Y'all were so kind to me when I posted my sofa, here's another view of the same room watching one of my Halloween favs

I discovered a pocket door in my 1905 Seattle home but I cannot slide it out. It’s a single door and looks to still be on the overhead track. I tried to remove the screws on the door plate but it did not easily come off. What should I try in order to slide this out?

Discovered a leak from the back of our old bathroom faucet yesterday. No big deal, just replace it! Ordered a new faucet off Amazon and waited for it to arrive today.

No one use the sink until we replace the faucet! You can use the drain to dump things down if needed, though.

Water seems to be dripping into the first floor bathroom from the second floor bathroom?

Ah! There’s gaps between the floor and the wall because the second floor bathroom floor is sinking slightly. No problem, we’re planning on remodeling the bathroom in the next year or so anyway. For now we’ll just caulk the gap and fix the leak!

Unscrew the 1930s pedestal sink from the wall to access the faucets and caulk the floor behind it.

Oops! The entire drain assembly is broken off from inside the pedestal because the only thing physically supporting the sink was the plumbing. Whoever worked on it last installed a drain pipe that was slightly too long and didn’t think the actual sink not resting on the pedestal was a problem!

There’s standing water inside the pedestal, and anything you’ve attempted to drain in the last who knows how long has just been flung into the abyss of your 128 year old lath and plaster wall cavity!

No problem, we can fix the plumbing.

Hey, so, those vintage silver faucets you loved when you bought the house? Father Time has seen to it that they are permanently affixed to the sink now. They’re not budging. Yes, we tried a hammer and a chisel. The chisel broke. Long live the King or whatever.

No problem, I was wanting a little extra storage while we waited for the remodel and switching to a cheap vanity sink will help prevent it from rocking on the uneven floors and possibly snapping again. Off to the hardware store we go.

Nice job picking out the millennial grey and white vanity it really matches the historical vibe you’ve been aiming for. Anyway, that faucet you bought off Amazon doesn’t fit this millennial beauty because the holes are too close together or something.

Alright. Well, I will just go back to the hardware store and buy one that fits the sink and then return the Amazon one. No problem.

Right, so… the faucet fits the sink. Good job on that one. Problem is, though, all your old lines are for the old size of lines like your old faucet had. These new modern faucets are too big. You’ll need an adapter for those to fit.

I’ll go back to the hardware store and buy new water lines with the right sized adapters to fit the modern faucet I guess.

Great! It all fits!

Awesome, so it works perfectly now?

No. Your exposed vintage copper plumbing caked in 100 years of landlord special… yeah, they don’t allow the vanity to sit flush with the wall and there’s a gap between the wall and the vanity.

….but does the water run through the sink without splashing all over everything?

Yeah, you can just see the ugly unpainted plaster and the massive gap between the wall and the vanity.

That’s a problem for another day. I can wash my hands and store my toilet paper. A win is a win.

Happy fall everyone! 🍂

I have this beautiful original fireplace in my house, built in 1901 in Minnesota by a local architect of the time. Obviously some pillars have been removed, and I’d like to restore it to a more original design. Can any help me with what it should have looked like? Millwork catalogs from the region?

I had a bunch of purple glassware, including an anchor hocking punch bowl.

I recently bought a condo in a 1920s building. I’ve never had or used radiators before. I’m guessing these are original or at least many decades old. It appears they do have TRVs added. After doing some reading, it seems the building system (and thus these rads) are two-pipe steam.

The building boiler has not yet turned on for the winter, so I’m not sure if there are any functional issues with the unit rads, but given that there’s no vent or bleed valve on them, I’m not sure what maintenance would be possible anyhow. My understanding of a system like this is that all bleeding/venting takes place in the basement at the boiler.

My main concern right now is aesthetic- the existing rads are covered in chipping/flaking paint. I would love to have them look a little nicer and prefer not to throw a wood or metal cover over them. I could replace them, but that seems unnecessary if they work fine and would look great with a cleaning and fresh coat of paint.

I’ll find out how well they work in a few weeks when the boiler turns on, but is it a total waste of money to install new ones? Is there anything a plumber can check without the boiler being on to determine their condition?

UPDATE: It was the basil plant. I’m sad because it’s beautiful (and tasty) but I guess it is a summer plant only at my house! And at least I don’t have to do any mystery cat pee cleanup!

Original post:

Hello fellow old house people. I need ideas/experience.

I have a 1906 two story house over a tall crawlspace and with an unfinished attic.

I bought the house in June of 2025 and this is a new situation. My house has started smelling like cat pee! So gross. I need some ideas to try to figure out why and how to fix it.

The floors are hardwood throughout and the upstairs did have carpet but I tore it out and it’s just unfinished wood currently. the carpet came out last year with no owe smells.

I haven’t done any other remodeling that should have released a hidden odor and again none of them were recent anyway.

