Circa 1910 home with Aluminim Siding? Advice Please! (painted, ceiling, staircase)
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We have the opportunity to purchase a really beautiful older home that has AMAZING woodwork, coffered ceilings,pocket doors and a staircase that looks like it belongs in a church. It even has a stained glass window...
The problem is, several decades ago, the then owners got the bright idea of wrapping the entire house in white aluminum. They even put aluminum OVER a stained glass window!! (There oughta be a law)
On the back porch (the Ice Porch which has a built in Ice Box!) one can still see the original wood siding - its thin clapboard painted a subdued marigold with rust and dark forest green accents... I feel like screaming!
Home prices here are low VERY LOW. Nice homes sell for 125 - 150. Big old nice homes. This house is less.
Will the removal of the Aluminum siding be expensive? Is the original siding removed when aluminum is put up? Please give advice.
We have the opportunity to purchase a really beautiful older home that has AMAZING woodwork, coffered ceilings,pocket doors and a staircase that looks like it belongs in a church. It even has a stained glass window...
The problem is, several decades ago, the then owners got the bright idea of wrapping the entire house in white aluminum. They even put aluminum OVER a stained glass window!! (There oughta be a law)
On the back porch (the Ice Porch which has a built in Ice Box!) one can still see the original wood siding - its thin clapboard painted a subdued marigold with rust and dark forest green accents... I feel like screaming!
Home prices here are low VERY LOW. Nice homes sell for 125 - 150. Big old nice homes. This house is less.
Will the removal of the Aluminum siding be expensive? Is the original siding removed when aluminum is put up? Please give advice.
See if your local Historic Society will give you a hand
Is the original siding removed when aluminum is put up? Please give advice.
I agree with Boompa, see if the Historical Society has any info on the house - and if they have any local experts who can check it out for you. Sometimes the original siding is below, sometimes it's not, and sometimes it's on some parts of the house, and not on other parts. And then sometimes it gets damaged by the installation of the aluminum siding, or by moisture between the wood and the aluminum. Just so many ways for it to go wrong...
The house sounds great, and I hope you decide it's worth the trouble!
A great idea if the local Historical Society had any money and power. In this area, there are so many beautiful homes, and buildings that are deteriorating.
There is a 1900s hotel that is simply gorgeous - The Sterling Hotel. and it was allowed to deteriorate to the point where it is not salvageable. There is a Lodge called the Irem Temple that has a Moorish Revival architecture and the city is letting that deteriorate also.
There are groups attempting to save these buildings, but no one is willing to fork over the cash.
This is a typical rust belt city that is experiencing a slight rebound after a devastating flood in the 1970s, after which many residents fled stately beautiful homes in established neighborhoods for high ranches and pseudo colonials.
There are so many absolutely fabulous homes that were once owned by rich coal barons that have met similar fates. It is sad, but that's how it is here in Wilkes-Barre PA
Siding is usually placed overtop of the old wood siding. If so, you can remove it. Just be forwarned that your heating bills will be super high. The old wood houses don't have insulation. The newer siding helps reduce heat loss. But you can fix that by insulating the inside of your walls. That's where your biggest expense will be.
If your new siding is truly aluminum, you can cash that in because aluminum is worth a lot of money. Dont' let a contractor have the aluminum. It's yours and you should get the money for it at the metal yard.
A great idea if the local Historical Society had any money and power.
In this case I don't think it matters if your historical society has any money or power - you're just looking for information - and all it takes is one person that happens to remember that Lucy Smith used to own that house back in 1972, and she got talked into the aluminum siding by a company that came and did it all in one day, right on top of the old wood siding, and they trampled her rose bushes while installing it.
Or, if no one remembers the history of the house, you still might find one really enthusiastic volunteer, who would love to come out and take a peak, and give you some feedback on whether the original siding is still under the aluminum siding on all sides of the house.
It would be great if your historical society was well funded and could give you a grant to help remove the aluminum siding - but even if all they have is a few dusty boxes of old photos and a few dusty volunteers, they still might be helpful!
Home prices here are low VERY LOW. Nice homes sell for 125 - 150. Big old nice homes. This house is less.
It not the cost of the house- it's the cost to bring it to current code, updated amenities, and energy efficiency. After all that the house is priced out of the market (and that's if you can find the "artisans" that would be needed for that type of project). Sad but true- a commitment to that kind of project is strictly for love and sweat equity. Who knows, if you start maybe others will follow suit.
I guess if you can get it for the right price, it may be worth the gamble that the old siding is under the aluminum and can be restored. If not, yeah, replacing it with something that looks like the original could be pricey. Get it for the right price so you can.
And the other posters are right, the aluminum siding has resale value as scrap. If the house is big it could be worth a few hundred dollars.
That's something that I never knew - that Aluminum siding was worth something. I doubt that it's worth enough to make a dent in the cost.
I think I am going to buy it and make it a project. My husband loves it and it's dirt cheap. If all goes well I will post a picture - a before and get some ideas from everyone. I am also going to research the house to see if any pictures exist of the house in it's Glory Days.
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(There oughta be a law)
