All News
No more houseporn/ragebait
Fri, 16 May 2025 20:11:47Hello all! After some discussion and consideration, we have added a new rule. You must have a connection to any house being posted here. As in you live in it, lived in it, own it, visited it, etc. We are aiming to cut down on on the low effort posts and people just sharing houses they find online. We are a community of caretakers of these homes, and we would like to keep it the content relevant. Thank you all for understanding. -The Mod Team submitted by /u/capnmurca [link] [comments]
Being anti-fascists is not political, and this sub is not political.
Wed, 22 Jan 2025 19:39:42Welcome from our mysterious nope-holes, and the summits of our servants' stairs. Today we the mod team bring you all an announcement that has nothing to do with our beloved old bones, but that, unfortunately, has become necessary again after a century or so. The heart of the matter is: from today onward any and all links from X (formerly Twitter) have been banned from the subreddit. If any of you will find some interesting material of any kind on the site that you wish to cross-post on our subreddit, we encourage you instead to take a screenshot or download the source and post that instead. As a mod team we are a bit bewildered that what we are posting is actually a political statement instead of simply a matter of decency but here we are: we all agree that any form of Fascism/Nazism are unacceptable and shouldn't exist in our age so we decided about this ban as a form of complete repudiation of Musk and his social media after his acts of the last day. What happened during the second inauguration of Donald Trump as president of the U.S.A. is simply unacceptable for the substance (which wouldn't have influenced our moderation plans, since we aren't a political subreddit), but for the form too. Symbols have as much power as substance, and so we believe that if the person considered the richest man in the world has the gall to repeatedly perform a Hitlergruß in front of the world, he's legitimizing this symbol and all the meaning it has for everyone who agrees with him. Again, we strongly repudiate any form of Nazism and fascism and Musk today is the face of something terribly sinister that could very well threaten much more than what many believe. We apologize again to bring something so off-topic to the subreddit but we believe that we shouldn't stand idly by and watch in front of so much potential for disaster, even if all we can do for now is something as small as change our rules. To reiterate, there's nothing political about opposing fascism. As usual, we'll listen to everyone's feedback as we believe we are working only for the good of our subreddit. https://preview.redd.it/6nuesysvolee1.jpg?width=1400&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9895ecd2844e882082639dd2904375202809d175 submitted by /u/bjeebus [link] [comments]

Heart pine floor appreciation<3
Wed, 29 Apr 2026 15:13:55submitted by /u/Gay_commie_fucker [link] [comments]

Make your own glaziers putty
Wed, 29 Apr 2026 11:27:47The attic windows on my lovely 1880s vernacular brick yoke have taken a beating over the years. Almost no putty left on them, cracked glass, warp and rot, broken sash ropes, you name it. When I moved in a couple years ago I knew I would have to take care of them soon, and when a pane flew out of this one last month I took it as a starting gun. Set up a plastic containment zone in the attic with a hepa vacuum keeping the place under negative pressure so I could go to town on the lead paint. Cut the glass pane and broke another one putting it in. I bought a tub of sarco type m glaziers putty for this which worked well for this and was nice to use but at $30/pint kind of pricey and when I had finished this top sash I had run out of putty. Instead of buying another pint I looked up how to make it and it’s just linseed oil and calcium carbonate. I’m sure there are cheaper ways to get calcium carbonate powder but I bought a gallon of it on Amazon for $30 and I already have boiled linseed oil kicking around. It’s as simple as kneading them together. Well, my reading says that some argue for certain percentages of boiled linseed to raw but whatever. It was easy and fun to make my own and now I can do it on demand and for the cost of one of these sashes I will be able do all of my windows. The stuff I made behaves more to my liking than the stuff I bought because I got to decide the consistency of it myself. TLDR: buy a gallon of powdered calcium carbonate and some linseed oil to have plenty of on-demand glaziers putty. Next one I do I will document the process and my putty work will look better :) submitted by /u/Whysguy [link] [comments]

Has anyone regretted updating electric from knob and tube?
Wed, 29 Apr 2026 15:41:39At the risk of getting downvoted and sounding neurotic, the title. We’re buying a century home that has updated wiring in all bathrooms, kitchen, garage and laundry room, which leaves the rest of the house with K&T. We had an electrician give us a quote during our inspection period, and he said that it should be fine to not replace, but gave us a quote to replace it all and seller agreed to credit us that quote + plaster repair. I’d like to replace it, but has anyone done this and regretted it due to covering everything in lead paint dust, potential asbestos issues, etc.? We would have this done before moving in. I’m just concerned this may open a worse can of worms, but also feel it’s necessary for safety. Thanks! submitted by /u/ButtersStotchPudding [link] [comments]
It's always worth looking under the lino
Tue, 28 Apr 2026 11:46:18I just moved into an early 19th century town house. I'm really looking forward to fixing it up. submitted by /u/bringheruptomonto [link] [comments]

