OT: Old Home Question: Preserve, restore, remodel

[William]

I know we have some forum folk here who live in, or have lived in older homes with preservation, restoration, and/or remodeling experience. I have two questions to ask....

1.) Due to the age of our home (built in 1780), there is most likely rough hewn beams under the plaster ceiling in our living room. The beams are exposed in our bedroom. According to one "Old Home" guide I've been reading: (paraphrasing here) During earlier times, exposed beams in a home was a sign of lower income. One thing people would due as soon as they were able was to plaster over the beams to create a bright white flat ceiling.

True or not, I really like exposed beams. The texture and color of natural wood as well as the visible sense of solid structure is very appealing to me. My inclination is to expose the beams and plaster between or use rough hewn planks. The plaster ceiling is in good shape so there is no real need to do anything with it. If I did this it would be more to satisfy my preference. I know there are purists who would cringe at changing anything in a historic home. Others would tear down plaster in a heart beat if it was bulging and replace with sheet rock and then texture it to resemble plaster. And some would slap of sheet rock and paint it straight.

It was exposed originally, but at some point in time someone covered it up.

I'm just curious how folks have handled similar issues or just what your feelings are on changing things in a historic/ old home?


2.) For those of you with hot water cast iron radiators...anyone using heat reflectors behind them? If you are, did you make them or buy pre-fabbed reflectors? Do you feel that they help?


Thanks,
William

[Chad Engle]

I have nothing to offer other than do what appeals to you the most, you have to look at it everyday. Sorry to not be much help. Honestly, the only reason I posted was to ask you to post some photos, sounds really cool.

Good luck with whatever you choose.

[rugbysecondrow]

If it is your preference and the beams were originally exposed, then I would go that route.

I second the request for photos :)

Sounds like a fun project, enjoy!

[Climb01742]

william, for what it's worth, here are my experiences. we've owned two historic houses here in concord and done work on both. the first was a 1750 house. our current house is from about 1860. we did interior and exterior work on both houses. On the first house, we left as many/much of the original structure(s) as possible. on our current house, we left the outside design intact, but did extensive redesign/modernization inside. the difference between the two approaches, and their impact on our daily enjoyment of the homes, is night and day. houses as evolving structures. i think it's fair and right for each generation to put their mark on the homes while respecting the history. ultimately, homes are homes, not museums. how we live today is far different than how life was lived in 1750 or 1860. for us, having an historically respectful exterior and a modern interior (with historic architectural elements inside) is far far better than being too faithful (and hamstrung) by the norms of 250 years ago. all of which is to say, expose the beams. it is a respectful change. one that will make you happy and give you greater ceiling height. a home is history in motion, and you are part of that motion. i think there is a very cool tradition evolving in architecture these days, one that might be called "yankee modernism", a blending of the classic new england farm house with modern sensibilities. here is the firm that designed our current home/rennovation. there are exposed beams_everywhere. indeed, our home now has exposed beams in many rooms. go for it. and good luck.

http://www.estestwombly.com/

ps: these folks are in RI, to boot, and jim estes is a die-hard cyclist too.

[snah]

Third on photos.

[avalonracing]

Do what you like and expose the beams.
I agree, a home is evolving and it is your turn to make it yours. Now if you were going to put aluminum siding on it or cover the kitchen in formica that would be different but you are talking about something tasteful.

Besides I doubt anyone would be impressed that your beams are covered with plaster and if you want to show your 18th century wealth you can always wear a powdered wig.

[Birddog]

Before you tear into the plaster, ask yourself if it's covering up something like wiring, plumbing, mech etc. Always keep in mind the "ripple effect" when remodeling.

Birddog

[Dude]

I also agree that exposed look great, will you lose any insulation/heat retention by exposing them? Somethine else to think about.

If not, i say tear the plaster down and mke it look nice. If it truly sucks, throw some sheetrock back up.

[OtayBW]

...True or not, I really like exposed beams. The texture and color of natural wood as well as the visible sense of solid structure is very appealing to me. My inclination is to expose the beams and plaster between or use rough hewn planks.

2.) For those of you with hot water cast iron radiators...anyone using heat reflectors behind them? If you are, did you make them or buy pre-fabbed reflectors? Do you feel that they help?
1) I agree about doing what you like. I will just say that in my ~150 yo house, I have both exposed and hidden hand-hewn structural timbers with a lot of cross-members that makes it mpossible to gain access to the space 'between floors' to chase out them damn squirrels....but I digress...

