Thank you to whoever kept this film preserved for us to enjoy almost 100 years later.

I’m a remodeler of over 35 years. I’ve gone behind these guys and torn out what they built 100 years ago. It’s an arduous task to take apart what they masterfully put together.. That truly is an art that is lost.

@juniormint3136

3 жыл бұрын

My original bathroom and kitchen tile and mud job was like 2 inches thick just to get down to the studs. Aint like the thin backerboard today.

@nathanielflory9916

3 жыл бұрын

Ain’t that the truth. I was really hoping to see them nail up the lath. They had to be real good at hitting those nails by the end. I demoed a bathroom once that had hand split white oak lath instead of the usual sawn lath like in the video. No clue how old the home was.

@arlenmargolin1650

3 жыл бұрын

@@nathanielflory9916 I bought a home in 1980 in New Brunswick that just so happened to have owned the land all the way from delavan Street to the Raritan river which is probably a half a mile away this little house when I gutted it was found to have an original cabin sized about 10x10 ft and let me tell you this house was so old that a 90-year-old lady two doors down said that her great-great-great-grandmother was born there this house had built had been built in the late 1600s and when I tell you there was stuff in this house that was so archaic it was just unbelievable to see how they had built every style of framing from log cabin to timber frame to balloon frame to western style framing you name it the additions were just amazing to see there was even a ghost in that house believe it or not

@nathanielflory9916

3 жыл бұрын

Arlen Margolin that’s awesome. I love working on old homes. There is one for sale not far from me that was built in the mid to late 1700s and has been neglected for too long. Sadly there is really no value in fixing it up so it’s just gonna rot into the ground. I looked at it and would love to fix it up but I just can’t afford to. The original structure is a log home that then had a second floor added at some point and then more additions out the back. Sadly the rubble stone foundation if failing on the one side. It could be saved but will take a lot of time money and devotion.

@johnnybear111

3 жыл бұрын

@@nathanielflory9916 whereabouts? I'm in western NY and I don't see too.many homes that before 1900

This is honestly what KZread is all about. Preserving these historic fantastic video clips

@riverraisin1

3 жыл бұрын

How long did this film sit unwatched before KZread came along? I'm guessing 80 years.

@AnguishedMan

3 жыл бұрын

No it about shitposts and memes

@qm421

3 жыл бұрын

except they deleted the best channel of old reels: WDTV42 had everything.. probably why it was deleted, tons of old military reels

@waterheaterservices

3 жыл бұрын

That and censorship of channels that don't have Party Approved Correct Thinking and Speech.

@fnhwk

3 жыл бұрын

No it really isn't.

My grandfather started working as a carpenter in 1928. He taught me to hand nail and use a handsaw. A sharp 8 point crosscut handsaw would cut a 2x4 in 7 strokes. When it took 10-15, it was time to sharpen the saw! As an apprentice carpenter, he earned extra money ($.25 per saw) sharpening journeymen’s dull hand saws. They worked 6 day weeks then and with the extra money he paid for Sunday fishing trips with my grandmother.

@oldfashioned4145

3 жыл бұрын

Do you know what balsafied asphalt is? (4:26) interesting they used it for termite repellent.... I wonder if we still use it today and how effective they're...

@blaketodd1208

3 жыл бұрын

We still work 6 day weeks

@levonferguson6548

3 жыл бұрын

@OldFashioned we still use it. I used it not too long ago on the foundation of a house here out in Ohio. Still works great!

@futbolero4152

3 жыл бұрын

@@oldfashioned4145 think of it as plastidip nowadays foundation concrete is already moist proof but back then it was not. still doesnt hurt to seal it. all depends where you live if re sealing foundation is necessary been in the concrete business my whole life

@oldfashioned4145

3 жыл бұрын

@Scott Campbell I know right! I'm curious because for example in Hawaii, most houses, you have to spray harmful chemical to avoid termites (it's rampant) AND respray every few years. I felt like, long term this would be less harmful for the environment.

If this house still exists, the current homeowner would be amazed to see this.

@WelshRabbit

3 жыл бұрын

My home, a typical Victorian vernacular farm house in then-rural North Carolina, was built by my great grandfather and "the boys" (i.e., my grandfather and his brothers, my three great uncles) in 1907. I have a few photos of it and them working on it in various stages of construction and those photos are quite precious to our family. Those were the days when 2 x 4 studs were actually 2 x 4. Alas, when built, what passed for "indoor plumbing" was limited to just cold water manually pumped from a well to an elevated tank which served to the kitchen sink via a tap. The "necessary convenience" consisted of a gravel walkway to a small outhouse quite some distance from the house -- and yes, complete with the traditional crescent moon cut in the door.

