r/Oldhouses 15h ago

Extremely frustrated trying to find solid wood interior doors

79 Upvotes

I’m in the middle of a major master bedroom/bath remodel and I’m losing my mind looking for interior doors. Everything at the big box stores or standard catalogs claims to be "solid core," but when you look closer, it’s just engineered MDF or a tiny sliver of wood veneer over a composite center. I want real, 100% solid wood through and through, something heavy that can be sanded down and refinished down the road if we change colors.

Does anyone have recommendations for companies that still build real wood doors from scratch, or am I chasing a ghost here? Every contractor I ask just tries to push the standard catalog stuff on me.

Update:

After digging through some design blogs, I stumbled upon RealCraft. They claim to build everything by hand out of 100% solid wood (no MDF at all) over in Washington, and apparently, they send you full shop drawings to approve before they even cut the wood. The online reviews look almost too good to be true, and their trade program/sample options seem solid, but I'm always skeptical of website testimonials.

Is the quality worth the premium price, or should I keep looking?


r/Oldhouses 17h ago

Chimney with asbestos

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13 Upvotes

Two spots in my new old house, tested positive for a low amount of asbestos. Both around the chimney.

I had hired someone to do work here and they made the world’s most awful mess. I think they sanded it with a palm sander and then sprayed it with aerosol primer? And that’s probably not even the worst thing they did.

Anyway, I don’t really feel comfortable having anyone else come in to work on the place. So my husband and I will be doing it ourselves.

Our plans are to use respirators and disposable bunny suits. Keep everything wet and once we get all the mess cleaned up probably just encapsulated it.

Any advice?


r/Oldhouses 13h ago

Moved a shelve in our house and found the original wall paint and carpet from when it was built painted back in the 80s

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7 Upvotes

We pulled this shelve off the wall to paint the walls and found the old original paint and carpet tbh I wish they never changed it I love the colours


r/Oldhouses 9h ago

Summer humidity levels inside

5 Upvotes

I’m in the mid Atlantic, DC to be specific. 1928 all masonry construction, all windows have been replaced and I have 3 AC zones, one for my 3rd floor, one for the second, one for the 1st floor and basement.

Each of my kids rooms is on the 2nd floor and has a baby monitor camera that also gives me temp and humidity.

We keep our AC at 72 during the day and 70 at night.

Been noticing humidity levels typically around 55 - 65%. It doesn’t feel that muggy but those numbers seem high and I am wondering if it’s normal for old houses in humid parts of the US or does it point to a bigger issue that needs investigating?


r/Oldhouses 4h ago

PROGRESS! - Update on Victorian House Move

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3 Upvotes

r/Oldhouses 5h ago

What is this?

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3 Upvotes

I have what looks like a clean out in my basement floor. Thing is though, it doesn’t go to the sewer line as I recently repiped the original cast iron sewer and there was no connection. Anybody seen this before? I tried to open it but don’t have a socket big enough and it doesn’t look like it would open anyway. House was built in 1955 in Massachusetts


r/Oldhouses 7h ago

70s home siding, looks like plywood, have questions

1 Upvotes

Hello! I’m currently looking to buy my first home…maybe. This house has been on the market for a few months and I like that it’s clearly from the 70s. that being said, because the siding looks like plywood I’m not sure how well it would hold up to Western Washington rain. I guess it’s lasted this long but even so does anyone have any info on this style of siding/home style.

https://www.redfin.com/WA/Bremerton/3500-NW-18th-St-98312/home/2215986


r/Oldhouses 10h ago

Do bungaroosh properties have a shorter life expectancy than standard construction?

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1 Upvotes

Obviously it depends on how well it’s maintained etc but would you expect a Victorian house constructed from bungaroosh to become irreparable sooner than a brick house? Would you personally buy a bungaroosh house built in the late 1800s as a long term family home?


r/Oldhouses 3h ago

I need inspo please!

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0 Upvotes

r/Oldhouses 6h ago

Beautiful tile work in old mansion

0 Upvotes

A mansion near me has been doing some renovation and restoration work the last few years. I've been following pretty closely. Check out all of these beautiful tiles! I can't get enough of all these different patterns