Greater Chicagoland Home Inspection's new blog, "Life at the OLD Homestead" is meant as a primer for those interested in intricacies of old homes. I love old homes...I love inspecting them, I love restoring them, I love living in them. This is dedicated to that passion, and hopefully will shed some light on some of the finer points of these time capsules.
Determining the age of a residence, Part 2
Floor Covering
Older homes most likely have hardwood as original flooring. It's common in the Chicagoland area older homes to have a few different wood species throughout the house. For example, the Chicago Bungalows of the 1920-1940 often had various woods, each chosen for a specific quality. High traffic "public" rooms would utilize Oak, mainly due to the durability and easy of maintenance, but also due to the beautiful rich quality. The Bungalow's entertainment and dining area was in the front of the house-the part open to visitors.
The kitchen floor, which is located in the rear of the house, would usually consist of maple. Maple, a hardwood that is often harder than the oak, had less grain-more utilitarian. As a durable wood, it could withstand moisture, and more resilient to the wear and tear of everyday use.
Any bedroom in front of the kitchen probably would contain oak; behind the kitchen, maple.
Second level living in the area may consist of the cheaper and even more utilitarian pine. While pine is less durable that the other woods, it served its purpose as a low cost alternative and as a more heat conducive flooring due to its low density, and relatively low upkeep. The planks are often times wider than the traditional showroom oak floors.
Rule of thumb: The wider the boards, the older the house.
After years of prolonged use, and wear, wood was covered by linoleum, first as a cover for high traffic areas like hallways and later in kitchens. The durability and water resistant material as well as the affordability of the material made it a natural replacement to the more expensive and labor intensive wood. Linoleum usage began in the late 19th century and is still a very popular choice for many areas.
In the 1920's through the 1960's, asphalt tile was used as a floor covering. It was set using mastic, and as any restoration expert can tell you, is nearly impossible to remove without the use of a floor sander.
By 1940, vinyl asbestos tiles became popular as it offered the homeowner the ability to choose lighter, more colorful tiles. At around 8", asbestos tiles are smaller than the 12" composite tiles that are popular in basements and commercial areas.
It is likely that if a kitchen in old house has linoleum, it has SEVERAL layers of it. While removing the tile to refinish the Maple is as appealing as a root canal, it is a true time capsule. Each layer helps date a house. Composition, design and color can estimate the installation date. The picture below shows how specific the dating of the floor can be.
Walls and Ceilings
Until the end of the 19th century, plasterers used lime plaster. Lime plaster was made from four ingredients: lime, aggregate, fiber, and water. The lime came from ground-and-heated limestone or oyster shells; the aggregate from sand; and the fiber from cattle or hog hair. Manufacturing changes at the end of the 19th century made it possible to use gypsum as a plastering material. Gypsum and lime plasters were used in combination for the base and finish coats during the early part of the 20th century; gypsum was eventually favored because it set more rapidly and, initially, had a harder finish.
Lath
Lath provided a means of holding the plaster in place. Wooden lath was nailed at right angles directly to the structural members of the buildings (the joists and studs), or it was fastened to nonstructural spaced strips known as furring strips. Three types of lath can be found on historical buildings.
- Wood Lath. Wood lath is usually made up of narrow, thin strips of wood with spaces in between. The plasterer applies a slight pressure to push the wet plaster through the spaces. The plaster slumps down on the inside of the wall, forming plaster "keys." These keys hold the plaster in place.
- Metal Lath. Metal lath, patented in England in 1797, began to be used in parts of the United States toward the end of the 19th century. The steel making up the metal lath contained many more spaces than wood lath had contained. These spaces increased the number of keys; metal lath was better able to hold plaster than wood lath had been.
- Rock Lath. A third lath system commonly used was rock lath (also called plaster board or gypsum-board lath). In use as early as 1900, rock lath was made up of compressed gypsum covered by a paper facing. Some rock lath was textured or perforated to provide a key for wet plaster. A special paper with gypsum crystals in it provides the key for rock lath used today; when wet plaster is applied to the surface, a crystalline bond is achieved.
Rock lath was the most economical of the three lathing systems. Lathers or carpenters could prepare a room more quickly. By the late 1930s, rock lath was used almost exclusively in residential plastering.
Additionally, additives were used for various finish qualities. For example, fine white sand was mixed in for a "float finish." This finish was popular in the early 1900s. (If the plasterer raked the sand with a broom, the plaster wall would retain swirl marks or stipples.) Or marble dust was added to create a hard-finish white coat which could be smoothed and polished with a steel trowel. Finally, a little plaster of Paris, or "gauged stuff," was often added to the finish plaster to accelerate the setting time.
Finally, if a wall has wallpaper, most likely it has SEVERAL layers of it. Wall paper, like tile, is a true time capsule. Each layer helps date a house. Composition, design and color can estimate the installation date.
With a little bit of investigative work, it is possible to date your home. Join Greater Chicagoland Home Inspection's blog for more great investigative tips!
Coming Soon:
How Old is My House? A Greater Chicagoland Home Inspection Primer Pt 3: Framing and Other Building Materials.
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