1926 Craftsman.

My original plan was to just clean up the trim in this bedroom and give it a fresh coat while painting the ceiling and walls.

Every bit of baseboard trim, door trim, and doors are painted the same white. Including the coffered ceiling in the front room that spans the width of the house.

I had no clue what was underneath, the wood floors are all original, 2.5 inch wide planks. I’ll include pictures also for reference.

Here’s my dilemma: this room is stripping so easy with the heat gun, which I wasn’t expecting. There is the top layer of white paint, and directly under that is this beige color layer then wood. Do we think the beige is actually just 100 year old oxidized wood laquer?

I’m almost sad to think of covering it back up again with fresh paint. If I strip this room of trim and doors I’m afraid I will want to keep going and that’s not in the project list for the next 12 months 😂.

Has anyone done just one room and lived with it to see if you prefer one over the other? Typically I’m a purist about never painting wood, but there’s 2500st ft+ of baseboards and molding etc etc and I am but one woman, lol.

We have a little time (6-8 weeks) before we move in, but the rest of the house needs A LOT of love before then so I don’t have time to strip as I go. Painting ceilings and walls is a must. I could do this one room I believe and still make my timeline goal.

What would you do?

This space was apparently made into a bathroom in the 1960s. Stopped being used in the 1990s and was left unattended for decades...including the slow water leaks under tub, toilet, and sink.

Tore it up to find out their 'floor' was particle board NAILED to a tic-tac-toe frame of random lumber, shimmed with furniture legs.

The brickwork is from the 19th century and used to hold up a fireplace/stove. Its an island...there is nothing under anything around it except a straight shot to the basement floor.

Only idea I can come up with is sister pressure treated 2x10 to the exposed joist in the photo, raised high enough so 4x4 posts can be laid horizonally using steel brackets/hangers and connect to the joist under the bathroom door. I dont want the brickwork to be the main loadbearing structure as its very old and the mortar isnt great.

Doing it all w pressure treated for reasons, but MY GOD.

Just venting. I dont do this for a living, parents (its their house) cant afford a contractor for this level of nonsense and I doubt a contractor would touch it anyways. House is 1836, in a college town, and so far as I can tell its been 'reconfigured' at least four times to make student-rental units.

Anyways...photo = how to REALLY lose the 'floor lottery' 😂 Thought someone would get a kick out of it haha

Found eight “new” retractable cellulose fiber roller shades under basement stairs while clearing out the space. Worth donating to ReStore (or someplace else that specifically looks for really old stuff) or a towering inferno waiting to happen? They were still wrapped in the original merchants packaging then wrapped and again in butcher paper and twine and stored with some older used shades (which were wrapped in crumbling newsprint dated June 5, 1943.)

We had very heavy rain over the weekend and some water got in our storage room. We had to move a giant metal cabinet we had never moved before and this little door was behind it. What is it? I couldn’t get back far enough to see how high the little space goes. It is around the area of our chimney, I assume it has something to do with that? Our home was built in 1943.

If I had the job opportunity Id move there and buy it.. so beautiful.

Whenever there is heavy rain we have about this much water in our 1870s basement, how much of this is normal?

Should we get an interior French drain?

The gutters and grading around the house are all new, inspected and working well - we think this is the water-saturated soil releasing water through our fieldstone foundation…

We have two sump pumps (the one pictured here stopped working yesterday so we’re getting that fixed, probably why there’s that much water around it from last night).

TLDR: is this much water after a night of very heavy rain normal for a fieldstone century home, or would you recommend we get an interior French drain?

Hi friends!

Our first child is quickly approaching the age when we will need to baby gate off our stairs. Looking for advice/tips/products for century homes as we have original newels and baseboard trims, and I absolutely do not want to drill into them. I’m clear on zip-tying gates to newels as an option, but I have some places where it’s a newel on one side, and a wall on the other. Our baseboard trim is nearly 1 foot tall, so I’m not sure if it would be okay to drill into the wall above the trim? Or am I over thinking this?

Appreciate any advice!

I keep reading that “color” is finally back and that the whole white, cream and grey room trend is finally ending. Sure hope that’s true cause I just bit the bullet and jumped into color in a big way lol.

First time home buyer. House was built in the 1860's. I don't know jack about flooring but I'm assuming I would need to rip it up and replace? Everything is dry, despite the spots on the floor. And the roofing is in good shape. Any help would be appreciated

A friend visited my home last year and was excited to tell me that she "cleaned" the doorknob while I was at work. It pisses me off every time I see it (which is a lot since it's our only bathroom!). We have an older home and I love the tarnished look of literally every other door in the house.

