So, we just bought a house built in 1927...

[dolo amber]

Hasn't been touched decor-wise since the 70s. I'm goin' in with a sledgehammer...it's not that important to know what's behind the walls before I go at 'em, is it? :silly:

I keed, I keed...However, you will be seeing a lot of me in this forum in the near future, I suspect. :D :hi:

[Stinky The Clown]

1. Congrats on the new house!

We **love** houses from that era. Is a lot of the original detail still there? I shudder when I hear of 70s-era remodels. That was a time famous for tearing out all the value that lies in the details.

As for going into the walls with a sledge ... have at it! Just wear an electrically insulated raincoat! :)

[Digit]

2. Asbestos and lead based paint....

Read up on precautions you may wish to take.
Older homes are fabulous, so don't take that wrong.

[Warpy]

5. Also consult an engineer to find out which walls are bearing walls

or you'll have the roof down on the top of your head if you don't brace the area well and bring in some engineered lumber beams to support the structure when the wall is gone.

Also be careful of wiring. Some of the houses that old still have BX wiring, and the insulation crumbles into dust leaving exposed copper if you look at it wrong, creating a fire hazard.

My house was built in 1952, a very old house for this part of the country (urban New Mexico). I lucked out on the wiring, which had been updated in the 70s. I had holes in walls and ceilings to patch, but no walls to come out, not yet.

Thank goodness I'd already made my mistakes on slum apartments in Boston!

[AutumnMist]

3. Many Homes Built

in the 1920's have wonderful architectural points. If you have some of the original molding and floors (any exposed wood? Tile?)try to restore the best points and take the home back to the original beauty. Strip whats on the walls from the 70's (paneling, etc) and start from that base. If its still not something you like, get the sledgehammer out and do your do so to speak. ;)

[AutumnMist]

4. P.S.

Be careful of load bearing walls and walled over windows. I know it sounds weird...but a friend of mine took out a wall with a beautiful arched window that had been walled over sometime in the 60's. Good luck!

[MissB]

6. Congrats on the new house!

I think it is a good thing that your house hasn't been redone since the 70's. There will probably be far less layers to peel back.

We have a 1922 home, and it was last updated sometime in the late 60's. For the most part, that is a good thing.

We did find some old (1920s? 1930s?) wallpaper in several rooms. The commercial spray-on wallpaper removers worked okay, but the paper didn't come down as easily as the more modern papers do. The little tiger scorer thing didn't do diddly.

Plumbing and wiring have been the biggest issues for us. We knew going in that we'd have to update much of it, but it is a chore.

We've torn out whole walls in order to insulate the house, and we've been pretty fearless taking off siding to wrap the house. Old homes aren't terribly well insulated. Some of the insulating we've found is pretty pathetic.

[Jersey Devil]

7. Biggest job may be rewiring as you go along

I assume at some point they rewired this house or you will have a big job ahead of you. I believe in 1927 they were still using knob and tube wiring, very dangerous and certainly very fragile and brittle by now if not changed. A good friend of mine bought a home about that age and assumed all the knob and tube had been disconnected, but when he tested the lines some was still operable.

Just be careful of any wires you might find back there and don't assume all the old wiring has been disconnected. Some might be live.

[murphymom]

8. If you will be replacing or restoring the lighting fixtures

to the original period, here is a site that might be helpful:

http://www.rejuvenation.com/

We visited their store in Portland and they've got some really interesting stuff, unfortunately, nothing particular that would work in our house (Pacific Northwest Contemporary).