@arlenmargolin1650

3 жыл бұрын

@@WelshRabbit that's hard to believe with all that cast iron piping all let it in with Oakham and lead and still there was no septic and no sewage for a toilet that is just hard to believe but amazing to hear they still had outhouses in 1907 wow amazing

@davidc8560

3 жыл бұрын

@@arlenmargolin1650 My dad, born in 1961, used an outhouse the first 16 years of his life, until his parents moved in 1977. Pennsylvania, USA What is considered "poor" these days is not having the newest Jordan's, the newest iphone, or God forbid hand-me-down clothes. 😲

@hartleyhomesteadmichigan6041

3 жыл бұрын

Wonder what type of GoPro they used to film that 😁

@austin2842

3 жыл бұрын

@@arlenmargolin1650 As a kid in Northern England, my dad and his family used a communal outhouse, and this was in the 50s! It was common for row houses to have only one or two outhouses for multiple households . According to him, they were always kept immaculately clean.

When 2x4’s were really 2”x4”.

@paulh7589

3 жыл бұрын

They have always been 1 1/2 x 3 1/2. Everybody thinks that an old 2x4 is a true 2x4. That just isn't the case. Rarely will you find them. I renovate historic homes in one of the oldest cities in America and have seen more unicorns than true 2x4's. I've seen shoddy workmanship and very skilled workmanship. Just because it's old doesn't make it better. I could go into further detail but I don't feel like typing that much, nobody would read it anyway. I will say that when I hear someone say "They don't build them like they used to." I reply "Thank God for that!"

@michaelkessler3813

3 жыл бұрын

Paul H I thought it was that true 2x4s and other true sizes are just rough sawn lumber and after planing are about 1 1/2 x 3 1/2 and other corresponding smaller sizes. Would it be possible that there did used to be construction with rough sawn (true size) lumber in more rural areas but planed, "finer" lumber would be used closer to cities?

@paulh7589

3 жыл бұрын

@@michaelkessler3813 Yes. You nailed it (no pun intended). Rural structures are the only places I have seen true dimensions on a 2x. Urban structures may even have 1 1/2 x 2 1/2 studs. It's a bitch to work on these places as you have to rip all the new studs. My own house was built in 1912 and the 2by's are the same as you buy today. I think the main difference is between "old growth" and "new growth" pine. Take an 8 foot 2x4, set it on a couple cinder blocks and stop on it with all your weight. New growth will snap like a toothpick, old growth will break your feet (and probably the cinder blocks). Old growth has enough natural turpentine in it and a tighter grain making it less susceptible to rot and termites.

@dodgeguyz

3 жыл бұрын

I believe true 2X4 sizes go back the the 1800's. Later on (early 1900') is when they went to the nominal sizes of 1 1/2 X 3 1/2".

@feonix138

3 жыл бұрын

They were rough cut.

Some of those tiled bathrooms from this era really are works of art. Much respect to all of these fine craftsmen from the past.

@arlenmargolin1650

3 жыл бұрын

I'm amazed that those tile setters didn't have plastic spacers like we do have today and that all the tiles had to be manually set to get them to a line

@bigpjohnson

3 жыл бұрын

@@arlenmargolin1650 Back then, they were actual craftsmen who did this for a living. They did a fine job, and got paid a good wage too. Now so much construction is done for pennies by whoever they can scrounge up. Quality has gone down obviously.

@enigmaticx326

3 жыл бұрын

@@arlenmargolin1650 Yep, I was thinking “give this man a laser level and some tile spacers”. Must’ve been tedious work.

My great great grandfather Herman Zimmerman (literally means “room man”) owned a construction firm in Germany in the early 1900s. After WW1 (which he served in under the Kaiser) ,with the collapsing economy he was forced to move to the States in 1926 where he built his home, summer cabin and his own beer garden all with nothing but hand tools. All three of them are still standing and in immaculate shape after nearly 100 years, even the bar is still open to the public. Meanwhile my own house built 60 years later is riddled with issues yet pales in comparison to the crap they’re slapping together now. Quality home building is truly a lost art. Here’s to you Herman!

@ememchi3717

4 ай бұрын

Well tell us the bar and where it is!

@PurpleNinja-vn4hv

4 ай бұрын

@@ememchi3717 It’s north of Detroit and now called Terry’s Terrace

I’m a builder myself...this was the most satisfying vid I’ve ever watched

As a retired union electrician, I recall when I was an apprentice an old timer journeyman telling me about solid wire splicing back about when this house was built. This video only showed wires being stripped and twisted together. To finish, the twisted wires were cut about an inch long and left hanging down. When all splices were made in an area sparky would then go around with a cup of molten solder known as a "dip pot" and submerse all splices in solder. Then when cool they would be taped with a sticky cloth tape known as friction tape. No plastic wirenuts back then. To this day there are still twisted, soldered solid wire splices in older buildings as good as the day they were made. As a side note, the wire had rubber insulation with a cloth cover. Not many would fit in a half inch pipe.

@franciscodanconia45

3 жыл бұрын

F’ing sparkys...

@Bradley-tx6ed

2 жыл бұрын

this must be chicago otherwise they would be running bare knob and tube

@johnlennon1151

2 жыл бұрын

@@franciscodanconia45 you sound like a plumber

@gtb81.

Жыл бұрын

i still solder wires for my own stuff. but i use those plastic wire nuts at work, don't much like them but they work alright, i actually still use K&T at home for my projects. going to build a radio repair shop soon, and will be using K&T again, love that old stuff!

