Anybody here own an old house?

I’d check and see if they’ve added electricity and an indoor outhouse.

You’re welcome.

 

Thats crazy old.  Would love to see some photos.

Just get a good inspection and be prepared for a lot of ongoing work.   However, older homes tend to have better bones that much of the new construction.  I handle a lot of water damaged building cases and find that newer construction (1970s on) tends to have more serious problems then older homes.  Maybe its because shitty older homes would have fallen down long ago and the ones that remain are solid, but a lot of it has to with the types of materials used.  

Another thing to consider is utility costs.   Older homes can be a bitch to heat.   Ironically, that is another reason newer construction has more mold and indoor air quality problems.  The older homes were drafty, but the ability to breath keeps a lot of mold problems away and generally improves indoor air quality.

Ghosts can be an issue with older homes.

Sounds like something I’d love but my wife would be afraid it’s haunted.

It'll be interesting to analyze the way you want to use the space and how you want to economize certain areas for efficiency. Is it natural gas or oil?

In mine,  plumbing and electrical systems are the biggest problem areas.  Is the breaker box ancient?  Are the outlets all actually grounded, three-prong?  For a few bucks you can buy an outlet tester that tells you good, reverse, no ground.

Get chimneys inspected by someone who is good at that.  Even if you are only using them for exhaust ports for petro-furnace,  old mortar wears away over time.  If you'll be burning wood for heat,  consider the cost of metal flue liner to add to existing chimney. 

Seeing how there is existing oil furnace,  be very wary of leaky underground tanks (or any underground tanks) -- if anyone finds contaminated soil,  the cost of remediation can be astronomical.

be prepared to pre drill holes before nailing into the old wood

The lumber used is likely from old growth yellow pine. Very strong and insect and rot resistant.   

Depends on how you define old?

My wife grew up in a house that date back to pre-revolutionary times in Western Mass.

My SF house was built in 1928.

The bones are made of Redwood.....

Right now,  I've got 2 old heating oil tanks in the cellar,  225 gallons each,  I think.  I'd like to get them out and replace with one outdoor tank,  something a little more modern like a Roth.  Then I can put a wood furnace in that area and pipe into existing duct work.  

Since you have unlimited free firewood,  you might look into something like the Yukon Eagle which is a wood furnace w/ oil or LP gas backup (for when you're away).  These guys in Minnesota have also been getting great reviews,  and burn so clean that they meet the 2020 EPA standards:

https://www.lamppakuuma.com/products/

I'm not crazy about fuel-oil furnaces,  but that's what I have in the cellar.  Actually,  if you check your local Craiglist,  there are lots of people getting rid of oil furnaces &  tanks (often full) because they converted to propane / natural gas furnaces.

I guess the biggest potential money-pit with old houses is the septic system.  Get a good plumber to check that out and find out how much $$ to get it up to code.  Because I deliver Firewood to all sorts of people,  I hear interesting (and costly) tales of modernizing septic systems.

What Trailhead mentions about Yellow Pine is true,  very common construction lumber in old places.  All my floorboards are about 1.5" thick Yellow Pine of varying widths.  Haven't had any termite problems,  but the stuff is extremely tough to drill or cut for a "softwood".  I broke a lot of jigsaw blades cutting a few holes for plumbing renovations.

Make sure they also test the Leach Field when they test septic. 

 

We've got a 1914 Craftsman in Portland. The floors slope and we need to do earthquake retrofit, but it's a solid house.  We love it, though it is a fixer-upper because it was a rental for 4 years before we bought it.

We've been told by old timer structural engineers that the old-growth cedar and fir lumber that was used isn't even milled anymore in the wide plank widths that were used on our home. 

In the first year we owned the house, we installed a new water main line (luckily our sewer line was still good), and installed whole-house insulation, a new energy efficient furnace and new water-saving toilets. 

The home inspection will reveal all! 

Depends on how you define old?<<<

It's interesting an interesting question.  In old Colorado mining towns, you're not going to find many structures dating back to 1846.  What we consider old is typically starts in the 1870's vs. structures in New England that are 300-400 years old.

Nonetheless, 1846 is only 20 years after Jefferson & Adams died ... to put it into an historical reference of sorts.

my old victorian is from 1897. check your exterior envelope first, foundation, roof, insulation thickness, windows, etc...then the mechanical, furnace, chimney/flue, water source (test it!), sewer workings, electrical. I've replaced everything except the water source (city water) in that beast. but she is in great shape now, good for another 100

Lol

House has probably been under contract several times. It's a buyers market. If they're putting the 'as is' pressure on you just walk away. If this is your dream house and the price is pennies on the dollar get estimates to replace the roof, siding, septic, electrical and plumbing(than cushion another 10-20K). If the numbers work go for it.

def trust your instincts, its gotta be contingent to inspection

have your sewer lines scoped and check your d box if you are on well and septic.

>>I don't mind haunted 

OK

Better get a great discount if "as is". Chances are you will have large roofing, electrical, and plumbing bills.

scrape it.     in other words, buy it at land value only.

But then again, I'm from Texas, as of late.   Down here in Tejas, we scrape everything, none of it is very old anyway.

 wiring wiring wiring

Well and well pump

Heating system

Good luck

Ours is 1870

It's totally charming, when it doesn't suck

My house was built in the late 1800's.

Bought it in 1981 for $8,500, ended up gutting the whole thing and redoing everything.

Added blocking in the outside walls as the balloon  framing is bad if there is a fire.

House sits low to the ground which is a pain, am currently digging access trenches at the moment.

From  underneath you can see the original part of the house and the add ons.

The original has trees for the floor joists with one side flattened,bark still on the rest,mortised and pegged framing etc.

 I grew up in a pre- 1750 Saltbox in Massachusetts . My parents bought it in the mid '50's ( for $4500.) , and did extensive restoration over the years . Thankfully , because my siblings and I still own it , and we continue to run a couple of family businesses from the property... In fact , both of those are related to period colonial architecture and restoration .

My father's theory was it started out as a one room  cabin built in the late 1600's - our town was incorporated in 1655 , and the house is known as one of the oldest . Nothing like an old house , but like anything , they need to be paid attention to . 

I looked at a few old houses myself , but ended up in a small  50's ranch !

 

Wanted to add more info about "scraping" a home for the land only... in Portland, tear-downs are now banned if the structure is 1916 or older. Developers must "deconstruct" instead. The materials are considered reusable, so now there is a new local industry: Deconstruction -- most everything is saved for reuse elsewhere. 

The cost of the deconstruction (vs. demolition) also is an incentive to keep the house intact.    They even occasionally pick up whole pre-1916 homes and haul them for miles intact.   One just was recently moved onto a lot down the street.  Apparently, the house was free, but they had to move it, which cost around $50,000 including all the permits to block traffic and move the power lines that would have gotten in the way.

Moving old houses intact isn't new.  Back in 1948, a bustling company town on the northern outskirts of Portland called Vanport was completed flooded.  However, many of the houses stayed relatively intact and were given to whoever was willing and able to haul them away.  Today, you can still find Vanport houses scattered around the metro area.

FPE Has been out of business for years . We say it stands for Fire Hazard Probably  Exists . They do make replacement breakers that will trip but they cost 40 to 50 a pice for me a contractor and 70  for a home owner . Install Arc Fault Breakers on all circuits and arc fault gfi if you really want the best safety on old house wiring . They have lowered electrical fire hazards 40 percent across America .The  breakers are expensive but worth every penny and 2017 nec code