As the old house experts in the real estate industry we get questions on owning and maintaining old houses all the time. We thought it might be a good idea to initiate this regular American Landmarks newsletter column with some basic DOs and DON'Ts of old house ownership.

DO

Preserve exterior and interior trim and architectural detail where possible. These flourishes give your old house its character. Without them it would be an unadorned box. Preservation-minded knowledgeable Buyers look for surviving original detail.

Upgrade mechanical and electrical systems. Any house, new or old, needs to be livable and safe. Check for rusted electrical boxes and bx cable; it means water is present at least some of the time and needs corrective action. Mixed brass and copper domestic water lines cause a chemical reaction which can corrode and cause leakage. Think about replacing the brass with all copper.

Insulate your house. In this time of sky-high fuel oil prices it only makes sense. Fiberglass is best, cellulose is worse since it can slump in the wall cavity if it absorbs moisture. Fiberglass batts will not. If your old house has backplaster, a second layer of plaster applied to the back side of the exterior sheathing boards, then you should avoid any wall cavity insulation since it will only lower the R value of the dead air space. Insulate under the attic floor instead since heat wants to rise.

Keep your roof in good condition. Water is the worst enemy of an old house. What wood it doesn't rot just becomes a target for carpenter ants and termites. A wood frame house with a badly leaking roof can be destroyed in ten years. What type of roofing material is best? That depends on your home's age and style. Very early houses (1780 and before) should have cedar shakes (or a reasonable facsimile). Nineteenth-century houses should have real slate or a simulated slate (a new one made out of recycled car tires has just come on the market).

Most twentieth-century houses can accommodate asphalt shingles. Consider a color like green or rust red. In some cases that can echo the character of an old house in a way slate gray or black cannot. Buy an architectural grade 35-year shingle if budget permits. It looks better and will outperform cheaper shingles by more than the cost differential.

Document the history of your house if you can. It will add what antiques dealers call provenance to your property and could possibly enhance its resale value. See Researching Your Old House by John Clemson in our Spring 1997 issue.

Support your local Historical Commission and Historical Society. Only with a unified voice can owners of historic houses have an influence on the future of preservation at the community level.

DO NOT

Don't reside your house with synthetic siding. It smothers the detailing and it can cause rot by trapping water between the aluminum or vinyl siding and the original clapboard or shingle walls. And even though they now make it with air holes, siding still will not breathe enough to free moisture migrating through the walls from the inside of the house during the winter months when windows are closed. Try a transparent stain, which soaks into wood siding and lasts longer than paint, which adheres to the surface and eventually flakes off.

Don't replace your windows with vinyl clad thermopane windows. Restore and retain your home's original sash or have replica sash made. Use triple track storm windows on the exterior (which now come in a variety of attractively colored baked enamel) or install interior storms made with glass or plexi.

Don't glue down wall-to-wall carpet under any circumstances. In fact don't use wall-to-wall carpeting at all unless your house dates to between 1790 and 1860 and was a showplace in its day. (Then, exposed wood floors were considered declasse.)

Don't build an addition without design help from a good architect sensitive to the architectural traditions of your house. Design/Build firms will tell you they understand the subtleties of your home's style but unless they have a highly qualified architect on staff they don't. Having new elements out of keeping with the scale and dimensions of the original can create an awkward appearance that detracts from possible resale value.

And DO call, write, or e-mail us at News@AmericanLandmarks.com with suggestions for Q & A topics in future issues. We want to hear from you!

American Landmarks
One Mount Vernon Street, P.O. Box 1050, Winchester, MA 01890 (781) 729-5174