Old house living

One thing you don't usually see in those swanky magazines of Victorian homes or other older, more "seasoned" domiciles, are the hills and valleys in the floors, the waves in the walls, the doors that won't close all the way, and other evidence that the house has settled as it has aged.

Dy at Classic Adventures is working on her old house and keeps a running progress report that is fascinating and fun to read. I told her I'd post some pictures of our nowhere-near-plumb house so here they are...

The hallway downstairs:

The hall is part of the house that was built in 1875-76. It was originally a wide, dog-trot type of hall. You should be able to see how the molding along the floor curves - from our bedroom doorway at the back of the picture it curves up, because the floor goes up there, then as it nears the door of the half-bath in the front of the picture, it curves outward as the wall bulges outward. Nice, huh? Gives it "character."

The entryway and living room floors slope steeply down towards the center of the house. In the entryway you can see it by the pictures on the wall and the furniture on the floor. The pictures are hung straight, but the rocking bench beneath slants downward to the right because of the floors:

The bookcases in the living room are bolted to the wall and have shims shoring them up underneath, because the floor really dips down from the wall to the center of the room:

I admit that for the first month we lived here I had nightmares many nights - I'd dream that the house was collapsing on us, drawn down by the weight of books and people. Now I'm getting used to the occasional creaks and groans and the hills, valleys, and waves.