How can I make it match again? Is there some solution I can apply to re-tarnish the metal? I'm not sure what which type of metal it is.

Thank you in advance!! :)

Hi I have a 140 year old home and the joists have so many nails and staples and random old wires.
I think it’s ok to remove the wires, unless this group disagrees?? But more importantly what is the best way to deal with the nails? Should I hammer them in, or pull them out? Is there a risk or consequence with either option?
Thanks.

Edit: floor joists exposed in basement. Remove for Scrape/ injury/ aesthetics

Edit 2: is it better to pull or hammer nails into joist?

I want to remove this soft wood subfloor, replace it and lay new flooring. This home was somewhat remodeled just before I bought it with plenty of carpeting. I just pulled off the carpet in the upstairs hallway. Since I don't know how railings are mounted, I don't know where to begin to temporarily remove it. TIA!

Any idea what this thing is? House had gas at one point. Center of ceiling in bedroom that was likely a dining room in the past.

House has oil heat. Tank is in basement. How do I monitor it?

What exactly happens if it suddenly bursts and dumps 275 gallons into the basement?

Would anyone know what this is called? Found in a book and we just bought a house with a clawfoot tub.

At the "new to me" house patching some plaster, and got to looking at the floor, the one room has the flooring facing one way, the other room, the other way, any thoughts as to why? Or is this just a random they just felt like doing it that way? Both rooms have a front door, not sure if that is related or not 🤷🏻‍♀️

Peep my boyfriend helping clean up my mess lol

DIY installed a new ceiling w/recessed lighting over existing plaster. Should’ve just covered this vent to 2nd floor….now stuck with 7x10 inch void and struggling to find cover to blend with old vibes. Any suggestions?

Not what I expected but here we are. Built in 1912 and not sure how to proceed. At one time the house flooded so I’m still trying to figure out what the rest of the floor looks like.

We know our house was built in the 20s and there are many proper craftsman-style homes and bungalows in our neighborhood, but our house doesn't really have the interior hallmarks of a house of that style. It lacks the stereotypical fireplace flanked by built-ins I see in a lot of craftsman homes (no fireplace at all, actually, central chimney was for a basement furnace only.) Additionally, the millwork inside is very basic and quite rough -- doors and windows are framed with flat un-profiled boards. It was remodeled inside by previous owner throughout the 90s and again in the 2010s, so very few original details remain. Based on the 3-season porch on the front, wide 2nd floor balcony on the back, and the rough interior finish work, the word multiple visitors have used to describe the feel of our house is "cottagey," for whatever that's worth.

I ask because we desperately need a complete re-build on the front steps, and I know I want something a.) that feels like it belongs with the existing structure, and b.) completely different than the big lump of cast concrete that exists currently -- it feels sloppily done, and very much like an afterthought compared to the style of the home. It looks like it's been pulling away from the house and rotating toward the street for years, making the slanted steps extremely treacherous in winter and causing leaks in that side of the basement. (there's an unfinished cold room under the enclosed porch, which we've been affectionately calling it the "mold room" because of this issue.) We know we want railings on both sides and a wider landing in front of the door, as it's very cramped and unsafe currently and we worry about our postal worker/delivery guys.

Can anyone help us identify the style so we can more easily find porch/front steps ideas that are in keeping with it? Thanks in advance!

I very affordably bought an 1840s (1890s addition/ remodel) farmhouse that was severely neglected. Many of the rooms were completely ruined from the former residents' hoarding (now removed) and a terribly overdue roof. In this upstairs bedroom, I've got some roof damage around what looks like an old vent, and the rest of the room has chips and holes in the plaster. There are also leaks around the windows. I'd like to keep as much as is worthwhile, which is why I'm asking here (where folks love plaster) instead of r/drywall. I'm young and have very little money, so almost the entire house will be DIY.

1926 house. The floor had a section of wood no more than 1' by 1' that was cut differently and sounded hollow when I tapped it. Opened it this black void. All I can think of is a chute down to the furnace for garbage incineration? No other room has this. Also, furnace is ancient. Cleveland Toridheat and rusted.

It's not gold or a depression era stash, but still a neat find while ripping out the plaster in our stairwell. Bonus "dang cat got into the walls while we had it open" pic.