The people who owned your house before you

Nothing to the house per se... but about 12 years after I moved here, a lady knocked. She said the yard and landscaping looked so nice and I thanked her... kind of weird because the yard was nothing special. Then she said "I used to live here" and was trying to peek past me to see in the house. *Maybe* some (most?) would have invited her in to look around, but that just didn't feel right and it was quite awkward.

I *do* understand the longing and nostalgia... how I'd love to see my grandparent's old farmhouse again, but I would never go to the door asking basically for a tour from current owners.
 
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Jazzy1 said:
What’s the dumb thing the people who owned your house before you did?
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When we came to view the house, it was stil furnished but not lived in because the couple who lived here had died.. and no-one had cleared the house yet...There was no kitchen to speak of.. just an old dark brick larder in the kitchen ..... and a butler style sink with just one tap ( faucet).. sticking out of the wall. similar to this... but with just one tap coming directly out of the wall.
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There was no floor coverings.. only black slate tiles ....in the livingroom... and the strangest of all... they had curtains..big Pink floral design curtains, which were 3 times longer than the windows.. and were spread onto the floor right into the middle of the room...

This was 1980... not 1920....:eek:
 

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I purchased my grandparents home back in the early 1980s, the house was built in 1915.
The upstairs bedrooms had been wallpapered, then painted over, wallpapered again, then painted several more times, this was done over rock lath and plaster so it was very rough looking. The real mystery was why even the ceilings had been wallpapered and painted over, who wallpapers ceilings? I started trying to remove all the wallpaper but with the paint over it it was like a layer of concrete that I was literally chipping off little by little, and pulling down chunks of plaster which I didn't want to happen.

So my easy solution was to hang drywall over all the old wallpaper, both walls and ceilings.
 
We moved last year to an almost new home..only 7 years old. The strangest thing about it? Numerous heavy duty screws, actual Molly bolt screws, in all the walls, and even some in the ceilings of a couple rooms.

I could understand that maybe they hung a couple heavy art pieces that required something heavy duty to hang them on, but EVERYTHING had a Molly bolt anchor! Each wall in every room! Some of them were obviously positioned for a collage of photos or art, but why such heavy screws? And the patterns of some of the screws made no sense at all!

It was so strange, not to mention a ton of work to get them all out of the walls and spackled for re-painting. I am SO curious as to what they could possibly have hung to require that much horsepower!

My next door neighbor said they were very reclusive, she hardly ever saw them, they wouldn’t chat or acknowledge her in any way when she happened to be outside as they were heading to their car or whatever. Just strange.
 
C50 said:
I purchased my grandparents home back in the early 1980s, the house was built in 1915.
The upstairs bedrooms had been wallpapered, then painted over, wallpapered again, then painted several more times, this was done over rock lath and plaster so it was very rough looking. The real mystery was why even the ceilings had been wallpapered and painted over, who wallpapers ceilings? I started trying to remove all the wallpaper but with the paint over it it was like a layer of concrete that I was literally chipping off little by little, and pulling down chunks of plaster which I didn't want to happen.

So my easy solution was to hang drywall over all the old wallpaper, both walls and ceilings.
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I sympathise, as my house is almost 200 years old in parts and I've had to replace the ceiling in some rooms with plasterboard / drywall.
However, I, with the help of my daughter papered the ceiling with a lightly textured paper. Wallpapering the ceiling is not unusual.
 
Our home in Illinois had the laundry on the 2nd floor, which nice at the time I thought. One night I woke up and thought it was raining, looked outside. No rain. Went downstairs and the family room off the kitchen (my home day care classroom) looked like a rain forest. 3/4 of the ceiling was saturated and pouring water. The hot water hose had ruptured during the night and we had no idea. I live in one level homes now only for 2 reasons, that happening and not having to fear stairs as I age.
 
My house was built around 1860. It was a nursing home in the 1950's. Some rules came out and then it became a "boarding house".
When we bought it everything was painted nursing home colors. Orange sherbert and seafoam green. We repainted as soon as we moved in.