Replacement 1920’s Schlage Keys?
Wed, 29 Apr 2026 09:48:24I live in a San Francisco apartment built in 1926. I have these privacy knobs in my bathroom and am wondering if anyone knows about the keys and if they can be replaced? My research suggests these are from 1925/26, and use outdated wafer type keys. The last image shows a screen grab from the Schlage website with a catalog showing the knob; No. 2. Any antique Schlage experts out there? Thank you for any insight you can offer. submitted by /u/Not-Enough-Garlic [link] [comments]

Window restoration q
Wed, 29 Apr 2026 11:13:25I've been replacing sash cords, oiling pulleys and such: I have the opposite problem of painted windows. None of the windows on my old house have been painted, and the wood has become very dry. Sashes, and some of the interior sills/frames. Is this as simple to treat as oiling them like you would butcher block or old furniture? submitted by /u/Riktopher [link] [comments]

What are these iron rods for?
Wed, 29 Apr 2026 12:59:55submitted by /u/Hostnaetoast [link] [comments]

Need advice on oiling/staining inside of window sashes on 1921 home in Minnesota.
Wed, 29 Apr 2026 12:45:36I’m working through restoring 30 windows in my home. The outsides are painted and the insides are natural/stained. I’m removing paint on outside and repainting but on inside I just want to oil/protect dry wood. Only a few are that dry. Downstairs all wood is oak and upstairs is maple. Question is best process to treat dry wood and add some color without sanding entire sash. submitted by /u/Witty_Winter2833 [link] [comments]

Painting wood filler
Wed, 29 Apr 2026 10:28:58After 4 exhausting days of clearing and filling nail damage with "stainable" wood filler, this is what remains. These two photos are high traffic, uncovered areas. I was told the light boards in photo #2 will darken, they were salvaged from the room but never in daylight. I can't find anything specific on matching the wood filler. I'm hoping there's a way to paint match this stain and touch up these areas, so it's at least way less noticeable? I don't have the option of sanding these out, there's probably 1000 of them and I no longer have the time or physical well-being to start over (plus there's a dozen projects needing finished too) I really hope we're not SOL here 😔 submitted by /u/Rochev7 [link] [comments]

Restored door! 2nd finished out of 7
Tue, 28 Apr 2026 17:14:04Unfortunately I don’t have any before pictures because stripping them was so messy I did not have my phone near me. We bought a 1905 four square last year with lots of dark trim/doors throughout. The upstairs doors had been painted, and I know there is debate about stain grade versus paint grade doors, but when I stripped the doors they were all originally stained/shellaced for the bottom layer. It was been a long process and lots of YouTube videos and dental tools to get them back to their original color and restore the hardware! So happy with the results! submitted by /u/Fraumariab [link] [comments]

How many bodies are hidden here
Tue, 28 Apr 2026 19:22:52Space under the stairs. Not sure why anyone would cement this up. Top left corner I can clearly see a wood frame. Either bodies or something a lot more expensive I’m sure submitted by /u/Zealousideal_Sir_782 [link] [comments]

Porch flooring options
Wed, 29 Apr 2026 13:45:29My old wood tongue and groove porch is rotting in a bunch of places. Ideally I want a paintable surface. Any suggestions on what to replace it with? The porch is about 8x28. submitted by /u/ElectronicRevenue227 [link] [comments]

Fresh content every day!!
Wed, 29 Apr 2026 15:51:00submitted by /u/MM-RenovationJourney [link] [comments]

Door stripping setup
Tue, 28 Apr 2026 13:10:34This is my door stripping routine for my veneer doors. I want 2-3 coats of paint removed to better show the profiles and get rid of lead paint. Will be repainted. Frame of 2x4s one inch bigger than the door all sides. Lay in plastic sheet. Pour over stripper, SoyGel by Franmar, fold over plastic sheet to cover. Dwell overnight. 4 hours with shave hooks and rags. Repeat other side. Deactivate with vinegar. submitted by /u/AlsatianND [link] [comments]

A year living in our 1874 home and I still pause at the pocket doors
Mon, 27 Apr 2026 23:54:19Plus cat tax submitted by /u/No-Werewolf-8092 [link] [comments]

My first home. Built in 1875. Thoughts and suggestions welcome.
Mon, 27 Apr 2026 22:32:47Hey all! I was just searching for some century home stuff and stumbled upon this place. I was lucky enough to land this one and, being that it’s my first (and pretty old at that), was wondering if y’all had any tips, suggestions or any other general recommendations for a newbie. Thanks! submitted by /u/Efficient-Bird-5684 [link] [comments]

Built in 1915 - What Style?
Wed, 29 Apr 2026 11:19:37Trying to figure out what style of home she is. It was remodeled several times so the layout inside has changed. AI is saying an American Foursquare but not sure - thoughts? submitted by /u/yelyah1939 [link] [comments]

