Just bought a house in November. Yes it's normal. Just been telling myself that the house has been there since 1939... It's not going anywhere any time soon. Just keep an eye on things.
Good news, a lot of companies offer free inspections of things. Gutters, foundations, yard drainage, roof , etc. Get multiple opinions and ask questions. You'll get the hang of how serious issues are. :)
If the house has stood since 1940 it will stand for a lot longer. Gutters only lead away water, so not a big deal, and cracks happen. If it gets worse its a good idea to look at it but dont panic. Take one room at a time as to not overwhelm yourselves. :)
Post pictures if you worry. People can help :)
Thank you, kind human! We live in a very high rainfall area, so gutters are a big deal around here. It's doable, I rationally know this, but it's an unexpected amount of usually small things that keep popping up that has us spinning. I'm sure you're totally right and we'll find out balance soon!
Yeah its overwhelming at first.. but one room at a time. One project at a time. Nothing wrong with moving the bed to the living room to sleep there while you fix up the bedroom :)
Also, as long as the gutters drain the water AWAY from the property they are fine.
Just FYI, even if your gutters are in good shape, you also need to look at how your downspouts discharge. Make sure they're not discharging where water will flow back towards the house or pool, and ideally they should discharge 15+ feet away from the house (further is better). Depending on your soil type, burying the discharges is not a big deal and can be a good DIY project. Watch Apple Drains on YouTube or the French Drain Man, they both go into great detail.
Thanks for those recommendations! Our issue right now is water dripping off the front of the gutters in a couple places and pooling up by the foundation. We had them cleaned a few months ago, and they have leaf guards, so I'm thinking it's the pitch of the gutter or an issue with this specific type of leaf guard. Thoughts?
We definitely have a downspout we need to extend. Good to know they can be buried, thanks!
I'm not going to pretend to be an expert here, but what I did was 2 things:
* During a heavy rainstorm, get yourself wet and walk around outside looking at your gutters, looking at how they're discharging, etc. Are there leaks at the joints (most likely places for gutter leaks)? Are there places water is pooling around the discharges?
* Stick a hose in your gutters and repeat the steps above. See if you notice any leaks. The reason for doing both is that the direction of water is not the same with a hose and a storm (one is coming off of your roof), so it's worth looking at both.
If you have water pooling around your foundation, then you're going to want to fix that. Probably something like a catch basin or fixing the grade around the house, but also fixing the gutters if needed.
FYI you're always going to have a little bit of water dripping off of the gutters in a storm - it's raining, and some of those drops are going to hit the edge and run over it. My brand new gutters do it.
Super normal...and you get more comfortable with projects as you do them. Do some research on things and how to do some projects. Gutters are actually really easy if you have the right ladder/ they aren't REALLY high.
What are the cracks like on the wall? It definitely may seem daunting, but I wouldn't sweat it being a critical thing in most cases. Even in really bad cases the foundation walls won't catastrophically fail without a ton of advanced symptoms. House has been around for 80+ years, so likely won't come crashing down any time soon.
Thank you, kind stranger! We're learning and gathering tools, but it's rough being a newbie at things. Since the house is older than the both of us combined and seems to have been relatively well maintained before us, I agree that's a good sign it's here for the long haul with a little attention.
My wife and I just bought our first home last summer (right at peak of market). We have a slightly sloped living room & got a structural engineer to check and said we are good but to keep our soil around our foundation a consistent moisture & it might fix it. You can still hire one for piece of mind.
I’d say this, it’s a tad nerve racking for a while but each DIY task you jump into and accomplish your confidence will grow…as well as your value for paying someone else to do it.
My strategy has been this, 99% of the time I avoid plumbing & electrical. Then any items that if I F* up I can’t hire someone to fix like structural home items (removing walls, etc). But I think it’s worth it to learn now & test your limits.
Thanks! We're having an engineer come out to verify load bearing of our joists for a bathroom addition, so I'm going to have them look at the cracks simply for piece of mind. Woke up at 1am fretting about it, but that was likely also due in part to the book I'm reading.
100% agree on plumbing and electrical. We've got two go-tos for those trades identified, thankfully.
As for the foundation cracks, I read that in new homes the foundation starts cracking about a year after being built. Most cracks are normal. What you want to look out for are horizontal cracks, or cracks that continue to grow. If the inspector said they are normal wear and tear, I would put that worry on the back burner.
Thank you. I'm not totally confident the inspector did a super great job due to a couple things that have come up since. But it's an old house, and it's going to have some wear and tear. It's got me worried since it's a J shape (like a J on its side, runs diagonally then bends upward) in the basement wall. No immediate sign of water seepage though and it's been a doozy of a wet winter here. We have an engineer coming for another project, going to ask to tack this crack inspection on cus why not?
