Renovating old house

[stasya]

hi all,

A month back, I bought an old old house, first built in 1910, and currently have a carpenter (and lackeys) working on it. Right now its been stripped down to the frame on the inside, it was all plaster and lath, with several re-dos over top of that (some drywall, panelling, wallpaper, a few coats of paint, etc). So that's the project. I'm having a tough time finding other contractors (plumber and electrician namely), but hopefully that'll work out. It's funny, but it seems like half our small town is renovating in some manner, the house beside mine is identical, but they've added on a huge addition that's bigger than the original house, and have been working on that since last summer. I'll probably have questions a little later, but it would be interesting to hear from anyone else who's doing a complete house reno. I live in alberta, canada.

Stasya

[gSimmons]

Hi Stasya,

I started working for a company a few months ago that researches and tests non toxic building and less toxic materials. I work on the Dear Sammi SaferBuilder column before it goes out.

They love old houses since the subfloors are frequently solid wood instead of plywood and the rough carpentry is solid wood instead of pressure treated wood.

I'd love to hear about the building materials that you encounter. What kind of subfloor did you have ?

Thanks, Gazelle

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Worksheets, Environmental Disclosures, Certificates of Good Standing

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[Colbyt]

I have done a couple of them. With a solid level foundation they are better than anything being built today.

Colbyt

[jah213]

I have a turn of the century Victorian. The foundation is rock solid, as in literally made of rocks, and solid. And yes, the subfloor is wood, which has been refinished and is being used for the "real" floor now. The wood is gorgeous; prettier than most of what I see in new hardwood floors. At some time, someone closed in the old side porch with big sheets of glass and turned it into a spa room. Unfortunately, the glass is not removable and turns it into a bake oven in the summer. My first big project will be turning it into a 3-season room. Luckily, they kept much of the character of the old side porch, so that will be the theme.

Jo Ann