Tell me about living in a historic (old) home

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It depends. Old homes have work but I fine most new homes go be poorly built.

To all the commenters about mead and asbestos those can be dealt with. Don’t you think all the new cheap materials will in future have major issues like lead and asbestos. Remember the drywall issues years ago? I do!

My grandmother owns a home from the 1700s. It’s a lot of work but it is so well built. They didn’t add central air but it stays pretty cool. They have window air conditioners on the second and third floor, don’t need on the 1st.

I own a home from early 1900s. We did a big Reno and I find our home go be well built. We added on and paid good money but the new area of the home is hotter in the summer and colder in winter than the older part of the home (that we will renovated).

Get a good inspector and look into electrical and plumbing. I redid our electrical and plumbing and it was not cheap. The gas company and water company also redid both laterals.

Lol wrong most new homes are built 10000% better because of Required building codes and inspections. Old homes are terrible and exempt from safety codes

[Anonymous]

Nothing charming about musty old quaint homes. BTDT

[Anonymous]

Ghosts and money pit

plumbing inadequate

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:LOL at the lead comments. Any house built before 1978 will have lead everywhere.

Yes I find this interesting because in many cases, people will put a lot of effort into lead remediating in an old home (or one that was built before the 1920s) because you immediately think/worry about lead for a “historic” house. But lead didn’t go away all that long ago! So millions and millions of people live in “newer” homes and have no idea of their lead exposure— either in the paint or the plumbing or the soldering.

[Anonymous]

So jealous!! I’d love to live in an old home.

[Anonymous]

Shitshacj

[Anonymous]

I like our old home but it is expensive sometimes and you have to be willing to live with imperfections. Flips around here tend to focus on the visible stuff and ignore the expensive structural/behind the walls issues but I’m sure that isn’t universal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It depends. Old homes have work but I fine most new homes go be poorly built.

To all the commenters about mead and asbestos those can be dealt with. Don’t you think all the new cheap materials will in future have major issues like lead and asbestos. Remember the drywall issues years ago? I do!

My grandmother owns a home from the 1700s. It’s a lot of work but it is so well built. They didn’t add central air but it stays pretty cool. They have window air conditioners on the second and third floor, don’t need on the 1st.

I own a home from early 1900s. We did a big Reno and I find our home go be well built. We added on and paid good money but the new area of the home is hotter in the summer and colder in winter than the older part of the home (that we will renovated).

Get a good inspector and look into electrical and plumbing. I redid our electrical and plumbing and it was not cheap. The gas company and water company also redid both laterals.

Lol wrong most new homes are built 10000% better because of Required building codes and inspections. Old homes are terrible and exempt from safety codes

Old homes have better bones that is why they are still around after hundreds of years.
On the other hand new homes have better electrical, insulation and probably plumbing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do lead check swabs in the windowsills to see if it has lead paint remnants. Unless the windows are all new.

You plan to chew the windowsills? All old houses will have lead paint.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It depends. Old homes have work but I fine most new homes go be poorly built.

To all the commenters about mead and asbestos those can be dealt with. Don’t you think all the new cheap materials will in future have major issues like lead and asbestos. Remember the drywall issues years ago? I do!

My grandmother owns a home from the 1700s. It’s a lot of work but it is so well built. They didn’t add central air but it stays pretty cool. They have window air conditioners on the second and third floor, don’t need on the 1st.

I own a home from early 1900s. We did a big Reno and I find our home go be well built. We added on and paid good money but the new area of the home is hotter in the summer and colder in winter than the older part of the home (that we will renovated).

Get a good inspector and look into electrical and plumbing. I redid our electrical and plumbing and it was not cheap. The gas company and water company also redid both laterals.

Lol wrong most new homes are built 10000% better because of Required building codes and inspections. Old homes are terrible and exempt from safety codes

This.

Also LOL at the people ITT underplaying lead paint. Read Lead Safe Mama’s blog. Lead is no joke.

I have a gorgeous new build in the Potomac area and wouldn’t have it any other way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It depends. Old homes have work but I fine most new homes go be poorly built.

