r/centuryhomes

The bandits attacked under the cover of darkness. They quickly collected the 1918 knobs and escutcheons, which were purely ornamental and posed no real resistance. They ran into problems trying to snatch our kid Corbin, a WWII replacement lock bolted in with 5" Phillips head screws. The outlaws tore out part of the door, exposing his case to the elements, trying to kidnap him. But they failed. That's how we found him the next morning. Alone in his foxhole, damp from the morning dew, and defiant.

Let's take a moment to see what this Corbin 13271 can teach us about ourselves. Just kidding! Let's learn about Corbin interior mortise locks and keys! More details in comments below.

After having a gnawing groundhog removed by a licensed trapper we are wondering how this porch was constructed. The block foundation of the house isn’t under there but the porch supports the upstairs bedroom.

My neighbours have been having their roof done this week, and this morning, at 5am, I’m woken up by what sounds like someone doing some work… just a racc trying to break in.

I wonder if it has a nest / little ones trapped in there now that it’s trying to get to? Or maybe it just doesn’t like the new roof they picked 😂

The eavestrough looks like it’s hanging on for dear life.

We just bought our 1930 home in March. I love it, but we are going through... An adjustment period.

We inherited a carpenter ant infestation. Since we bought the house during Portland, ME winter they weren't out and about. Now they are. We hired fox pest control and they treated last month and it didn't do shit and the cost is astronomical so we're going with another company. I find 4-5 ants per day throughout the house, including flyers. Im constantly crawling out of my skin and watching where I step.

It's also been HOT. We don't have central air, as many older homes don't, and it's new to us- we've always had central air. I'm sure I sound like a spoiled brat. I was even the one out of my partner and me who gunned for an older home. We're learning all about window AC units, and they all seem crappy in some way and somehow very expensive at the same time?? The time thats going into researching a decent one is draining.

This is the first time I've felt buyers remorse about purchasing an older home.

I know it'll cool down again and hopefully we'll get the ant situation figured out soon and it'll probably all be fine. But we're supposed to host our friends from our home town starting end of June and I was so excited to show off our first home that we've already worked so hard on in such a short amount of time, but now I'm just feeling really anxious and stressed and drained.

Can't wait for this phase to be over. :( if anyone has any thoughts that might help put my mind at ease id be eternally grateful.

The upstairs railing in my recently purchased 1829 home is so low that it really scares me. I don't want to change anything original that can't be reversed later, but I don't think I can live with this - ceilings are 12', and it's so low that a trip could send someone over.

I would prefer a reversible fix - adding on something removable - but I'm up for anything that incorporates or modifies the existing elements in some way.

How have you all dealt with this? Any advice?

(This is a before picture so no need to comment on the carpet and window treatments - they are toast).

Bought a house and this came with. I'd love to use it, but I'm having issues with smoke and getting it up to temp (I don't know what I'm doing). Can anyone help or point me in the right direction?

Edit: fixed a typo

Been saving these for when I’m feeling a bit glum. Please compliment my floors I got refinished last winter? This place is a dream.

Is this Batchelder tile? We think it is.

We live in a small 1929 Mission Revival bungalow in SoCal. Our hall bathroom is this pink bath and I need help deciding what to do with it.

The rest of the house (master, kitchen) is updated (2015ish). Is this pink bathroom a complete gut? Or is this something I should preserve because it “adds character”?

The arches are true to the house and would be preserved. I’ve included some renderings of how to incorporate them should we proceed with a guy remodel and reconfiguration of the layout.

I’d love to hear some thoughts. Thanks.

Hi 👋 excited to be a member of this group! My husband and I just signed on our new 1830s home in Rochester, NY 🏡🥰

We are doing an entire kitchen renovation. The crew uncovered this duct in a wall between the kitchen and dining room. They are planning to look further into it tomorrow- but thought I’d ask here what it could be. There appears to be 2 small water pipes running through it and terminating in the bathroom above. However, the duct continues up into the second floor wall away from the water pipes. What do we think this is? It’s heavily protected by grates with some sort of lath and cement over it. The hot water heater and boiler are below, but they vent into the chimney which is about 30” away.

Thanks!!

hey ho!! another room down from hoardsville, this time we tackled the living room which was our biggest clear yet. also my papa in law has cleared the back of the house which looks much better.

goal is to clear the house, get a level 3 RICS survey and then we can assess the damage fully to see what we're up against.

The house vs every kind of damp = didn't stand a chance really (roof slates missing, not a lot but enough, rising damp and penetrating damp through terrible repointing!).

We have however, accepted the challenge to bring this beauty back to life. ❤️😬🫡

I’m adding a bathroom in my 1930 Tudor and there’s sooo many whites out there. So far I’ve gone with basketweave porcelain tiles for the floor and white glossy subway tiles for the shower. I’m planning to decorate using brass finishes (see second pic rendering for what I’m trying to strive for)

Does anyone have a good recommendation for a soft white that they like?

hello friends! I have a gorgeous door hinge I CAN NOT FOR the love of GOD get off. it’s on a door I’m stripping and am am getting down to the wire with, but I need to get this bitch off before I can finish. The screws ain’t moving. please send help!

Would there have been a sink here? Originally or maybe sometime between then and now? It kind of looks that way by the marks on the plaster and there's a backer board where it looks like old bolts were. I'm removing shitty MDF bead board and putting thin tongue and groove paneling. Trying to deduce previous revisions while I'm here. This room is between the kitchen and the back door so it probably was the pantry originally but it seems so close to the kitchen that having another possible sink here I found surprising.

I live in a 100+ bungalow in Kansas City. During a heavy storm recently I actually went to the basement and realized the water I see during storms is coming from the seam between floor and wall, not just from under my walk out basement door. I’ve been told by a neighbor I need tuckpointing. I don’t want to keep paying him to do repairs and want to try to do it myself. What would I need to do? My walls don’t leak but I have five spots along the wall where the water comes in.
Advice on materials and how to?