Pros and cons of old houses

[Cara4497]

We are considering buying a 100+ year old house. Anyone live in a place like this? What are the pros and cons?

 

The electrical, plumbing, heat/air, roof, etc. have all been updated in the last 10 years. The windows are mostly original with the wavy glass and wood frames. I would love to keep them, but have concerns about energy efficiency and lead. 

[Carol in Cal.]

My house was built in 1922.  I love the wood floors, wood trim, sturdy, unique appearance, and tall ceilings.

There is an annoying lack of closet space, and there are no electrical outlets on any of the outside walls.  It's drafty.  The laundry room is very kludgy.  But all in all, I like it a lot.

If I lived in a harsh climate with snowy weather, I'd think twice.

[MEmama]

I would only suggest it if you and/or DH are really handy and enjoy spending time on house projects. Some people find that relaxing, others not so much. Also only if you have the available funds for constant repairs and surprises.

 

Lack of proper insulation is a huge con in my area, where all kinds of heating are astronomically expensive and the winters are cold cold. Those pretty windows will suck the heat right out of the house, unfortunately. That might not be as important to you depending on your climate.

 

I would suggest making sure all the updates were properly contracted and finished to code. Newly done doesn't always mean done well or correctly. I would also make sure you have someone inspect the foundation for structural integrity and the basement for dampness.

[couscous lady]

I'm curious about this question too as we're planning on moving in the next few months.

[Mimm]

My house is newer than that but still old. I find that repairs are frustrating and expensive because no one makes anything to match what the house was built with. Previous owners ran into this issue as well, and did various things that don't necessarily make sense. If you have lots of tools and like using them, go ahead. For someone not very handy like my husband and I, it's frustrating.

[happypamama]

It isn't for the faint of heart. It can be very expensive to update, especially if updates were done badly at some point. And sometimes they have to be retrofitted, or if they were, sacrifices had to be made.

 

Our house was built in about 1830, so it's almost two hundred years old. (We have a few pics of it back in the day -- it's cool!). My DH is a professional restorationist, so he deals with remodels of old buildings every day. He can do most of the work on our house himself, but it's still expensive. Its layout is a little funny. In 1830, they didn't have indoor plumbing, so when they added it, they had to sacrifice the old porches to turn them into bathrooms. It works. It's a little drafty, and the kitchen needs an update to give me more counter and cabinet space. It wasn't set up for a dishwasher when we bought it, so we added one, but it's hardly a layout like a typical modern kitchen. No garage, but we do have a barn. But. It's solidly built, and it's pretty comfortable (the previous owners had put in modern windows for most of the house), and it's more house than we could have afforded. I think you really, really need to know what you're dealing with before you buy the house, so you aren't blindsided by the costs of repair.

[Mbelle]

You have to love it. It is a lot of work.  We are on year 5 of a 100+ year old house and we are finally close to "finished" and there really is no such thing as finished in an old house.  I live in the deep south. The first year we had no A/C and it's built for that, but only to a certain degree.  Then in the winter the lack of insulation was freezing.  We just insulated the whole house and put on new (hardiplank) siding and it feels awesome and it looks great too.  I could not bear to part with the wavy glass windows, so there's still some energy loss and draft.   I would never do it if I had to deal with a historic preservation society.  A few years after we moved in our city tried to do that but homeowners fought back and won.  

[kirstenhill]

Biggest downside for us has been mice....Ugh...  Our house is not quite 100 years old, but it is really hard to keep rodents out.  It feels like we are constantly patching holes somewhere in the house because more mice found their way in.  if you keep cats around this is probably less of a problem, but my husband hates indoor pets so it is not an option for us.

 

My favorite plus side...beautiful woodwork that everyone ooohs and aaahs over!

[Mbelle]

Biggest downside for us has been mice....Ugh...  Our house is not quite 100 years old, but it is really hard to keep rodents out.  It feels like we are constantly patching holes somewhere in the house because more mice found their way in.  if you keep cats around this is probably less of a problem, but my husband hates indoor pets so it is not an option for us.

 

My favorite plus side...beautiful woodwork that everyone ooohs and aaahs over!

 

I did have this problemand I could not hardly stand it.  I'm pretty squemish.  We got 2 outdoor cats and they do a great job!   I also keep 2 safety boxes of d-con hidden in the house as well.  

