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cheesehead mom
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| Posted: Sept 22 2009 at 1:47pm | IP Logged
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We have been very blessed to be offered an old rectory at an affordable rental price. It is 100+years old and the windows are in pretty bad shape. We are moving in this weekend and then I have about 8 weeks unil baby #7 shows up. Also, my hubby is going on a week long mission trip in November ....so suffice it to say there is very little time for projects. So to anyone who has been in an old house (with paint peelings in the windows and windows that must be propped up by sticks to stay open) any quick fixes? We shop vac'd the windows already. There are a ton of windows, which is great for light but will make for a chilly winter I imagine. I am not super concerned about lead poisoning but am concerned with getting air flow in the house (propping up the windows safely) and keeping everyone toasty this winter! Sorry so long, too many interruptions:) Albeit cute ones.
Laura in WI
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MaryM
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No suggestions here, but just wanted to say, I think it is really cool for you to be living in an old rectory . 
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Servant2theKing
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Check whether the windows can open from the top. In our former house, which was built in the 1860s, the window sills were very close to the floor...we were very concerned about little ones falling through the screens on the second floor level. We found that we could slide the windows open from the top...a much safer option (I think we had to use a putty knife to loosen paint around the window frames). If you're able to open the windows from the top, you won't have to prop them open. For a more permanent solution to the windows not staying up on their own, a good DIY book from the library should explain how to fix the rope and weight pully system inside older windows.
In the winter, if the windows are drafty you can seal them with plastic, from inside or outside OR you could hang heavy blankets or quilts over the most drafty ones. We had very drafty slider doors in the family room (from a poorly done remodel); a pretty quilt hung over the doors made the room more cozy and looked prettier than plastic.
May the grace of God that has dwelt in your new home over the past 100 years be extended to your entire family, especially your newest little member! Have a blessed and joyous babymoon!
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Waverley
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| Posted: Sept 22 2009 at 2:20pm | IP Logged
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We live in an almost 100 year old house in the Twin Cities. As for keeping the house and the people inside the house warm, I have a couple of suggestions:
1. Put up plastic insulating film over the windows. I place it on the outside of the window whenever possible to keep the children from pulling it off. The technology has improved a great deal and the plastic is pretty easy to attach.
2. Another option for keeping the house warm is to apply sealant around the window frame where it meets the wall. Again, technology has improved and you can now buy a roll of what looks like putty that you press around the windows. Maybe your husband or a neighbor could help with this project.
3. Buy or make draft stoppers to put under doors. You can make them easily by making a long fabric sock (or using an actual sock) and filling it with rice, beans or other material. You can them put them at the base of doors to keep out drafts.
4. In the winter, we have designated warm rooms. We simply can't keep every room warm - some rooms are more drafty, some don't get enough sun to warm them up, the radiators don't warm all of the rooms evenly, etc. So we focus our warming efforts on a couple of rooms that get the most use. By selecting the rooms in advance, we prep those rooms first (apply sealant and plastic in those rooms, make sure those rooms have draft stoppers, etc). Sometimes we will even use a space heater in that room when it gets really cold.
5. We all have flannel sheets on our beds, fleece pajamas and robes, and warm slippers. By keeping the kids dressed warmly (especially their feet) we don't have to turn the heat up as high.
6. If there are rooms without doors (particularly if the room allows in a draft), you can make a curtain out of insulated material and suspend it in the door with a tension rod. One old house we lived in didn't have a door on the entrance to the basement and the insulated curtain was a big improvement in lessening the draft up the stairs. You can also use insulated material to make curtains for windows but since you are renting you may not want to invest that kind of time and money.
7. Opening outside doors can be a huge drag on heat. See if there is a way you can make an entrance area inside one of the doors to the outside that you can seal off. Maybe there is existing entrance way that your husband could install an insulated door to. If installing a door won't work, you could also make an insulated curtain to try and separate the entrance way from the living area. By creating an entrance way with a door on each end (or a door and a curtain), you can decrease the drafts created when someone comes in from outside.
As for fresh air flow, it has been my experience that old houses do not need a special fresh air flow system. In fact, the same thing that makes them so cold (air leaking in) is what makes them have healthy air. I do not open my windows in the winter. If you are concerned however, you can buy very inexpensive room air purification systems at most home improvement and big-box retail stores.
I hope this helps. You may indeed know all this already.
Good luck and congratulations on your new little one.
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organiclilac
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| Posted: Sept 22 2009 at 3:50pm | IP Logged
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You could make window quilts that fit inside the frame to keep things warmer in the winter. That is my plan, if I ever get around to it! Here is one tutorial that a quick search turned up. Since the quilts would block out all the light, I think they'd also be helpful to keep things cool in the summer.
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Donna Marie
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We live in a nearly 100 yr old house...it has no insulation except for the 2 rooms we gutted. We have to make sure it doesn't get too damp in the house or the walls grow mold. I have always wanted a wood burning stove in here..that would solve the problem nicely, I think. We also don't store books on the outside walls for this reason.
The former owners had storm type windows made to cover the smaller fancy windows. These windows don't open on the inside. The heavy glass 'storm windows' attach from the outside and I don't think we feel a draft near them at all.
HTH!
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ekbell
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I grew up in a house such as you describe.
