Home Improvement Stack Exchange
Home Improvement Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [old-house]

306 questions
26
votes
5 answers

What should be done before using a fireplace that has not been used in decades?

We are moving into a house with a fire-place. The current tenants (friends of ours), have been living there just short of 2 decades, and have never used it once. The house is about 90 years old, so it certainly saw a lot of use once upon a time. I…
Frames Catherine White
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9 answers

What is this pipe coming out of the basement floor?

I’m finishing an old (1930) empty basement and have a random pipe coming out of the floor. ⁠I have no clue what it is or what it went to as it sits alone in the space. ⁠It is metallic (tested with a magnet). ⁠It’s currently capped off and did have…
Aaron
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20
votes
1 answer

What is this balloon with "eyes" printed on it, hanging from the eave on this house?

I have seen this, or something very similar on various houses in the city I live in. It is rare enough to be remarkable, but common enough to make me think it is a "thing". Any ideas?
zeeple
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17
votes
10 answers

How do I drywall when the studs are not flush?

I have a problem with my bathroom. I recently had someone come and switch the door from the kitchen side to the other side while redoing my kitchen. He did a great job and the kitchen looks great. That being said he used new studs to re-frame the…
Ryan Brokaw
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16
votes
6 answers

Old ceiling light fixture with 9 wires (5 black/4 white)-how to install a new fixture?

I am trying to install a new light fixture, but there are 9 wires--I wasn't able to see how it was connected and I'm pretty sure it was wrong to begin with because bulbs kept burning out right away. Initially the whites were together, 3 of the black…
Rachel H
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15
votes
4 answers

How do I self-repair a section of crumbling basement wall, or should I hire a professional?

How do I self-repair a section of crumbling basement wall, or should I hire a professional? Background: How I discovered it: I removed some exposed blue foam insulation from my basement walls to comply with my home insurer's request (part of the…
user138192
9
votes
2 answers

What kind of drain pipe appears to be clay?

The photo below shows a venting stack that was disconnected. The stack runs from the basement to the attic and out through the roof. Which means it's perfect to pull new water, gas, and vent lines up through it. It was probably part of a gravity…
MFMauceri
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9
votes
2 answers

What is this orange yellow substance on my wooden studs inside walls?

There's some kind of orange yellowish looking substance that forms into tiny bubbles (it looks sticky, but I haven't touched it). It seems to be on my floor joists and wall studs. The house is from the 1960s. Is this something to worry about?…
DMR
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9
votes
5 answers

What are the dangers of hidden boxes?

I've been remodeling my 1924 house, and have been slowly re-wiring, and splitting up an old "mega circuit" where half the house is all wired into one circuit. In the process of doing so I discovered many hidden boxes buried in the basement ceiling. …
user30371
8
votes
3 answers

Replacing a light switch in a 1964 house

I'm new to this so Warning dumb questions ahead. I need to replace a few old light switches and the first light is controlled by an upstairs and downstairs switch. When I opened the area the switch had three wires connected red, black and white. Is…
J G
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8
votes
2 answers

Why does home siding not extend to the ground?

I have noticed that the siding of single family homes in Colorado, at least my made-in-the-70's neighborhood, does not extend down to or into the ground. Why is this? Why not have siding (vinyl, brick, stucco, etc) go into the ground? I seem to…
PipperChip
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7
votes
1 answer

Anyone know what this wire sticking out of my wall is?

Moved into a new (but old) house recently and found this sticking out of my wall. Any idea what it is? Old telephone or radio wiring assembly?
Vince
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6
votes
2 answers

What is this metal bar in my 1950s electrical box?

I recently bought a house and am in the process of replacing all the ungrounded outlets with GFCI outlets. I was able to install one correctly in a bedroom, but there are two others that I wasn't able to install. There is some sort of metal bar that…
Tom Pridham
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5
votes
2 answers

How can I paint paneled walls covered in wallpaper?

I bought a house built in the 1940s (midwest US) and it appears that most internal walls are plywood and not drywall. This explains why the previous owner put up wallpaper in almost every room instead of painting. We are starting with one bedroom,…
woodaye5
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5
votes
6 answers

Can I increase the size of my floor register to improve cooling in my bedroom?

My house was built in '61 and was 100% electric with no air conditioning. At a later point (we think 60s-70s) the electric baseboard heating was removed and a forced air system was retrofitted. We use that same basic system with a newer (2010)…
Ukko
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