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Anyone here knowledgeable about architecture?

Don't know, but it's an interesting looking house. I wouldn't have guessed a 1922 birthday. The combination of brick and siding is a bit unusual.
 
Those were some great years to buy a home.

It almost looks like a student of frank lloyd wright designed it, with the obvious asian influence. All that is missing is the turned up corners.


Are you sure that the exterior is all original? Brick looks good but the siding at top almost looks like 50's shingles
 
lxskllr said:
Don't know, but it's an interesting looking house. I wouldn't have guessed a 1922 birthday. The combination of brick and siding is a bit unusual.
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The brick is an odd color. We had a hard time chosing the paint color for the cedar shakes. We're not completely thrilled about the colors but it was the best we could come up with.
 
mizzou said:
Those were some great years to buy a home.

It almost looks like a student of frank lloyd wright designed it, with the obvious asian influence. All that is missing is the turned up corners.


Are you sure that the exterior is all original? Brick looks good but the siding at top almost looks like 50's shingles
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The siding is cedar shakes. I think it's original, but I'm not completely sure. Yeah, houses built in this time period are solid.
 
PhineasJWhoopee said:
The siding is cedar shakes. I think it's original, but I'm not completely sure. Yeah, houses built in this time period are solid.
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the big problems you have with these homes nowadays:"

1. Electricity
2. Plumbing (probably rotted cast iron)
3. Bugs (the kind that eat wood)
4. Iffy foundation (hopefully its fine, I'm sure your basement is a mess unless it was renovated)
5. Sometimes expensive roof issues, especially if you want to go with historical slate roofing
6. Bad weatherproofing (especially if you want to keep the historical integrity of the windows, etc.)
 
It's definitely an example of early Modern Architecture. I'm guessing Craftsman, with a little proto-deco just in the style of the lower windows.
 
mizzou said:
the big problems you have with these homes nowadays:"

1. Electricity
2. Plumbing (probably rotted cast iron)
3. Bugs (the kind that eat wood)
4. Iffy foundation (hopefully its fine, I'm sure your basement is a mess unless it was renovated)
5. Sometimes expensive roof issues, especially if you want to go with historical slate roofing
6. Bad weatherproofing (especially if you want to keep the historical integrity of the windows, etc.)
Click to expand...

Yes, these old houses can be money pits. I paid 145K so I could afford to do some work.

1. Electricity

It's on circuit breakers - no problem yet.

2. Plumbing (probably rotted cast iron)

Minor problems with the plumbing upstairs. Toilet upstairs tends to plug.

3. Bugs (the kind that eat wood)

Some rot around the windows we repaired.

4. Iffy foundation (hopefully its fine, I'm sure your basement is a mess unless it was renovated)

Stone foundation that about 16" thick, I believe. With heavy rains, get some water in utility room. Basement is finished and we use it as living space.

5. Sometimes expensive roof issues, especially if you want to go with historical slate roofing,

Roof is about 5 yrs old. Some sagging.

6. Bad weatherproofing (especially if you want to keep the historical integrity of the windows, etc.

Origiginal windows but the house is good on energy. Bill for water, gas, and electricity for 4 people was $225/month last year.
 
lxskllr said:
Very nice. I like all the wood you've used for the furniture and all :^)
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Thanks! There's some modern chairs in the background we're getting rid of so overlook that.

The furniture is quarter sawn oak made by local Amish craftsman. It was actually pretty inexpensive considering the quality.

We're going to add a desk and a bookcase and get new knick knacks for the mantle and the livingroom will be done.

On the outside, we still need to landscape.
 
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PhineasJWhoopee said:
I wonder how I cound find out who the architect was. The house was really well thought out. the floor plan is excellent.
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Thats easy. Find the original plat map that your house sts on from your county records office. If it actually had an architect it should in the blank spot your house sits on have written either the original owner or hopefully the architect or company who developed the site or home
 
My dad worked under Art Vandalay for most of his career. I can forward any requests for info to him. He his always happy to help.
 
It's not prairie style, at least not rigidly.

It's not really anything well defined. Mostly craftsman details which are (mostly) common with spinoffs of wright's first career...

But the massing is a little different, and the brickwork isn't really along those lines, and the step back in the second floor strikes me as odd / out of place for anything like that.

A floorplan would help, but if I had to guess I'd say someone local who was drawing on what was going on at the time, mixed with local practices.

Any other houses in the area look similar? Call your local historic preservation society, they might be able to tell you some more. Old plat and sanborn maps can help as well - county libraries are a good place to start, but it might take some digging.
 
Dubb said:
It's not prairie style, at least not rigidly.

It's not really anything well defined. Mostly craftsman details which are (mostly) common with spinoffs of wright's first career...
Click to expand...

I agree. My thought - it looks like a variation of a Foursquare with some prarie/craftsman elements, but lacking a lot of the details associated with either of those styles. I'd imagine whoever built it incorporated a some contemporary midwest style of the period, but it doesn't seem to be overly definitive of any one of those styles, really I think it's open to interpretation. Either way it's a neat house, looks really nice.

Quick side note - does that downspout running down from the porch roof cause you any drainage problems? Might want to run that away from the house.
 
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