“We first got bitten by the old-house bug back in 2002 when my husband was stationed in Oklahoma,” explains Kelly Priegnitz, a healthcare attorney. The busy careers of Kelly and her husband, Elmer,now retired from the Air Force, caused them to relocate often. In 2013, work took them from New York to Louisville, Kentucky. After spotting a handsome red brick Federal online, they “flew in, took a look and fell in love.” Within days, the old house in rural Cox’s Creek was theirs.
“We like original features and architecture, and the Samuels Home was virtually untouched.” That is, perhaps, an understatement. The ca. 1820–40 house had never been fitted with heating and air conditioning, the cellar floor was mud, and there was just one bathroom for five bedrooms. With five boys (including triplets), hectic careers, and frequent moves, this was a couple who could handle a challenge! The important thing for Kelly and Elmer was that the house remained extraordinarily intact. Floor plan, hardwood floors, woodwork, seven fireplaces, grain painting and marbling, hardware— all preserved. It sits proudly on a couple of wooded acres in bucolic rural Kentucky, surrounded by horse pastures.
Denne historien er fra March - April 2020-utgaven av Old House Journal.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra March - April 2020-utgaven av Old House Journal.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
a farmhouse renewed
Sensitive renovations and restoration work preserved a house that dates to 1799.
AN OVERVIEW OF METAL ROOFING
METAL ROOFS ARE RESURGENT, FOR GOOD REASONS.
ENDURING BEAUTY IN WALLS of STONE
Now back in the family who had been here since 1830, the old farmhouse is again ready for generations to come. Additions dating to 1840 and the 1950s were preserved.
ARCHITECTURAL DETAILS COME TO LIFE
Owners and their designer celebrate the unique features of a 1912 Arts & Crafts Tudor.
For a Wet Basement Wall
If there's problem common to old houses, it's a wet basement. I'm not talking about occasional flooding, but rather a basement that apparently seeps or leaks after even a rain shower or during snowmelt. Several approaches are available; sustainable solutions will get to the root of the problem.
Patching a Plaster Wall
Fix a hole in the wall with a few common tools and some drywall supplies. Practice your technique!
Navigating the Lumberyard
Here's some lumber lingo you should know before you venture into a lumberyard.
Roofing & Siding
Make note of these historical and unusual materials for the building envelope.
The Riddle of the water
When water incursion happens, the roof isn't necessarily the culprit. Maybe snaking a drain line, or clearing debris from a clogged gutter, temporarily will stem a leak. But a recurring problem usually means other forces are at work. It takes persistence-and a team with the right skills and patience—to identify the source and apply a solution.
Light-filled Craftsman Redo
For a dark kitchen in a 1914 Illinois house, the trick was anchoring white expanses with woodsy warmth.
