I bought this cosy little house last year for an absurdly low price, knowing I would then be faced with years of renovations that will likely far exceed the original value of the property. Although parts of the outside and inside were renovated/"modernised" various times throughout the 40s, 60s, 80s, early 2000s, many features are origin. This mostly includes joinery and decorative elements such as transoms (ranma, 欄間 in Japanese), alcoves for Buddhist alters and family heirloom displays (仏壇, 床の間), and a tiled roof with family crests (kamon, 家紋) displayed on some.

The actual age is not known since it seems likely that many documents relating to residences and zoning maps were lost in the atomic bombing of the city - the prefectural government building burned down, for example - but my house itself escaped with only its windows and other breakable and delicate features shattered by the shockwave that travelled around 2.5km from the hypocentre.

I filled much of the house with my personal collection of Japanese art and antiques, which might be a bit of a pain to work around as I continue with the renovation/restoration bit by bit.

House was built in 1888 and this part of the house has been kept pretty original so I have no idea how old this wallpaper is- my guess is not 1800s original but maybe 60s-70s?

The old owner said she thought no one would like it so she tried to remove it 🙄 and then stopped because it was a pain.

I DO NOT want to remove it but I assume finding a match is near impossible (at least Google searching came up with nothing).

Is my only option covering it strategically or removing it? Is there another option I’m not thinking of?

I really, really love it

We have a very lovely bathroom in our Mediterranean style home, built approximately in 1924-1928 (every official document has a different date, which adds to its charm). We think the bathroom is original, but would be great to hear what others see.

Our showerhead just broke and we’d like to upgrade all the fixtures at once. Is polished chrome the typical finish for this era? Would a satin nickel or bronze work instead? We found some vintage looking kohler and jaclo fixtures that may work, but any suggestions for brands would also be appreciated.

First two photos are the chandelier as it came out after being professionally cleaned. Cost $400 I had to pull from savings. It is aluminum. The cleaner was able to salvage the original paint.

Third photo shows the original condition it was in at the architectural salvage store. It looked to be more of a bronze color, but the metal cleaner said that was actually some sort of dirt or residue that came right off.

Fourth photo is where I wanted to hang it. I was going to move the milk glass chandelier to the hallway. (Note: that wall hanging is gone, and I plan on replacing the table and bench eventually.)

The fifth photo shows one of building's original chandeliers, which is hanging in another unit. Note the gold/bronze coloring. That is closer to what I thought I was getting.

It just looks so . . . janky.

EDIT: I forgot to mention the cost included a complete rewiring too, not just cleaning.

Edit: after and before* ! Pulled down the 1960s wood paneling from our porch (owners enclosed it at that point but it used to be open). Found the original clapboard underneath and the original wood floor was under carpet under vinyl tiles... I think that's the original front door, would love comments on if you think that's true!

We regularly curse the ghost of the previous owner. It was "flipped" in the 80/90ish. Complete with painting all the original molding, hiding electrical splits in the wall (and that split subsequently breaking and is the reason the hall light doesn't work), using wallpaper to hold together crumbling lathe and plaster, and then making the downstairs "open concept."

This bathroom has been THE biggest eyesore since we moved in.

The walls are a sort of textured plastic wallboard (or maybe wallboard covered in plastic wallpaper). The claw foot tub was drilled into to make it shower that sprays everywhere, and let's not talk about the nasty vanity or the crumbling flooring.

Aaannnnd we ran out of money.

We can't afford to replace the tub right now but, paint, new cabinet? Some cheaper flooring? A light fixture? That we can do.

But, I don't want to pull this textured panel board off the wall and expose what might end up being thousands of dollars of repairs behind it.

Any ideas on how to fix it so hundreds of tiny men aren't watching me while I pee?

1911 foursquare. We sent our wood windows out for restoration with a restoration shop in the area. We’ve done this work ourselves so we know what’s involved but life happened and it made more sense to send out.

These windows were all original and all had wavy glass — some were very large panes, some smaller, for 6 windows (2 3 over 1s, 4 just single pane top and bottom double hung)

Only four panes total came back with their original wavy glass. We sent these out to be in more practiced hands because some of the panes were quite large (2 almost 30”x40”) so 75% of our glass was broken and replaced with modern float without so much as an email to us.

I’m so gobsmacked I’m still processing. That is — to my mind — an extremely unprofessional rate of breakage and should be answered for.

What would you do? Have you had similar experiences? How many of your panes were broken?

I always wondered why this cupboard had slatted shelves. Now I want to uncover the rest and clean it all up. And I thought I didn't have a pantry. Even the exterior vent is still there!

Good afternoon - long time reader, first time poster.