All the woodwork was painted white and all the cornices were removed. Took me a minute but I replaced all the cornices and faux grained the woodwork. I would have stripped it but it wasnt good wood. It had never been painted till those "people" painted over the original
faux graining. Mines not as good as the original but its better than white enamel.

All the pumpkin pine floors were covered in some weird underlayment and nailed every inch.
Must have been a sale on nails. It was a PITA uncovering the floors. The staircase was walled in upstairs and down.
Thankfully it was intact. First thing we did after we moved in was to remove those walls.
 
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An elderly widow lived in this house before we bought it. She had shag carpet throughout that was 40 years old and stained. She had neglected doing plumbing repairs (a couple of faucets dripped) and the shower leaked. The outdoor shrubbery looked like it had never been trimmed, and was up to the eaves of the house. She was a chain smoker and the house smelled awful. Fortunately, she had recently had the walls repainted white to try and help sell the house. We were okay with white walls, and they had not yet had time to be stained from cigarette smoke.

Due to her neglect of the property, she had no offers on the house, so we were able to get it at a very reduced price. All we really had to do was fumigate, replace the carpet and install a marble shower ($3000 back then) update some plumbing fixtures, put up new window dressings, and get the hedges cut back shorter. We were only out around $10,000 for all that, and the house was ready to move in.
 
Jazzy1 said:
What’s the dumb thing the people who owned your house before you did?
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Put an interior door as an entry door.
Hired a unlicensed plumber to jury rig the septic lines
Laid down a carpet without backing or securing it to the floor.

On the bright side once we found out, we pulled up the carpet and found a nice cherry wood floor. We then hired a professional to come and buff it out and it looked phenomenal. Which helped the resale value.
 
We bought our existing house from the original owners in 2019. The first time we met the couple was for a walk through just prior to closing. When we were talking to the couple after the walk through, the husband came up to me and said, "are you a Republican? Your neighbors will want to know." I thought that was a pretty strange question to ask, but I avoided answering him. Otherwise, closing went well.

About two years ago I was sitting in the den and I looked out the window and saw an SUV parked in front of our driveway. I watched them for several minutes as they were taking pictures of our house. Curiosity got the best of me so I went to the front door and asked, not in my most polite voice, "can I help you?" It turns out this was the same couple we had purchased the house from 4 years prior and they were back in town visiting friends and just stopped by to see their old house. We had made many changes inside and asked them if they would like to see the changes we made.

During the tour I noticed that the former owner had on some sort of Tee shirt related to handguns. I asked him if he had utilized the local indoor gun range when he used to live in town. He said he did and he also was a handgun instructor. I mentioned that a group of friends and I occasionally shot at the gun range. He showed me his carry gun and asked if I conceal carried. I told him I never carried as I never felt unsafe in our town.

He then told me that when he lived here, in town, he had to "pull the pistol twice" and that he had also "shot one person in self defense". I found that hard to believe but I sure wasn't going to ask any questions. A bit of a strange guy for sure.

To name a dumb thing the home owner did to the house before we bought it, he had bolted a 4X4 on the garage floor. When we first toured the house we asked the realtor what that was for. The realtor explained that the wife of the house couldn't see very well so he bolted that 4X4 to the floor so the wife would know when to stop so she wouldn't drive into the back wall of the garage. DUH, she shouldn't be driving if her eye sight is that bad.
 
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Veronica said:
My house was built around 1860. It was a nursing home in the 1950's. Some rules came out and then it became a "boarding house".
When we bought it everything was painted nursing home colors. Orange sherbert and seafoam green. We repainted as soon as we moved in.

All the woodwork was painted white and all the cornices were removed. Took me a minute but I replaced all the cornices and faux grained the woodwork. I would have stripped it but it wasnt good wood. It had never been painted till those "people" painted over the original
faux graining. Mines not as good as the original but its better than white enamel.

