It was recently suggested "old" is prior to WWII. For a 30 year old house you could probably get the information you need from the Remodeling, and specifically Kitchen and Bath Forums.

In 1970, we bought a house built in 1900 so at that time it was ONLY 70 years old . . . in 1988 we bought a house built in 1920 so it was ONLY 68 years old. Obviously our first house is now over 100 years old and our current house is close to 100.

The 50's houses are now 60+ years old and I consider that OLD!

A 1986 house is only 30 years old . . . I wouldn't consider it an "old" house -- it's just a "used" house!

Antiques have to be 100 years old to be considered antiques (before that it is just vintage) -- I think a house has to be 50 plus years old to be considered old. But that's just my opinion.

Right now I'm living in a townhouse built in 1979 and interestingly enough when I posted a question in another forum here (about the sliding glass doors, I think), I got told to come ask over here. I still don't really know why.

So no matter what the folks here consider old, it appears the rest of GW has a more liberal interpretation. :)

There is no precise definition, but there are usually indicators that may make your house fit into the "old" category. For example, houses with plaster walls (not drywall) pose unique challenges (plaster is much thicker and heavier), and houses that were wired before receptacles were grounded can also complicate an electrical renovation. And you may also find houses built with true measure lumber, which means when you renovate, your old true 2"x4" wall studs will not match up with the new 1 3/4"x3 1/2" studs you buy at Home Depot.

Most contractors do not like the complications created by melding the construction of an old house with what is currently available. Many of the adjustments of old to new are not hard when you look at them individually (e.g., matching wall surfaces), but they do add extra time and labor to most renovations. Its very helpful to find someone on a forum who has gone through a similar adjustment and can provide some tips on how to make it work.

Bruce

Old is subjective. I tend to use methods of construction more than age as a guide. Age is useful for determining whether there is lead paint or asbestos present.

Many local building codes require different levels of remodeling when working on structures built many years before the remodel. Example: Locally, if sheet rock or lath and plaster wall coverings are removed, any framing/electrical/plumbing issues must be brought up to present code status. Not a problem for a house built in 1975 in many cases, but electrical in houses from 1965 can be substandard for present codes.

We bought our first house in 1969, it was then over 80 years old. In 1979, we built a brand new house. From the angle of construction, the older house was better built(our contractor did a good job on the new one, but materials were not as good). There is a huge difference between wall studs that are 2" by 4" and made of white oak(old house) and 1&1/2" by 3&1/2" and made of fir(new house).

We now live in a house built in 1965 and I tend to think of it in terms of the first house, since is was constructed much like the first house, but using materials similar to the new house(just built more solid).

Looking at the three: First house is now 127 years old and still standing and being lived in), second house is 38(still lived in) and current is 47 years old and I view it as being newer than the second house, due to how well constructed it is. I did extensive work on both second and present houses.

As Sombreuil said, the National Historic Register definition is 50 years old.

funny thing: A friend said to my husband, "Oh, my house is so old it is falling apart. It was build in the eighties." Husband replied, "Oh, too bad. My house was built in the eighties, too. The eighteen-eighties."

And echoing Handymac: I've had tradesmen work on my house who've told me this 1880's house will likely still be standing when the new subdivisions have rotted to the ground. Old growth heart pine does not exist anymore.

"Old" ... for the purposed of remodelling and updating, is when there has been a major change in materials and construction techniques that makes the work tricky, or expensive.

The last BIG changes in materials were when lead paint was banned in 1978 and asbestos in 1989.

I would look at those as material changes sponsored by plaintiffs lawyers. I would consider construction techniques such as balloon vs. individual stud walls as the dividing lines. As for material changes I would consider plaster vs. gypsum board as another dividing line.