[Farrar]

1906 here.

 

We didn't have options. In the city, houses are just all older. The only way to get a "new" home is to get one that was totally redone by someone else. Talk about expensive. But we really like our home.

 

But if you have choices, the biggest thing I would say to consider is the cost of construction and repair people in your area. It's the cost of living thing that I find varies the most from place to place. A job that's maybe $100 in a low cola area can become $1000 in a high cola area where you have to get permits for every single little thing. That's a pretty big difference. And even if you're a DIY'er, there will be work you have to hire out.

 

The rodent struggle is real. And the dust struggle. Oy. People who don't live it don't get it.

[Bluegoat]

I love old houses.  I find they are often more practically designed, more interesting, and were better built.  A lot of modern construction sucks.

 

The big downside is they are old.  Insulation is really something to look at. 

 

Windows may not be such a big deal as you think, especially if there are storm windows.  Energy efficient windows don't necessarily add a ton of benefit, and are expensive, and then you are tossing the old ones.  If they are solid, you can have them scraped and repainted.  It's worth doing some research on the real benefits.

 

Replacing windows in old houses, if you don't want to actually ruin the look of the house, can cost a mint, often it means custom built wood. 

[RebeccaS]

Our house is just shy of 200 years (1819) and I'd agree with the mice issue.  :D  The man we bought the house from didn't believe in harming animals.  Any animals.  We had groundhogs under the porches and mice, oh the mice.  The first winter we lived in the house, we trapped mice night after night.  I stopped counting at 60.  It was awful.  Our house was in really good shape when we bought it (other than the mice, lol).  It had been restored to the neat log home it is by a past owner (not the animal loving guy).  So they did all the major work.  We adore our house.  I love history so owning and living in a piece of our county's history is so much fun!  We get people who see that it's a log home and stop in to chat with us.  It's a lot of fun.  So, that's definitely a pro for me.  My family thought we were nuts when we bought it.  They said we'd spend all our time and money fixing it up and we do spend a bit of time and money on that, but it's totally worth it to us because we love the house so much.  

[gardenmom5]

Character. Bigger lot. Better location.

 

Lack of . . . Wiring. Layout. Plumbing. Weatherization.

[skimomma]

1885 here.  And super harsh climate.  Since we bought it 12 years ago, we have updated the plumbing and electrical.  The windows had already been replaced with 1970s vinyl inserts which are super-tacky but I am thankful to have windows that are easy to open/close and are not drafty.   The handful of windows we have that do not open are original with he waves or stained glass. We can see outside through parts of our basement so rodents and spiders would be an issue except that our cats take care of them.

 

Pros:

 

Solid construction

Awesome woodwork including some birdseye maple flooring

Nice warm character

Everything seems "sturdier"

 

Cons:

 

No storage.  At all.

We have to plan on one semi-major project a year

Dust, rodents, spiders

Undoing whatever past owners have done

Nothing is level.  At all.  Like so not-level that one end of our piano requires 3" of shims

 

For us, all said, the pros outweigh the cons and we would do it again.  We are not handy.  Not even a little bit.  So, we do have to hire out almost all work.  It is a hassle.  But the house itself was about half the price of a comparable new house so while we do have to shell out for projects more often, we are still coming out ahead.  And I would rather deal with the cost and expense of fixing something that has been around for 130 years than be mad that a newer house needs work too.

 

I see the no storage as more of a pro than a con because it prevents us from collecting stuff.  I am a minimalist so it works for us.

 

 

[happypamama]

Oh, yes, the mice.  Our cats are useless.  Traps work well.

 

I do find limited storage space to be annoying.  I'd like to put the vacuum cleaner away, y'know?

 

And the lack of leveling.  See, I'm so used to it that I didn't even think about it at first.  But nothing is level.

 

Old houses have a lot of quirks.  You just have to realize that they probably aren't ever going to look like the neighbor's ten-year-old house.  (Well, in our case, five children here all day vs. one child who is at school all day contributes to that, LOL, but even still, it will never be as polished as their house.)  But solid construction and something interesting.