@Progrocker70

Жыл бұрын

@@Bradley-tx6ed Yep all residential here is still conduit, I've seen a lot of older BX cable in old homes but never knob and tube.

nothing like cooking & working with molten lead on the job site lol No soil testing or even compaction before forming the foundation & yet I'd bet this house outlast current standard built homes today. Thanks for YT to be able to see these films & thanks for uploading it IFA!!

I remember my father and a couple of other old timers building a really nice log house for us to live in around 1952. I loved to hang around and watch and listen to them. One guy was talking one day about a power saw and how he would love to have one! The whole house was built with hand tools. They would go out in the swamps around Kissimmee Florida and harvest the cypress logs and bring them back to the home site and cut them to fit. Sad to say it caught on fire and burned a few years later. My father cried.

I work in historic building preservation as a wood finisher. These old homes were indeed well-made. A lot of the timber was old growth or first growth and hand selected. Dense and sturdy. The craftsmanship was superb in most homes and there was a sense of pride among the tradesmen. I've also been in thousands of new, 'upscale' plan homes for other work. These new homes, most of them, are little more than toothpicks and particle board wrapped up in vinyl and trimmed in PVC. They are being slapped up by the thousands all over the once-pristine countryside with no regard for any kind of quality. It breaks my heart to see thousands of historic structures abandoned and in ruin all over, city and country. Many could be saved and updated for half of what these new designer shacks cost. Shameful where our society at large has gone... Cheap, disposable instant bling. And, these new homeowners actually think they have something special. Sigh.......

@marcinna8553

6 жыл бұрын

I also work on old houses --- see my comments above. It is certainly true that a lot of old houses used heavier timber etc. But these are the houses that have survived. A lot of house have already been torn down and replaced with new -- and the reason they are not here today was because they were not built with any special pride or craftsmanship or high-quality materials. In every age people try to build things as efficiently and cheaply as possible -- that has never changed. Most of the stuff is discarded in a few decades, the well-built stuff lasts longer and that is what we now see. I was in Williamsburg, VA at a cabinet shop a few years back and the guy working there made the same point. He was showing us furniture from the 18th century and showing how they cut corners and used very cheap materials and quick methods. The key is to be able to do this and also turn out a product people can use. It is always a balancing act and this has not changed in centuries.

@williamobrien2759

6 жыл бұрын

Marc in NA Good point. There are thousands of poorly built structures all around Pittsburgh here. Mostly mass housing put up by the steel mills for their workers back in the 1800's. Amazing so many still survive. We also have thousands more buildings that are true examples of fine craftsmanship and materials. Those are the ones that I hate seeing abandoned and going to ruin.

@bobsmoth-iv3sp

5 жыл бұрын

@@marcinna8553 I worked on a lot of old houses in New England , I know why they have building codes now ... Stair cases with 4 inches of tread. No head room . Sagging floors and roofs . No insulation , drafty windows and doors. Dry laid stone foundations .... As you said , and these are ones that lasted. Also the ones that have lasted have been updated at the least in part. the house in this film was build with the old style roofing and wall latts. Not to mention plaster walls, Does any one want to bet the roof shingles and latts have been torn off and reshingle over plywood ? Or that major sections of the exterior walls have been redone with plywood backing or the interior walls and ceilings have had major sections replaced with sheet rock .

@jayh9529

4 жыл бұрын

Yeah makes you wonder how they built the Vatican if this is 1928 progress

@Melissa0774

4 жыл бұрын

Yeah, and the newer houses with the cheapo building materials burn so much more easily too.

Respect for the man's doing the plans by hand for real

As the owner of a 1928 home, I find this video extremely fascinating. There are specific features of this house that I can still find in mine.

My grandpa is 96 now and was the little boy’s age in this film.

@garyteague4480

3 жыл бұрын

Oh wow

@zfilmmaker

3 жыл бұрын

Think about everything that’s changed in his lifetime. You should ask him, especially technology and how each was embraced by society and him. Film it.... you will treasure it forever. My father talked about his family having the first TV in his town and then color TV.

@dutchman063

3 жыл бұрын

Cool, My dad was 2y/o ..:)

Cedar shingles nailed directly to the Douglas fir roof sheathing,no paper. Look at the horn on that double hung window,replete with rope sash cord,and a little fine tuning with a wood plane.Tile tub surround adhered to a wire and mortar bed.Flooring guy installing hardwood flooring directly over the diagonal 1 X subfloor sans felt paper,with hand applied 6 penny finish nails through the tongue.Love old houses,have been inspecting them/ crawling under and over them for over 40 years.

@dbrown6941

3 жыл бұрын

It was called skip-sheathing, allowed shingles to breath. Just had a roof like that torn off my 90 year old house about 10 years ago.

@davidc8560

3 жыл бұрын

@@dbrown6941 Was it roofed over? Or did it do it's job for 80 years? That's amazing!

@dbrown6941

3 жыл бұрын

@@davidc8560 It had one layer of shingles put over it back in the 80's. We tore off the shingles and shakes but left the skip sheathing , put new sheathing and shingles over that. The attic is still full of broken cedar shingles.

I find it amazing that while the tools of the trade have changed over time very little has changed about how they actually erect buildings.

