Quote:
Originally Posted by Rumpelteazer
The oldest part of our house was build in the second half of the 1200s. That's where my bedroom is. Then there are two more sections build over time. The front facade was replaced in the late 1500s/early 1600s by a famous architect, that's the newest part of our house.
The owners before my family messed up the house (removing stairs, placing new stairs in other places by just sawing through the ceiling/floor beams, etc) and my family hasn't been kind to the building either (cheapest repairs possible). I'm glad the building is getting some necessary TLC and is brought up to the latest standards. The new owner has promised to give us a tour once it's finished.
On the one hand I will miss it. I've lived here for over 43 years. But a house with no leaks, central heating, insulation and good plumbing and electrics sound like a dream to me. Also getting out of the city center is nice. Sure, it's easy when I need something and can run a quick errand. But it doesn't make to all the nuisance from the cafés and restaurant and partying neighbours.
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Yeah, those older homes and by "older" I mean...250 years plus--can really suck the life out of you. We (Dad, family when I was a teen) once meant to make a
teeny-weeny repair in the plaster, which had a divot in it from someone's soemthing. Ring or heavy man's watch, something that dinged the plaster. And yes, it was real plaster, not that faux stuff.
ANYWAY, we ended up having to remove
all the plaster in the main entryway, 3.5 walls of it, rip all that out and lo, there were even
older brick walls behind it, remove all the brick and the old crumbly mortar, clean and power-wash all the bricks, then re-lay
all the mortar and yes, all the bricks, ..and then, yup, we debated on putting the wall and plaster back up, or leaving the exposed brick. I don't remember how long we'd been at it by then but guess which won? If you guessed, leave the exposed brick, you win. LOL
So a job that should have taken 3 days with drying...took nearly 3 months. There's always a surprise with houses that age. ALWAYS. My parents were renovation hobbyists and antiquers so this was a daily/weekly thing for us, but oyyyyyyy.
Hitch