@tnhillbillygal My folks have removed much of the original 1970s elements in our house over the years, much to my chagrin. About the only things left visible are the north and south wooden walls in the living room, and the original kitchen cabinetry. The chandelier in the dining room is also original, but it’s rather ugly haha. The west dining room wall once had a really neat chevron pattern of alternating wood and mirror…now blasé eggshell paint on drywall.
Built in 1890. By a man who was either unsure what a square was or was convinced that squares were the devil.
Every owner after square-man has decided to take it upon themselves to put an additional layer of the thickest paint they could find on every flat surface in and outside the place (including the floors… Why.)
@chewytie 1870, and the same thing, I don’t think the square had been invented yet. Hanging a picture is always an exercise in figuring out just how unlevel to make it so that it splits all the differences and everything ends up looking more or less level.
Right on the line. Built in 1968 but I’m not sure when it was finished so it’s either 50 or 51 right now. It’s also a money pit that needs two new bathrooms.
@cinoclav Same with mine. And as far as I can tell all houses are money pits. The bright side is if you do high quality renovations as needed you will recoup about half of what you put into it when you sell, but still… expensive.
Mine is 20 years old, which means that every single major appliance and HVAC component is going to die and the roof is going to start leaking at any given moment. I live in constant fear.
House was supposedly built in 1975, but the permit for the septic field wasn’t until 1978. That means they either filed for the permit afterwards, no one moved in, or they had an outhouse for a while. Exciting.
We are so lucky: house is 1953 1story brick so solid. Owner bought about 5 yrs ago and gutted most of it so inside is almost new construction. We started renting 2 yrs ago so prior tenants/owner dealt w “new construction” issues. Best of all combos!
1893, and it has a history. It was built by a guy in love with the daughter of the local logging baron, it was to be their honeymoon house. Problem was that she wasn’t that into him, so …
It’s had two additions, the latest about 25 years ago, so walking through it is like a tour through history from rustic cabin to late 1980’s suburban.
I can’t even begin to list it’s problems, but the oldest part of the house still has massive 3" thick plank floors, rough cut redwood cabinets, and the original hand-made glass panes in the windows that have that wavy shimmery effect to them. I spend a lot of time at the salvage yards looking for appropriately old repair parts.
My house was built in 1980, but had been updated and was pretty nice. I thought it was fantastic except for a few layout issues that I could either deal with or renovate later. We had it inspected and it was …okay. We knew some things were going to need to be replaced sooner rather than later. As it turns out, the previous owners were DIYers that were either lazy or just didn’t know what they were doing. It’s been so much work and so much money.
Built @'65. We moved in in '71. Typical of the time, three bedroom brick ranch. Have remodeled the bathrooms and kitchen and put on an addition. Was supposed to be a starter house but at least now we don’t have to downsize.
We are looking forward to celebrating a hundred years with it. It is a pain in the ass to work on, but thankfully the bones of it are still very solid and minimal upkeep required.
2015 - Built it when we were expecting our 1st. Tons of stuff I wish we had done now that we didn’t, which would have been way easier before hand. Small things, like putting outlets in convenient places like for Christmas lights etc. Still better than the crap hole we moved from.
Every time I go to the hardware store to find a replacement for something that broke, the same item is the cheapest on the self. Do I upgrade, or just buy two relacements?
1895 - The original two rooms have walls that are two foot thick creek stones and cement, and that runs all the way to the peak of the roof. Though I supposed it’s really a single room, the dividing wall is modern construction, and not structural.
The rafters and planks are rough hewn and secured with handmade square nails with blunt tips. The floor joists are massive rough hewn lumber, about 2.25" x 14".
At some later date three bedrooms and a bathroom were added to the rear, along with a huge porch on the front & side.
Working on the house is always an adventure, you never know what you’re going to get. There is Romex wire in most of the house, but fabric wrapped wire in some areas, and even one run of knob & post.