@masterpiecetools131

3 жыл бұрын

Te big change was platform framing vs balloon framing, where the studs pass through the floors. Platform framing used shorter wood, is stronger, and has floor to floor fire breaks. Later it allowed the used of crappier wood, but that was not a problem in 28, actually I can remember buying my first lumber around 1980, and it was zero knots, zero runout, and a 20 foot red cedar 2x4 was 6 dollars.

@steak8

Жыл бұрын

In the last 20 years things have changed quite a bit. Engineered materials & specialty fasteners allow design not possible before. Codes that focus on high efficiency have created new methods for framing and materials that are quite different than the framing in the video.

@user-hu1um2xk5h

4 ай бұрын

​@@steak8All modern day homes are utter rubbish built for a quick buck by a greedy con artist using the lowest grade materials from the lowest bidders and the cheapest labor. It's over priced garbage. The codes were created to avoid law suits because they began to skimp out and cut so many corners that houses literally fall apart all around you. Especially once that 10 year warranty expires. All over priced modern day junk. All of it generic store bought synthetic junk. Like a computer threw up all over every town. It's all the same old cookie cutter nightmare slapped together by useless morons who can't find their own rear end without a laser guided gps, not can they wipe without an app to show them how. Not a single one is a carpenter. They have no life inside them and what they build represents them very well Id say. It's a literally extension of who they really are.

In 1985 I rented a house in Denver, Near Stapleton airport. It was built in 1926, It was a Sears Roebuck kit house.

@backachershomestead

3 жыл бұрын

A town where I grew up close to had several of them. There were also modern versions they sold with Fiberglass panels on the outside. Kinda reminded me of a gas station. Lol

@gjle

3 жыл бұрын

I was living in Aurora in 1985 on the grounds of Fitzsimmons Army Hospital and was almost under the glide path for Denver Stapleton.

@waterheaterservices

3 жыл бұрын

West of Stapleton, Park Hill? Or north of Stapleton? Sounds like some builds north of Stapleton, between Monaco and Quebec. We had a nice house at Montview and Jasmine in the 70s-80s.

@waterheaterservices

3 жыл бұрын

@@gjle Oh gosh, it was noisy in those days around Stapleton. Almost unbearable sometimes.

@gjle

3 жыл бұрын

@@waterheaterservices I lost a lot of sleep in those days.

Cant have a classic home without the old piano

“ Mr. and Mrs Homeowners move in while the builders are still at work” .....funny how nothing has changed in 100 years!!

@Guest-br5mz

3 жыл бұрын

Just like the Sims

It's amazing to think that most of those work men were born in the 19th century and are all gone now. They worked really hard.

@Jaimebugs

6 жыл бұрын

Yes, it is! And, yeah, they did!

@maxi-me

3 жыл бұрын

Thank goodness we have robots to build houses now

@finscreenname

3 жыл бұрын

Tools make things faster but don't make it any easier. When I got into flooring in the early 80's the old timers would till me about how installing carpet was a 3 day event. First day a installer would get everything laid out and cut down, the next women would come in and hand sew all the seams and on the third day the installer would come back and stretch everything out and tack it down. Today because of seaming irons and tack-strip and staple guns we can do the same job in a day. Still got to handle all the same materials and do all the same steps but instead of driving a tack with a hammer we pull a trigger of a staple gun but we now only have 1/3rd of a day to do it.

@danseabreeze1404

3 жыл бұрын

Yet I'm sure many of their homes are still standing

@joemasse4568

3 жыл бұрын

They had to, but it’s still hard work, much has changed, but all the basics are the same. Any work that deals with craftsmanship tends to be hard work.

I've been a professional builder for 175 years and I can attest this is the way we did it in the Olden Days.

@only1love179

Жыл бұрын

Prooove itttttt !!!!!! 🤭🤭🤭🤭🤭

@mountainmantararua8824

Жыл бұрын

You beat me by 6 months.🤣🤣

The lath and plaster walls amaze me; these guys were masters; these walls lasted 100 years and still going !!

@rollandjoeseph

25 күн бұрын

Could you imagine nailing all the lath , then plastering multiple coats..ughh

My dad, born in 1914, apprenticed under a house builder. He told me once that if he made the smallest error during the build, not only was he yelled at but had to take whatever it was down and do it the right way. I doubt if that same sort of attention to perfection is done nowadays. My dad could build anything, it was amazing. He died in 1989 but still had and used the hand planer and brace & bit.

Interesting to see how they built these old homes I'm now tearing apart. They missed the part where they stuff the walls with old newspaper for insulation.

@exhilaratingbass

3 жыл бұрын

That didn’t come until later 😂

@sanfordberg4880

3 жыл бұрын

Probably California.

@randallbadgett4040

3 жыл бұрын

My grandmother's house had newspapers dated 1916 stuffed inside the walls.

@sundown798

3 жыл бұрын

They would shred it with formaldehyde coating to keep the creepers out.

@nowerries

3 жыл бұрын

@chris widney I feel yah on demoing homes with lathe and plaster. Knocking it down only to come to a corner with metal lathe thats like 8" wide. Stuff is hard as rock , then you get the wall stipped only to find 20lbs of the stuff in between the walls.

