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 your Home: Popular Home Styles
Another method to dating your home is to determine when the popular styles were constructed. One the style is determined, typically it is possible to find similar homes in the area that may have construction dates recorded with the township. In the next few blogs, I will develop a historical timeline and other information associated with specific details of each style of home.
Saltbox, 1650-1830
Mimiking the look of the storage container of colonial days, the Saltbox is more of a shape of a house, rather than a style. While most of the traditional Saltbox homes are found in New England, its influence is found thoughout America.
If you have read my series on American homes, it is evident that the mantra of early homebuilding was "build fast, build cheap and build structurally sound". The single room deep Saltbox is no different. The Saltbox house is formed by a one-story addition across the rear of a 1-1/2 or 2-story building. Its sloping gable roof and simple planked framing made the style an easy construction for the growing New England population. The prominent center chimney or dual end chimneys along with a center entrance with transom are the most recognizable of the Saltbox style.
The style was so easy to construct, that it remained popular throughout New England for nearly 200 years, and continued to be built throughout America until the late 1800's.
Determining the Age of your Home is written by Greater Chicagoland Home Inspection, a St Charles, Illlinois Home Inspection Company. If you are in the market to purchase a home in the Kane, Cook , DuPage, or Dekalb counties of Illinois, contact us for your inspection needs.
Comments(0)