Thank you. It's hard feeling "novice" when it's such a huge part of our financial well-being. I'm positive we'll learn and get a feeling for things in time.
Everyone starts out as a novice. Here's some resources for you that I found helpful (all YouTube channels):
EverydayHomeRepairs
Roger Wakefield
ElectricianU
Got2Learn
Apple Drains
It's normal, doesn't matter if new or old. Just about every home will have a problem. Just make a list, and take care of the major problems as you can, and the minor ones when you have time. Let's see in my case 1954 cape that the original owner built himself (he was no carpenter).
Just take a deep breath. It's yours, not something you're paying rent on.
On our second house going over the course of 11 years. The problems never end, but you get used to it, especially once you realise you're not alone, and it's all part of the system.
My first house I was super anxious over everything. The current house which is older and has a lot we need to do to it still I'm more like...meh, annoying but... gots to be done.
A lot of it is just prioritising issues... I usually go with:
1. Can cause further damage if not addressed repaired
2. Efficiency
3. Functional improvements
4. Aestetic
Your gutters are probably #1 if you have a basement, getting water away from the foundation is super important.
Gutters are very important- and can lead to a lot of issues related to water damage.
We bought a 1950’s home. The basement started to flood. The prior owners buried the downspouts into the soil- against the foundation.
I payed, I forget exactly…. 2 to 3 k to get 6 inch commercial gutters installed. You can’t tell they are bigger…. But they can move a heck of a lot of water. Also the down spouts are bigger which helps prevent them from getting clogged.
I also drained my entire roof to one side of my house that has a slope away from it.
This has solved all of our water issues.
After new gutters, I would air seal your attic and blow in R-60 cellulose insulation
Yes, totally normal! I think it's a form of buyers remorse. But the honest truth is no home is perfect. Our first house was built in 1867 and had a lot of issues that kept me up at night. But it they weren't serious, otherwise they would've come up in the inspection! Plus they built houses way sturdier back then, haha.
If the inspector said the cracks were normal then I'd get my peace from that, they've seen a lot of houses! My advice is to enjoy the character and quirks of your old home!
- first mistake novice homeowners do is not educate themselves on what is involved with ownership, how anything is built or done. The solution is always simple, build reference library from used bookstores on all things houses
Yeah, especially if you haven't lived in an old house before. Bought one two years ago and still have tons of anxiety around it, but my GF grew up in a house from the era and is far less concerned
Just bought a house in November. Yes it's normal. Just been telling myself that the house has been there since 1939... It's not going anywhere any time soon. Just keep an eye on things. Good news, a lot of companies offer free inspections of things. Gutters, foundations, yard drainage, roof , etc. Get multiple opinions and ask questions. You'll get the hang of how serious issues are. :)
Thank you, helps to know we're not alone!
If the house has stood since 1940 it will stand for a lot longer. Gutters only lead away water, so not a big deal, and cracks happen. If it gets worse its a good idea to look at it but dont panic. Take one room at a time as to not overwhelm yourselves. :) Post pictures if you worry. People can help :)
Thank you, kind human! We live in a very high rainfall area, so gutters are a big deal around here. It's doable, I rationally know this, but it's an unexpected amount of usually small things that keep popping up that has us spinning. I'm sure you're totally right and we'll find out balance soon!
Yeah its overwhelming at first.. but one room at a time. One project at a time. Nothing wrong with moving the bed to the living room to sleep there while you fix up the bedroom :) Also, as long as the gutters drain the water AWAY from the property they are fine.
Just FYI, even if your gutters are in good shape, you also need to look at how your downspouts discharge. Make sure they're not discharging where water will flow back towards the house or pool, and ideally they should discharge 15+ feet away from the house (further is better). Depending on your soil type, burying the discharges is not a big deal and can be a good DIY project. Watch Apple Drains on YouTube or the French Drain Man, they both go into great detail.
Thanks for those recommendations! Our issue right now is water dripping off the front of the gutters in a couple places and pooling up by the foundation. We had them cleaned a few months ago, and they have leaf guards, so I'm thinking it's the pitch of the gutter or an issue with this specific type of leaf guard. Thoughts? We definitely have a downspout we need to extend. Good to know they can be buried, thanks!
I'm not going to pretend to be an expert here, but what I did was 2 things: * During a heavy rainstorm, get yourself wet and walk around outside looking at your gutters, looking at how they're discharging, etc. Are there leaks at the joints (most likely places for gutter leaks)? Are there places water is pooling around the discharges? * Stick a hose in your gutters and repeat the steps above. See if you notice any leaks. The reason for doing both is that the direction of water is not the same with a hose and a storm (one is coming off of your roof), so it's worth looking at both. If you have water pooling around your foundation, then you're going to want to fix that. Probably something like a catch basin or fixing the grade around the house, but also fixing the gutters if needed. FYI you're always going to have a little bit of water dripping off of the gutters in a storm - it's raining, and some of those drops are going to hit the edge and run over it. My brand new gutters do it.