Old timers worked harder and built heavy and sturdy. I almost shed a tear watching these artists at work.

@steak8

Жыл бұрын

That's why there was a tavern on every corner.

A "modern cement foundation" poured one wheel barrow at a time, uphill. Yeesch! It looks like it was still basically a pier and beam type foundation, but with beams of reinforced concrete supporting the exterior walls instead of individual piers. I do like the diagonally laid subfloor! That would still be a smart idea today. It leaves a lot of scrap leftovers, but the floor would be more stable.

I loved this video on how the carpenters showed true craftsman work and cared about quality of their work.

I’ve been framing for over 30 years. Things have changed dramatically. Much respect all timers.

My dad was a carpenter & did shuttering carpentry .......never wore helmets, masks, goggles, ear protection or special clothing......he was injured bad many times, he worked hard

I live in a house that was built in 1927, it still has most of its plaster walls. Thanks so much for posting this vid.

@ericfregoso2266

3 жыл бұрын

Me too

@kskate91

Жыл бұрын

I live in a 1940 house has plaster walls as well. Crazy huh

Great video, thanks for sharing. My house was built in 1900 and I always wonder how they built them back then. One thing for sure is they built this house to last, we have a stone foundation and the house was built with railroad ties. This house has been thru alot of Oswego, NY winters and held up great.

Fascinating. Watching skilled craftsmen - what ever their trade - is a joy to see. Thanks for posting this video.

@PacoOtis

2 жыл бұрын

However, "good old days" my ass! LOL

My house was built in 1915 and it has had updates like central air and new wiring but the bones of it are still completely straight and level after 105 years.

@kevinr3263

3 жыл бұрын

I remodel houses and I have never once encountered a house that was totally straight and level. Especially a 100 year old house

@captainamerica9353

3 жыл бұрын

@@kevinr3263 , where do you live? Up North we have frost heaves and temps from -30 to 95 above, not to mention clay soil

@kevinr3263

3 жыл бұрын

@@captainamerica9353 i live in Baltimore

@darioburatovich2240

3 жыл бұрын

@@kevinr3263 you are right, I live in Sydney, Australia in a full brick house build in 1910, and you see how out of square is in the tiles on the bathroom floor.

My father worked on the twin tower subway lines in the 70s only 5 decades off but the old apartments we fix up all where built in the 1900s

What’s cool is that we still use the same tool to cut tile with. It’s interesting to know that they tool hasn’t evolved like the other tools they use back in the day. And they didn’t use spacers for the tiles. They did it with a trowel.

@GarwoodNick

4 жыл бұрын

Actually those tiles have lugs and are self-spacing. They're not consistent in size, though, so the spacing has to be tweaked here and there which is what he was doing with the trowel.

My folks bought their house in 1980 It was built in 1898.. No joke..Built like a tank.Frame rough red wood Thick cement like plaster on thin 2 inch boards. Thick ass IRON pipes for the sewer lines. Wooden shingles. The glass for the widows was a bit blurry, I thinks a few of the windows were still original.Like an ice box in the winter and an oven in the summer. And of course on an elevated foundation. Memories..

I’m quite handy, built many projects big and small. Room additions, roofing jobs, etc. to my own houses and I thought I was pretty good. Years ago a relative (retired carpenter) who was in town brought some basic hand tools to help me. Seriously, he brought an old hammer he made as a teenager (was given to me in his will, I still use it as my primary) and other basics like a hand saw. I offered all my battery powered gadgets, pneumatic nailer and lasers. He laughed and put me to shame within two minutes and he was 87 years old at the time. I think most modern contractors wouldn’t last a day on the job back in 1928.

@user-hu1um2xk5h

4 ай бұрын

Not sure what a contractor is, but sounds very much like a con artist who drives a tractor. Best to stay very far away from these types of people. Nothing good can ever come from anyone who is lazy, stupid and greedy.

16:30 I love this guy's shoes and I'll bet he'd love our modern air nailers.

@foamer443

3 жыл бұрын

Guaranteed he had a bad back

@mcbridecreek

3 жыл бұрын

That guy can hand nail!

@user-hd8ej8yx9p

3 жыл бұрын

They’re called “lace-to-toe” shoes. I love them I have a pair of leather boots like that

@bigpjohnson

3 жыл бұрын

My 1950 white oak floors were all hand-nailed, they had to really know how to nail to avoid damaging the edge! I had to install new wood in a closet and bought a $50 Husky floor nailer, much easier!

@willstratton6454

2 жыл бұрын

@@user-hd8ej8yx9p I honestly think they may be some early converse basketball shoes. You can see the circle logo on them when he turn his foot

The skill of those plasterers. Not many who could work like that now.

@abc-bu7nr

2 жыл бұрын

Sure they could, there's just no need to.

Fascinating to see how little has changed over a hundred years.

@kenelder9615

3 жыл бұрын

only if you know little about house construction

@heyeverybody5616

3 жыл бұрын

Respectfully I tell you this. Everything has changed. That home was built by hand. By loving craftsman. Houses today or thrown together with little care.

