Sigh. The door knob to my powder room in my house that was built in 1951 needed to be replaced so I picked one up at Lowes.

I’ve replaced door knobs and deadbolts before so I thought this would be a pretty straightforward process. Oh no, nothing can be easy with this house, the hole in the door for the original knob is some oddball size that does not work with the new knob so I have to go get the hole saw and the template to drill it all out.

Apparently they never heard of Phillips screws in 1951 because every damn screw in this house is a slotted one.

When the contractor was measuring the kitchen for the renovation he looks at the back door and is like “wow that is a real weird non standard size!”

So that doorway will need to be enlarged or we will have to special order a door.

You gotta love it!

Sounds like fun!

If you need any, I know where you can get some brand new two prong outlets. Some are wall outlets and the others are baseboard outlets.

At least I can understand the screws. The Phillips screw is designed to cam out and strip. Garbage.

I feel ya, Brother!

Original part of the house was built sometime before 1917 judging by newspapers found between the subfloor and the finish floor.

"New" part of the house was built in 1955.

NOTHING is standard, nothing is on any regular centers, most of it is full dimension rough-sawn framing, the old part is balloon framed, nothing is square or plumb and it was wired by my Father-in-Law who obviously had no clue what he was doing and never heard of "code".

Insulation? What's that?

Since retiring from the Navy in 1990, I've rebuilt or remodeled every square inch of this cussed place and every bit of it was a fight.

I once lived in a circa 1920 house in the come as you are section of the fine city of Fairborn OH. Not a single door was uniform. Different sizes throughout the house. The indoor crapper/bathtub was an add-on, built into the former kitchen pantry. And plaster and lath wall construction.
That was an adventure in affordable housing!

quote:

Originally posted by YooperSigs:
I once lived in a circa 1920 house in the come as you are section of the fine city of Fairborn OH. Not a single door was uniform. Different sizes throughout the house. The indoor crapper/bathtub was an add-on, built into the former kitchen pantry. And plaster and lath wall construction.
That was an adventure in affordable housing!

Sounds similar to the colonial I grew up in built in 1764. Very little consistency from room to room.

quote:

Originally posted by PKFan:
Very little consistency from room to room.

I could understand things being eyeballed and inconsistent in 1764 but I’m still trying to figure out why the windows in the same room are not the same size in a house built in 1951. I measured three windows in one room and not a one is the same.



My neighbor removed his plaster in his kitchen of his house built around 1910 to create an exposed brick look and some of the bricks look scorched. He thinks they were re-used from the ruins of a deadly opera house fire a few blocks away, back in the old days they reused everything even if it was from an opera house that burned hundreds of people alive because they were trapped


Rhoads Opera House fire

Before you drill the hole, use plywood (butt up to edge of the door) on both sides of the door and either c-clamps to hold, or finish nails if solid door, and a pilot bit that will go through both pieces of plywood before the saw starts cutting, to get it properly centered.

Easy enough to fill the nail holes.


For what it's worth, "This Old House" show title was almost 20 words, but the FCC Censors did some redacting and the three words we now know, were all that were left...

I feel that pain too. While our house is our home, and doubt we’ll move from it. It’s been an adventure. Built 1950, I believe, at least the wood is rough hewn oak, nice and thick, very strong. But, nothing is the same size, doors, windows, etc. it’s been added onto as well, before us, and we discovered an original outside wall in our bedroom when remodeling and removing a tiny closet.
Still had the cedar shake left on that wall, they had just covered it with frame and drywall.
Attic has a hole cut into from the addition to get into the original part. There is a step down from one part of the house to where they built on. We wanted to put hardwood flooring in the living and dining room, and contractor said better not. Not even enough to lay hardwood, and when they looked at options, like tearing out, said there were so many layers of added flooring from last work, might be a nightmare to remove enough and rebuild it to level it. Old flooring was wood, but cracked, uneven, etc. so, we tore up carpet, linoleum that was also there, put vapor barrier down, and underlayment to even the floor and reduce creaks. New carpet was the route. Worked well, we’re fine with it, at least it’s warm and soft to walk on.

All the old windows were pulley system. So thin when the wind blew you felt as if they weren’t there. Windows were not the same size when comparing rooms.

Crawlspace is not high enough, barely high enough to get through it, as it used to have the coal cellar as well. Ceiling height in basement is a bit low, you kind of have to duck if you’re tall to clear the furnace ducting.
So, new doors, new windows, new roof, new carpeting as we could, living here. At least it’s much more insulated and cost efficient. Oh, and new furnace and ac too.
So much fun. Trying to get all this done on time constraints and money as well. Took quite a few years to get to how it is now. At least we’re in the country, so that’s a plus.
Still need to upgrade bathroom, lol.

quote:

Originally posted by sigmonkey:
Before you drill the hole, use plywood (butt up to edge of the door) on both sides of the door and either c-clamps to hold, or finish nails if solid door, and a pilot bit that will go through both pieces of plywood before the saw starts cutting, to get it properly centered.

I have a jig from Ryobi that I use:

Excellent! I wasn't gonna suggest you go spend money on a jig for a "one off".

Excuse me, where are you 78” exterior doors, all I see is 80”

Excuse me, I need need 5” inch duct work to move my register, but all I see is 4”or 6”

Yup, fun times.

quote:

Originally posted by sigmonkey:
Excellent! I wasn't gonna suggest you go spend money on a jig for a "one off".

I’ve got 13 more doors to go…

All the doorknobs in this place will need replacing for one reason or another.

I guess the crack-addled gibbons that built my house worked on yours, too.

quote:

Originally posted by .38supersig:
At least I can understand the screws. The Phillips screw is designed to cam out and strip. Garbage.

And slotted screws are designed so the driver jumps out and pokes a hole in your hand.

Original three rooms in my house were built with materials found on the property in the 1890s. Additions were done in four different decades. There ain’t a damn thing level/flush/square in the entire house. I had to make a threshold strip for our front door last week. I got it close enough for me (which is still not flush with the door/trim/floor) after almost TWO freakin hours.

My home is 101 years old. Built from timber cut and milled on this farm. I have remodeled it two times. Reading these posts brings back good memories and some nightmares. I wouldn't trade the experience for anything.

quote:

Originally posted by PASig:
Sigh. The door knob to my powder room in my house that was built in 1951 needed to be replaced so I picked one up at Lowes.

I’ve replaced door knobs and deadbolts before so I thought this would be a pretty straightforward process. Oh no, nothing can be easy with this house....

I hear you, I like modern construction where most everything is standard. LOL try working on an old house built in 1860 I have here on the property. NOTHING is standard, the walls don't even have cavities, other than a couple interior ones that were added maybe 40 years ago. All exterior walls and some of the interior ones are made up of 1" to 1 1/8" planks anywhere from 12" to 20" wide with each one going up 2 stories from the stone foundation up to the rafters. The same size boards are then run horizontally and nailed to them on the inside making the 2" thick wood wall. The wood used was chestnut, not wormy of course since it was before the blight. Needless to say what receptacles there are, are surface mount.

One thing I make is steel security doors. You're right nothing is standard. I've made doors for width openings from 28 inches up to 48 inches. Heights from 73 inches to 96 inches. That's the new thing for all the newer homes being built is 42 x 96 front door openings.

A little late for this: One other thing about houses from 1951 is possible hidden lead paint or asbestos. Especially, if you don't know if the interior has been remodeled since 1980. Be careful about these 2 items if you have younger kids.

You guys are all a bunch of liars. According to the youTube videos I've watched put out by Europeans, we Americans tear down our flimsy wooden houses and build new ones every thirty years.