Plumbing has mostly been sorted after a disaster 10 years ago. The original cast iron sewer main under the house had rotted away, and there was only dirt & rust holding anything together. At least we got rid of the UPHILL (seriously!) run from the kitchen sink to the main.
The interior was redone a couple of years before we bought it, but it was done by incompetents. It looks good on the surface, but everything is wrong underneath. As an example, the GFI outlets in the kitchen have no ground.
Still, it’s a unique house, and the porch is great.
@blaineg Sounds like ours, altho wow on the stone walls! Same with our electrical - 3 types (4 if you count the surface mounted square conduit stuff in the kitchen), and some pretty creative wiring. We still have two wall switches and two circuit breakers that we’ve never been able to figure out what they do.
Apartment building completed just about a year ago.
The vast majority of single-family homes in this city are 30+ years old, and I want no part of that. I have zero desire to do home improvement projects that have followed the purchase of property for literally every friend of mine here.
Both houses I’ve previously purchased have been new construction, and if I look to buy property after this bubble, it will either be that or at least within the last decade.
We had our home framed, rocked & roofed and we did most all of the rest of the work on it, 1988-89.
I even built the cabinets in the kitchen & bathrooms.
It’s a sturdy 2-story home with daylight basement that has required almost nothing since except upgrade windows, new roof & re-painting. Bonus: Paid for!
House built the same year I was born (1955)
Bought house and one acre of property in 1988.
over the past 30 years:
Stripped out and replaced all the old post and knob wiring. Installed a 200 amp electrical service.
Stripped out and replaced the plumbing
Removed all the 1/4 inch sheet rock that was installed over lathe and replaced it with 1/2 inch sheetrock after installing insulation (since there wasn’t any originally)
Removed and replaced all the old double hung wooden single pane windows (all the sash weights had fallen into the frames) and replaced them with insulated double pane windows.
Re-did the gas lines.
Stripped off the old roofing and re-did the shingles
Repaired the ridge when a pecan tree was blown over onto the house during hurricane Opal
Stripped off the exterior siding and re-did it in vinyl.
Added central air conditioning.
Gutted the kitchen and dining room and totally expanded and re-did the kitchen, building custom cabinets and adding an island and a bar.
Installed ceramic tile in the kitchen, baths and dining room.
Built a 700 ft addition that has our master bedroom/bath/closet and the dining room in it.
Built a 4x7 ft walk-in glass block 2 head shower with custom tile walls. Built a new vanity and walk-in closet
Gutted and expanded/re-built the old bathroom to include a garden tub and shower stall.
Turned the old kid’s bedroom into an office with built-in bookshelves and a custom built Murphy bed.
Installed 2 gas fireplaces.
Built a loft in the living room.
Added a pool and poolhouse.
Added decks and porches, French doors and new entry doors.
Repaired/replaced a metric shit-ton of stuff as it needed it.
All the work except the HVAC was done by yours truly.
City has hauled away about 60% of the original house as I tore out walls, sheetrock etc. etc. over the past 30 years. House has appreciated by a factor of 10 since I bought it and did the work.
TL:DR House is between 64 and one year old depending on which part you are talking about.
Oh yeah, look at Mr. Rockefeller there living in a building.
@therealjrn
Where’s the “I don’t know, I live in an apartment?”
@kittykat9180 Apartments are considered buildings :B
@kittykat9180 @PooltoyWolf Maybe in your posh neighborhood!
@kittykat9180 @macromeh Why do they call them ‘apartments’ when they’re so close together, anyway?
@kittykat9180 @macromeh @PooltoyWolf for the same reason you park on a driveway and drive on a parkway…
@PooltoyWolf They’re still fully private living areas. Consider the alternative of living in a crack house or a homeless shelter, maybe.
@chienfou @kittykat9180 @macromeh
The tree is probably about 100 years old.
@hchavers How’s Jane doing these days?
My house was constructed in 1978.
@PooltoyWolf same! Still have the orange counter tops and dark cabinets in my kitchen.
