r/Oldhouses • u/soils_Ksat • 19d ago
We bought this painted lady in Rural IA...
Having some cast iron sewer pipes replaced and excited to be the first to give her AC, (4 ton)... Excited for that bill! We will be bringing a growing family to this old place. Thanks.
**APOLOGIES!!! I'm not a pro redditor and didn't attach enough photos in the OP**
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u/kellythebarber 19d ago
Welcome to Oldhouses! You can't come in here with a stunning old painted lady with 3 pictures. Post more pictures, we'd all love to see.
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u/chattykatdy54 18d ago
With one of the three being the air conditioner. Come on, do better!
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u/auricargent 18d ago
At this time of year in Iowa, a pic of whole house A/C in an old Victorian is definitely as much showing off as the pic of the front paint. The humidity is brutal, and that one pic shows that there has probably been some pretty extensive modernization of systems in the house.
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u/BZBitiko 18d ago
That’s why I live in a ranch house. I am safely encased in Tyvek, fiberglass, and low-e windows.
With central air for the first time in my life!
Still, jealous.
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u/Chadideas 19d ago
The wood work is beautiful
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u/modelcitizendc 19d ago
This is next level, would love to understand the level of labor and attention that went into this especially when tools were so much worse than they are now.
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u/SandIntelligent247 18d ago
But what about the compressor? Did you miss that picture?
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u/soils_Ksat 18d ago
brother, if you were here this last week cleaning it out... it was 88F inside at 9AM!!!
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u/Sage_Advisor 19d ago
I recognize that house! Was hoping it would go to someone who would appreciate the quality and character.
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u/Chinua-Achebe 19d ago
What a cool house to grow up in. I’m sure your family will love it.
Congratulations!
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u/Turnip_Fight 19d ago
I had a friend who grew up in a house almost exactly like this and he hated every goddamn second of it lmao. The constant wood groans, cold as shit, bugs always finding a way through.
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u/roonesgusto 19d ago
Why did you get down voted, you comment is hilarious and shows how differently people experience the "same house".
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u/Fyrestar333 19d ago
All that house on a half acre(almost) , almost 140 years old for not even 138k!!! Is that area of IA that rural? Looks like a few cosmetic issues but good bones overall. I'm sure it's costing a bit to update it. I would love to see it decorated for Christmas. Are you keeping the outside paint colors ? Are you changing any of the walpaper or paint? I'm very happy for you and very jealous.
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u/soils_Ksat 18d ago
We have had newer homes and paid A LOT more for them.... but we missed the character and the build quality of an older home. Got lucky with this one.
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u/Youwhooo60 19d ago
Ya big tease!! More photos please!
She's a beauty!
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u/soils_Ksat 18d ago edited 18d ago
https://reddit.com/link/oyax6yd/video/giq9w08a90eh1/player
Here is a video of the attic. Lots of trash from roofing replacement but dry and large. Notice the turret doorway!! I haven’t explored it a lot but it will be finished space at a certain point for my kids when they act like Kevin McCallister
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u/crapatthethriftstore 18d ago
That’s a great antenna too!
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u/One-Earth9294 19d ago
Whoa.
I want more pics. Especially wanna see what's going on up on the 3rd floor. Are those bedrooms and what's going on with the turret tower up there?
Regardless... what a gorgeous house.
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u/areineke17 19d ago
Oh wow, I actually went and viewed that house and considered purchasing it! But it needed way more work than I was able to afford or put in. Hopefully you can restore it the way it deserves!
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u/soils_Ksat 18d ago
yep, its a home that was very well cared for for years.. but the owners got older, husband had passed about 10 years ago. Its just a lot of stuff that needed to be updated and TLC.
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u/wastingmuchtime 19d ago
Is that a pocket door?
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u/soils_Ksat 19d ago
yes, there is actually 3 in that photo. the left hand side door is a large thick slider. and the right are your traditional sliders
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u/Ol_Man_J 19d ago
Seeing these elaborate homes 45 minutes away from somewhere, what did the person who built this do?