[Farrar]

The lack of leveling is pretty wild here. The moment it really struck me was when I tore a wall out in between two closets and the height of the ceilings didn't match. Like, seriously? Come on, people! Why do you need an inch an a half difference in the ceiling heights between the closets!!!

[laughing lioness]

We've lived in our 90 yo house for 13 years. Nothing was updated when we moved in and things quickly went down hill after we did. We had a house fire 6 1/2 yrs ago so the house is completely re-done and beautiful. It had great bones before but was not equipped for a large modern family. The house fire really was a saving grace for us and we love the house now. We have worked and worked and worked on it (in addition to the upgrades from the fire). You can see pics here and read more about it under the "Tear Down to Build Up" posts. 

We live in the far north and have barn cats. We have very little trouble with rodents in the house and we do haul/ burn/ compost our own trash. 

[Guest]

I can actually only think of cons, because neither my husband or I like spaces that aren't planned for us and our needs, and see no need to have 'character' that we didn't add, ourselves. Our place is only 15-ish years old and it already has had plenty of need for maintenance, updates, etc. No thanks to anything older, especially with foundation and roof issues like I've seen on way too many places. Nope.

[skimomma]

The lack of leveling is pretty wild here. The moment it really struck me was when I tore a wall out in between two closets and the height of the ceilings didn't match. Like, seriously? Come on, people! Why do you need an inch an a half difference in the ceiling heights between the closets!!!

 

We have spent far too much time discussing whether things we hang on the walls should be parallel with the ceiling or floor....or split the difference?  There seems to be no rules about this.

[Guest]

BUT, our home was built in 1972 and has many of these same issues. Our electric needs updated, our windows are drafty, the wood on the exterior needs painted, we have no overhead lights because lamps were trendy?, etc, etc. unless you build new or buy pretty new, there are issues to deal with.

[J-rap]

Character, character, character.  1912 here.  We love our home.  After the initial big changes/updates before moving in (getting new lead-free pipes, updating electrical wires, re-sanding hardwood floors, scraping off old wall paper and putting in new, building a half-bath into the pantry off the kitchen, adding air conditioning, and some cosmetic updates, we really haven't had to do anything major at all, after 22 years now.  We love our home and will truly miss it when we move someday.  (We don't plan to stay in this town forever.)  It is a good, solid home, as homes were in those days.

 

True, there are a few drafts, the windows really need to be replaced, and the house shifts ever so much each year, not to mention some fleeting bats and mice -- but we wouldn't trade it for anything unless we moved completely out of town.

[Farrar]

BUT, our home was built in 1972 and has many of these same issues. Our electric needs updated, our windows are drafty, the wood on the exterior needs painted, we have no overhead lights because lamps were trendy?, etc, etc. unless you build new or buy pretty new, there are issues to deal with.

 

Homes that are from the last fifty years tend to have a different set of issues than older homes. IME, older homes often have much better bones than the newer ones. The problem is that the older things are, the more likely they're due for their once a century or once a decade major renewal or work or whatever.

 

It depends so much on the quality of the construction though - things can be good or bad from any era, really. I mean, "they don't make them like they used to" can be true, but not always. There are things about our home that are in incredible shape that most post-war and 70's homes couldn't hold a candle to. And our home has turn of the century charm.

 

Basically, unless you're buying new, you're buying a set of issues. You just decide which ones you're willing to put up with.

[catz]

Homes that are from the last fifty years tend to have a different set of issues than older homes. IME, older homes often have much better bones than the newer ones. The problem is that the older things are, the more likely they're due for their once a century or once a decade major renewal or work or whatever.

 

It depends so much on the quality of the construction though - things can be good or bad from any era, really. I mean, "they don't make them like they used to" can be true, but not always. There are things about our home that are in incredible shape that most post-war and 70's homes couldn't hold a candle to. And our home has turn of the century charm.

 

Basically, unless you're buying new, you're buying a set of issues. You just decide which ones you're willing to put up with.

 

:iagree: We live in a 101 year old house.  Before this we lived in a house less than 15 years old.  It is just a different set of issues.  Houses in newer developments are often cheaply and quickly made and things start going to pot way sooner than they should.  I actually don't feel like we're doing more in this house.

