How to Determine the Age of a Building from Architectural Style InspectAPedia® -
How to determine the probable age of a building based on its architectural style
Architectural style guide to houses
Questions & answers about identifying the age of a building or its components, systems, or materials of construction based on architectural style or details of architectural features
Here we provide a photo guide to determining the age of a residential or light commercial building by examination of the architectural style of construction or the building materials and components that were used in the structure.
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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.
For more details about identifying and dating building or building component see the building component or construction method article links at page left; for a detailed guide to building and building component architectural styles see ARCHITECTURE & BUILDING COMPONENT ID
Photo Examples of Architecture & Style Providing Typical Dates of Construction
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.
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.
For detailed guides to identifying building architectural styles and building roof, dormer, window, and other component styles see
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 Newburg, NY, USA ca 1875. You can also see some of the framing details of this home at FRAMING MATERIALS, Age, Types.
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 building exterior has been covered by a PermaStone veneer, probably applied during the 1960's.
Questions & Answers regarding this article
Questions & answers about identifying the age of a building or its components, systems, or materials of construction
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Additional technical contributors & reference sources for this article are listed below.
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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, Age, Types: 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]
Abatron EpoxyWood Repair/Restoration 5501 - 95th Avenue, Kenosha, WI 53144 USA Tel: (262) 653-2000
Fax: (262) 653-2019, For orders: (800) 445-1754 Abatron provides a wide range of wood & building restoration epoxy products including a low-viscosity system that penetrates and solidifies rotted wood and a thicker wood repair putty type epoxy.
Tremont Nail Company offers steel cut nails for authentic restoration projects and work on historic buildings
Books & Articles on Building & Environmental Inspection, Testing, Diagnosis, & Repair
Our recommended books about building & mechanical systems design, inspection, problem diagnosis, and repair, and about indoor environment and IAQ testing, diagnosis, and cleanup are at the InspectAPedia Bookstore. Also see our Book Reviews - InspectAPedia.
The Home Reference Book - the Encyclopedia of Homes, Carson Dunlop & Associates, Toronto, Ontario, 2010, $69.00 U.S., is available from Carson Dunlop. The Home Reference Book is a bound volume of more than 450 illustrated pages that assist home inspectors and home owners in the inspection and detection of problems on buildings. The text is intended as a reference guide to help building owners operate and maintain their home effectively. InspectAPedia.com ® author/editor Daniel Friedman is a contributing author. Field inspection worksheets are included at the back of the volume.
"The Elimination of Unsafe Guardrails, a Progress Report," Elliott O. Stephenson, Building Standards, March-April 1993
"Are Functional Handrails Within Our Grasp" Jake Pauls, Building Standards, January-February 1991
Access Ramp building codes:
UBC 1003.3.4.3
BOCA 1016.3
ADA 4.8.2
IBC 1010.2
Access Ramp Standards:
ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act), Public Law 101-336. 7/26/90 is very often cited by other sources for good design of stairs and ramps etc. even where disabled individuals are not the design target.
ANSI A117.4 Accessible and Usable buildings and Facilities (earlier version was incorporated into the ADA)
ASTM F 1637, Standard Practice for Safe Walking Surfaces, (Similar to the above standards)
"Energy Savers: Whole-House Supply Ventilation Systems [copy on file as /interiors/Energy_Savers_Whole-House_Supply_Vent.pdf ] - ", U.S. Department of Energy energysavers.gov/your_home/insulation_airsealing/index.cfm/mytopic=11880?print
"Energy Savers: Whole-House Exhaust Ventilation Systems [copy on file as /interiors/Energy_Savers_Whole-House_Exhaust.pdf ] - ", U.S. Department of Energy energysavers.gov/your_home/insulation_airsealing/index.cfm/mytopic=11870
"Energy Savers: Ventilation [copy on file as /interiors/Energy_Savers_Ventilation.pdf ] - ", U.S. Department of Energy
"Energy Savers: Natural Ventilation [copy on file as /interiors/Energy_Savers_Natural_Ventilation.pdf ] - ", U.S. Department of Energy
"Energy Savers: Energy Recovery Ventilation Systems [copy on file as /interiors/Energy_Savers_Energy_Recovery_Venting.pdf ] - ", U.S. Department of Energy energysavers.gov/your_home/insulation_airsealing/index.cfm/mytopic=11900
"Energy Savers: Detecting Air Leaks [copy on file as /interiors/Energy_Savers_Detect_Air_Leaks.pdf ] - ", U.S. Department of Energy
"Energy Savers: Air Sealing [copy on file as /interiors/Energy_Savers_Air_Sealing_1.pdf ] - ", U.S. Department of Energy
Falls and Related Injuries: Slips, Trips, Missteps, and Their Consequences, Lawyers & Judges Publishing, (June 2002), ISBN-10: 0913875430 ISBN-13: 978-0913875438 "Falls in the home and public places are the second leading cause of unintentional injury deaths in the United States, but are overlooked in most literature. This book is unique in that it is entirely devoted to falls. Of use to primary care physicians, nurses, insurance adjusters, architects, writers of building codes, attorneys, or anyone who cares for the elderly, this book will tell you how, why, and when people will likely fall, what most likely will be injured, and how such injuries come about. "
Humidity: What indoor humidity should we maintain in order to avoid a mold problem?
Slips, Trips, Missteps and Their Consequences, Second Edition, Gary M. Bakken, H. Harvey Cohen,A. S. Hyde, Jon R. Abele, ISBN-13: 978-1-933264-01-1 or
ISBN 10: 1-933264-01-2,
available from the publisher, Lawyers ^ Judges Publishing Company,Inc., www.lawyersandjudges.com sales@lawyersandjudges.com and also from the InspectAPedia Bookstore (Amazon.com)
The Stairway Manufacturers' Association, (877) 500-5759, provides a pictorial guide to the stair and railing portion of the International Residential Code. [copy on file as http://www.stairways.org/pdf/2006%20Stair%20IRC%20SCREEN.pdf ] -
How to Clean Moldy Wood Framing & Sheathing How to clean/seal mold from/on exposed lumber or plywood subfloor or roof sheathing indoors - some suggestions based on our field and laboratory research
Lighting, proper use of: proper aiming of a good flashlight can disclose hard to see but toxic light or white mold colonies on walls.
Stuff that is not mold but is often mistaken for it - things you may not want to test. Also, not all "black mold" is toxic - here are examples of harmless black mold.
Mold-Resistant Building Practices, advice from an expert on how to prevent mold after a building flood and how to prevent mold growth in buildings by selection of building materials and by anti-mold construction details.
Slips, Trips, Missteps and Their Consequences, Gary M. Bakken, H. Harvey Cohen, Jon R. Abele, Alvin S. Hyde, Cindy A. LaRue, Lawyers and Judges Publishing; 2 edition (April 2006), ISBN-10: 1933264012 ISBN-13: 978-1933264011
Steps and Stairways, Cleo Baldon & Ib Melchior, Rizzoli, 1989.
"The Dimensions of Stairs", J. M. Fitch et al., Scientific American, October 1974.
"Weather-Resistive Barriers [copy on file as /interiors/Weather_Resistant_Barriers_DOE.pdf ] - ", how to select and install housewrap and other types of weather resistive barriers, U.S. DOE
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