How to Determine The age of a building from Architectural Style InspectAPedia® -
How to determine the age of a building
Building component age: construction materials, methods, including hardware, saw cuts, and other details can help determine when a building was constructed or when it was modified.
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Here we provide a photo guide to determining the age of a building by examination of the architectural style of construction or the building materials and components that were used in the structure. The age of a building can be determined quite accurately by documentation, but when documents are not readily
available, visual clues such as those available during a professional home inspection can still determine when a house was built by examining its components, building materials, even nails, fasteners, and types of saw cuts on lumber. Our page top photo shows a Mid-Victorian multi-floor structure built in Hudson, NY, USA ca 1874. The entire building exterior facade is made of cast iron, including the window parapets and sills and the faux stone exterior walls and corner quoins.
Here we list some helpful
clues to answer the question "how old is the house?" and we provide photographs of key visual
clues useful for determining the age of a building.
Photo Examples of Architecture & Style Providing Typical Dates of Construction
While building architectural styles such as "Victorian" continue to be built into the present, the combination
of a recognizable architectural style with an inspection of the building materials which have been used provide
considerable information about the age of a home as well as its history of changes and additions.
Photograph of
American Colonial Architecture ca 1774
This is the Suffolk Resolves house in Randolph, MA, USA, a historic house built ca 1774.
Photograph of Gothic Revival Style Architecture ca 1840
This is the Justin Morrill Smith homestead in Strafford, VT, USA.
You can see window hardware from this home at Windows & Doors.
Photographic Example of Early Victorian Style Architecture ca 1850
This frame building in Hudson New York is dated ca 1850. We are not sure why "Victorian" is applied to this home based on its exterior, other than the window type and size and entry door design.
Photographic Example of Mid-Victorian Style Architecture ca 1874
This photo shows a Mid-Victorian multi-floor structure built in Hudson, NY, USA ca 1874.
The entire building exterior facade is made of cast iron, including the window parapets and sills and the faux stone exterior walls and corner quoins.
Photographic Example of Colonial Style Architecture ca 1875
This photo shows a Colonial style home built in Newburh, NY, USA ca 1875. You can also see some of the framing details of this home at Framing Materials Age.
Example Photographs of Neo-Victorian Style Architecture ca 1900
The home shown just above was constructed in Poughkeepsie, NY ca 1900 and includes numerous Victorian architectural designs as well as turned barrel stave porch columns made in Brooklyn, NY. (Later restored by the author, photo above right shows copper-lined eaves trough gutter reconstruction in process.)
By 1984 the home had been covered with aluminum siding and indoors ceilings by ceiling tiles and other newer materials that were removed during restoration work.
Photographic Example of Modern Dutch Colonial Style Architecture ca 1939
This home was constructed in Poughkeepsie, NY ca 1939. While the basic shape follows a two story Dutch Colonial design, the buliding exterior has been covered by a PermaStone veneer, probably applied during the 1960's.
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Additional technical contributors & reference sources for this article are listed below.
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Thanks to Alan Carson and Bob Dunlop, Carson Dunlop, Associates, Toronto, for permission to use illustrations from their publication, The Illustrated Home which illustrates construction details and building components. Carson Dunlop provides home inspection education, publications, report writing materials, and home inspection services. Alan Carson is a past president of ASHI, the American Society of Home Inspectors.
Carson Dunlop, Associates, Toronto, have provided us with (and we recommend)
Carson Dunlop Weldon & Associates' Technical Reference Guide to manufacturer's model and serial number information for heating and cooling equipment ($69.00 U.S.). Technical Reference Guide, Carson Dunlop Weldon & Associates, Ltd., 120 Carlton St. Suite 407, Toronto, Ontario, M5A 4K2 Canada, ISBN 1-895585-90-2 165pp.
America's Favorite Homes, mail-order catalogues as a guide to popular early 20th-century houses, Robert Schweitzer, Michael W.R. Davis, 1990, Wayne State University Press ISBN 0814320066 (may be available from Wayne State University Press)
American Plywood Association, APA, "Portland Manufacturing Company, No. 1, a series of monographs on the history of plywood manufacturing",Plywood Pioneers Association, 31 March, 1967, www.apawood.org
Asbestos products and their history and use in various building materials such as asphalt and vinyl flooring includes discussion which draws on Asbestos, Its Industrial Applications, D.V. Rosato, engineering consultant, Newton, MA, Reinhold Publishing, 1959 Library of Congress Catalog Card No.: 59-12535 (out of print).