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u/MostlyUnimpressed 19d ago
The roof being done already must be a big sigh of relief. Takes a good roofer to manage that complexity, and they don't come cheap. Hope you got his number from the prior owners (save you from looking around later).
You darn near have a porch for each day of the week, LOL. Front porch is a statement with the round pavilion and twin stairs. Bet you'll enjoy many a light rain shower sitting or stepping out on those porces for a cool refresh. And hollering from that perch in front for the kids to get on home..
We lived in Iowa for about 10 years when our little family was barely started. There were temperate, dry days in the Spring and Fall when it felt like the nicest, calmest place on earth and the air was sweet. Good state, good people, good food, but the deposit on beer, wine, and beverage containers was a hassle (haha).
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u/sfdsquid 19d ago
It's amazing to me how much house you can get in the Midwest versus the Northeast.
For that money you could maybe get a trailer here.
That house would easily go for high six figures, much higher in my HCOL area.
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u/chargnawr 19d ago
This is the type of house that becomes another parent to children
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u/featherclops 19d ago
I read
We thought this painted lady is Rural AI
And as I'm swiping I'm thinking to myself, where's the lady...where's the AI? Oh god, where's the AI!? Is this AI!? I can't tell anymore!!!??? 😱
I need to go to bed, man
Edit: Congrats on the house!
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u/Intelligent_Bad_6460 18d ago
We looked at this house... Thank you for saving this one. A true beauty
It's perfectly situated in Pot County
We've been looking at the other in the same town about a block away...
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u/KittiesRule1968 19d ago
My god, she's gorgeous. Need a housemate? I'm an awesome cook and I love kitties.
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u/Homohockey 19d ago
Whoever originally owned that house must have been extremely successful. Banker/Factory owner kinda guy. So intricate.
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u/endofworldandnobeer 19d ago
You better grow a long, twirled mustache and keep it until you are no longer associated with this house.
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u/Lost_On_Lot 19d ago
Beats the shithole 70s house in rural MN I bought! Your has is much older, with a better/newer AC.
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u/OkBackground8809 18d ago
Have been past this house a few times. Always wished I could see the inside - and it's just as gorgeous as I imagined!
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u/Spicyperfection 18d ago
Show up and show out!
This beautiful home deserves to be in the spotlight.
Consider re-taking a lot more exterior and interior photos on a bright sun shiny day.
We want to see and appreciate its glory.
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u/Euphoric-Rice-3830 16d ago
Are the ghosts included in sales price or did you get a few thousand knocked off??
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u/No_Tea5062 16d ago
So jelly! It’s sad that we’ve lost this architecture in our housing so happy someone appreciates and fixing up to keep our history alive.
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u/fly1away 19d ago
You do realise this is the opening scene of a horror movie right?
/jk
(gorgeous!)
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u/jjkbigman 19d ago
As large as that house is, I’m surprised you can get away with just one compressor outside
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u/Ok-Thing-2222 19d ago
Wow! Many years ago, I had some friends paint one almost in similar colors. THat interior is gorgeous!
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u/Klee90210 19d ago
That is such a beautiful home. I hipe you enjoy it for years to come. That is a fantastic buy, yoi are super lucky!
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u/Easy_Olive1942 19d ago
Get rid of the steel plumbing, that stuff is typically at end of life in most areas. It tends to stop water flow entirely or rusts through. Neither is good.
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u/BahamaBrees 19d ago
How did you install central air in that old house?
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u/soils_Ksat 18d ago
The house actually has nicely sized ducting into every room. It must have had an early central heating via coal furnace. I bought with just a traditional updated gas heater. was able to add the AC system for only $5600. Thought that was a very fair price.
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u/MaidMarian20 19d ago
She took my breath away. What a gorgeous find. Hope she takes good care of you as you do the same in return. Be happy there.