All the pumpkin pine floors were covered in some weird underlayment and nailed every inch.
Must have been a sale on nails. It was a PITA uncovering the floors. The staircase was walled in upstairs and down.
Thankfully it was intact. First thing we did after we moved in was to remove those walls.
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'Faux grain' is known as 'scumbling' in the UK. As I understand it, scumbling originally allowed less expensive timbers to be painted to emulate dearer ones, hence pine could be painted to resemble oak or mahogany, for example. I don't know the origins, but it well used in Victorian times, during which some less well off folks were happy to emulate the wealthier who could afford the real thing.
 
Jazzy1 said:
What’s the dumb thing the people who owned your house before you did?
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Where to start?

My parents bought this place in 1965. It was a one room cabin on one wooded acre. They also bought the lot next door (an additional acre). Over time, they added on, then added on again. The lay of the land is such that they had to build around a fast-moving creek, huge car-sized rocks, on a hill, etc. Also, parents were both from Texas, with no experience with snow and harsh winters. They did most of the work themselves on a shoe-string budget.

They lived in it until my Mother passed away four years ago. I had been here many times over the years and thought I was familiar with the house. When she died, the house was sold to a couple who absolutely loved it. For a number of reasons, they called me two years later and asked if I would be interested in buying it. Done.

All they had done was level the front garden area, cover it with road base and gravel, replaced the septic tank and a short bit of the sewer line. They were driving and parking all over that area, which included the leech field. They also painted the inside of the house. (He was a retired professional painter, did a nice job.) He painted over areas of damaged dry wall without repair or seeking the source of damage. There were several water leaks, one in the laundry room where they just placed a plastic container to catch the drips. (It was just a worn solder area, easily fixed.)

To know all of the things that I have done in this house, see my diary thread "Enter at your own risk". It is extensive. Most of the damage found is a result of poor planning in the original build. Wood siding where snow builds up all winter (with rot extending into sill plates, studs, etc.). Grade slanted towards the house walls. Wall and roof corners that don't meet properly. Some walls had no sheathing, no moisture barriers, studs that were three feet apart! It has turned out to be a huge and expensive mess.

But I do love this place and will probably die here. There is still more work to be done but the worst part is now finished (steel siding, take that snow!). I will never get back the $$$ I have put into it.

Edited to add: I have kept in close touch with the previous owners. Sent pics of the work being done, etc. They are nice folks and really loved the place. They moved to Florida and are invited to come stay here if they visit in the future. I think they will love most of what has been done.
 
Mostly it was just a matter of taste. Once we removed the the wallpaper in the kitchen it felt a lot less confining. They also had a giant eagle decorating the brick exterior which we removed before stepping foot inside. A tri level house built in the 60s did not seem to benefit from colonial touches.
 
MACKTEXAS said:
An elderly widow lived in this house before we bought it. She had shag carpet throughout that was 40 years old and stained. She had neglected doing plumbing repairs (a couple of faucets dripped) and the shower leaked. The outdoor shrubbery looked like it had never been trimmed, and was up to the eaves of the house. She was a chain smoker and the house smelled awful. Fortunately, she had recently had the walls repainted white to try and help sell the house. We were okay with white walls, and they had not yet had time to be stained from cigarette smoke.

Due to her neglect of the property, she had no offers on the house, so we were able to get it at a very reduced price. All we really had to do was fumigate, replace the carpet and install a marble shower ($3000 back then) update some plumbing fixtures, put up new window dressings, and get the hedges cut back shorter. We were only out around $10,000 for all that, and the house was ready to move in.
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oh goodness yes that reminds me as well.. The people before us had also been smokers, and all the white gloss was a horrible yellow colour.. with brown dried drips running down them.. it took me ages to work out that these brown drips were nicotine

The funny thing is, my husbands' mother lived only just doors away and she knew this couple, but had never been in the house, and after we first viewed the house, we told her what it was like inside, and she couldn't believe it, because she said the people had been very respectable and well dressed..
 
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Jazzy1 said:
What’s the dumb thing the people who owned your house before you did?
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They must have found a super great deal on silicone caulking, E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G was caulked, the baseboards, the windows, every seam in every thing was caulked. I actually do understand the concern, since this area is very dusty from the constant wind.