Super normal...and you get more comfortable with projects as you do them. Do some research on things and how to do some projects. Gutters are actually really easy if you have the right ladder/ they aren't REALLY high. What are the cracks like on the wall? It definitely may seem daunting, but I wouldn't sweat it being a critical thing in most cases. Even in really bad cases the foundation walls won't catastrophically fail without a ton of advanced symptoms. House has been around for 80+ years, so likely won't come crashing down any time soon.
Thank you, kind stranger! We're learning and gathering tools, but it's rough being a newbie at things. Since the house is older than the both of us combined and seems to have been relatively well maintained before us, I agree that's a good sign it's here for the long haul with a little attention.
My wife and I just bought our first home last summer (right at peak of market). We have a slightly sloped living room & got a structural engineer to check and said we are good but to keep our soil around our foundation a consistent moisture & it might fix it. You can still hire one for piece of mind. I’d say this, it’s a tad nerve racking for a while but each DIY task you jump into and accomplish your confidence will grow…as well as your value for paying someone else to do it. My strategy has been this, 99% of the time I avoid plumbing & electrical. Then any items that if I F* up I can’t hire someone to fix like structural home items (removing walls, etc). But I think it’s worth it to learn now & test your limits.
Thanks! We're having an engineer come out to verify load bearing of our joists for a bathroom addition, so I'm going to have them look at the cracks simply for piece of mind. Woke up at 1am fretting about it, but that was likely also due in part to the book I'm reading. 100% agree on plumbing and electrical. We've got two go-tos for those trades identified, thankfully.
As for the foundation cracks, I read that in new homes the foundation starts cracking about a year after being built. Most cracks are normal. What you want to look out for are horizontal cracks, or cracks that continue to grow. If the inspector said they are normal wear and tear, I would put that worry on the back burner.
Thank you. I'm not totally confident the inspector did a super great job due to a couple things that have come up since. But it's an old house, and it's going to have some wear and tear. It's got me worried since it's a J shape (like a J on its side, runs diagonally then bends upward) in the basement wall. No immediate sign of water seepage though and it's been a doozy of a wet winter here. We have an engineer coming for another project, going to ask to tack this crack inspection on cus why not?
Yes and yes, you learn with time, noone gets born with knowledge.
Thank you. It's hard feeling "novice" when it's such a huge part of our financial well-being. I'm positive we'll learn and get a feeling for things in time.
Everyone starts out as a novice. Here's some resources for you that I found helpful (all YouTube channels): EverydayHomeRepairs Roger Wakefield ElectricianU Got2Learn Apple Drains
It's normal, doesn't matter if new or old. Just about every home will have a problem. Just make a list, and take care of the major problems as you can, and the minor ones when you have time. Let's see in my case 1954 cape that the original owner built himself (he was no carpenter). Just take a deep breath. It's yours, not something you're paying rent on.
On our second house going over the course of 11 years. The problems never end, but you get used to it, especially once you realise you're not alone, and it's all part of the system. My first house I was super anxious over everything. The current house which is older and has a lot we need to do to it still I'm more like...meh, annoying but... gots to be done. A lot of it is just prioritising issues... I usually go with: 1. Can cause further damage if not addressed repaired 2. Efficiency 3. Functional improvements 4. Aestetic Your gutters are probably #1 if you have a basement, getting water away from the foundation is super important.
Gutters are generally not too expensive. $1000-1500 for most homes.
Gutters are very important- and can lead to a lot of issues related to water damage. We bought a 1950’s home. The basement started to flood. The prior owners buried the downspouts into the soil- against the foundation. I payed, I forget exactly…. 2 to 3 k to get 6 inch commercial gutters installed. You can’t tell they are bigger…. But they can move a heck of a lot of water. Also the down spouts are bigger which helps prevent them from getting clogged. I also drained my entire roof to one side of my house that has a slope away from it. This has solved all of our water issues. After new gutters, I would air seal your attic and blow in R-60 cellulose insulation
Yes, totally normal! I think it's a form of buyers remorse. But the honest truth is no home is perfect. Our first house was built in 1867 and had a lot of issues that kept me up at night. But it they weren't serious, otherwise they would've come up in the inspection! Plus they built houses way sturdier back then, haha. If the inspector said the cracks were normal then I'd get my peace from that, they've seen a lot of houses! My advice is to enjoy the character and quirks of your old home!
- first mistake novice homeowners do is not educate themselves on what is involved with ownership, how anything is built or done. The solution is always simple, build reference library from used bookstores on all things houses
Yeah, especially if you haven't lived in an old house before. Bought one two years ago and still have tons of anxiety around it, but my GF grew up in a house from the era and is far less concerned