Buying A Home
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Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
if you bought/are buying an old home
We are under contract on a house that is 119 years old. I want to now what you wish you would have known before purchasing and if there is any general advice about the upkeep, etc. The house in general is in great condition, has had major updates in the last 10 years (water heater, furnace, sewer, plumbing, electricity...). Thanks!
Re: if you bought/are buying an old home
I'd be careful of lead-based paint, especially because you have a small child. Make sure all paint stays intact and is not chipping or peeling.
Are the windows newer vinyl replacement windows? If not I'd be careful about putting any fans/air conditioners in the windows without first cleaning them out very well. They can blow lots of lead dust into rooms (onto your child's toys and crib etc.)
Are you planning on doing any remodeling? If so, I'd be very careful about disturbing anything. You shouldn't just sand down surfaces without the proper ventilation and precautions (laying down plastic, sealing off doorways etc.) since lead dust is very sticky and hard to clean up).
Sorry, you may know all of this already about lead. I'm a lead risk assessor and I do inspections on homes where lead poisoned children reside. I've seen people buy nice older homes and then try to remodel something and end up poisoning their kids.
Thank you for this! We are well aware of the risks and have our inspection on Saturday to assess the paint conditions. The windows are older and we are north facing so placing a fan in a window is unlikely.
Millions upon millions of people live in old homes with out poisoning their children with lead paint.
I think pp was a little needlessly alarmist in the way she wrote her reply.
You can buy test kits at home supply stores or have a professional come through and test if it make you feel more confident though.
We're fully aware of lead paint risks and that will not be a deal breaker (unless something major comes up).
Thanks for the window suggestion! I love the charm, I just want to make sure they all work well and won't smash any baby fingers.
Not an alarmist...a realist. While I agree that many people/children do and can live safely in a home with lead paint, every child's habits are different. Neither you or I know her child's hand to mouth activity. I've seen cases of identical twins where one is lead poisoned and the other isn't, because one might hang out at a window more often to watch the cars go by or pick at some paint somewhere (since lead tastes sweet) and put their hands in their mouth.
Sometimes the test kits don't work properly because many people don't follow the directions. You are supposed to cut out a piece down to the bare wood out of whatever surface you're testing. Who would want to ruin their window sills, baseboards etc? Many people just swipe a test swab over the top layer of paint (which is most likely not lead paint since it's probably been repainted many times over) and it comes up negative when layers of paint or varnish underneath could contain lead.
While OP doesn't fit the normal "clientele" that I work with (renting or buying a place for dirt cheap just for somewhere to live so they can get by) I have inspected the homes of lead poisoned children where the parents bought huge and very nice older houses (one was supposedly where Washington had stayed at one time, mom was a lawyer and dad was a doctor) where they decided one day to sand some interior doors and their children were lead poisoned.
OP, since you do have older windows you can purchase something called "channel guards" at Home Depot or Lowe's. It's a thin piece of metal that will cover the window jambs and well. It cuts down on the friction of the wood rubbing on wood and decreases the amount of dust and paint chips. Depending on the area you live, you might not be able to just replace your windows (due to historical property restrictions).
We bought an 85 year old house last year too. The previous owners did an incredible job of remodeling the house so we have all new appliances, windows, and flooring but it was all done in a way to preserve the charm of the old home.
A well maintained old house can be a better buy than a poorly maintained new (1990+) home. Congratulations and good luck! We love our house and that it has a history and because it has lived through so many things (natural disasters included) and is still intact, we feel even better about our choice!
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Informative would be something like - be careful about lead paint, don't sand paint, or remodel with out first having the paint tested, and use proper precautions. Hire a professional who deals with remodeling older homes to be sure that it is done properly.
Alarmist is saying something to the affect of: wash your windows well because fans can blow lead dust on your baby's crib and toys and you will poison her.
We live in a 1906 bungalow and are buying a 1890 Queen Anne this week. I want to echo the other poster to say please, please do not replace your original wood sash windows with something "modernized" like vinyl. You will lose value in your home once original windows have been replaced, especially if you don't keep the original muntin details, which many don't because it is expensive to replicate. A better, more efficient,and sustainable option would be to have your original wood sash windows be retrofitted with weather stripping, new wood storm windows, have the sash cord/weights replaced, or even have a second layer of glazing added. (I had that added to our windows two years ago and got a tax rebate too. More info here.)
In terms of lead paint, we had all the layers of paint professionally removed and returned the wood trim to it's original stained condition. The look was more period appropriate, I prefer the warmth, and it is safer without the paint. The condition of the trim was very bad, chippy, and painted over. Living through a stripping is no fun though, so I was determined to not do it again. As a result we didn't even look at houses that white painted woodwork. Lead paint concerns are a factor, but it is mostly aesthetic for me.
In my previous line of work, I had a lot of plumbers say that they love double ply quilted toilet paper because it always clogs up old plumbing and provides them with a lot of business. So I guess, don't go crazy with the fancy TP if you can and definitely use it sparingly. haha!
Also I have come to accept that there will always be ants in any house, anywhere, that's just the nature of living in a city. So have a good exterminator on hand and plan to have them come every spring (or every other spring) to avoid infestations. Also have any hedges and trees cut back from your roof line. Not only will that keep your gutters freer from debris, but also apparently ants can travel to your roof if they can get there from overhanging branches that touch it.
Make sure your soil slopes away from the foundation to encourage water run off. Also make sure that the soil doesn't touch the wood siding of your house (if possible, not possible with the way our foundation was built) it is better for preventing infestations if the soil line is only touching concrete.
GL and have fun in your new old house!
Niffa-- thank you for your advice. It was very helpful. H and I are under contract on an old home (waiting for inspections) and lead paint is something we've had many discussions about. We're both chemists, so I think we have a different perspective on exposure; it's something we take very seriously.
I think you need to go back and read my original post lol. I never said if she didn't wash her windows her kid would be poisoned. I told her she needed to be careful. I see this happen over and over to families and if I can give info to someone and potentially help their child avoid exposure to lead poisoning, which can cause speech problems, hearing problems, developmental delays and damage to their nervous system I'm not going to keep my mouth shut.
Alarmist would be telling the OP that children are usually asymptomatic until their levels are dangerously high, which can cause paralysis, brain edema, coma, vomiting and death.
Yw...and just because there is lead paint in a home doesn't mean that you can't live there. I've gone in some terribly run down homes where the place is practially dripping with lead paint to draw blood from kids to test them for lead and their levels come back <10 mcg/dl. It really all goes back to what your childs habits are. If they're a thumb-sucker or puts a lot of objects in their mouth they're at higher risk.