@hagakuru

3 жыл бұрын

@@kenelder9615 Been in construction/contracting for the past 30 years.

@alb12345672

3 жыл бұрын

@@heyeverybody5616 The tools today are amazing. Imagine if someone did time travel and left a bag of all those Ryobi 18V tools :lol:

@geoffmorgan6059

3 жыл бұрын

Sort of like a 30 ton "excavator", say "steam shovel", with a riveted boom and on site concrete mixing. Old growth lumber that a "modern" air powered nailer would have trouble sinking a finishing nail in. Cast iron bell and spigot cast iron pipe. No OSB, or wafer board, or even plywood, real full dimension lumber. Lath and plaster! Yeah, not much. (The electrical wiring was a superior job, conduit, etc.)

built a few houses in my lifetime, every time im building one i cant help but admire all these generations of workers who had to cut lumber with an actual hand saw, drive every last nail with hammers, mix every batch of concrete by hand, etc etc. us construction guys still might not have it easy compared to most other professions but man we have it a whole hell of a lot easier than the construction workers of half a century to the construction workers from over a century ago and beyond..

Just incredible to watch, a very historical film. I've seen older builder's tool boxes and I've always been amazed at just how few hand tools they had and how they could build an entire house with very little compared to the truck and trailers full of tools that today's builders use. The more I use hand tools, the more I'm convinced that they're a much smarter choice. Not to mention the materials that lasted far longer than modern versions like the plaster, cedar shingles, stucco, tile, cast iron tubs, waste pipes and hardwood floors.

What amazes me is how much more simple things have been made since then, while some how at the same time they have become much more complicated. That was very cool to watch!

@terrencedillon4345

3 жыл бұрын

Complicated because everyone wants to earn from your endeavors

@csmith9684

Жыл бұрын

thats so true!

I started in construction in 1964 and what I was taught and introduced with was methods of 40 years earlier. When I retired as a contractor from that field of endeavor in 1989, the basics was still there although modernization was introduced.

@TechMan1900

3 жыл бұрын

I kept thinking the same thing while watching this. Aside from the lathe and plaster, and cast iron waste lines, it looks very similar to today.

The guy with the hardwood flooring was wearing tennis shoes. LOL

@danielmay8827

3 жыл бұрын

Maybe bowling shoes, everyone used to bowl back then. The smooth bottom of the shoe is good and clean for the new unstained wood floors.

13:54 - That bathtub is probably in the dump now. Replaced with a plastic shower.

@pacz8114

3 жыл бұрын

...or being purchased sight unseen over the internet for $8,000 by some yuppie.

@NYRM1974

3 жыл бұрын

That's the type of bathtub that can last Almost a lifetime if properly cared for I know because I have one made by Buffalo Ironworks and Casting Company of Buffalo New York since 1897

@Spahi77

3 жыл бұрын

Here in NYC they are dime a dozen, and still available....maybe i should open up a yuppie site for $8K per tub as suggested.

@summer-west

3 жыл бұрын

I had a bathtub like that growing up. Hated it. It was always cold, slippery, and heavy enough to warp the part of the floor it sat on.

@bigpjohnson

3 жыл бұрын

I demolished the 1940s rental house in my backyard but saved a similar tub. The porcelain is still in good shape actually, no rust around the drain. According to the stamp on the bottom, it was made in 1936. I plan to use it somewhere eventually, I like how tall and thick it is.

Big building boom during the 1920s in Detroit. Not just towers, but homes.

That house was ahead of it’s time. Looks more like a split level ranch from the 50s. Than a home built in 1928.

@GG1man

3 жыл бұрын

I thought so too. I noticed the electrician installing metal conduit. I haven't seen that done in any housing other than for certain applications or maybe in very high end homes.

@joer3493

3 жыл бұрын

@@GG1man I'm actually not sure if this video is from the 20s. Some of the stuff, such as the electrical seems more like the 40s.

@bigfig1966

3 жыл бұрын

​@@joer3493 It was definitely the 20's. The cars were from the 20's. Though I agree about the electrical work, it wasn't knob and tube which was done well in to the 30's. EMT for electric wiring. That was great.

@Lugnut64052

3 жыл бұрын

Was gonna say . . . that looks later than 1928. Looks like the 40s to me.

@LucasFernandez-fk8se

3 жыл бұрын

Wtf?! Ur totally right the outside looks straight from the 40s or 50s

Absolutely amazing !!! Thanks!

Can't believe it only took 19 minutes to build a house back in 1928

@randybobandy9828

3 жыл бұрын

It took even less because they added in all the text and homeowner stuff. They where fast.

@leeb.patersons6463

3 жыл бұрын

Damn and they took even less time on deciding the color of their furniture and house because the only options were black as white

@ruthcisneros9471

3 жыл бұрын

@@leeb.patersons6463 Too funny

@playboyvic

3 жыл бұрын

😂

@Betterifitsfree

3 жыл бұрын

It took even less time to lose it in the 1930's.

Fun to see the guy wielding the roofing hatchet, those tools are still used to day, but people don't really use the sharp end much.