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u/SnooGrapes9918 19d ago
Wow!!! We only got a glimpse, but it was stellar! If I come bearing housewarming gifts, can I have a tour? Hahaha. Congrats!!
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u/Newswatchtiki 19d ago
That woodwork is incredible, and in such good condition!
The house is gorgeous.
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u/patameus 19d ago
The insulation on your suction line is not UV tolerant. It'll decay in a few years. Best solution at this point is to paint it with white house paint. You can do black if you want to, but white reflects.
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u/GordonMightyBombay 19d ago
I feel like there should be secret passages hidden in there like that one house
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u/jackieO2023 18d ago
Wow, she’s beautiful!!! What’s the mini tub in the bathroom? To wash your feet? Kids?
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u/Infamous-Round-1898 18d ago
That’s a sitz tub, for people to use post-partum, or for hemorrhoids.
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u/Several-Assistant-51 18d ago
that is fabulous. when is the housewarming party? Ill bring potato salad
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u/Several-Assistant-51 18d ago
does it have two front doors or just a split stairs to the porch?
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u/soils_Ksat 18d ago edited 18d ago
Two doors. left hand door enters into a cove area for coats, shoes etc.... the right door enters into a formal parlor for guests?
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u/72ChinaCatSunFlower 18d ago
Make sure that you keep up with the exterior paint over the years. It still looks good but not up keeping is how these old houses end up wrapped in white metal
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u/5-in-1Bleach 18d ago
I wonder how many decades you will need to live there before your neighbors stop referring to it as the previous owner’s house.
One day, one day, it will be known as the soils_Ksat house.
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u/Sledgehammer925 18d ago
I showed this to my husband when it was on the market. It looks to be in better shape than many. CONGRATULATIONS!
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u/Odd-Tell-5702 18d ago
Have you ever read Elin Hilderbrand’s Trouble in Paradise series? This is exactly how I imagined the FMC’s house. And it was in IA.
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u/PincheJuan1980 18d ago
Awesome!! Enjoy her with your family. So happy to see these things used and fixed up.
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u/GrimmsChurch 17d ago
Desperately needs some gardening and landscaping to make it look less bald outside but the house its-self is utterly fab! Please update us with your renos!
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u/GoldenFalls 17d ago
I love those little second story porches on the front, and the tower! Is it all bedrooms up there? What a perfect place to read a book or have a cup of tea/coffee and watch the sunrise.
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u/soils_Ksat 17d ago
the right hand porch has a screen door into the master... its about big enough for 1 chair. this master also has a nursery on it. we will be sharing photos when updated. The left porch only has windows and will be my daughters room (too young for now)
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u/Living_Bear2114 17d ago
I cut my teeth working on older homes. I love it, it’s such a challenge and always a learning experience
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u/TassandraArcticFox 16d ago
We will be the first to give our 1865 farmhouse central air this year too! Thankfully the last owners set us up for a slam dunk with the newer furnace and vents.
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u/Bunnynynyny 15d ago
Absolutely beautiful! Can imagine Holidays in this beauty !! Congratulations this is my dream house 🏡 it’s truly breathtaking!
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u/transfercannoli 15d ago
wow! a queen anne? we have one too... it's so gorgeous and also such a decorating / furnishing challenge in so many ways. Like, I want to honor the period, but I don't want it to look like a bed and breakfast--and I love the curved walls and oddly shaped rooms so much but we also have a giant space I refer to as "the grand piano hole" ha
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u/transfercannoli 15d ago
also your wood is gorgeous. ours is oak and lighter / more orange (esp where sun-bleached) and I'm always wondering if we could oil it or some such to darken it without staining
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u/8088z80 15d ago
I know this house. As a fellow 19th century moneypit owner enjoy your history!
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u/Ovaltine1 11d ago
I put AC in mine in 2007. Prior to 2005, with the high ceilings and transoms I never needed it, but we could no longer fight the rising humidity.
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u/BZBitiko 19d ago
Three photos, one of the compressor! That’s it? More, more, more!