To all the commenters about mead and asbestos those can be dealt with. Don’t you think all the new cheap materials will in future have major issues like lead and asbestos. Remember the drywall issues years ago? I do!

My grandmother owns a home from the 1700s. It’s a lot of work but it is so well built. They didn’t add central air but it stays pretty cool. They have window air conditioners on the second and third floor, don’t need on the 1st.

I own a home from early 1900s. We did a big Reno and I find our home go be well built. We added on and paid good money but the new area of the home is hotter in the summer and colder in winter than the older part of the home (that we will renovated).

Get a good inspector and look into electrical and plumbing. I redid our electrical and plumbing and it was not cheap. The gas company and water company also redid both laterals.

Lol wrong most new homes are built 10000% better because of Required building codes and inspections. Old homes are terrible and exempt from safety codes

Tell us you know nothing about construction by being really obviuos that you know nothing.

Some things have improved, but many things have gotten cheaper and worse.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do lead check swabs in the windowsills to see if it has lead paint remnants. Unless the windows are all new.

You plan to chew the windowsills? All old houses will have lead paint.

Yup. And so do the yards/dirt of all houses older than 40 years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It depends. Old homes have work but I fine most new homes go be poorly built.

To all the commenters about mead and asbestos those can be dealt with. Don’t you think all the new cheap materials will in future have major issues like lead and asbestos. Remember the drywall issues years ago? I do!

My grandmother owns a home from the 1700s. It’s a lot of work but it is so well built. They didn’t add central air but it stays pretty cool. They have window air conditioners on the second and third floor, don’t need on the 1st.

I own a home from early 1900s. We did a big Reno and I find our home go be well built. We added on and paid good money but the new area of the home is hotter in the summer and colder in winter than the older part of the home (that we will renovated).

Get a good inspector and look into electrical and plumbing. I redid our electrical and plumbing and it was not cheap. The gas company and water company also redid both laterals.

Lol wrong most new homes are built 10000% better because of Required building codes and inspections. Old homes are terrible and exempt from safety codes

This.

Also LOL at the people ITT underplaying lead paint. Read Lead Safe Mama’s blog. Lead is no joke.

I have a gorgeous new build in the Potomac area and wouldn’t have it any other way.

Sounds like a quack.

[Anonymous]

OP: how did the house viewing go yesterday?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It depends. Old homes have work but I fine most new homes go be poorly built.

To all the commenters about mead and asbestos those can be dealt with. Don’t you think all the new cheap materials will in future have major issues like lead and asbestos. Remember the drywall issues years ago? I do!

My grandmother owns a home from the 1700s. It’s a lot of work but it is so well built. They didn’t add central air but it stays pretty cool. They have window air conditioners on the second and third floor, don’t need on the 1st.

I own a home from early 1900s. We did a big Reno and I find our home go be well built. We added on and paid good money but the new area of the home is hotter in the summer and colder in winter than the older part of the home (that we will renovated).

Get a good inspector and look into electrical and plumbing. I redid our electrical and plumbing and it was not cheap. The gas company and water company also redid both laterals.

Lol wrong most new homes are built 10000% better because of Required building codes and inspections. Old homes are terrible and exempt from safety codes

And every old(er) house is in danger of catastrophic fires and collapse?

Building codes and inspections - eh. Been in and out of old and new houses to know this is near meaningless and only those with a blind faith makes this important. Will say new houses will have better efficiency, but a well built older houses will have better materials. I have seen fabulously built new houses (at a premium, they are not cheap) but most standard new builds are just that, standard to mediocre.

OP is looking at a 1940s house, which by the standards of historic old houses is not historic by any stretch of the imagination and is most likely a brick box thrown up by the thousands around DC to meet the demands of a growing civil service population. Unless it's one of the better and bigger variety, it will be solidly built out of the mass produced materials of the time (which itself will be quite solid and durable). It's how the house was maintained, renovated, whether it had the dreaded flip, that matters. An excellent home inspector is important.