@pimpjuice757

3 жыл бұрын

We do. Only it's mostly used to slide under the shingle either to flop it up, or to break the bond of the tar. Todays shingles are mostly asphalt as these shingles were cedar shake.

I am a Chicago plumber to see video of plumbers putting together cast iron pipe in 1929 is just incredible.

@svensvrgen6336

4 жыл бұрын

I've seen some guys use it on commercial jobs

@BigDrewski1000

4 жыл бұрын

Sadly cast iron pipes are illegal to use here in Florida now. No idea why other than insurance purposes.

@BigDrewski1000

4 жыл бұрын

Well,I should say illegal to use in plumbing for drainage from sinks, toilets, ever etc. You CAN use it for some things, but the list in highly limited.

@ajvintage9579

2 жыл бұрын

@@BigDrewski1000 cast iron pipes rust and crumble in on themselves over time, clogging up the lines. Last year I had to have my 1963 Florida house cast iron pipes relined for this issue, and it was quite costly.

@BigDrewski1000

2 жыл бұрын

@@ajvintage9579 oh yeah! I've found out since then. Had a neighbor have to go through all of that. Had to cut through his floor and everything. Cost him a bit under 70 grand

Fascinating. My house was built in 1929. Makes me appreciate its finer points, especially the double hung windows.

cool vid...back when a 2 x 4 was REALLY a 2 x 4.

Fascinating to watch these artisans at work.

Wow, lathe and plaster. I have always wanted to see that done.

@-_James_-

3 жыл бұрын

Plaster is still commonly used in the UK. It's a far superior product to the crap other countries put over dry wall.

@robertbrandywine

3 жыл бұрын

In my schools built in the '20s and '30s, they used metal lathes like mini chain link fences stretched tightly over the studs and then plastered over. The walls felt like solid masonry.

@batmansdad3195

3 жыл бұрын

@@-_James_- you mean paper tape and compound? Nothing wrong with that, makes for a faster job to speed up the process. You still use asbestos plaster in the UK?

@-_James_-

3 жыл бұрын

@@batmansdad3195 not asbestos. I think they're usually cement mixed with synthetic compounds these days, but I could be wrong. And they're not just applied to the joints. You do the whole wall for a flat surface. (As opposed to the wavy surface you get from filling and spreading out the joints.)

@seanm3226

3 жыл бұрын

My father had a lath and plaster business (in Florida) for 40 years. And raised a middle class family (of as many as 8) on it.

Moving that cast iron tubs would be the dreaded task of every house install.

some of those houses still stand today. thats amazing

@Spahi77

3 жыл бұрын

Some, here in NYC they are almost all there......When i walk into some of these places, i am amzaed at the labor that went into older places.

@TechTokOffical

3 жыл бұрын

Prob MOST are still standing

Love the tub and tile, not like the horrific stuff we have today in new homes, unless you pay extra.

I've had two houses that were built that way. There weren't so many power tools back then. It had the original plaster, plus the lead-sealed waste plumbing.

@mcbridecreek

3 жыл бұрын

Lead and oakem

I knew a fellow who was a retired painter in 1970, he told me that when he when to trade school in L.A. they learned about every trade, he was very knowledgeable and a great guy.

Excellent compilation of the many facets of home building and the dedicated artists of that bygone era.

The floor carpenter at 16:13 is wearing early style chuck taylor Converse basketball shoes. That's very avant garde for the era where every function had a specific dress. No doubt, must've seem weird to other laborers. Would be like wearing bowling shoes today as casual wear. I wonder what his reasoning was behind using basketball shoes to do flooring. To not slip? To not cause dents or imperfections in the nee flooring. Pretty cool to see nonetheless.

@nowerries

3 жыл бұрын

Same reason they wear them on basketball courts. The soles don't leave marks on the floor like black rubber ones do which most shoes of the era would have had. At least that, to me, seems a logical assumption.

@beauzer36

3 жыл бұрын

I was eying those Chuck Taylor's too!

@arlenmargolin1650

3 жыл бұрын

@@beauzer36 those sneakers in good shape would bring you some money today I saw a pair of 1970s Adidas sell for $1,000 to some Japanese person

@sundown798

3 жыл бұрын

Looks like old school Keds!

I remember seeing a steam shovel like this one working on an empty lot next to me when I was growing up.

We rented a 1940s era house when i was younger. Had a red carpet through out minus kitchen and bath. The manager was going to replace the carpet amd we pulled it up the night before. And beneath it was a beautiful hard wood floor.

@MemoGrafix

3 жыл бұрын

Many apts I've lived in had beautiful wood floors, cheap old elderly landlords would refuse to pull up old ugggly filthy carpets that had 10 different prior tenants. I will take pictures & pull up the carpets, never failed, beautiful wood floors. The landlords would always say how they did not know what the floors looked like when they bought the house. I ask them but it's okay for the new tenants to have to live with someone else's filthy carpets?? I ask them to at least have the carpets shampooed they refuse to do that much. I only ever had one young landlord remove carpets and refinish the floors, he and I was around the same age.

