What the ???? ~ A Historic House Mystery Historic houses often present mysteries to their current owners. Historic building methods and materials, alterations made in the past, obsolete domestic technology, and other features found in old houses can leave owners wondering what the ????
This will be first of a series of posts presenting historic house mysteries for our followers to ponder. Feel free to comment with your thoughts on the question. The correct answer will be posted next Sunday.
The mystery is the odd angled parging applied to, and obviously different bricks and mortar used to build, this chimney in the attic of an 1803 Federal style house in Maine. A second chimney in the attic has the same conditions. The drawing of the house is a detail from an 1877 bird’s eye view of the town. These illustrations generally get the main features right but might be off on some minor details. The exterior photo is recent.
Understanding how a house was built, functioned originally, and changed over time is an essential first step in planning a restoration/rehabilitation project.
Chapter 2 of “Restoring Your Historic House, The Comprehensive Guide for Homeowners” delves deeply into identifying alterations made over time and other mysteries found in old houses.
Signed and personalized copies of the award-winning and bestselling 720-page hardcover book are available from the author in our shop, YourHistoricHouse.com/shop/.
Our shop also carries select preservation and restoration titles by other authors, including “A Field Guide to American Houses.”
© Scott T. Hanson 2024.
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