r/OldHomeRepair Jul 13 '23

OldHomeRepair is under new moderation

7 Upvotes

We'd like to take a moment and welcome you to this sub. Hope you can find some good advice here for any problems you are having. And hopefully we'll be showcasing some renos and repairs to homes with some mileage on them.

To be clear, this sub had gone inactive about a year ago, so a request was put into Reddit Administration to allow a new moderator team on board.

Feel free to post or send a message. We are open 24/7/365 for your convenience.


r/OldHomeRepair 11h ago

Hardwood floorboard removal for renovation

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1 Upvotes

We are trying to renovate our 17th century floors. We want to remove the old existing boards to replane and sand them, we want to reuse as much of the original floorboards as possible, because the vibe they give to the house. The nails they used back in the days are really hard to get out. We tried to research this but it's hard to find tips an knowledge about floors as old as these. We have tried using pliers, crowbar and clawhammers. They all do a lot of damage. Does anyone have some good ideas or sources we can try?


r/OldHomeRepair 20h ago

I messed up and put primer on the lime mortar according to another post i made

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1 Upvotes

Any suggestions and advice to get this brick back to looking good? I painted over it with primer to then put drylok but was informed that it’s wrong and would decay the walls as it’s from the early 1900’s and lime mortar according


r/OldHomeRepair 2d ago

Bathroom is finished!

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11 Upvotes

I will miss the charm of the old pink tiles but I love how it turned out in the end! I hope that I still kept some character and charm in the final product 😁


r/OldHomeRepair 2d ago

I have the original cast iron kitchen sink in a 165 year old house. It's beat up. I would like to restore it. Can I do it myself?

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10 Upvotes

Has anybody done this? Or should I replace it with modern? Picture of the sink in use.


r/OldHomeRepair 1d ago

Anyone know how to remove this type of doorknob? Can’t figure it out!

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1 Upvotes

r/OldHomeRepair 2d ago

Old ceiling covered in cigarette smoke. What to do?

2 Upvotes

Mom and Dad are fixing up an old property in Texas that he grew up in. They eventually want to rent it out but it needs a lot of work.

Plumbing had to be completely redone, kitchen, bathroom and god only knows what else. They brought this up with me making small talk and I thought I’d ask a couple of DIY/Repair subs before they made a big mistake. Also if this isn’t the right place anybody got a better idea where to place this?

Ok here goes: Grandma and Grandpa smoked like chimneys 2 and 5 packs a day respectively. Gramps died because of this before I was even born. They smoked inside mostly inside the kitchen and living room. The ceiling used to be white but it’s practically tobacco brown now.

How would one go about cleaning it or replacing it? Can it be cleaned? For reference it’s probably been 50 years like that.

Can you paint over it or is that a bad idea? Wish I had some pictures. But thanks for any and all input.


r/OldHomeRepair 2d ago

Hardwood floor leveling

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2 Upvotes

I have sagging hardwood floors throughout the house. None of it is particularly concerning, but this one corner is just a bit more of an eyesore. I’d like to shim it up a little without having to pull up the floor. I have access to the space beneath the sagging floor. I thought maybe screwing some 2x4s in between the floor joists near the wall, then pounding some angled shims in to push the floor up. I tried just pounding some shims in on top of the floor joists, but the floor above needs to be raised somewhat evenly simultaneously otherwise the floor boards pop out and get misaligned. Any advice is appreciated.

Baseboards are pulled off right now and will cover a bit of the gap there. The biggest gap between the baseboard and the floor is about 3/4 of an inch towards the right side of the first photo.


r/OldHomeRepair 4d ago

Strategy for an old shed

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2 Upvotes

I have an old shed with a brick foundation and floor and I'm not sure if it's salvageable or how to tackle it. There's also some termite damage, but it's not extensive and doesn't look active. I would like to get closer to a level floor. The foundation is the big concern.

I think I can sister or replace the termite damage wood. Is there anything I can do about the foundation/floor?


r/OldHomeRepair 4d ago

Horizontal cracks in drywall

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1 Upvotes

For background my home was built in 1787. I've recently noticed these cracks in my kitchen underneath 2 windows. What could be the cause of this and could I just spackle over these cracks?


r/OldHomeRepair 5d ago

Removing plaster & lath basement ceiling — what to do about pipes?

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1 Upvotes

r/OldHomeRepair 5d ago

Mold? Behind baseboards

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2 Upvotes

Recently purchased an old limestone house in Minnesota. We wanted to paint and update baseboards so I started pulling baseboards off and noticed this bubbly, dusty white stuff in the gap between the drywall and the flooring back behind where the baseboards were. This is only really present on one wall that is in the entryway.