Another quirky thing about the previous owners- it appeared that they had some domestic violence 'issues', numerous "punched" looking damage to drywall and a couple doors with the thin wood veneer. Evidently drywall repair was not the strong suite of the puncher, as the patching was just a gobbed-on thing...:rolleyes:
 
Another oddity in my first house was copper wire strung back and forth in the attic, it was strung thru insulators nailed to the rafters. This was an open walk up attic and the wire was strung back and forth the full length multiple times, probably over 500' of wire total, then both ends were looped around ceramic insulators nailed to the wall.

The house did have knob and tube wiring but this was definantly not part of the electrical, so I think it may have been some sort of antenna system someone created. Or maybe something to block commy spy satellites from spying. (could be true, it was the right era)
 
Capt Lightning said:
'Faux grain' is known as 'scumbling' in the UK. As I understand it, scumbling originally allowed less expensive timbers to be painted to emulate dearer ones, hence pine could be painted to resemble oak or mahogany, for example. I don't know the origins, but it well used in Victorian times, during which some less well off folks were happy to emulate the wealthier who could afford the real thing.
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Thats interesting. Ive never heard it called that before. Here its called faux grain painting.
I have a "country" house. No fancy stuff. 😿 My woodwork is pine. I stripped some. Its kinda ugly. This house is huge.
While I hate white woodwork I couldnt see stripping it so I decided to grain it.
I think the original graining was oak but I could only see bits and there was a lot of dark shellac on top.

Yes. In Victorian times they did a lot of faux stuff. Not just wood but also marble and plaster moldings.
There were some really talented craftsmen who could make faux look like the real thing. I have vintage and new combs and rollers.
My graining doesnt look like the real thing. But its better than that shiny white woodwork. :D

One of these days I would like to do some floor cloths and screen painting. I imagine over there where you are my house would be considered kinda new. Ive always liked older houses. They have character.
 
By comparison to two other houses I owned, this old 60’s ranch was in pretty good shape. The previous owner was the type the would use a 16 penny nail when only a 10 penny nail was needed. Still, there were/are some goofy things.

But the previous owner did some great things, like have about 20 truckloads of gravel fill brought in over our horrid red clay to create a dry parking area and even a great garden space. And the basement floor is sloped, which seems goofy, but allows the finished half to never have a water issue. I love our home, even if it is dated in appearance and does not have a private bath and giant closet.
 
Nathan said:
They must have found a super great deal on silicone caulking, E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G was caulked, the baseboards, the windows, every seam in every thing was caulked. I actually do understand the concern, since this area is very dusty from the constant wind.

Another quirky thing about the previous owners- it appeared that they had some domestic violence 'issues', numerous "punched" looking damage to drywall and a couple doors with the thin wood veneer. Evidently drywall repair was not the strong suite of the puncher, as the patching was just a gobbed-on thing...:rolleyes:
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Why silicone caulk. You cant paint that stuff. Paintable caulk is fine if used properly. Properly. Not gobbed on. :D
I have used tons of paintable caulk to smooth out the cracks between the baseboard and the wall etc.
Ive seen my share of bad repairs so I can feel for you. Plaster repair is not that hard.

Check out Dap Seal N Peel caulk for your windows. Its designed to temporarily seal drafts and gaps.
You apply it with a caulking gun. Then easily peel it off when no longer needed like if you want to open your windows.
It comes off with no damage to the woodwork. BTDT.
 
Veronica said:
Why silicone caulk. You cant paint that stuff. Paintable caulk is fine if used properly. Properly. Not gobbed on. :D
I have used tons of paintable caulk to smooth out the cracks between the baseboard and the wall etc.
Ive seen my share of bad repairs so I can feel for you. Plaster repair is not that hard.

Check out Dap Seal N Peel caulk for your windows. Its designed to temporarily seal drafts and gaps.
You apply it with a caulking gun. Then easily peel it off when no longer needed like if you want to open your windows.
It comes off with no damage to the woodwork. BTDT.
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I finally learned the trick of masking off the caulk line first. The result is a perfectly straight caulk line!
 

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