The Historic District

The closing on the purchase of this house has been moved up a week to this Friday 1/7 - Yay! Can't wait to get in there and really start assessing what I've got!

Manalto wrote: ↑Mon Dec 13, 2021 10:44 pm To me (and possibly no one else), "vernacular" hints at a local style.

FWIW, on page 106 of the April 1986 issue of the Old House Journal there is a discussion of the use of the word "vernacular" in architecture (you're not wrong...)

...do you think polyurethane is suitable to seal in any possible remaining lead dust in the floors? The lead guys had said it would seal it but looking online I don't see that recommendation, and actually see a clear lead encapsulant product (it's very expensive, like over $100 a gallon). Is that s...

Catheetiem wrote: ↑Tue Dec 14, 2021 2:51 pm And oh, I always thought the house was a full two story! What differentiates ours from a full two story?

Oh, my mistake -- I had it in my head that it was a storey-and-a-half (like mine), but on review of your photos again, yours does appear to be a full two stories. Sorry!

I guess I would classify your house as "American Vernacular" -- it's a "basic house," a form that has persisted from the 18th century to today. The Old House journal, March 1982 , describes a post-victorian style that they call the "Homestead House," basically a full two-story version of what you ha...

The positive lead test from the stair tread is again probably just dust. Ventilate the area whenever stirring up any dust, keeping the area isolated from other parts of the house, wear a good fitting mask (N95 or better), Wet mop, vacuum (ideally with a HEPA-filtered vacuum), and be sure to wash you...

I don't recall seeing anything like that (outhouse in the extension) during my tour and inspection (I don't take possession of the house until mid-January). The connector currently houses the kitchen, a "mudroom," and a "pantry."

The bay window may have been added between 1907 and 1914 if I believe the Sanborn fire insurance maps (there are other aspects of the depiction of this property that are clearly not accurate, so I don't fully trust them). In any case it is clearly not original. But yes, it does add something extra t...

Hi Everybody, I am buying an historic old house with attached carriage barn on the Main Street in the principle village of a small town in rural New England (closing mid-January). "Historic Old" here is another way of saying "needs a lot of work!" (especially the barn). The house was built in 1862 i...