 

Anyway, I LOVE our old house.  We've slowly done update since we moved here 12 years ago.   We still have original windows with newer storms.  We blew in insulation since we've been here.  We had to update electrical and did update some plumbing when we remodeled 2 bathrooms.  We put in central air.  Put in a 3 car garage with attic.  We're in a lovely, urban, high demand, walkable neighborhood.  It has quirks.  Doors respond to humidity.  We have a couple cracked windows.  Our back porch is sloping.  Our kitchen could use a gutting, but it is eat in and workable for an old home. 

 

I will also say, in our area if you have the cash you can buy a updated and finished older home.  It's good to think in terms of must haves vs. would need to fix soon vs. I can live with this in mind when you're looking. 

 

Edited April 19, 2016 by WoolySocks

[catz]

Ok - I read other posts.

 

We only had 1 winter with a few mice.  No rodents since we patched a few spots.  We do have cats, but they are not really hunters.  We saw live mice the winter we had them they're so wimpy - lol. 

 

Our 1915 has too much storage space.  All 3 bedrooms have walk in closets.  We have an unattached garage with attic.  We have a walk up attic and unfinished basement.  I'd love for someone to come clear out our storage spaces!  ;)  So, storage space will vary by house. 

 

Anyway - we have no regrets, love our home, and location location location.

 

ETA - as an aside, we are lucky enough here to have a number of contractors that specialize in older homes.  When we've had work done, they've matched wood work and style to perfection.  I have brand new baths with hex and subway tiles, pedestals, etcs.  Super cute!  <3  If you're thinking of having work done and looking at contractors, definitely ask for a portfolio of stuff they've done on older homes. 

Edited April 19, 2016 by WoolySocks

[Guest]

To the OP:  You said that the infrastructure items have been updated--wiring, plumbing and so on.  "Update" is different from "completely re-done."   Before you make an offer, ask what was updated.   For example, they might have updated the wiring in the kitchen...but not the rest of the house.  Or they might have updated the panel but not the wiring.  Or the other way around.  They might have updated it all over the house to put in grounded outlets, but not have added any outlets to the scheme...and old houses *never* have enough outlets.  The world has changed in a big way, even in the last 20 years, and in my 1995ish house, they could use about 2x the number of outlets they put in here...and we have only one TV and hardly any appliances!!  

 

Plumbing might have been updated above ground, but below-ground, you could find a very expensive nightmare.  So have that checked out, too.

 

We remodeled (studs out) a 1945 house, and once was enough for me.  I loved what we did to it, and it was a sweet house...but we had a baby and so wham, we had to move within about 1.5 years...  But number 1 on my "must not have" list was "2-prong outlets."  :0)  

 

Concrete fails after about 40 years (sort of like my facial muscles) and so you have to look for settling, leaking or cracking, if you have a concrete foundation.  Surprisingly, wood foundations last at least as well as concrete, but no one believes that...so those houses are hard to sell).

 

Anyway, those are the things I learned in buying 2 not-so-old houses (half-century mark); we lived in a completely updated 1880s house in Boulder many years ago, and I loved the deep windows, high ceilings, recovered stained glass and millwork and quarter-sawn oak floors.  The materials were really beautiful.  And so was the plumbing.  

[Prairie~Phlox]

We had an old home & hated it. Dh worked as a contractor at the time & we thought we could handle it, but when he came home, he didn't feel like doing anything. Make sure you are cut out for it & have the money, old homes are expensive.

[Starr]

Insulation? Energy costs? Windows? Doors? Just say no. 

[gingersmom]

Aside from beautiful wood floors I can't think of anything I liked.

 

Unless the house was gutted to the studs you are going to have old wiring and old plumbing.

 

Nice to look at but never again is what I say.

[whitestavern]

We own a home that was built in 1741. Obviously it's well built :)

 

For the most part I love it. The biggest thing is knowing how to do the work yourselves, having the time to do the work yourselves, and wanting to do the work yourselves. It's hard to find contractors who want to do the work and know how to do it. We do almost everything ourselves because we are handy, and we don't really have the money to hire out. But our friends and family have homes of varying ages and they all need work; there is always some project they are working on.

 

For sure you'll have lead paint. I would test and paint over anything that comes up positive.

 

We are in New England, so heating is definitely a challenge. We put in new insulation when we re-sided the house, but it's still like swiss cheese. We have electric heat which is insanely expensive so we heat with dual fuel wood and coal stoves. They're work, but I do love the heat from them.