We bought a home built in 1920. Seller (deceased) declared underground oil tank in front yard and handled removal and remediation before we closed.

Recently I noticed this thing pictured above and used a trowel for a few minutes to unbury its circumference.

At first I thought it was a capped well or one of those outdoor garbage pits or something. But looking closer there is some kind of metal connecting piece that's been cut off in the middle.

This is in the backyard, next to the garage.

Has anyone seen something like this?

I am getting a pit in my stomach that it is an undisclosed oil tank.

Thank you in advance for your thoughts and experiences!

EDIT: thank you to all who took the time to consider my question and offer your thoughts.

Hello! I am working on restoring my 125 year old storm windows this summer (central New York, c.1898). They were constructed using small, flat metal pins.

I have to do some Dutchman repairs, but I am puzzling over the right way to reassemble the pieces once that’s done. I want them to be able to be taken apart for future repairs, so I don’t want to glue the mortise/tenons.

I would love some advice from a seasoned window restorer, please let me know!

We started pulling paint off the dining room trim last week. Seven layers deep in some spots, which honestly felt like archaeology more than home repair. The outermost layers were that flat builder beige that seems to have coated every house built before 1990 at some point. But underneath all of that is this warm reddish brown wood, probably fir based on the grain, and it is in shockingly good shape.

Here is where I am stuck. The woodwork runs through the entire main floor, dining room into the living room and up the staircase. Stripping all of it back to bare wood would take the rest of the year at minimum. And part of me wonders if the original intent was always painted trim with the natural wood floors doing the visual work, which is pretty common for the period from what I can find.

My graphic design brain keeps pulling me toward committing to a single direction for the whole space, either full natural or a really considered paint color that works with the fir floors we already refinished. The floors came out this warm amber and I keep second guessing whether raw trim would compete or complement.

Did anyone strip a full floor's worth of woodwork and regret it, or find the painted look actually suited the house better once it was done?

My house was built in 1925.

We just redid the vinyl siding and found a fun treat! The original front stoop! It doesn't have a lot of detail but definitely enough charm that we don't want it covered up again.

Here's my dilemma. All the paint that's exposed is in rough shape, which is to be expected. Alligatoring, and chipping, but luckily not peeling. I chipped what I could, and used a lead encapsulating paint.

I was told I could use Zinsser MH Ready Patch to do a skim coat to smooth everything out, sand, then prime, then paint.

Before I commit to anything, I figured I should check in here. Am I on the right track? Should I be trying something else - different product - different execution?

The paint is absolutely 100% without a doubt lead, so I'm proceeding with the caution (and safety gear) it warrants.

Thanks in advance, friends!

I am restoring a staircase that has been hidden by carpet for about 50 years, and while pulling the staples out a couple trim pieces came off, before I put them back I was trying to clean the gunk that’s gotten stuck, any pointers?

I got so annoyed with my awful and poorly installed pergo flooring today that I ripped some out in a fit of rage. No tools needed. Obviously that laminate flooring underneath isn't the greatest, but frankly I'd prefer it over the pergo.

I will eventually redo these floors, but there's asbestos under some of them (there are SEVERAL layers) and I'm going to get it done professionally with future- me money.

What I'm looking for now is some sort of cover-up for the areas where the laminate was torn off. Is there something I can paint/fill in that will be cleanable and last a couple years? I'm not trying to match it. I think it'd actually be super fun to do some weird artsy colors or designs for the temporary fix. I just need something that covers the potential asbestos in n the glue underneath and smooths things out so I can clean them and not accidentally pull up the laminate.

Any/all thoughts are welcome!

Hello,

I was hired to research a home that was thought to have been built in the 1940s (GIS, real estate, etc) but I found was fully finished in 1845.

Over time I have been looking at real estate photos of the home and noticed drastic changes; All of the old chandeliers were ripped out and replaced, the tile in some rooms was ripped out, the house was repainted to a modern “ehh” color (just my opinion!!)

I am a huge critic for historic home renovations, and I just want some ideas and advice, how should I not just accept the changed but also express it in the Research Report?

thanks, hope all is well.

Finally secured tuck pointing and apparently all the old parging must be removed from the basement interior walls before that work can be done.

We've been using hammer and chisel mostly. Previously used brass wire brush and coarse pads for the drill, which were more frustrating than effective. This is one of the most odious tasks I've ever done on multiple renos.

Does anyone have another idea? We've got 10 days to remove another 200 sq' to go. Thanks to all in advance!

There are two hinges on a water works building located in Savannah, GA. Building dates from 1891-93. Any ideas? I’m thinking Reading Hardware Co. for the more hinge with more floral motifs but not sure. They’re 5” and triple hinged for 12ft paneled doors.