How is your furnace?

The weather has me thinking about the furnace. We bought a new one back in 2014. The older models can last a long time. Most are not as energy-efficient as today’s models but they will heat your house.

Some of the companies that service boilers and furnaces are quick to suggest buying a new one when a part is all that is needed. Do a little research and get a second opinion before you replace your furnace or boiler.

Here is a collage of old furnaces and boilers that are still hard at work in St. Paul homes.  There are some fine old heating plants in the picture. The furnace that is pictured on the top and in the center is an ancient gravity furnace. They can take up most of the basement.

If you are buying a home with an older unit in it I recommend having the furnace or boiler tuned and certified by a licensed HVAC specialist. The best time to have a furnace put in is during the cooling season. The oldest boiler dates back to the 1920s.

Even though central heating seems essential for Minnesota homes there are a few in St. paul that do not have it.

Furnace collage

Historic but just on the outside

brick turret
Historic brick and stone

What is historic on the outside may look like it was built in the 1980s on the inside. There must have been a lot of condo conversions in the 80s. 

The original woodwork was replaced with blond oak and the floors are carpeted. The “old world” charm can not be found on the inside. In fact, sometimes there isn’t anything charming about the interior.

There are several buildings in downtown St. Paul that were factories or warehouses that were converted into condos. The kitchens are all new but the buildings still have exposed brick and timber. They retain their historic charm.

The developers restored unique historic features rather than just gutting the building and starting over. River Park Lofts, The Great Northern, and the Rossmor in downtown St. Paul were all converted from industrial buildings to condos while retaining original walls, windows, ceilings, and flooring.

Some of our historic buildings are disappointing on the inside because they were chopped up and made into small apartments that don’t make sense. Who wants a north facing condo with one window? The original flooring is gone and brick walls are covered with drywall.

Historic preservation districts have rules about how the outside of a building has to look but no rules about the inside. You can’t judge a building by how it looks on the outside.

Tasteful furnishings

Ramsey Hill Condo

Over the years I have worked with many clients who have “good taste”, yet I can only think of a few instances where tasteful the furnishings in a home helped make it more saleable.

The furnishings that appeal to one generation may not appeal to another. There are some classic pieces of furniture that have a universal appeal, they are smaller more versatile pieces like chairs, end tables or must-have furnishings like kitchen or dining room tables.

Sometimes removing the furnishings actually helps sell the home especially if it is a smaller home. Staging also helps make homes look more appealing but staging is sometimes misunderstood. It isn’t about filling a home with furniture. It is more about using a few items to show how the space could be used or decorated.

The condo in the picture sold quickly and the owner sold some of the furnishings with it. It was staged by taking some of the furniture out and rearranging what was left and adding some lighting. Rugs were removed and so were family photos.

Less is usually more and having no furniture is better than having the wrong furniture.

Old exterior 1980s interior

brick turret
Historic brick and stone

What is historic on the outside may look like it was built in the 1980s on the inside. There must have been a lot of condo conversions in the 80s.

The original woodwork was replaced with blond oak and the floors are carpeted. The “old world” charm can not be found on the inside. In fact, sometimes there isn’t anything charming about the interior.

There are several buildings in downtown St. Paul that were factories or warehouses that were converted into condos. The kitchens are all new but the buildings still have exposed brick and timber. They retain their historic charm.

The developers restored unique historic features rather than just gutting the building and starting over. River Park Lofts, The Great Northern, and the Rossmor in downtown St. Paul were all converted from industrial buildings to condos while retaining original walls, windows, ceilings, and flooring.

There are a few great old buildings that are disappointing on the inside because they were chopped up and made into small apartments that don’t make sense. Who wants a north facing condo with one window? The original flooring is gone and brick walls are covered with drywall.

Historic preservation districts have rules about how the outside of a building has to look but no rules about the inside.

The roof, the roof . .

Last week we had a new roof put on the house. I hated to see the old one go to the landfill but it did last 31 years. Repairs were made to it, flashing was added, vents were added but eventually, the roof just wasn’t up to the job. When it rained outside it also rained inside.

Nothing like a new roof to make a house look nice and tidy and almost newish. That is the thing about old houses, they can be retrofitted.  Making an old house more energy efficient in most cases is more environmentally friendly than building a new energy-efficient house.

Tearing an old house down just to build something newer and larger should be a crime but it isn’t.

Over the years our old house has been updated and retrofitted many times. It was built before there was indoor plumbing. There was an outhouse instead of a bathroom. It now has two bathrooms and a kitchen sink and one in the basement, a washing machine, and a hot water heater.

It was built before the telephone was invented and used to have telephones in it. At one time it had cable TV too but I won’t go into that. It has had Wifi for many years.

The house did not have electricity in it until it was at least 30 years old. It was well over 100 years old when we added central air. It would have been hard to add central air before the house had electricity.

Sure there are times when I think that a new house would be wonderful but I know they don’t build them like they used to and building a house is very expensive and not as environmentally friendly as recycling and retrofitting.

If you like old houses you will love St. Paul, Minnesota!

The scariest Halloween ever

How well I remember Halloween 1991. The kids kept coming to the door and I kept sweeping the snow off the porch. By about 7:30 PM they stopped coming, and I gave up trying to keep the porch and stairs free of snow. By then the wind started to pick up and visibility was low. It was wet, cold and windy outside.

The kids had a lot of fun the next day. It was a Friday and everything was canceled.

We got 28, possibly 31 inches of snow that day in St. Paul.

That was the scariest Halloween ever. Happy Halloween!

Snow
Halloween blizzard 1991 – 28+ inches of snow