 

You can't beat the charm and the history and, as others have posted, they are built so well.

 

Good luck with whatever you decide to do :)

 

 

[SparklyUnicorn]

Ours is nearly 100.  Pro: charm.  Con: lot o work

 

I often find the work rewarding though. 

 

 

[whitestavern]

Ok - I read other posts.

 

We only had 1 winter with a few mice.  No rodents since we patched a few spots.  We do have cats, but they are not really hunters.  We saw live mice the winter we had them they're so wimpy - lol. 

 

Our 1915 has too much storage space.  All 3 bedrooms have walk in closets.  We have an unattached garage with attic.  We have a walk up attic and unfinished basement.  I'd love for someone to come clear out our storage spaces!  ;)  So, storage space will vary by house. 

 

Anyway - we have no regrets, love our home, and location location location.

 

ETA - as an aside, we are lucky enough here to have a number of contractors that specialize in older homes.  When we've had work done, they've matched wood work and style to perfection.  I have brand new baths with hex and subway tiles, pedestals, etcs.  Super cute!  <3  If you're thinking of having work done and looking at contractors, definitely ask for a portfolio of stuff they've done on older homes. 

 

Make my day and tell me you live in southern New England! Our area is full of old homes, but we can't find contractors to do anything. Oh, wait, we did hire someone to put on a new cedar roof. But other than that, they either don't know how to do the work or they flat out don't want to.

[catz]

Make my day and tell me you live in southern New England! Our area is full of old homes, but we can't find contractors to do anything. Oh, wait, we did hire someone to put on a new cedar roof. But other than that, they either don't know how to do the work or they flat out don't want to.

 

Well that stinks!  And seems odd.  Sorry though, I live urban upper midwest.  We have a dozen+ local contractors to chose from that work primarily on older homes.  Our last contractor did amazing work!  He has people on staff with degrees in history and architecture!  :001_wub:

[heartlikealion]

Yes, I would be concerned about the windows. We currently rent an older home, but not sure the age. We have a TON of windows and they are all old and make the place not energy efficient. We did buy some thermal curtains, but never got around to doing the whole house. There are just too.many.windows. When I say too many, I mean like 72" windows in every single room.

 

The closet space is a huge issue here. The internal doorknobs are cute, but old and do not lock. Look like something out of Cinderella with the keyhole showing.

 

How is the tub? I have lived in some old homes and the tubs are always old and damaged to the point where you are like uh this really ought to be replaced or re-glazed but that's not cheap.

[SparklyUnicorn]

Ok and my advice is to get a VERY good inspector.  If you can manage it maybe even a structural engineer.  You want to know what you are dealing with. 

 

We did deal with lead paint, asbestos, and rusty iron pipes (but only in certain parts of the house, some had all that replaced over the years).  We painted over the lead paint.  We covered and did not disturb the asbestos.  And we aren't currently using the shower in one of our three bathrooms because of the pipes.  We just have not gotten to fixing that yet, but it's not that big of a deal because we have 2 other bathrooms (4 people).  If you have very young children you might want to do something more thorough than that for the lead though.  If there is any danger of them licking window frames or whatever that could be a problem.  Our kids weren't that young when we moved here. 

 

The electrical here has been updated so that was nice.  We had to get a new roof.  The original roof was slate.  We were sad to have to do that, but that would have been too expensive to preserve and fix.  Although one cool thing is we were able to sell the slate tiles for a very decent amount of money.  A lot of people around here have slate so if they need repairs they try to buy used slate because it's much less expensive.  Interestingly an artist bought the bulk of them. 

 

Dust...there is just something about dust and old houses.  Lot of dust. 

I know, I'm REALLY talking it up here.  I would not have done it any other way if I could go back and change my mind. 

[SparklyUnicorn]

We had no problem with finding people to fix stuff because our house is typical around here, but there were many instances where it was impossible to get the right size of something or something that matched the original.  For example there are standard sizes of wood used for stuff like beams.  The sizes were different 100 years ago.  Wood brackets have changed sizes since then too. 

 

But what we did have trouble with is finding someone to insure the house because of the roof.  Finally we found someone locally and since they are local they know what the houses are like locally.  It took me about 2 weeks to call everyone and their mother, but we did manage it.  That surprised me. 