Any ideas as to what style my 1922 build house would be considered?
Tue, 28 Apr 2026 21:05:22I’m so stumped as to how to identify what style my 1922 build is (in Minneapolis, Minnesota)…the loggia around the front door (not even sure if that’s a correct categorization of the open area) has me stumped, as do the three French doors that open from the living room to the front yard. I used photos from the listing so you can get a general sense of the space (so bright!) but you can see the blueprint layout for a better sense of the logistics. I’ve been told it’s a little unusual that for the age of the home that there aren’t more routes to get to different rooms. For example, if you’re in a bedroom upstairs and want to go to the kitchen, you have to travel through the entryway, through the living room, through the dining room to get there. I toured many older homes when I was house-hunting, and Minneapolis is so special because you can almost pinpoint what neighborhood a house is in by a photo of it alone…lots of craftsman bungalows, Tudor revivals, Victorians, small cap cod styles, all depending on what part of town you’re in. My neighbors both have craftsman style homes that were built a couple years before mine, which makes it particularly hard to slot mine into a category! Any thoughts would be very welcome :) submitted by /u/ConnectGaps [link] [comments]

How would you reside this house?
Wed, 29 Apr 2026 13:44:02Victorian(??) house built in 1904 that we’re considering buying (seeing in person this Saturday). The vinyl siding is damaged from hail anyway and also I do not like it 😬 and I’m just daydreaming about how I might restore some original charm and curb appeal. submitted by /u/peacefulgoat [link] [comments]

Insulation help
Wed, 29 Apr 2026 01:57:28Mid 1800s home in VT, attic was full of vermiculite and knob and tube so we paid somebody to remove the vermiculite, disconnected the K+T, and rewired. They got the vermiculite all out of the main part of the attic, and as much as they could out of the rafter bays where the slope of the roof continues lower than the actual attic (our 2nd floor exterior side walls on the front and back are shorter than the inside walls due to the slope of the roof, if that makes sense) and blocked up all the rafter bays with insulation board foamed into place (to keep any asbestos fibers they couldn’t reach or couldn’t see from being disturbed). They told us when we have the attic insulated, holes could be cut in the insulation board to the size of the blown in insulation pipe, insulation could be blown down the bay, and the holes could be resealed. Our house has sections that meet in an L shape. The horizontal leg of the L has gable vents at either end, the vertical leg has no venting (because one end of the gable meets the longer leg of the L and the end meets the garage). We have a relatively new standing seam metal roof. **edit** forgot to specifically say, no soffit vents, and seems impossible to add any due to vermiculite remnants being down there. My questions - should we be worried about moisture being trapped in the sealed off rafter bays below the “grade” of the attic floor in general? Or specifically if / when we blow insulation into the bays? What about the attic in general? I know we have to keep the gables from being covered, but what about the section with no gables? Will insulation trap moisture that has no airflow to be pushed out? Are there reasons to choose cellulose over fiberglass / bats over blown in (or vice versa) in this situation? submitted by /u/BOCAdventures [link] [comments]
Stair risers help
Tue, 28 Apr 2026 22:40:06Hi all, Sorry English is not my first language, but I'm going to try! We just bought our 1922 house, which has been a little bit neglected. One of the good surprise though was the hardwood under the carpeted stairs. We hired to refinish the step in itself, but with a bit of overconfidence and most of all, a non-infinite budget, I assured my husband that I can do it. I'm now staring at it, and realize I need help. As you can see on the pictures, the staples did damage. Should I just ignore it and refinish like that? I was thinking: sanding with a manual sander, staining and varnish or Shellac? Thanks a lot, it's my first house ever or living in a house period, so I'm way over my head! submitted by /u/liouwssyle [link] [comments]

Soon to close on a 1926 Tudor Revival. 🥰
Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:07:02I’ve always dreamt of owning or living in an historical home. Dreams are coming true in a couple of weeks. (squeeeee!!🤩) The house turns 100 this year and I’m grateful the previous owners maintained the soul of the home. The only thing we wanna change is painting the kitchen cabinets to a more natural wood-like color to match the rest of the craftsman style millwork (cabinets are made of some type of manufactured wood product) and change the backsplash & lil blue window panes to a more complementary color. And that library/office space light fixture for sure! I’d love to hear y’all’s ideas and take on the place. I’m gonna glean all the best ideas, morph them with our own and truly make it a dream come true ☺️ submitted by /u/Boon1Goon [link] [comments]

Steel & future home from 30s
Tue, 28 Apr 2026 02:24:09Not quite 100, but I thought this was too unique not to post for those that appreciate saving original. https://www.redfin.com/MN/Saint-Paul/265-Woodlawn-Ave-55105/home/51095887 submitted by /u/magbear612 [link] [comments]
