Show us your vintage home!

[Barman]

absolutely fantastic. Does it work? If not, it is probably not that hard or expensive to get it wired to work with a modern land line (just fyi, as we recently inquired about having a 1920s phone wired to work with our building's intercom system).

Unfortunately, it's not compatible with our modern land lines. How much did the transformation on your 1920s phone cost?

 

[Fading Fast]

Unfortunately, it's not compatible with our modern land lines. How much did the transformation on your 1920s phone cost?

We priced it but haven't done it yet - we're renovating a 1927 apartment and have 1000 balls in the air, but we will do it - but were quoted $100 - $150 based on what he sees when he gets inside. And that is a NYC price, which is always ridiculously high. Good luck, if you can find a reasonable local electrician, it might be less than you think.

 

[Panadora]

Our house isn't really vintage, it's a classic suburbian French house from the mid-60s, but we've been trying to decorate our living room in a kind of "mid-century modern" style, within our tight budget and limited knowledge. Colonial armchairs, bistro chairs, antique chinese furniture, old Moroccan garden table, old French telephone...

I especially like the way you have integrated the ('problematic') stereo with the rest of the interior - looks very nice!

 

[Barman]

Thanks! I'm not done with the stereo yet, though.
I'm working on hiding the cables.

 

[Stearmen]

This is a job I have wanted to do since I bought the house! Every time I was headed out the front door, there it was, a bright shinny brass sore thumb! I finally found an original Eastlake hinge to match the other two. The originals have a removable pin, unlike the replicas. Notice both sides have decorations, don't get that in new houses, shame too! Now I can sleep again.

 

[1mach1]

Very nice, Stearmen! As a man in the door industry, I can appreciate the work! :eusa_clap

 

[Stearmen]

Very nice, Stearmen! As a man in the door industry, I can appreciate the work! :eusa_clap

Thanks!

 

[Fading Fast]

Strearmen, those original hinges are fantastic - incredible detail. That's one of the things that makes a vintage home so special.

 

[Stearmen]

On the flip side of old houses, I spent most of the day in the little attic, sorting out the old Knob & Tube wiring. I finally called in the pros, just to hard to run the new wire. Hate to spend the money, but, it is a safety issue! At least I was able to trace the wires, making their job easier, and yes, it was reflected in the price.

 

[jamespowers]

On the flip side of old houses, I spent most of the day in the little attic, sorting out the old Knob & Tube wiring. I finally called in the pros, just to hard to run the new wire. Hate to spend the money, but, it is a safety issue! At least I was able to trace the wires, making their job easier, and yes, it was reflected in the price.

I am sure the electrician appreciated that

 

[AtomicEraTom]

I closed on my first house, today. It was originally built in 1933, and appears to have been added onto more times than Carter has liver pills. The final addition being the master bedroom, sometime in the 50s or 60s by the looks of it.

Anyways, here's a couple photos of the outside. The outside is currently the worst part, but with spring just around the corner, I will be fixing that.
My parents bought this house last year, and I've been living here since July. We have remodeled the entire inside, gutting most rooms to the studs (which had been done in 1996, prior) and starting over. Not much original was left to salvage, unfortunately.

 

[dh66]

Congratulations Tom! Nice looking place.

 

[Bamaboots]

Like it Tom. I see some uses for those terraced beds out front.

 

[Fading Fast]

On the flip side of old houses, I spent most of the day in the little attic, sorting out the old Knob & Tube wiring. I finally called in the pros, just to hard to run the new wire. Hate to spend the money, but, it is a safety issue! At least I was able to trace the wires, making their job easier, and yes, it was reflected in the price.

Buying old homes (our recently purchased coop is from 1927/8) is definitely not the least expensive way to do homeownership. I just paid a meaningful amount of money to have an asbestos inspection and will soon spend more for a lead inspection as, in NYC, you can't do any work in an apartment as old as ours without both (and a whole lot more).

We saved up a long time to do this, bought a smaller apartment than we were told we could all so that we could spend more to restore it and absorb the unknowns (like your wiring issue) that we know will come up. I have a relative who can't understand why we bought an "old" apartment when for the same money we could have gotten a bigger shiny new one.

It's all about what one finds important.

 

[Fading Fast]

Tom, congratulations - it looks great. I am excited to see you make the outside look even better. And would love to see what you did with the inside.

 

[jamespowers]

I like the solarium at the back of the house. That will be useful I am sure.

 

[AtomicEraTom]

Thank you, all!

I plan on a lot of landscaping and flower planting this year. I'm also thinking of putting windows in the porch, to make it into a 3-season smoking area.

I started posting pics in this thread, about the house project itself. I have many more, but haven't gotten around to putting them up yet:
http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?80894-What-s-Kept-Me-Away-These-Past-Few-Months

 

[jamespowers]

Thank you, all!

I plan on a lot of landscaping and flower planting this year. I'm also thinking of putting windows in the porch, to make it into a 3-season smoking area.

I started posting pics in this thread, about the house project itself. I have many more, but haven't gotten around to putting them up yet:
http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?80894-What-s-Kept-Me-Away-These-Past-Few-Months

Thumbs up to the smoking area.
I am still bummed about the beer wall though.

 

[AtomicEraTom]

Thumbs up to the smoking area.
I am still bummed about the beer wall though.

Bummed about it how?

 

[jamespowers]

Bummed about it how?

You walled it up didn't you?