@tnhillbillygal My folks have removed much of the original 1970s elements in our house over the years, much to my chagrin. About the only things left visible are the north and south wooden walls in the living room, and the original kitchen cabinetry. The chandelier in the dining room is also original, but it’s rather ugly haha. The west dining room wall once had a really neat chevron pattern of alternating wood and mirror…now blasé eggshell paint on drywall.
Built in 1890. By a man who was either unsure what a square was or was convinced that squares were the devil.
Every owner after square-man has decided to take it upon themselves to put an additional layer of the thickest paint they could find on every flat surface in and outside the place (including the floors… Why.)
Put new windows in though, so that’s pretty nice.
@chewytie 1870, and the same thing, I don’t think the square had been invented yet. Hanging a picture is always an exercise in figuring out just how unlevel to make it so that it splits all the differences and everything ends up looking more or less level.
If you own your own house, then you know it’s a money pit. Sometimes I don’t know what’s broken, but something always is.
@2many2no - So true. At first it was always a $500 fix- and now it’s up to $1,000. The repairman always says, “Man! Who built this house?”
Auditor’s website shows 1959, which makes sense, because almost everything in this suburb was built between 1955 and 1965.
Right on the line. Built in 1968 but I’m not sure when it was finished so it’s either 50 or 51 right now. It’s also a money pit that needs two new bathrooms.
@cinoclav Same with mine. And as far as I can tell all houses are money pits. The bright side is if you do high quality renovations as needed you will recoup about half of what you put into it when you sell, but still… expensive.
I need to change my answer! Yes it is 36 years old, but it is a log home. By definition, a pain in the ass in terms of upkeep!
Mine is 20 years old, which means that every single major appliance and HVAC component is going to die and the roof is going to start leaking at any given moment. I live in constant fear.
House was supposedly built in 1975, but the permit for the septic field wasn’t until 1978. That means they either filed for the permit afterwards, no one moved in, or they had an outhouse for a while. Exciting.
We are so lucky: house is 1953 1story brick so solid. Owner bought about 5 yrs ago and gutted most of it so inside is almost new construction. We started renting 2 yrs ago so prior tenants/owner dealt w “new construction” issues. Best of all combos!
1893, and it has a history. It was built by a guy in love with the daughter of the local logging baron, it was to be their honeymoon house. Problem was that she wasn’t that into him, so …
It’s had two additions, the latest about 25 years ago, so walking through it is like a tour through history from rustic cabin to late 1980’s suburban.
I can’t even begin to list it’s problems, but the oldest part of the house still has massive 3" thick plank floors, rough cut redwood cabinets, and the original hand-made glass panes in the windows that have that wavy shimmery effect to them. I spend a lot of time at the salvage yards looking for appropriately old repair parts.
My house was built in 1980, but had been updated and was pretty nice. I thought it was fantastic except for a few layout issues that I could either deal with or renovate later. We had it inspected and it was …okay. We knew some things were going to need to be replaced sooner rather than later. As it turns out, the previous owners were DIYers that were either lazy or just didn’t know what they were doing. It’s been so much work and so much money.
@shaunanl never touch the plumbing unless you know the hardware store is open …
Built @'65. We moved in in '71. Typical of the time, three bedroom brick ranch. Have remodeled the bathrooms and kitchen and put on an addition. Was supposed to be a starter house but at least now we don’t have to downsize.
According to the realtor site, the house I’m renting was built in 1875. Historic New York, indeed!
2015 - Built it when we were expecting our 1st. Tons of stuff I wish we had done now that we didn’t, which would have been way easier before hand. Small things, like putting outlets in convenient places like for Christmas lights etc. Still better than the crap hole we moved from.
Every time I go to the hardware store to find a replacement for something that broke, the same item is the cheapest on the self. Do I upgrade, or just buy two relacements?
@hchavers Better get 4, just in case.
1895 - The original two rooms have walls that are two foot thick creek stones and cement, and that runs all the way to the peak of the roof. Though I supposed it’s really a single room, the dividing wall is modern construction, and not structural.
