Hi Everyone.
I bought this house last summer. It's a 1918 sort of Victorian Cottage I guess you would call it.
It's got this really goofy addition in back. I believe it was a porch (see brick piers) that was enclosed probably during the 40s or so, based on the quality and materials used (inside is all press board and just horrendously built).
You can see where the original foundation ends, where the siding dips down just past the larger window.
All they did was extend the clapboards right down to the ground. There is a gaping hole underneath, and no access whatsoever.
The entire structure is now a really silly waste of space. There is a hallway in the middle, with a small bedroom on the other side, but it could be office, mudroom, etc... If I leave the structure, I would at least take down the partition wall.
See pic:
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3355/3480062798_20ef2aedb8.jpg?v=0
not the ridiculously oversized vent stack for the upstairs bathroom. would love to rip this out soon.
I will definitely be ripping out the siding, insulating it well underneath, etc...
Here are a few thoughts I have for this structure in terms of how to permanently "fix" it and tie it in to the rest of the house:
1) Open it up below the rim joist. Temporarily brace somehow, and manually dig a 4' trench around it, lay cinder blocks and make a real foundation. Leave some sort of doorway for maintenance access.
Thinking it might be nice to even kind of "feature" the addition and do some nice brick work or stone work around it, either as the actual foundation, or as a veneer over the cinder block.
2) Tear down everything back to the original foundation and either rebuild or just leave it original.
3) Turn it into an open porch, starting at where the original foundation ends.
Do either of these ideas sound plausible? Any thing you guys would add or subtract?
Thanks a lot.
I bought this house last summer. It's a 1918 sort of Victorian Cottage I guess you would call it.
It's got this really goofy addition in back. I believe it was a porch (see brick piers) that was enclosed probably during the 40s or so, based on the quality and materials used (inside is all press board and just horrendously built).
You can see where the original foundation ends, where the siding dips down just past the larger window.
All they did was extend the clapboards right down to the ground. There is a gaping hole underneath, and no access whatsoever.
The entire structure is now a really silly waste of space. There is a hallway in the middle, with a small bedroom on the other side, but it could be office, mudroom, etc... If I leave the structure, I would at least take down the partition wall.
See pic:
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3355/3480062798_20ef2aedb8.jpg?v=0
not the ridiculously oversized vent stack for the upstairs bathroom. would love to rip this out soon.
I will definitely be ripping out the siding, insulating it well underneath, etc...
Here are a few thoughts I have for this structure in terms of how to permanently "fix" it and tie it in to the rest of the house:
1) Open it up below the rim joist. Temporarily brace somehow, and manually dig a 4' trench around it, lay cinder blocks and make a real foundation. Leave some sort of doorway for maintenance access.
Thinking it might be nice to even kind of "feature" the addition and do some nice brick work or stone work around it, either as the actual foundation, or as a veneer over the cinder block.
2) Tear down everything back to the original foundation and either rebuild or just leave it original.
3) Turn it into an open porch, starting at where the original foundation ends.
Do either of these ideas sound plausible? Any thing you guys would add or subtract?
Thanks a lot.
