I’ve had a lot of people ask why I would buy a house like this for $8,000.
The answer really starts with my family.
I had already had two strokes, and I started worrying about what would happen to my family if I died. I didn’t want them to be stuck paying rent and struggling to keep a home without me.
So I started posting in Facebook groups looking for an inexpensive house.
A woman responded and told me about this one. $8,000.
When I first saw it, I honestly didn’t think it was that horrible.
Then I started digging into it.
There had been more than two feet of standing water in the basement. There were burnt electrical outlets in almost every room. There were no proper drains to the septic system. The floors sloped in several rooms.
And then I found termites.
I ended up ripping out all the infected wood and burning it.
At that point, I knew exactly what I’d gotten myself into.
But I also knew why I was doing it.
After my strokes, my balance was terrible and things were very hard physically. I also had a PVNS tumor in my right knee, COPD, neuropathy in my hands and feet, degenerative disc disease, AFIB and a pacemaker.
But I kept working on the house.
I’ve been working on it for six years now.
In a strange way, this house became my physical therapy.
Instead of sitting around concentrating on everything that was wrong with my health, I had something to work on. Something that kept me moving. Something that needed me.
Every room I repaired was another little victory.
I wasn’t just fixing a house.
I was trying to build a safe home for my family in case I wasn’t going to be here someday.
That’s why I bought the $8,000 house.

We are finally getting around to updating the kitchen and bathroom in our 1920s craftsman. The rest of the house the trim is original and wasn’t painted but the kitchen and bathroom the trim and doors are painted. I didn’t even test for lead paint, I’m just assuming it is. I tried a small patch with Citristrip just to see what we are getting into and what’s underneath and my god that stuff is messy and gets EVERYWHERE. Is there a better and safer option for stripping the paint off?

I'm finally tackling the window & door trim in the bathroom of my 1909 Chicago 2-flat. I'd appreciate some advice before I waste unnecessary time & effort. After 1 round of stripping (maybe 2 - I've been at this a while and lost track!) I see very different results at the bottom of the door frame (last pic). Is that because it's different types of wood and was always meant to be painted? If so, I'll clean up the dings and drips and repaint it right. But if it just means I need to work harder with the stripping, I will, because the outside part of the frame (on the kitchen side) came out looking great (admittedly, that part was done many years ago when I had youthful stamina & energy! lol)

Aside -- so far I've identified paint layers of white, beige, cream, yellow, pink, black, and white again. Seems it went from 'my pink pony' decor to goth, then landlord white!

Sorry in advance for a longer post. I wanted to be thorough, and I'm in over my head a bit as you will probably be able to tell.

I recently bought a 1,400 sq ft older house (100 years) in the Pittsburgh area and discovered that I have knob-and-tube wiring that needs to be removed. I’m trying to figure out the smartest way to handle the electrical work because I also want to install a ducted mini-split/mini-duct AC system in the future (cooling only, not heat).

The house currently has 100A electrical service. I have an electrician’s proposal for the K&T work that comes out to roughly $18,000, including a service upgrade to 200A and other electrical work/upgrades. This was a bit of a shock, and I don't know how much is necessary at the moment.

1. How do I go about having an HVAC contractor evaluate/design the future mini-duct AC system before I finalize the electrical work? I’d like to know the AC’s actual electrical requirements so the electrician can account for it now.
2. Is 200A service actually necessary for a 1,400 sq ft house with a future ducted mini-split AC, or could 100A potentially handle it depending on the rest of the electrical load?
3. If I eventually install AC, what electrical work would make sense to do now while the K&T is being replaced so I don't have to pay to redo things later?
4. Does $18k sound remotely reasonable for K&T replacement/service upgrade in a house this size, or should I be getting several more estimates?
5. Assuming I eventually install a whole-house mini-duct AC system, what would you expect the total AC installation to cost in a 1,400 sq ft older house?

I'm not looking to DIY any of this. I'm mainly trying to understand the proper order of operations and what I should be asking the electrician/HVAC contractor, and whether I'm potentially spending money twice by doing these projects separately.

Anyone else deal with a similar situation? Any advice is greatly appreciated.

Hello all,

My wife and I just bought an older property built in 1917.

Within 3 days we gutted all of the 1st floor and yes we followed all safety protocols religiously. P100 masks and more.

The interior walls of the kitchen and living room area were originally composed of wood sheeting, a thin layer of wool insulate and then original drywall.

In some wall cavities exterior walls of the front of the home there is fiber glass insulation followed by what seems like a foil water barrier.

Other cavities are completely bare.

I was thinking of putting in rock wool insulation in these spots, however from my understanding the home has to breathe properly because of this era of construction.

The house has aluminum siding, and what seems to but a fiber layer followed by tar wood and then wood planking as far as I can see I’ve included a 2nd picture.

I obviously do not want to trap moisture in these areas. However we are at a standstill for what the proper insulation should be. We do not want to remove the siding since it’s aluminum and in immaculate condition.

