Madison Co. Virginia | Red Paint - 2/6/2019 09:50
...These old five window houses are distinctive in the area and not many have survived. It’s been here for over 150 years, figure I kind of owe it to the old place....
Can you post a picture(either real-life or representative google pic) of what you mean by "five-window house"? We have a very distinctive central virginia style here, and yours sounds similar.
Below is a representative google pic. Distinctive characteristics are the side-lights and transom windows around the door, the five front windows, the side chimneys, only one room deep, the decorative peak in the center of the roof front, and commonly a half-buried basement requiring several steps up to the porch. This pic is a little atypical in its ornate front porch. Most porches were not full width, and were much simpler in appearance. Another common feature not shown here is the small diamond window in the attic in the front roof peak. These houses had a central hall on both floors, but the hall-to-parlor wall has often been removed to give a larger parlor room. Very commonly, these houses had a one or two story wing out the back. Often this contained a newer(1920's) kitchen.
Assuming your house is similar to what I portrayed, by all means, remove the rear additions and build new. Gut the rest of the house, spray foam and install new drywall and electrical. For simplicity sake, don't bother with plumbing in the original house. The only way that portion of the house will cost you more than new construction is in the time spent fitting the drywall and refinishing the old wood work, but it will be worth it. Build a new two story addition out the back, with a two story porch if you can afford it. The lower floor has a utility room, bathroom, and kitchen. The upper floor has a bedroom/mess room, and a bathroom.
Edited by kipps 2/6/2019 12:19
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Question for those who have remodeled or added additions to old farmhouses.
