1930 Center Hall Colonial

[NYCtoRVA (WavyGlass)]

Hello all,

I have been lurking here for a bit gawking at all the lovely houses and learning so much! We are about to close on a beautiful 1930 brick-and-slate center hall colonial and I am so excited! (Hoping 1930 is old enough to count as old - I see so many awesome 1800's houses here...) We will be the third owners of this home; the second owners bought in 1969 and have taken excellent care of it. It's move-in ready, which is good because we can't really afford to do serious renovations at the moment and because reading this forum has made me realize how much I need to learn about restoration/repairs, etc. on an older home.

I've tried to attach a pic and it's showing up in the preview; I hope you can see it.

I have a couple of initial questions - do you think a house like this originally had shutters? And there is no walkway from the sidewalk to the front door - or even from the driveway to the front door. There are two side doors into the living room from the side porch, which is just off the driveway, but that seems... not right somehow, to enter through those doors, even casually. It seemed rude to ask the seller why there was no walkway, but... why do you suppose there's no walkway?? Would it be ok with the house style to add one? Similar houses in the neighborhood have them.

[wletson]

Hi, and welcome!

There really isn't an age restriction here. As long as you have the right attitude, and a love for your house, you're good.

To me, a walkway to the front door seems correct as well.
Don't be too sure... you never know, it may be shallowly buried. People have found such things, barely under the surface.

[NYCtoRVA (WavyGlass)]

Thanks!

I do love this house!! It's just soooo pretty and elegant, with so many cool details that are missing in newly-built drywall-and-granite houses. There is a set of narrow back stairs from the kitchen to the second floor that just kill me with their awesomeness.

Very interesting thought about the buried walkway. Though your description sounded a little... ominous

I should also say this now... hope everyone is sitting down... all of the two dozen or so windows are replacements, with fake muntins. Yeah. But they seem solid. We will see how they hold up.

[Neighmond]

A brick walk to the door would sure look pretty. It's a nice looking abode-how about the inside?

[Don M]

It appears to be a very nice looking home so welcome to Wavy Glass! I second the suggestion that the walk may have become over grown by grass so don't give up hope until you probe a little. Start at the porch steps & see if you find anything. We once stayed at a Scottish B&B where the owners discovered a complete cobbled stable yard entirely covered by dirt & grass over the years! Check the exterior window jambs for evidence of shutter hardware (hinges on the sides & shutter hooks on the sills). Maybe shutter dogs (shutter hold backs) on the bricks at the base where the shutters would rest. Your house looks like a small version of the Governor's Palace in Williamsburg, VA & that had no shutters. Good luck, have fun & please post lots of pictures!

[wletson]

A brick walk to the door would sure look pretty. It's a nice looking abode-how about the inside?

You gotta let a new guest at least take their coat off before you start getting nosey!

But, now that you mentioned it, it would be nice to see a few pictures of the interior, wouldn't it. Do you think we should ask?

[wletson]

I do love this house!! It's just soooo pretty and elegant, with so many cool details that are missing in newly-built drywall-and-granite houses.

See, you belong here. You came up with the secret passcode!

[Gothichome]

Welcome to Wavyglass, Your home looks very nice. No need to worry about the age of your home, in just 15 years it to will be a century home. Your just getting a head start.

[NYCtoRVA (WavyGlass)]

Thanks, all! And yes, I'd LOVE to post pics. Will spare you the boring story of my technology woes last night, but I hope to be able to get some pics up tonight. It's a beautiful home... needs almost no work on the main floors, but the attic presents some interesting potential projects.

We close on Friday, and I'm taking all next week off work to play with the new house

[Don M]

We close on Friday, and I'm taking all next week off work to play with the new house

Have fun next week; wish I was you!