Building Research Council, BRC, nee Small Homes Council, SHC, School of Architecture, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, brc.arch.uiuc.edu. "The Small Homes Council (our original name) was organized in 1944 during the war at the request of the President of the University of Illinois to consider the role of the university in meeting the demand for housing in the United States. Soldiers would be coming home after the war and would be needing good low-cost housing. ... In 1993, the Council became part of the School of Architecture, and since then has been known as the School of Architecture-Building Research Council. ... The Council's researchers answered many critical questions that would affect the quality of the nation's housing stock.
How could homes be designed and built more efficiently?
What kinds of construction and production techniques worked well and which did not?
How did people use different kinds of spaces in their homes?
What roles did community planning, zoning, and interior design play in how neighborhoods worked?
"
Isham: "An Example of Colonial Paneling", Norman Morrison Isham, The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, Vol. 6, No. 5 (May, 1911), pp. 112-116, available by JSTOR.
Manufactured & Modular Homes: Modular Building Systems Association, MBSA, modularhousing.com, is a trade association promoting and providing links to contact modular builders in North America. Also see the Manufactured Home Owners Association, MHOAA, at www.mhoaa.us. The Manufactured Home Owners Association of America is a National Organization dedicated to the protection of the rights of all people living in Manufactured Housing in the United States.
Pergo AB, division of Perstorp AB, is a Swedish manufacturer or modern laminate flooring products. Information about the U.S. company can be found at http://www.pergo.com where we obtained historical data used in our discussion of the age of flooring materials in buildings.
Plank House Construction: webslog from plankhouse.wordpress.com/2009/01/25/plank-house-construction/ and where plank houses were built by native Americans, see
Large 1:6 Scale Plank House Construction / P8094228,
Photographer: Mike Meuser
06/12/2007 documented at yurokplankhouse.com where scale model Museum quality Yurok Plank Houses are being sold to raise money for the Blue Creek - Ah Pah Traditional Yurok Village project.
Scott C. LeMarr has provided his file of keys to decode Furnace and Water Heater Age from the data provided on the manufacturer's equipment labels. Mr. LeMarr is
a professional home inspector, Certified Professional Inspector/President,
MASTER Indoor Environmental Specialist (MIES).
Vice President of Wisconsin NACHI. He and his company, Honest Home Inspections, LLC. can be reached at
262-424-5587 or by email to scott@honesthomeinspections.com
Weaver: Beaver Board and Upson Board:
Beaver Board and Upson Board: History and Conservation of Early Wallboard, Shelby Weaver,
APT Bulletin, Vol. 28, No. 2/3 (1997), pp. 71-78, Association for Preservation Technology International (APT), available online at JSTOR.
List of Online Articles Giving Detailed Information & Reference Materials for Determining the Age of Buildings
Square D Circuit Breaker Recalls, announced by the US CPSC, recalls include a Square D GFCI circuit breaker distributed by Square D, and a Counterfeit Square-D circuit breaker sold through Scott Electric
Flooring Materials: history of types and age of different flooring materials: Asphalt or vinyl-asbestos floor tiles, sheet flooring, linoleum, ceramic tile, carpeting, wood floor types and materials
Foundation Crack Bible, in-depth diagnosis, and evaluation of all types of structural and non-structural cracks in residential foundations [Brick, Concrete, Masonry Block, Stone]
More Information on Building Diagnostic Inspections and Repairs
...
InspectAPedia® Home & Site Map - Building & Environmental Inspection, Testing, Diagnosis, Repair, & Problem Prevention Advice: In-depth research & advice on diagnosing, testing, correcting, & preventing building defects & indoor environmental hazards. Unbiased information, no conflicts of interest.
The Mold Information Center: What to Do About Mold in Buildings, When and How to Inspect for Mold, Clean Up Mold, or Avoid Mold Problems
Environmental Inspection, Testing, & Diagnosis On-Site IAQ, Gas, Air Testing, Mold Investigation, Sick Building Diagnosis, Lab Services, & Remediation Plan Preparation - indoor air quality testing, problem source determination, supporting lab work, written remediation plan addressing removal of environmental and other hazards and prevention of their recurrence.
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