I checked the crawlspace this morning but no odor down there other than it’s normal slightly musty crawlspace smell.

The smell is strongest in my kitchen and dining room. I did bring a large basil plant indoors yesterday (can basil make a room smell like cat pee?) but there was a more faint pee smell 2 days ago before the basil came in. (as I type this I realized I may have had a bag of basil sitting in the kitchen that day…)

Ok, I‘m going to stick the basil in my laundry room today and see if that helps but otherwise I have no ideas! help please!

We live in a 100+ year old home and recently got our floors redone. The guy who did them decided to not do the nosing/fronts of our steps. I should have said something when we saw the “finished” flooring. But we were trying to sell our house/deal with a collapsing foundation on that house and move into this house at the time, and we were so overwhelmed, we just let it slide and figured we’d just deal with it.

Anyways, I painted the fronts, but we’re at a loss of what to do for nosing, since a lot of the stuff you’d find at Home Depot etc doesn’t work for the shape. We tried using a heat gun to bend the remaining flooring to make a nose, but it bubbled in between the nails at the bottom where it was nailed in. I’d like to avoid the metal noses simply because I don’t like the look, but I’m open to ideas from people more creative than myself!

Not sure who out there this will help, but the Ming Green plastic toilet seat made by Bemis (new, not vintage) does not match the green Homart (Sears brand) 1950's toilet/sink/tub with the scalloped edge. The Bemis Ming Green is a tad too blue/turquoise. Gonna just go for a black one.

Now I get to return a toilet seat... -_-

I’m considering purchasing a detached bungalow originally built in the 1930s, located near a lake. The lot is a great size, the neighbourhood is beautiful, and I could genuinely see myself living there.
The house has been renovated with new flooring, drywall in some areas, an updated kitchen and bathrooms, and some mechanical upgrades. On the surface, it looks pretty modern and move-in ready.

However, during the showing, I noticed that quite a bit of the original house remains underneath the renovations. The closets still have their original wooden framing and shelving, just painted white. Some rooms have old wooden panel ceilings instead of drywall, and the sunroom still has dated windows.
The house also had a noticeable stale smell, almost like dusty wood or old furniture, compared to other older renovated homes I’ve visited that smell more “new”.

The home also has a crawl space rather than a full basement, along with a private well and septic system.

My biggest concern is that while the house looks renovated, I have no idea what condition the original structure is actually in. I understand that a home inspection is essential, but how much can an inspector realistically uncover when the walls and flooring have already been covered up?

I’m worried about purchasing what looks like a beautifully renovated home, only to discover moisture damage, rotting wood, foundation issues, or other expensive problems a few years down the road.

For anyone who has purchased or lived in a house that’s 80–100 years old:
• Would you consider buying a house this old if it had only been partially renovated?
• How reliable is a home inspection when so much of the original structure is concealed?
• Are crawl spaces in older homes particularly concerning, especially near a lake?
• What additional inspections would you recommend?
• Would the stale smell and mildew in the sunroom be enough to make you walk away?

I understand that older homes aren’t going to be perfect and that even newer homes can have serious issues. I’m just concerned about making an expensive mistake because I really like the location and how the house looks.

We have owned this 1920’s home for almost two years now and I believe this crack in the ceiling may be new (cannot say with certainty). If it is new - who do I get out to take a look at it? Can I wait a few weeks to see if it continues to grow or do I need to deal with it now (we are a few months out from a wedding so would love to not have to deal with it now if we don’t have to but I’m also a worrier).

If you look closely it does look like there has been repair work done here before - not sure if that matters or not. Thanks all!

Hello! Recently joined the Century Home club with a 1910 Baltimore rowhome. We are trying to understand the layers of our walls, specifically one that is a south-facing exterior wall with painted stucco.

During inspection, the inspector pointed out moisture in an obviously rotted baseboard. There are two windows with cracks in the stucco running from the bottom corners and the windows themselves need to be re-caulked - it was suggested this may be the issue.

It rained this weekend in Baltimore, so we decided to see if we could tell where the water was coming from, so we tore out some of the old rotted baseboard and drywall. There appeared to be two layers of drywall layered on top of each other, then some empty space and then presumably the brick wall (and some brick dust, which I know is not a good sign).

Is this normal for an old wall? Should we be concerned about any potentially hazardous materials in the wall, like asbestos? I'd love to just tear it all out and get to the brick wall just so we know fully what's going on behind the scenes there, but also don't want to be exposed to anything harmful.

Belatedly,​ the black stuff on the wall look like mold? Or is it just water damage?

