Thought I'd best say 'ello - been a (mostly) lurker for some time, and thoroughly enjoying everyone's posts and advice & projects.
The hubby & I bought this wee place this past October, here in north-central MA. We're not spring chickens anymore, so I guess it could be considered downsizing, but we've also been anxious for a bit of a project. (We may regret that, but so far, so good. ) We share this upcoming reno with two kittens and our old fat-boy cat.
Built in 1910, smothered in cheap, faded vinyl siding, ghastly white vinyl windows and one oddball wide, wood older Anderson window in the LR; a bathroom that will be a complete gut (sheet vinyl 'tile' on the walls, old toilet and just a mess overall), and a kitchen that will almost be a gut - but the upstairs needs almost nothing. Original plaster walls in all but the kitchen & bath, although the LR has typical cheap paneling over them.
Basement is half poured concrete floor and under the kitchen & bath is dirt floor, higher than the rest of the basement, tapering to only about 4' height in the far corner. Two chimneys, one which has been concreted; we'll need an appraisal of their condition this spring. No sign that it ever had fireplaces, and there's never been natural gas in town, so it must have been wood/coal stove or furnace all it's life.
Other than the awfulness of accumulated, cheapside 'improvements', the house is very sound. *knocks wood*
Here's a pic of last October (right), and on the left is a quicky Photoshop of where I hope to go with it; or at least, my initial ideas. The original clapboard is underneath, and I'd love to get back to that, too - but that wouldn't be on the table for this year.
Other than that intro...we're dealing with ice damming damage like everyone else up this way this year. lol *leak, leak* Pretty brutal winter, even for a New Englander!
Soo...hi everyone!
http://oi59.tinypic.com/2r2vkmu.jpg
1910 farmhouse
1910 farmhouse
Last edited by Jo_S on Tue Mar 10, 2015 6:11 pm, edited 1 time in total.
- Neighmond
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Re: 1910 farmhouse
Welcome in!
Re: 1910 farmhouse
welcome jo!
sweet little place that, via photoshop, has great potential...look forward to seeing your progress...
I live in western mass and have hiked around the quabbin a time or two.......
...jade
sweet little place that, via photoshop, has great potential...look forward to seeing your progress...
I live in western mass and have hiked around the quabbin a time or two.......
...jade
- Don M
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Re: 1910 farmhouse
Welcome too! I use to live in Groton, MA so know/have experienced some brutal winters as well. We are also older, approaching retirement, have some horses, dogs, & one fat female barn kitty. Your home looks very nice & will be even nicer after completing your plans. Don
Re: 1910 farmhouse
Hi guys! Thanks for the warm welcomes.
..and a neighbor wave to the fellow Massachusettsians. lol
..and a neighbor wave to the fellow Massachusettsians. lol
- Gothichome
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Re: 1910 farmhouse
Hello and welcome Jo_s. Nice to have you aboard.
Re: 1910 farmhouse
Ok...so I guess I'll stick to this post as the intro and 'brag book.' With warmer weather, I've started really investigating, and I've also uploaded a ton of pics to Photobucket, so if someone could paste the code to put them into a post, I'd be grateful.
My poking about:
I am thanking to whomever installed our acoustic tile ceilings, because they aren't glued - they're on furring strips. Yay! Oddly, however, that's all there is for ceiling in the LR & kitchen - you look straight up to the hardwood floors above. Either there was never a finished ceiling, or it was long removed. Saves me a ton of work, though, because that's exactly what I wanted; open joists. We will probably drywall in-between the joists for sound and dust, and either paint the joists or stain them. It also gains us at least 6" of ceiling height.
The LR 70's paneling is installed over old drywall. That's a concern for asbestos, of course. Whether plaster is under that, I don't know yet, but the walls are thick enough that it might be.
The horrible plastic sheet 'tile' in the bathroom isn't glued on (at least where I checked) , so I'm also hopeful about that being a lot easier to remove.
Can't figure out if there was a bathroom originally or not; the short wall that backs to the kitchen sink on the other side of the bathroom is plywood. I don't see signs of an original wall there.
We removed the addition 'porch' dropped ceiling. Sadly, I can see, near the top, where they removed the original clapboard (I was hoping it would be under there) - and in doing so, cut partially through a beam
The best news of all? The last oil guy that was here said he had been here last year, and that the basement had had six inches of water in it. The new sump pump system is working like a charm, and despite the massive snow and melt, the cellar is dry.
Pics to come if someone can show me the example code.
My poking about:
I am thanking to whomever installed our acoustic tile ceilings, because they aren't glued - they're on furring strips. Yay! Oddly, however, that's all there is for ceiling in the LR & kitchen - you look straight up to the hardwood floors above. Either there was never a finished ceiling, or it was long removed. Saves me a ton of work, though, because that's exactly what I wanted; open joists. We will probably drywall in-between the joists for sound and dust, and either paint the joists or stain them. It also gains us at least 6" of ceiling height.
The LR 70's paneling is installed over old drywall. That's a concern for asbestos, of course. Whether plaster is under that, I don't know yet, but the walls are thick enough that it might be.
The horrible plastic sheet 'tile' in the bathroom isn't glued on (at least where I checked) , so I'm also hopeful about that being a lot easier to remove.
Can't figure out if there was a bathroom originally or not; the short wall that backs to the kitchen sink on the other side of the bathroom is plywood. I don't see signs of an original wall there.
We removed the addition 'porch' dropped ceiling. Sadly, I can see, near the top, where they removed the original clapboard (I was hoping it would be under there) - and in doing so, cut partially through a beam
The best news of all? The last oil guy that was here said he had been here last year, and that the basement had had six inches of water in it. The new sump pump system is working like a charm, and despite the massive snow and melt, the cellar is dry.
Pics to come if someone can show me the example code.
Re: 1910 farmhouse
Welcome!
If you go to full editor you should see the link for adding photos. You will most likely have to reduce them in size.
If you go to full editor you should see the link for adding photos. You will most likely have to reduce them in size.
Re: 1910 farmhouse
Oh, thank you - I've been using the Quick Reply. *duh*
Pics test:
Addition/porch, before and after removing dropped ceiling -
Pics test:
Addition/porch, before and after removing dropped ceiling -
Re: 1910 farmhouse
House as purchased; living room:
Kitchen:
Kitchen: