Sergeant Schultz, post: 414472, member: 315 wrote: Speaking of "other residents" - before SWMBO & I moved in to our War-of-Northern-Aggression era house (which was built by a War-of-Northern-Aggression wounded veteran) there was the usual work to be done, cleaning, painting, papering, &tc.
We both would almost notice, or not quite catch out of the corner of our eye, motion on entering or leaving a room. Objects laying around would be moved. Doors left open, we'd find closed. Oddly, though, neither of us ever felt anything like malevolence. Now, I'm 'way more skeptical than the next guy (while SWMBO is a true believer) but I will admit there was definitely somethin' weird goin' on. We still have the occasional "what was that?" moment, but it seems that we've been deemed harmless, because we've been allowed to stay.
I have a cousin that purchase the 1890 era funeral parlor in a very small town in Northern Oklahoma to remodel as his residence. As the funeral home it had burned in the '40s, been rebuilt and spent a number of years as an insurance office. It was a large two story Victorian style frame structure with a basement. The previous owners had taken lightly of the stories people in town had about the old place and told my cousin they had never experienced anything strange.
One evening (after dark, of course) he was there by himself working on the remodel and heard a ghastly (and almost clich̩) "OOOoooooOOOOoooo...". He said it sent chills down his back and he had to leave. He was afraid to tell anybody. It seemed to come from the basement...and that was the "morgue" area of the house when it had been a funeral parlor.
The next day the plumbers were there with him and they all heard it again. One of the workers investigated...
There was a floor drain with a dry trap in the basement and when the wind blew it "whistled" up the cast iron vent that went to the roof. He said it sounded like a pipe organ.
I would've left also....
There's a lot to be said for not having neighbors breathing down your neck. I'm on about 7 acres, but I only wish I had a pond or creek flowing through the property. I have a stagnant mud hole out back where the wood frogs breed in spring. They make quite the racket but I wouldn't trade them for the sound of traffic. I did a fair share of remodeling in a past life, but nothing with anything close to the history of what your looking at. My biggest concern would be basic structural and foundation, never know what I might find when I start tearing out walls and pulling up floors. The thing about remodels on older buildings is you have to count on the things you didn't count on. Derek's question regarding a heat loop isn't a bad one if you can utilize that pond as a heat sink. Could save you a lot of money over using oil to heat with, assuming the pond's not too shallow. Looks like a little slice of heaven.
My brother bought a mid 18th century home in Spring Valley, NY when he was starting his family. There was a lot of work. He set up a wood working shop. Beautiful property. Main house. Two carriage houses. One with living quarters above.
Anyway...those small triangular windows on the addition are so tedious to paint and clean.
My brother's house had a few bay windows with that style on the side windows. Also some full windows too.
My house here was built in
1890's. Lot of upkeep and I wish I was 20 Years younger to deal with it.
Do you believe in ghosts? :scream:
From streetview it looks to be a hidden slice of paradise.
It will go much better if you remodel before you move in.
Built the wife her dreamhouse 9yrs ago and found out it is becoming a crime center in a gated community.
Now waiting to get her into a smaller house that cost twice as much to be in a better school district and more family friendly environment.
I would rather renovate my grandfather's house that was built at the end of WWI and will soon be 100yrs old.
Instead of the neighbor's house being less than 10ft away, it would be a 1/4 mi away.
:clink:
DP, Make sure the roof is structurally sound and doesn't have any leaks. Whatever the problem, if any, fix the roof first!! 😎
BeetleJuice, BeetleJuice, BeetleJuice!
A house that old in California would be an adobe with short doors and variable height floors.
Andy Bruner, post: 414474, member: 1123 wrote: Are you still in Lee County?
The house I'm referring to is in Lee County on Cedric Street.
Don,
My wife is an amateur house historian, and could probably help you date the various additions to the house. If you really want to get into it, you can use tree rings in the wood to date when the logs were cut. On a house that old, a lot of the structural members were only flattened on 1-3 sides, with the original bark edge showing. I'm not sure who provides that service, but she probably can point you in the right direction if you wanted to do that.
As far as This Old House goes - I had a client years ago who went through the process of submitting his house to the show, and getting selected for a project. He decided not to go that route because TOH basically takes over the project, and runs it on a television production schedule. The homeowner has little say in many of the detailed decisions, particularly choice of materials and brand/model of heating, air conditioning, etc. installed.
www.capecodgravestones.com/brewstersears.html
Do I believe in ghosts? I'm probably going to learn to!
FL/GA, the roof is the first project, but actually in conjunction with the SW corner foundation/floor joists issue. The attic is easily accessed and the beams are well exposed. Probably half of them are victims of powder post beetle, but the other half are still sound. The 1965 restoration did a lot of structural work on the roof structure. It may be possible to re-shingle the roof and brace the existing structural supports. We're examining that currently. The house is set up so that we can live in the east half (the newer half) while the stabilization work is going on in the old part.
We do have until 2/23 to decline based on the home inspection report so we're taking that time to assemble a punch list and budget. I hope that we can make it work!
Oh, about the ground water table, and the pond. The ground water table is very shallow. The old well is in the "basement" (really what we call a beehive) and you can dip your bucket in and fill it up. There is a sump pump that runs periodically draining into the nearby low area.
The pond? I am not sure how deep it is, it's called "Muddy Pond" although I haven't found an official name yet. I think that it's not deep at all, but eventually I hope to answer that question.
You're a far braver man than I am, DP.
foggyidea, post: 414553, member: 155 wrote: www.capecodgravestones.com/brewstersears.html
Do I believe in ghosts? I'm probably going to learn to!
FL/GA, the roof is the first project, but actually in conjunction with the SW corner foundation/floor joists issue. The attic is easily accessed and the beams are well exposed. Probably half of them are victims of powder post beetle, but the other half are still sound. The 1965 restoration did a lot of structural work on the roof structure. It may be possible to re-shingle the roof and brace the existing structural supports. We're examining that currently. The house is set up so that we can live in the east half (the newer half) while the stabilization work is going on in the old part.
We do have until 2/23 to decline based on the home inspection report so we're taking that time to assemble a punch list and budget. I hope that we can make it work!
Oh, about the ground water table, and the pond. The ground water table is very shallow. The old well is in the "basement" (really what we call a beehive) and you can dip your bucket in and fill it up. There is a sump pump that runs periodically draining into the nearby low area.
The pond? I am not sure how deep it is, it's called "Muddy Pond" although I haven't found an official name yet. I think that it's not deep at all, but eventually I hope to answer that question.
Don,
With the ground water table being very shallow. What flood zone are you in? How close to the the 50% rule will you be? For those of you who do not deal with the 50% rule it means the difference in regulations between a 5 gal. bucket of EPA matter hitting the fan and a 55 gal. drum of EPA matter hitting the fan. Then there is the LiMWA Line (it turns AE Zones into VE Zones) . How is the People's Republic dealing with that? King Andrew's Kingdom just added the Limwa Line to the Building Code last fall.
 (1024x791).jpg "FM25001C0582J (2) (1024x791).jpg")
Floyd, The NE corner of the house is in the AE13 zone, just barely. We have talked with an Insurance agent and are going to get private flood insurance at about 20% of the FEMA cost.
What is the LiMWA line? I am not familiar with that! Also, we are not approaching the 50% mark with the work that we're doing. The property is in the middle left of the photo, that little high spot above the pond.
LiMWA line is going across the mid part of your FIRM. LiMWA = Limit of Moderate Wave Action.
Gotcha,Thanks.
This might or might not be of interest, depending on the circumstances.
The HUD 203(k) program allows you to borrow the purchase money and the construction money at the same time, on FHA terms. No higher-interest construction loans, and only one closing. Lenders that handle these loans can be found through links on the HUD site--
https://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src ="/program_offices/housing/sfh/203k"
Thanks RPlumb, I'll look into it. I have already forwarded the link on to SWMBO.
gschrock, post: 414478, member: 556 wrote: ...but sounds cool - with a pond and a crick, and some space.
It's all about the land. You can always add on to, or renovate, the house; not so much the property.
I've been trying to convince my wife we need this place, but she's yet to fall for it 🙁
https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/17301-Sabillasville-Rd-Sabillasville-MD-21780/36825719_zpid/
James Fleming, post: 414937, member: 136 wrote: It's all about the land. You can always add on to, or renovate, the house; not so much the property.
I've been trying to convince my wife we need this place, but she's yet to fall for it 🙁
https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/17301-Sabillasville-Rd-Sabillasville-MD-21780/36825719_zpid/
That is a beautiful place. A good dog, a reliable tractor mower and a larger LP tank and you'd be set for the duration.