 

Our windows had been replaced.  I believe it is sometimes possible to have old windows repaired so you can keep them.  That is probably more expensive though. 

[heartlikealion]

If there is any danger of them licking window frames or whatever that could be a problem.  Our kids weren't that young when we moved here. 

 

 

We worry about the paint here, not sure if it's lead or not. Some of it is chipping off old doors and baseboards so yeah, definitely a concern.

 

[SparklyUnicorn]

We worry about the paint here, not sure if it's lead or not. Some of it is chipping off old doors and baseboards so yeah, definitely a concern.

 

 

You can have it tested. 

 

We avoided any kind of scraping as much as possible before painting, but if we wanted to get loose stuff off we sprayed it with water and scraped.  Then we bought thick rubbery sort of paint and really slathered that on there and did at least 2 coats.  We wore face masks.  Before and after we thoroughly cleaned all surfaces in the room. 

 

It's weird because some people grow/grew up with lots and lots of lead paint and yet many of them never have problems.  But then you do hear of these cases with children where it is very severe.  I don't know what the differences were. 

[Guest]

This thread needs pictures!! 1741?!? I would love to see it!!

[Amy in NH]

1880 here. People used wardrobe closets back then, so there are no built in closets in the whole house. Rodents and cluster flies, plus ladybugs. New foundation sills required the house to be jacked up and pour a new sill plate. Buckets catching drips all over the attic (getting a new roof this year) overflow in a heavy storm and it rains in the bedrooms. We have an attached carriage house and barn - very difficult to get homeowners insurance. It is coming along, but we still need a new (actual) kitchen and new siding.

 

The house had new windows, plumbing, and electrical when we bought it. We still had to fix some things that were done wrong. And put in a new well. Needs some more insulation, too, as it has settled.

Edited April 19, 2016 by Amy in NH

[Amy in NH]

The last house we rented was very old with original windows. It was very drafty and expensive to heat.

[Amy in NH]

I babysat a kid, when I was a teenager, who lived in a house so old it had original candle-chandeliers. It had been moved from its original location. It used to sit over a river and had a trapdoor in the floor of the living room supposedly for inhabitants to escape Indian raids.

Edited April 19, 2016 by Amy in NH

[Tap]

My childhood home was about 100 years old.

 

Cons from their home:

 

Not all wood flooring is hardwood. My parents home had pine flooring which looked "battered and worn out", not "beautiful with age" 

 

Bathroom was an add on, so the plumbing and water pressure wasn't very good. All the pipes were metal and well...metal rusts.  So, just doing a simple project like switching out a worn out sink (porcelain can wear thin), involves a plumber due to soldering the metal pipes.

 

100 year old trees, have 100 year old roots, that love the metal pipes.  They had to hire RotoRoter at least once a year to clear the sewer pipes of tree roots.

 

Their home  was build on clay, and over 100 years, clay shifts.  Every year the house had to be re-leveled underneath to keep it as level as possible.  Some people may choose to not do this, but then you can have breaking water pipes due to the pressure on them.  My mom can't afford this type of project anymore so there is a 1/2 " gap between the sink and the actual drain pipe in her kitchen.

 

My dad had to rip out the old cloth rapped wiring and replace it with modern wiring over time. It was expensive and time consuming.  

 

Walls aren't drywall.  They are likely lath and plaster.  Which cracks and gets condensation, and every little hole (pictures etc) that has ever been poked in it, will be there forever.  So if you don't know there was a hole there previously, and you make a new hole next to it, the new hole can break out and create a huge hole.  LOL 

 

Drafts both good and bad. Bad are obvious.  Make sure you research how the homes style was designed to handle the weather in your area.  Many older homes are designed to maximize natural weather to help with comfort.  My parents home had an attic window that was designed to be open in the summer. It was painted shut, but once they figured out it wasn't just a decorative window, it helped quite a bit to maximize air flow, allowing heat out.

 

Flood plains can change over centuries (especially around man made reservoirs)  so find out if yours is in a flood plain now, or if it was previously. My parents home is on the side of a hill, not in the flood plain, but there are 2 natural springs on the property. One that waters the pear trees and is a wonderful act of nature.  The other floods the basement on occasion.  It seeps through the concrete walls, despite outdoor drainage and indoor sealants. 