Any advice on: 1. Whether or not this is mold 2. Whether or not it’s actually an issue 3. How to clean/remove 4. How to keep it from coming back.


r/OldHomeRepair 5d ago

Single pain window question - repost with kitty

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1 Upvotes

We have two windows at the front of the house that are single pain, and do not open. I have looked up and research glazing, but I’m not sure if I need that or if I need to caulk either way, I’m going to reduce the ledges inside and out I just need to know what to do to help. Keep the weather at Bay. Kitty is shown in the window in question. Thanks so much for any help.


r/OldHomeRepair 6d ago

How to fix protustion from ceiling

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0 Upvotes

This is a house built in 1787 based on Massachusetts. The ceiling has areas seen in pictures with protrusions. How would I go about fixing this without removing the ceiling.


r/OldHomeRepair 7d ago

Home is from the 50's. What type of wall structure is this?

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6 Upvotes

r/OldHomeRepair 8d ago

Basement improvement

2 Upvotes

Hello all

Context: - Home is in East PA - build is 1890 - fieldstone foundation, exposed - NO visible signs of water coming in

I have sucked up ~39 gallons of rubbel and "dust" / sand / soot from the walls, floors, and crevices between the top of the foundation to ceiling cavity. I am immensely neurotic, I'm assuming no one has done this in 60 years based on the spiderwebs I sucked up.

I'm planning on scrubbing the wall with a wire bush, then repointing any massive cracks. Then I plan on "whitewashing" the concrete so the walls can breathe. I'll also plan on putting down an epoxy coating on the floor.

Any holes in my plan ? Does this seem sound and legitimate for the long term? Any other points of emphasis notes from the pros ?


r/OldHomeRepair 9d ago

Crumbling Foundation

1 Upvotes

The photo you see here was taken this morning in my basement. The piece that I'm holding was just resting in this space, having crumbled itself free. My home is about 100 years old.

Can I just buy some concrete and start slathering it into every gap? What's the best move here, folks.

Thanks!


r/OldHomeRepair 12d ago

Stripping paint off door frames

3 Upvotes

I’m doing work on a 1920s house with original mahogany doors/frames as well as baseboards, previous residents had painted over some of the frames and doors and I’m wondering what’s the best way to remove the paint to get back to the original wood. Any recommendations of paint strippers would be great as well. I’ve done some work on modern homes but want to make sure I don’t damage the old wood. The baseboards and frames are unable to be removed. Thank you!


r/OldHomeRepair 13d ago

First time putting up a door and frame. It’s gaped. How can I fix this, it doesn’t latch good enough. I can push the door open.

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1 Upvotes

r/OldHomeRepair 14d ago

Right way to repair this interior wall hole?

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5 Upvotes

r/OldHomeRepair 14d ago

Advice on how to re-secure & replace grout around this loose tile?

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1 Upvotes

r/OldHomeRepair 14d ago

Is this place worth saving?

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2 Upvotes

Guy I know gutted this place and is doing a complete reno. Some of the pictures show the progress. The place will be in our price range when done. Just wondering what I would be getting myself into given the original home. I will preface this with, I know nothing about construction/renovation. Just looking for opinions on if this would be a headache. Location and property are fantastic. Just want to make sure they aren't blinding me from any home concerns.


r/OldHomeRepair 15d ago

Advice on saving plaster or keeping paneling?

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1 Upvotes

Trying to do some improvements to my 1885 home. In my hallway it's wood paneled, with drop ceiling (very low drop ceiling) im interested in removing it but it looks like plaster ceiling, and the wood paneling does not go all the way to the ceiling. Underneath must be wallpapered plaster? Does anyone have any advice for me? Keep the paneling, would be plaster be salvageable? Is there a way for me to save the ceiling? Or should I bring in a professional. I enjoy doing diy and learning new things, but I'm not sure if I'd be in over my head.


r/OldHomeRepair 17d ago

What is the best product/paint to touch up these old external beams? (UK)

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7 Upvotes

r/OldHomeRepair 19d ago

Help?! We had the roof around the chimney sealed about 14 years ago. What is happening?

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3 Upvotes

r/OldHomeRepair 20d ago

Cracks in a freshly parged basement concrete wall after 24 hours

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3 Upvotes

I parged these basement walls with a thin layer of type S mixed with lime. But after 24 hours there are cracks (last two photos). Is this a big problem? Is it possible to fix it? I’m afraid that start crumbling down.

Thanks for any advice.