r/centuryhomes

We just moved in to this home that was built in 1920. Behind the refrigerator is two doors. The one on top opens to the side and the longer one on bottom folds down until it is on the floor making a 3 foot ramp at a very mild grade. At least that’s the best I can describe it. In the side of the interior frame are recessed channels where something could travel the length of the frame vertically and slid into place. I am thinking a was a built in ironing board at some point but I am not sure how it would have looked if it was.

Does anyone have a picture of it complete ? Preferably from your home if it still exists.

Pre-Covid I was searching for a craftsman and then the pandemic hit and real estate went stupid. So I built a custom ranch home in the country. Hate living rural so it’s now under contract and we are under contract on a 1924 Craftsman in a historic district and cutting my commute by 1.5 hrs/day! I am thrilled as there is original woodwork in the original portion of the house and built-ins in the dining room (which we’ll end up using as our living room).

Full inspection is Monday, but we already know we have a mix of cast iron pipes and PVC (drain line is PVC). Roof is OK, but already aware of some work needed on the eaves.

It looks like the craziest floor plan with doors everywhere and the kitchen/laundry looks like a 1980s addition. Windows are metal 1950s throughout (makes me sad that the front windows aren’t original).

First plan is a full kitchen/laundry renovation (outsourcing) and then master suite needs a better layout. Windows all replaced eventually. I don’t like the boring black and white, so that’ll go one day.

They also painted some doors black…and replaced a lot of the old hardware 😭

Anyhow….i am not a DIYer and it all seems overwhelming, but I’m looking forward to figuring out projects over time.

Would love any suggestions on where to even start….it seems overwhelming!

Mcm furniture, carpet is still up for debate (likely a later ruggable purchase), tutor revival 1930s home. What colour should we paint the walls?

A bit different I know but we wanted to blend in with the house and take building/design cues from that. Knocked down a small car port and created a double garage.

The color and material matching existing fence and gatehouse just blended it in. The panel garage door, trellis and corbels made it I think.

It was built very specific to our needs. Storage area at the back and home for materials and treadmill (still to arrive). AC for the garage but can also limit to treadmill area with the barn doors. Barn doors also screen the storage area.

Didn’t want anything other than cars, bikes, tools in the main area.

Wanted big windows/ doors so that from the house we look at our stuff and not a big yellow box.

Thought the Mural would work and took the chance. Was fun to hang. Came out even better than expected. Going with haint blue ceiling like the Southern porch tradition really works too.

Sealed the floor with 2 coats TS210 from Concrete Sealers USA.

Lights from PrimeLights with movement sensor. Spotlights by remote for night time. Thought they might be too much but love the daylight they give.

Flooring the loft gave much needed storage space. 1920 built homes can be tight on that.

Reusing old brick pavers just finished it off so neatly and we can walk all the way round the house.

Delighted with the outcome. Just what we envisioned.

Life changes, priorities change and sometimes you have to follow a different path. We thought she was the one for us and poured a lot of love in. Kitchen, 2 bathrooms, plumbing, electrical, garage build, asbestos abatement. She’s on the market and it’s bittersweet. Link in comments for more pics.

It’s me, the one who bought a vine-covered house back in November… finally getting around to cutting back the ivy, and discovered this. I feel awful! I touched the nest but not the eggs (I was going to remove it but then saw there were eggs inside), but I’m not sure the nest is now as secure as it was before I started hacking away. Anything to be done?

Homeowner here, trying to learn the finish on my walls before I patch, so the repairs don't stick out. Best I can tell it's a soft stipple/stomp that got lightly knocked down, but I'd rather hear it from people who actually know.

What would you call it, and if you've matched something like this, what did you use? Kind of curious too whether the old-timers did this by hand with a brush. Pics attached.

We see some incredible restorations in here but I wanted to show off a very basic refresh we did that improved our space immensely!

We don’t have a ton of cash saved so things like replacing all of the walls is out of the question for now but we were able to replace part of a very damaged wall and this past weekend we finally painted and it’s a WORLD of difference.

Not every renovation has to be a big ticket item. I’m accepting that not every wall has to be straight. We can still get a lot of bang for not a lot of bucks!

I present to you, our hallway refresh!

*(If you’re going to ask why we used greenboard in our hallway, it’s because we had leftover from our bathroom reno)

Hey all,

My A/C is out and I'm trying to keep cool by installing some ceiling fans in the meantime. I'm aware the wiring isn't the best looking here.

I can't seem to figure out how this box is even mounted, the screws holding in the crossbar go into metal tabs on the outer edge of the box, but they don't go into the ceiling.

Assuming I do need to get this box out to hang a fan, will I need to cut into the plaster? Any idea how to see whether a joist is holding this up or if I will need a brace without doing that? Thanks.

I am finally done with stripping and sanding my windows! I stained them with antique walnut by general finishes, and put on 2 layers of Zinsser canned amber shellac plus 1 layer of Zinsser SealCoat, since I learned that the amber shellac has wax in it and won’t adhere to anything.

Should I put anything over it? I’m seeing conflicting advice online about original waterlox sealer/finish vs oil based polyurethane.

This is looking down at the landing of our cellar stairs. In retrospect, we should have had this removed 3 months ago when the crawlspace next to it was dug out. Apparently concrete was exceptionally inexpensive versus fill stone so the contractor used a massive amount of concrete to pour this set of steps. It took 3 men and a diamond chain saw 5 hours to cut out the 3 stairs to take it down to the landing. We had to do this because code requires each step be the same rise/run & we changed the floor height of the floor where the stairs attached (it was a screened porch & we demolished that and added space to the first floor which was 4” above the concrete).

Edit: added a side view photo in the hopes it makes a tad bit more sense.

This is one of many landlord specials we're reversing. This is the first floor fireplace that has some old tile and a gas fireplace. Anybody know much about the tile or the fireplace?

Dogs dug this up from about a foot down. Soil is sandy loam with American Elm and Pecan leaf fall yearly. Rudimentary searches lead me to believe this is contemporary with the home.

Any advice on restoration welcome as are and ID tips! Thank you in advance.

Just don’t know how to clean it, everything looks good incIuding the doors and windows, that roof looks good, will send more pics when taking them

Perhaps it’s obvious to some, however I cannot quite figure out. Homes found in NW Ohio and South Michigan