I have a 13 year old set of wood site lites that are simulated divided lite. They are cracking and separating from the glass. I have to do this project myself and want to do whatever is easiest with the best long-term solution. I can't afford an infrared paint remover and read that paint stripper will get into the cracks and cause adhesion issues for primer and paint. Sanding these grooves would take the rest of my life. I have a Dremel. Would using that and certain bits for it take off this paint without ruining the profile of the design? And, is an oil-based primer with Sher Cryl on top a good pair and solution? We live in NE Ohio and this door and its side lites has no overhang and sees extreme temperatures and lots of snow.

Thank you for any tips.

1930-ish house in North East of France (annexed by Germany at this time).

We bought this house in 2015, and proceeded to remove the wooden ceiling, as it was too low (you can see how ugly it was on the second picture in the bottom right corner).

We found this plaster decoration in very great condition, we just had to remove the electric pipe, and replaced it with indirect LED lights.

IMHO, this is a great match 😋

1925 home. This kitchen was an extension.

Removed sagging interlocked ceiling and found a patch job from where basement stairs used to be.

Should I just hang a new ceiling over this?
Put new drywall up where the patch is and mud it?

Roof was recently replaced and everything is dry. So I’m not too worried about that patch with mildew.

Purchased this house with the idea that it was built in 1920, however were starting to think it’s a bit older than that. Does anyone have any ideas/insights on age based on these finds? Also any information on the stove/fireplace insert would be appreciated!

UPDATE:

Went to the local history museum and got some information from a local. The town tells stories of “Dr. Pepper” living there and supplying the locals with home remedies. We traced back the surname to a map dated 1877 which has the Pepper family home in the exact location this house is in. The original “Carolina I” style part of the home is original and seems to predate the civil war if the additional history is correct. The additions were made in the 1920s and only 2 studs were removed to make doors for that addition. We’ll keep digging, but as of now it is at least dated to 1877!

Has anyone had a contractor telling them the reason why their work looks wrong is because the floors/walls are uneven? How did you handle it? Do we need to specifically look for contractors who are experienced in working on century homes?

I’m currently renovating my kitchen because the cabinets were in extremely poor condition and the floor tiles were white 12x12 that were permanently dirty and cracked in some places. The latest issue I’m having is that the peninsula cabinets are not installed straight and it’s clearly visible as you see on the floor tiles that the peninsula isn’t running parallel to the grout lines. The contractor stated it’s because the wall it attaches to isn’t straight. I asked if something can be added to the wall to straighten out the peninsula and he stated the countertops would then have to be cut slanted (the counter guy hasn’t come out yet).

I’m at the height of frustration with things not looking right and being told it’s just because of how the house is. Are there not ways to ensure the finished product looks right? I’m a first time homeowner and it’s my first time doing renovations so I’m really trying to get a sense of what’s normal vs. straight up wrong when it comes to renovating a century home.

Hi. I would like a functional exhaust fan in our kitchen. The brick wall is close to two feet thick and I really do not to put hole in the wall. It is not an option to up through the ceiling with a bedroom above.

The existing fan looks to be original (94 years old) with the house and I’m thinking if it is even possible and / or worthwhile to try and get operational again?

Beyond adding oil to the motor, lubricating parts, and replacing the power cord, is the more I should examine? Plus, assuming that the former owners sealed it up for heating and AC efficiency and the motor did not fail. Is this reasonable project to attempt? Plus I have no idea on how loud these fans were as well.

I like the idea of using the original equipment, or trying to find a modern replacement that will fit into the space. Veritable speeds in a possible fitting modern fan would be nice too.

Also suggestions for a better way to insulate the interior door without major aesthetic modifications?

We will have the same issue adding an exhaust fan to the 1st floor bathroom, but that is going to be a total renovation of that space.

Thank you for any suggestions.

The second of a three-part story about my renovation of a circa 1800 house in Vermont is now available. The writer shares the parlor and the dining room (what would have been the original bedroom where original owners Solomon and Celinda Wright and their many children would have slept).

https://town-n-country-living.com/a-charming-circa-1800-home-renovation-the-parlor-and-dining-room.html

Thanks to everyone who commented on my first post, I am thrilled to know there are so many people who share my love for these beautiful old homes.

My original post is here: https://www.reddit.com/r/centuryhomes/s/CtrN7V2f4M

If you have any questions about the artisans I used to do this work, or how I tackled renovation challenges, feel free to contact me. And if you have an opinion about adding a Rufus Porter style mural to the parlor, or opinions about curtains, please let me know!

I have to select new exterior lighting for my 1929 Tudor and I would love to see everyone’s original fixtures. This has been tough! Thank you!!!

So I am properly demo’ing and renovating my bathroom. After the many layers of walls I’ve pulled, the last layer is 1 inch thick shiplap, 8ft boards. Wondering if I should tear them out and start from the studs or not. Surprisingly shiplap is floor to ceiling and in great condition, even behind the old shower. Should I just hand drywall on it? Or rip it. Bathroom is small so that’s really 4 inches of wall width I’m taking out. 1950s home, so not quite a century. Sorry about that.