 

Built in book cases and china hutches are beautiful, but also dictate where to place furniture and what furniture you can have due to scale.  Old homes weren't built for TVs, so seating may be awkward for where the TV wiring it. 

 

Wifi and lath/plaster do not play nice.  You will need boosters in different areas, and then you likely have a deficit of plug ins to use for them.

 

Research the age of the furnace and type of furnace..  If there is and upstairs, what kind of heat/ac is up there?  Us kids grew up with space heaters in our rooms, but the were definitely a fire hazard.   All of us kid caught something on fire at least once....I know my parents don't know about mine, I have no idea if they know about my sisters. 

 

Find out the age of the roof and if it was a complete tear off, or if it was just put on over an old roof. 

 

For the old windows, my parents had full size storm windows made that clamped on over the original windows for the winter months.  They were huge sheets of storm glass, and it meant that they couldn't open the side windows in the winter but it helped a lot with the cold draft. 

 

Everything for the house cost more.  Things you don't think of.....like, The drawer handles were an odd size, so they either had to drill new holes to accommodate a common size or special order all new handles when one broke. If they drilled new holes they would be too close to the old holes, and likely break out in a few years, so they had to pay a LOT of money for new handles to get the right size.  

 

A settling home, means that doors, cabinets, drawers and flooring doesn't fit right.  Things creak, get stuck shut, won't close, or sit askew.  Sometimes these things are seasonal, sometimes not. 

 

Limited lighting.  The old lighting was gas lamps.  So, where it makes sense to put lighting fixtures, has gas lines, so unless the old pipes are pulled out, new lighting is often off center. 

 

Beautiful wood needs maintained and sometimes that means refinishing.  It is a HUGE project and often toxic.  So, please don't think "oh look they painted that bookcase, wouldn't it look better if we refinished it back to original"...is a weekend project.  Also, some things are painted because of damage.  So you may do all the stripping work to find out that you really need to just repaint it. 

 

Just because it is a bedroom, doesn't mean there is a closet. It is easy to overlook that point on a historic home.

 

Old homes make lots of noises.  If  you are skiddish about staying alone, I would never recommend an older home.  

 

The kitchen may not be plumbed for a dishwasher or water to the fridge. The place where the refrigerator or stove goes may not accommodate a regular size appliance, so a custom size may have to be bought. This gets expensive! Same is true for clothing washers/driers.  Also find out about the 220 wiring. 

 

Find out if there was ever any problematic business ran on the land.  Like....Metal work, stained glass or foundry business done on the property.  You will want to find out if the soil could be contaminated with heavy metals. 

 

wow I could keep going on and on.  One thing I also should mention is that the home is now xyz years old, when you retire it will be that plus 20-40 years.  My mom doesn't want to leave her home of 40 years, but she also can't afford the repair costs anymore.  The house is falling apart around her.  I won't pay to fix it, because it is never ending (I can't afford $3000+ year in normal maintenance) and she needs to move out now while the home is still standing and can be reclaimed. Things like... Leaks in the roof that just make a small stain on the ceiling, don't seem like a big deal but it is rotting the wall behind the plaster and the flooring too (rain water travels the wall to the floor).  That will cause permanent damage in the long run, but it only seems like a small stain on the outside.

 

 

Since I moved out, I have ONLY had brand new homes.  I will never live in a historic home. 

Edited April 19, 2016 by Tap

[kewb]

I love my old house. Not quite as old as the one you are looking at. Ours was built in 1938.

The previous owners had updated the kitchen and the downstairs powder room.

Repairs can definitely be a bit of pain since we are not particularly handy. My dh learned how to replace steam pipe and how to patch plaster. We redid the bathroom a few years ago. We replaced all the windows over a few years. I loved the original rope and pulley windows but they were seriously drafty. And dangerous since most of them were broken and didn't stay up without propping. The one guy in the area who repaired them retired and moved away.

 

There are some definite quirks. I think my daughter's bedroom used to be some sort of garden room. Her walls are not plaster like the rest of the house. Some sort of cheap board. Horribly insulated. Thank goodness she.doesn't mind being cool in the winter. The closets in my room go back behind the wall. You open the door and there is a closet space but then it extends way into the wall. Not walk in so you can't comfortably reach anything that ends up back there. And one of the closets in my bedroom and the closet in my daughter's room have windows in them.

