1. Home
  2. Home & Garden
  3. Architecture

Old, or Very Old?

House Style Workshop: Dating an Old House

By , About.com Guide

The owners of this historic home wonders whether it's old... or very old. How can they find the age?
The home may have been built on a foundation that's even older.

The owner is trying to determine the age of her old house

Photo contributed by Forum Member "KatieBeth980"
"The year of my house is listed as 1900. It appears to have an additional old house from that time frame added to the back of it along with an additional bathroom. I just went and pulled up every deed for the property and discovered that the first deed was made in 1882 when a family gave the lot to their son. It wasn't until the 1930s when the family that had the house before we bought it that another deed was listed.

"There's a deed in 1882 for the lot, then a deed was issued in 1934 to the family we got it from where they bought it, then in 1944 when they got an additional adjoining piece of property from a widower, then when they gave it to their children in 1964. The last two deeds were in 2002 when the house was then transferred to wife and then to a daughter.

"I'm confused now because the house was listed as 1900 but the family that had passed it down until we bout it didn't obtain it until 1934. I have a sneaking suspicion that the original house may have been built in the 1880s or at least in the late 1800s. I'm not sure, but the house that was moved onto the back of the original part seems to have most likely been moved from where they bought the widower's property. I was wondering if anyone could tell me anything to look for so that i could get an Idea about how old the houses are.

"So far we have discovered a double-sided fireplace that goes straight through the wall between the kitchen and the living room. You can put a person squatting in front of it on each side and wave to each other. Behind the dry wall and the paneling that we actually took down so far, we discovered wood siding in the kitchen and in the living room. The siding in the kitchen is painted a teal color, and the siding in the living room appears to have been white washed and then later covered with some sort of a very old wall paper."

  1. Home
  2. Home & Garden
  3. Architecture
  4. Research Your Home
  5. Dating an Old House - How to Date an Old House - House Style Workshop>

©2009 About.com, a part of The New York Times Company.

All rights reserved.