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historic properties: Manassas Stone House - The Red Flag - 05/23/10 06:51 AM
Driving by the Stone House on the Manassas Battlefield I noticed the red flag was hoisted! It is not out there all the time and when it is one must take advantage.
That means that the house is open to the public. I am the public, so I went inside.
This house was occupied as a private residence as recently as the 1930's. There were other outbuildings around it, many rented out as local side-of-the-road motel rooms. The Stone House had a big front porch (since removed when restored) and was not very well kept.
The restoration made the inside … (43 comments)
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historic properties: Bull Run Creek, Manassas Battlefield Park - 05/04/10 03:40 PM
In the summer of 1861, as the Civil War was beginning, both the South and the Union were confident that each would win a quick victory. Anticipating a long war, General Winfield Scott had proposed what he called the Anaconda Plan, which had three objectives:
1. To surround the south, blockading its ports and starving it for supplies it could not produce for itself.
2. Send forces up and down the Mississippi River to split the enemy and occupy strategic cities.
3. Capture Richmond.
Scott envisioned a great anaconda snake surrounding and slowly squeezing the South into submission and defeat. This … (5 comments)
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historic properties: Stone Bridge, Manassas Battlefield Park - 04/10/10 12:44 PM
A popular and interesting remain of the two Civil War battles in Manassas, Virginia is the Stone Bridge. It had an interesting role in both of the battles, although on the edge of the battlefield.
Perhaps hard to see, the bridge is located on the right of the map seen here, with the bold black line.
The Old Stone House, featured in a previous post, is just to the left of the bold black line, at the intersection about in the middle of the map. The road connecting the two landmarks was then called the Warrenton Turnpike.
Interestingly, and … (13 comments)
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historic properties: When Plumbing Holds Up A Foundation - 01/14/10 04:53 AM
Could PVC be the other white meat, I mean foundation support?
Remember the 100+ year old property with the stone foundation? Poly-foam had been used in many areas to "repair" mortar gaps in the foundation. Here's the problem with that.
In Virginia, a stone foundation dates a house before 1915 or so. Other things come into play. If you research the history of cement used to build foundations, soft mortars were used. A "soft mortar" was one that used a primarily lime-based mixture. It was softer than today's mortars which use Portland cement ingredients.
The old, soft, lime-based mortars were perfect … (10 comments)
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historic properties: Creativity Is The Mother Of Invention - 01/11/10 09:49 AM
Some jurisdictions go to great lengths to preserve the original architecture and appearances in older homes. Alexandria, Virginia and Gettysburg, Pennsylvania are two towns that come to mind based on my experience. Manassas, Virginia is one as well. For years they fought the idea of replacing older wooden siding with a newer product like aluminum, vinyl or fiber cement. Since I have seen all of those recently on so many homes, apparently the city fathers have relented on that proscription.
It could be that on stone foundations, repairs with the original material or appearance is no longer an issue either.
… (54 comments)
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historic properties: Alexandria Virginia 1860 Carriage House - 11/14/09 06:52 AM
I LOVE doing inspections on old, historic homes in Alexandria, Virginia.
The city is so full of history, virtually everywhere you go.
Over the years I have done many inspections on many historic homes there.
Yesterday was no exception.
This is a carriage house to a mansion directly behind. It was built in 1860. While nobody could tell me who the owner(s) of the mansion were over the years, it was fun nonetheless to have a look at the place.
While a bit hard to see in this photo, there have been many repairs to the brick work over the … (42 comments)
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historic properties: An Historic Mess! - 08/28/09 04:43 AM
I was excited recently when I was called to inspect a very historic property in Northern Virginia. Built in 1902, it has been actively listed and on the market for two years. No offers. Historic properties abound here and I love seeing them. The picture is blurry.
The buyer had grand plans to fix it up a bit and rent it out for a while until the market improves. They were grand plans.
I met him in front. He said, "We need to go through the back door."
"No problem. Let's go."
… (113 comments)
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Jay Markanich - Northern VA Home Inspector
Bristow,
VA
More about me…
Jay Markanich Real Estate Inspections, LLC
Address: 12315 Sherborne Street, Bristow, VA, 20136
Office Phone: (703) 330-6388
Cell Phone: (703) 585-7560
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An experienced home inspector's look at current home inspection events and conditions along with his useful recommendations.
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