 

I find construction in older homes to be solid. Newer construction can be shoddy. It really depends in the builder.

 

Old homes are a labor of love.

Edited April 19, 2016 by kewb

[Onceuponatime]

Our house was built in 1940. It is kind of a craftsman style bungalow. We've lived here 17 years. If I had it to do over again, I would run away fast. First of all, have a thorough inspection done and pay attention to every single thing listed. It will come back to haunt you. Plus, have a nice surplus in your savings to handle the multiple problems that will arise over the years. Also, remember that nothing will be standard. All repairs will need specialists in old materials. Replacements will have to be custom made or found in specialty stores. Thank goodness for ebay. Last, if you and your husband are not handy and don't like ongoing projects, it's not for you.

 

Yes,our house has character. We recently had our bathroom completely redone by a wonderful contractor. Under the lathe and plaster they found a petrified squirrel, two corn cobs plugging holes in the lathe, and an old chimney that was apparently for the wood or coal stove that must have been used in the kitchen. Our tub was cast iron Art Deco dated 1933. The floor was rotted underneath the tub from an invisible leak that must have been there for years. I love my new bathroom, it was the price of a new car.

 

I could fill pages with cons. For me, they outweigh the character, uniqueness, historic value, etc.

[mom@shiloh]

We've lived in our 90 yo house for 13 years. Nothing was updated when we moved in and things quickly went down hill after we did. We had a house fire 6 1/2 yrs ago so the house is completely re-done and beautiful. It had great bones before but was not equipped for a large modern family. The house fire really was a saving grace for us and we love the house now. We have worked and worked and worked on it (in addition to the upgrades from the fire). You can see pics here and read more about it under the "Tear Down to Build Up" posts. 

We live in the far north and have barn cats. We have very little trouble with rodents in the house and we do haul/ burn/ compost our own trash. 

We had a house fire in our last house and even though it was a real mess at the time, it did actually help to get things updated.  That house was about 100 years old.

[trulycrabby]

All these old houses, and no one mentioned ghosts? ;)

[Bluegoat]

BUT, our home was built in 1972 and has many of these same issues. Our electric needs updated, our windows are drafty, the wood on the exterior needs painted, we have no overhead lights because lamps were trendy?, etc, etc. unless you build new or buy pretty new, there are issues to deal with.

 

Yes, I was going to say this - a home doesn't have to be that old before it starts to need some updates and work.  And the work was not always done with materials that were as good in the first place. (Chipboard houses, why not!)

 

And even my friends who have new builds have had enough issues to make me realize that new construction is not a sure thing.  Like the house of my co-workers parents where the developer just didn't bother to build proper drainage for any of the homes.  Of course once the subdivision was built, the company dissolved, so there is no one to fix it or get money back from..

[SparklyUnicorn]

Yes, I was going to say this - a home doesn't have to be that old before it starts to need some updates and work.  And the work was not always done with materials that were as good in the first place. (Chipboard houses, why not!)

 

And even my friends who have new builds have had enough issues to make me realize that new construction is not a sure thing.  Like the house of my co-workers parents where the developer just didn't bother to build proper drainage for any of the homes.  Of course once the subdivision was built, the company dissolved, so there is no one to fix it or get money back from..

 

This is so true.  I had a friend who had bought a brand new house.  They had a few issues right off the bat.  It was surprising to me.  I thought geesh you'd think a brand new house would not have major issues.  The way I look at our old house is hey it didn't fall down after 100 years so it must have been built fairly decently.  If someone's brand new house is falling apart right off the bat, would it even survive a 100 years?

[Bluegoat]

We don't have problems finding contractors and such here, there is a lot of old housing stock, the community college has a program specifically dedicated to repairing old buildings.

 

It's interesting that some don't like lathe and plaster - I really prefer it to wallboard.  It's more soundproof, has more insulating qualities, looks better, and I don't find it hard to repair.

[happypamama]

This thread is making me feel lots better about my old house and how difficult it is to keep clean!  It's not just that I'm not a very good housekeeper. :D