My First Option: Buying from a friend - Retrofitting the Exterior

Purchasing a Home Built in the 40s
I’ve always wanted a special home to call my own. Now that I am retired, I have been searching frantically for a cute one bedroom…a small bungalow with room for a garden and a patio or porch for morning coffee. 

Sadly, I’ve discovered that one bedroom houses are nearly non-existent. Because of that, I am considering a small two bedroom home. The second bedroom would be used as either a guest room or an office.

So, what options would suit my purpose?

1940s Homes have Established Yards

There are lots of 40s homes on the market; and while I’m too old to consider a fixer-upper, some have been surprisingly well-maintained.

A friend of mine owns this little house. He is trying to convince me I should purchase it.

It has two bedrooms upstairs and a huge basement – unfinished.

The siding is metal, the roof is strong and he has recently repainted the interior.

It has the back yard I want, but the front faces west, making the house hot during the summer.

With a few modifications, this house might be perfect. So, I have been perusing the internet for ideas. Each time I learn about something I get a little more excited. There's so much potential out there! Many of the products that have emerged since the energy savings programs began would be perfect for this little house.  

This little slideshow encompasses the exterior of the house:

PROS	CONS
The back yard is shielded from the afternoon sun  It has a covered patio  It has an established apple and crab apple tree It has a small garden area  It has an emergent plum tree	The support pillars for the patio are deteriorating The stairway leading to the back yard is small and only has railing on one side The sidewalk by the back gate collects water and  is buckled The front yard faces west and is hot, except in the morning and late in the evening

A covered patio would indeed be lovely. But the support pillar bricks are badly deteriorated, and they will need attended to before another season goes by.

         

The soft brick used for these patio beams are not manufactured any more. When searching, I couldn't find pertinent information regarding pillar repair - but I did find lots of information about mailbox repair. Essentially, both are pillars.

Here is what I learned:

This mailbox was damaged by impact

There is a structural layer on the interior of a pillar or column mailbox that, when constructed properly, consists of the strongest bricks available. There is a chance that the internal bricks in these pillars could be replaced with today's hard bricks, (which are very reasonably priced), and that the internal bricks could be used as an era-accurate facade.







I learned this trick from Dallas Curbside Mailboxes. This is a direct quote from their website:

"We will utilize any interior bricks that have a finish suitable for the façade, and replace the parts of the interior structure that do not require mortar with modern, hard bricks."

The other thing I learned from Dallas Curbside is that masonry stones can affordably create an architecturally pleasing facade. I love these pictures and would definitely consider masonry pillars that matched the overall look of the house and yard.

            

These creative designs tell me that my pillars can be much more than a simple column of brick - they can be extensions of an overall landscaping theme! But I'm not ready to leave the patio yet. Tomorrow I will talk about other ideas I have to make the patio more user friendly!