We never did much with the windows other then making sure the sticks were wedged in securely so that a toddler couldn't easily remove them. they were high enough off the ground that a toddler would need a chair to reach in the first place [and I just realized that the windows in the area where the toddlers normally roamed tended to have such things as sideboards or tables in front of them..hmm]
Our major problem was that the windows would stick in humid weather, someone would work the stick loose to try and close the inside window and not succeed, forget to put the stick back and it would crash closed in fall when it became less humid. Fortunately no one ever was harmed nor window broken.
The most important thing was keeping the house warm as Waverly described. We had a wood stove in the dining room (which was open to the kitchen) and there were times in winter when we basically lived in the three rooms that stove could heat with the rest of the house kept just warm enough by the oil furnace to keep everything from freezing.
The neat thing about the old house was the amount of natural lighting. When I moved into newer houses I missed the windows, how every outside wall in every room had at least one (generally large) window.
[ When my parents retired and moved, they built a home which was designed around the local elevation of the sun, postioning overhangs and windows so that they would have as much direct light as possible in the winter and as little as possible in the summer as well as being able to take advantage of crossbreezes when desired-it's worked very well]
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cheesehead mom
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| Posted: Sept 22 2009 at 7:35pm | IP Logged
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Thanks you all for the responses and good ideas. I am sure each season will bring it's share of new surprises wih the old house. Yes, Mary it is pretty cool thinking that holy men lived here before us! I guess the house is sufficiently blessed!
Laura
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amarytbc
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We used thick books from the freebie pile at the library to prop open the windows before we had them replaced. They are very stable and not bad to look at.
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SusanJ
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We lived last year in a 100 year-old house also in the Twin Cities. I second everything Waverley said!
Note where the thermostat is. We were able to completely close off the bedrooms from the main house at night and the thermostat was with us. So we could keep the heat at an okay temperature but since the heat was kept in the smaller rooms, the heat didn't kick on as often. Make sense?
Susan
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Stephanie_Q
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Like Donna Marie mentioned, is there a stash of storm windows in the basement or garage? That's your best bet. When we bought our old house we had to replace upstairs windows because many of them were broken. I wish we'd spent more money on better windows...we'll have to replace them again some day. Seal up everything you can for winter - you'll have plenty of fresh air leaking in from all over...;)
Check your attic insulation and seal up "holes" in the ceiling, too - around light fixtures, attic access, and such things. A lot of heat will get drawn up and out through the roof.
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cheesehead mom
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Hey, I am reviving this old thread as we are still renting our old rectory (and loving the short commute to morning mass)and I have another question. My kidos have been sick more often than before and while I am not paranoid I was curious if there were any environmental factors in this old house. There is a lot of peeling paint so I was not surprised that the at-home lead testing kit showed lead in the windows. It was actually a fun science day testing water, lead and mole content! Anyway, replacing all of these big windows is probably not in the church budget so just curious if any of you old-home owners have dealt with lead paint issues and have any advice. From a faith perspective I feel we are where God wants us so I am sure He will see to providing a healthy living environment for us. Thanks for any advice.
Laura
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Erin
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We owned a 100yr + house, to keep the windows up dh screwed hooks (difficult to describe) onto the frames, I'd spin round, sit window on, spin down, close window.
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mavmama
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painting over the lead based paint is an acceptable way to stop the leeching, just DO NOT scrape or sand the old paint!
We lived in a 103 year old house and loved it- miss it still. This is what we did to keep the windows open safely: at regular intervals, drill a hole into the side (where the window slides up and down). Then use a short dowel that is the same size as the hole to hold the window up. When my parnets did it, my dad built "window sticks" out of 1x1's. He would screw several pieces of differnt lenghts together to make a window holder that adjusted the opening according to where you placed it. When the window was closed, you just laid it in the sill.
How awesome to live in such a holy place!
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cheesehead mom
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Unfortunately--Almost all of the windows have paint flaking off--it drops everytime the windows are shut. So, I think it would have to be scraped before painting.
Liz--It is pretty fun to realize you really do not need a home blessing when the house has been blessed so many times before by the holy men who have lived here before us!
L
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MicheleQ
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cheesehead mom wrote:
| Unfortunately--Almost all of the windows have paint flaking off--it drops everytime the windows are shut. So, I think it would have to be scraped before painting. |
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This is definitely a concern. You need to be very careful because scraping and sanding will cause lead dust which is hazardous, especially to young children. I would check with the city you live in to see if they offer any kind of lead reduction program. Ours did and they replaced all the windows in our 100+ yr. old house for free.
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CrunchyMom
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MicheleQ wrote:
cheesehead mom wrote:
| Unfortunately--Almost all of the windows have paint flaking off--it drops everytime the windows are shut. So, I think it would have to be scraped before painting. |
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This is definitely a concern. You need to be very careful because scraping and sanding will cause lead dust which is hazardous, especially to young children. I would check with the city you live in to see if they offer any kind of lead reduction program. Ours did and they replaced all the windows in our 100+ yr. old house for free. |
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In the very least, you might be able to have professionals come in to address the most problematic areas. It is not necessary to strip everything, keeping things painted is sufficient. But if you can't even paint without scraping, you might need professional help.
It could be expensive, but it is likely more affordable than replacing the windows.
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4Real Forums : Tea and Conversation
Topic: Anyone living in a 100+ house?