The rafters and planks are rough hewn and secured with handmade square nails with blunt tips. The floor joists are massive rough hewn lumber, about 2.25" x 14".
At some later date three bedrooms and a bathroom were added to the rear, along with a huge porch on the front & side.
Working on the house is always an adventure, you never know what you’re going to get. There is Romex wire in most of the house, but fabric wrapped wire in some areas, and even one run of knob & post.
Plumbing has mostly been sorted after a disaster 10 years ago. The original cast iron sewer main under the house had rotted away, and there was only dirt & rust holding anything together. At least we got rid of the UPHILL (seriously!) run from the kitchen sink to the main.
The interior was redone a couple of years before we bought it, but it was done by incompetents. It looks good on the surface, but everything is wrong underneath. As an example, the GFI outlets in the kitchen have no ground.
Still, it’s a unique house, and the porch is great.
@blaineg Sounds like ours, altho wow on the stone walls! Same with our electrical - 3 types (4 if you count the surface mounted square conduit stuff in the kitchen), and some pretty creative wiring. We still have two wall switches and two circuit breakers that we’ve never been able to figure out what they do.
Mobile home built in 1982. It ain’t pretty, but it’s paid for.
2017 5th wheel, watch the police and the tax man miss me, I’m mobile.
@billybones … when I’m drivin’ free, the world’s my home …
Apartment building completed just about a year ago.
The vast majority of single-family homes in this city are 30+ years old, and I want no part of that. I have zero desire to do home improvement projects that have followed the purchase of property for literally every friend of mine here.
Both houses I’ve previously purchased have been new construction, and if I look to buy property after this bubble, it will either be that or at least within the last decade.
Mitsubishi Delica L300 Star Wagon
@medz
/giphy nice
We had our home framed, rocked & roofed and we did most all of the rest of the work on it, 1988-89.
I even built the cabinets in the kitchen & bathrooms.
It’s a sturdy 2-story home with daylight basement that has required almost nothing since except upgrade windows, new roof & re-painting. Bonus: Paid for!
‘34 brick Tudor that I have sunk way more money into than the neighborhood is worth. Always been a sucker for charm and character.
House built the same year I was born (1955)
Bought house and one acre of property in 1988.
over the past 30 years:
Stripped out and replaced all the old post and knob wiring. Installed a 200 amp electrical service.
Stripped out and replaced the plumbing
Removed all the 1/4 inch sheet rock that was installed over lathe and replaced it with 1/2 inch sheetrock after installing insulation (since there wasn’t any originally)
Removed and replaced all the old double hung wooden single pane windows (all the sash weights had fallen into the frames) and replaced them with insulated double pane windows.
Re-did the gas lines.
Stripped off the old roofing and re-did the shingles
Repaired the ridge when a pecan tree was blown over onto the house during hurricane Opal
Stripped off the exterior siding and re-did it in vinyl.
Added central air conditioning.
Gutted the kitchen and dining room and totally expanded and re-did the kitchen, building custom cabinets and adding an island and a bar.
Installed ceramic tile in the kitchen, baths and dining room.
Built a 700 ft addition that has our master bedroom/bath/closet and the dining room in it.
Built a 4x7 ft walk-in glass block 2 head shower with custom tile walls. Built a new vanity and walk-in closet
Gutted and expanded/re-built the old bathroom to include a garden tub and shower stall.
Turned the old kid’s bedroom into an office with built-in bookshelves and a custom built Murphy bed.
Installed 2 gas fireplaces.
Built a loft in the living room.
Added a pool and poolhouse.
Added decks and porches, French doors and new entry doors.
Repaired/replaced a metric shit-ton of stuff as it needed it.
All the work except the HVAC was done by yours truly.
City has hauled away about 60% of the original house as I tore out walls, sheetrock etc. etc. over the past 30 years. House has appreciated by a factor of 10 since I bought it and did the work.
TL:DR House is between 64 and one year old depending on which part you are talking about.
Ours was the first in the neighbourhood- built in 1949 in the middle of orchards. And the termites have been enjoying it ever since.