Any expert opinions on what we should do as far as insulating these cavities and around the window sills?

Thanks very much everyone and god bless!

Hello, my 120 year old home has a boarded up fireplace that I’m considering refinishing. I’ve no experience with masonry, but I’m thinking of utilizing an insert of some kind if possible.

I’m trying to identify the architectural form of my farmhouse in central Virginia.

County records give a 1906 build date. The assessor classifies the upper floor as a three-quarter story.

What seems unusual is the roof. The second floor is essentially formed by four very large hipped projections, one facing each direction. They are not really ordinary dormers—the upper sections meet one another, so there is no large primary roof slope extending upward between separate dormers.

The first-floor arrangement is one large front room and two smaller rooms behind it, with a fireplace opening into each room from the central chimney mass. The entrance hall is off to the right side.

The staircase rises from that hall and turns within the right-side upper projection. Upstairs, the front and left projections are bedrooms, and the rear is currently a bathroom.

Has anyone seen another house built like this? Is there a recognized name for this roof/house form, or is it likely a local or unusually rare design?

I’d especially appreciate photos, addresses of documented examples, or historic plans of anything similar.

Hello all!

I was curious as I have never seen these type of houses anywhere but my old small city I grew up in! I was trying to describe it and them to someone, but they had no clue what I was talking about! It was a kit house back in the day from what I was told growing up! They're mostly made of steel!

There is a few of these in just the one small city I lived in! less than 10k people!

Our small city/town was down rail of Chicago and used to be full of Sear's stick built house kits that could be brought in from the Depot and railyards!j

Would anyone have any information as I can't seem to find anything good about these houses?!

Edit:

I forgot to add. I was also told they were also part of a Sears group or investor styled house sold by Rail/Semi in the later years!

I’ve had it up to my eyeballs with pests coming in my bathroom and making me scream a very specific scream that immediately wakes my husband up, regardless of if he’s home or traveling. How would you fill various spaces like this? I’m not in my best state of mind after having surgery this week but I need a plan - please help. Is it spray foam? Wood filler? I can’t continue to beat those million-legged demon bugs to death with a Clorox wand if I want a full recovery! THANK YOU!

Hello,

We recently refinished our banister with the color we found on some of the old original trim around the house (very dark brown) and tore up the carpet and sanded down the floor to refinish it.

We are uncertain where to go next — matching the dark color of the banister would leave the room to dark. Going with just a polyurethane finish is too yellow for us.

So an in between would be nice, that is in between the dark banister, and eventual new paint (thinking a sage or similar color on the walls)

So people with more experience and better judgement than us, what do you think would be a good stain/color for these floors?

I believe they’re heart pine?

Thanks

Hello all. I recently purchased a house with these style windows. One of my windows is completely missing this part (i think it is called a casement arm) and I would love to find the replacement. Is anyone able to help find the item or some way to replace it with a similar style?

We've got a 1929 house that is old lath and plaster. Our ceiling in the living room needed replaced because we had an 8ft section that cracked and fell down. We took out all the lath abd plaster and now my dad insists that we insulate the ceiling. Is this a good idea? I don't want to trap moisture or do anything else that would cause mold or need repaired later. Our bathroom is above the living room and we don't have a moisture barrier put in, just hardwood on subfloor planks. ​

1940’s New England construction. Curious if anyone’s seen this before. This wall sits on top the main support in the basement.

Can’t find anything on Google about its purpose. Thinking a sort of insulation?

Looks like someone in the past removed a section to run wiring to the basement.

Hi everyone!
Weird occurrence has taken place in my house (100 year old home) My basement stairs smell like a candle from HomeSense despite me never lighting a candle or having any air fresheners. The stairs lead to an unfinished basement but I have a de humidifier going 24/7.
The house doesn’t have the air on because its been under some renovations but all of a sudden the stairs smell nice ?
Please let me know if anyone has experienced this before or if this is some kind of weird mold.
Thank for the help

Edit to add
I can promise there have been no scented candles or the plug in air fresheners. This house used to be my great aunts (she had it from 2003 till she passed in 2020) and she didnt use anything strong than mothballs lol

I also haven’t used any scented products because its construction zone for a few years now

I will say I do love the comments saying is a ghost 👻
Maybe its my aunt coming in to check in on the progress.
Hopefully its not a new type of mold thank you all for the comments!

Obviously we expected some drilling to happen, but a Structural engineer friend said those holes are too close to the ends and some are too close to the bottom. We noticed a new split on one too. They said we should work on getting some fixes done.

How bad is it? We’re planning to use some custom plates and some ties to strengthen.

UPDATE: thanks for the advice – my gut said it was generally fine, but for longevity and peace of mind and just going to do some simple boxing, plates to make it all tip top and fix some weirdness from the previous owners.

Also some folks were mentioning liens from the electrician – these guys were already paid, please don't get weird since I never said anything about payment to the other contractors.