2) I have a single pipe radiator system and I do use heat reflectors behind them. Stuff I use is called Reflectix. It's actually duct wrap, but it is ~1/4 thick and comes in rolls (I use 24"x25'). You can cut sheets to size. Almost self-standing; cheap and just the thing. Home Despot carries it.

http://www.reflectixinc.com/basepage.asp?Page=Double+Reflective+Insulation&pageIndex=622

[Ken Robb]

From a historical perspective I don't see any negative to removing "modernizations" done after the house was built to get back to the original conditions. I like to see rough-hewn beams too.
My childhood home in Chicago had radiators and besides reflectors we had water containers that we hooked over the radiators to provide some needed humidity to our interior air.

[veloduffer]

My old Victorian is a mere 120 yrs old young and it's all plastered. Many of the homes in the neighborhood used the exposed beams and it looks good.

But you shouldn't have to keep to one theme in your house. I recently viewed a This Old House episode in which the owner, being an architect, did some interesting renovations on an old home.

For the foyer and living room entrance, he kept the old home look while the kitchen and family room were very modern (and energy efficient).

I agree with the other posters, do what you prefer - you're not going to affect the home's historical value.

[BengeBoy]

Just don't put Campagnolo on the first floor and Shimano on the second.

[Tobias]

Just don't put Campagnolo on the first floor and Shimano on the second.
Good point, althought I viewed it more like Campy (traditional) on the outside and Shimano (modern) on the inside. ;)

[endosch2]

I live in a house built in 1897 as a summer camp. It was winterized in 1965 by lifting it off the ground and digging and pouring a foundation under it, then insulating the 3" thick walls (totally insufficient)

I have now spent 3X our original purchase price on 3 phases of renovations and additions since buying the house in 1996.

Here is my advice: Get a builder who appreciates old houses and can work with updating the features while maintaining the character of the house. A lot of people use new windows designs and new stuff in an old house that bastardizes the period and look of the house. If you have most builders they can only make money in new construction which is why they will always tear down everything before they build new. They wont have the patience to scribe door trim to a door way that leans 4 inches from floor to ceiling.

The bad thing is that we still live in a house that does not have all of the modern room lay outs, but the good thing is we have 110 year old floors, woodwork, doors, etc that you cant get any more. We have copied the original woodwork, flooring, detail whereever we have built new.

I would keep the hand cut beams - that is what is cool.

Often I go into new houses and see nothing but vast expanses of sheetrock and carpet which while functional does not have the same feel as an old house.

[572cv]

As an architect involved in numerous restorations and renovations, I would simply suggest that you think through what you value in your old house, and renovate to serve that goal. You will never make it a new house, but you can, with care, make it a great renovation. Opening up that ceiling will have no real downside, no diminution of the insulation for instance, and will create more of a sense of space in the rooms. It isn't just the beams, really, it is the improved headroom and visual interest as well. Some of these things are subtle, until you think about why they feel meaningful to you. This is your house, not a museum. Make it yours as your predecessors in the building have done.

On the other hand, I would leave the option of totally replacing the radiator system with something more efficient. You might look at the options available from Runtal Radiators, not far from you in MA, which can be an unobtrusive, color coordinated and tied into an efficient boiler. Good luck.

[tim11]

My 104-year-old house seems young compared to some here, but I'll second what others have said: do what you want. Tasteful changes can add to the modern charm of an older home, and make the whole thing more live-able. We've re-plumbed, re-wired and fundamentally rearranged our kitchen: all I would do again in a second.

[William]

Thank you for all the advice, suggestions, links, and contacts. I will be doing this. I just need to confer with Mrs William as to when we want to start digging in. Photos will follow.

Avalon: The real reason I want to do this is so I can raise the ceiling to get the height to be able to wear my powdered wig. ;)

http://steynian.files.wordpress.com/2009/01/hughlaurieprinceregentblackadder2.jpg

Birddog: Yes, I've learned that. Once you start digging, you never know for sure what you're going to find. I've ferreted out the plumbing and electrical throughout the house and nothing (appears) to go through that area. Though after figuring out the plumbing lay out I can only conclude that the person who laid it was smoking wig glue at the time.


Thanks again everyone!! OT threads rock! :banana:
William

[LesMiner]

It may sound corny but why not post your project on Ask This Old House (http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/tv/ask-toh) ? Maybe Tommy Silva will come out to help do the project for TV. He is a hands on expert and certainly has the knowledge and experience. It is worth a shot and it is free. I am sure the This Old House producers would find your project interesting. Besides we all would really enjoy watching the renovation.