Old houses are expensive
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining about my house. I wouldn’t trade my 1910 Queen Anne for ten modern McMansions. Ok, I’d consider ten if they’re paid off.
It’s just that I see my growing list of immediate expensive repairs and I’m frustrated that I can make no inroads. In need of immediate or near-immediate attention: a fence to keep C from the creek in our back yard, a deck that is baby-proofed, a new coat of paint in several rooms and some places outside, a new a/c unit up stairs, and new gutters. Oh, and we need to get a plumber out to figure out what happened to our water pressure, and a couple of interior door knobs are in immediate need of replacing. Heck, I had to take the knobs off of one door because it works better with just the skeleton key.
Door knobs and locks are complicated in old houses. You see, modern door knobs are a fairly recent invention. I don’t know if you’ve ever noticed it, but on most newer houses, the knob uses just a round hole in the door, and any lock is in the center of the knob. But in old houses like ours, the lock is below the knob, but it’s still a single piece. The old ones look like this, and fit in a slot in the door:
The problem is that most locks sold these days are the new kind. Not only do I prefer the old ones, but to replace an old lock with a new, round knob means leaving a huge hole in your door. I’m no carpenter, and I have little choice.
They do sell the old locks at your neighborhood Home Depot, but they’re of inferior quality and don’t work for long. And they cost about twenty bucks each.
Or you could pay about twice that for a good one online.
Forty bucks for an interior door lock.
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There’s an architectural salvage place in Nashville that has old locks, knobs, etc. Surely you have something like that in Knoxville? I seem to remember one being there, but can’t think of the name.
Good point. For some reason, I hadn’t thought of that.
You can get lots of that kind of stuff on Ebay too.
We’ve got a salvage place in Jackson. You could come on down and check it out.
That’s the un-fun part of owning an older house.The plumbing is old,,the electric is old , and it can be a money pit! The bad part about old plumbing is once you start messing with it leaks pop up in different places. When we bought our first old house my husband had no idea how to do any repairs on plumbing or electric.Now,he can do it all with confidence and ease.So, on the brighter side, you will probably learn how to do a whole lot over the next few years.
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Interested in old house in Missouri, near family - currently in condo in Lakeside, California. Was looking for info on how to evaluate age of house, possibly by doorknob and lock - see doorknobs with old fashioned “skeleton” type keys in parts of house, yet listed as being built in 1957 —