!

As far as the window restoration goes, if I can do it, anyone can! Here's my before & after of my first one..

sash1.jpg

Same sash...same side...

sash5.jpg

It's NOT hard and the results are SO rewarding!!

[lovesickest]

"One of the contractors said 'your taking over a monster' "

Fire that contractor before he even starts. Seriously.

Many contractors do NOT understand old houses and are full of terrible and uninformed "information".

The only emergency is that you have a safe house - ie safe wiring, functioning plumbing, no profound structural issues and a roof that roofs. Beyond that, educate yourself, figure out your priorities(and budget) and jump in and start learning about your new house. Many (most ?) of us here started from a point of not knowing how to do stuff, how older house parts were meant to function - and many of us learned how to fix and improve our homes, ourselves.

It's not the fast way, or the easy way, and you will have so much well meaning but terribly misguided advice from friends, family and complete strangers.

[Gothichome]

Springmoon, you are not taking on a monster. Not every thing requires an emediate fix. Windows can waite, plumbing can waite, even the electrical can waite. You have a good plan for starting, the roof, with out a good roof and foundation all the fixing in the world will not matter. A lot of the work you can do over time, as Bungalomo has mentioned windows can be done at your leasure. So can the rotting boards, and you can do it your self, all it takes is a desire and willingness, wich in my opinion is all part of the fun. I don't believe any of us here in the District are multi millionaires, we all learn to do it our selves and take great satisfaction in doing it our selves. Your home has been standing for many years, with a little catching up on defered maintenance it will stand for many more. No need to spend it all in a season. The trick is not to listen to the nay sayers, sit down have, glass of wine,relax, look at what your capable of doing, hiring the folks that can do what you can't and put a plan in your head and execute. There is no reasone an old home needs to put you in the poor house.