Anybody ever contemplate the progress that has taken place in the last 200 years? Neighborhoods, cities, urban sprawl? It goes on for miles in some areas. It's truly amazing how far we've progressed in such a short time. I was walking thru a subdivision of over 500 homes that didn't exist 18 months ago. I looked around and wondered what all this is going to look like in 500 years. Will the same houses still be here? New ones built over top of the old ones? Will it revert back to nature? We've come a long ways in a short time. it's hard to imagine society moving along at the same pace for the distant future.

Hell yeah I've been looking for more videos like this. Great. Thanks

The little boy reading would be 100 today

@aussie8114

3 жыл бұрын

Probably died 80 years ago as war fodder 🙏🏼

I’m a plumber and I’d love to see the plumbers just do there thing back then especially with how fast the can do lead and okum and galvanized pipe

It is fascinating they are using rigid conduit for the wiring rather than knob/tube (being phased out in 1928) or the new bx cables. Very important bit of history here.

@WAQWBrentwood

7 жыл бұрын

Rigid conduit was indeed rare in frame buildings in 1928! I was shocked to see it here 😜 ! K&T was not only still permitted but common almost up till WW2 in inexpensive frame buildings, But by the mid/late 20s Armored cable was seen in better frame buildings. and​ NMC was already becoming popular. (Armored cable, or flexible conduit was standard in masonry buildings or multiple tenant buildings). Even though K&T was limited (by most codes )to frame buildings, many "fly by night" crews installed it in masonry buildings into the '30s My great grandfather was an electrical contractor in the 1910s-40s and told "horror stories" of wires buried in plaster, fused neutrals and all manner of things that make you wonder how there are so many old buildings left standing!😨

@MrBrendog67rat

5 жыл бұрын

it looks like EMT to me

@fanplant

4 жыл бұрын

@@MrBrendog67rat me as well.

@fnhwk

4 жыл бұрын

@@WAQWBrentwood one problem with knob and tube is that the t-taps they would make would get buried in the ceiling or wall.. Making it a nightmare trying to troubleshoot the system.

@andrewalexander9492

3 жыл бұрын

@@MrBrendog67rat EMT wasn't invented until around the Second World War. Edit, checking my sources, it was actually earlier than the second world war although I can't find when exactly. Looking closer at the film I have to agree that in the close-up of the J-box, it does look like EMT, ie: not threaded. Maybe EMT was being used as early as 1928. Jack Benfield, who invented the EMT bender and a lot of the techniques used, tells about being a rep for the company which introduced EMT.

Those pre-WWII houses were generally built with much care and a heightened attention to detail -- as opposed to the slam-bam tract-house era of post-WWII.

Using a steam shovel to excavate back then was truly ground breaking.

@shanemarcotte2062

6 жыл бұрын

lol I see what you did there..........

@jimmymckay73

3 жыл бұрын

@@shanemarcotte2062 dang you beat me to it. I'm digging what you're shoveling.

This is amazing to watch. 100% respect to these men.

Great to see all the trades doing their thing back in the day 🔨

It would be interesting if one day someone could pinpoint where this film was taken and If the house still exists!!! Eventually, this will happen!

@riverraisin1

3 жыл бұрын

Definitely looks like a California house. Sure would be nice to know where.

@linda7345n

3 жыл бұрын

@@riverraisin1 I agree, it does look like some of the old stucco'd houses here in southern Calif.

@bas1010

3 жыл бұрын

I'm guessing Los Angeles

@user-hu1um2xk5h

4 ай бұрын

I could find out if ai wanted to, but need some motivation for that research. It's late here and I'm tired. But wouldn't be too difficult for me as I can research pretty darn good.

Great to see how my parents house was built, would have been even better with a soundtrack explaining what is going on in the background. I thought the "Talkies" , had come in by now.

My grandparents bought their 6 unit apartment building new in Queens, NY $ 25,000 in 1928. My family moved out in 1973, grandmother sold in 76 before passing, now with only 3rd owner after all this time.

I remember as kids 3 ropes on a barrow pulling concrete, hand mixed concrete for small bridges over our creeks at homes , still there 50 years later

I was surprised to see an electric saw doing the cutting of floor construction.

My house was built in the 1940's. Those lead traps are a pain in the ass! I've had 2 of them removed when I got my bathroom remodeled

This video looks more like 1940’s right before they started using gyp lath. The electrical wiring not being knob and tube dates it past 1928. The window sashes also look more typical for immediately before or during WWII. The electric saw cutting the subfloor dates it past 1928 as well I believe.

@bigfoot99

3 жыл бұрын

I agree. See my reply to MFD Mike

@bill90405

3 жыл бұрын

Looks like CA, likely had advanced techniques before the rest of US. My 1923 house had knob and tube, this 1927 house has armored cable, Wood lath walls wire in ceilings. Cars are right for 1928.

@woodysdrums8083

3 жыл бұрын

I agree

@jeffweber8244

3 жыл бұрын

My daughter’s house in KY is 1926. No knob and tube in it. Has the armored cloth covered wire. I think it’s called BX. This video looks like it’s dated correctly from my perspective.

I believe this home was being constructed in the L.A. area due to the familiar hills and even a couple of palm trees. Panel framing of the framed walls was and is a southern California concept. The first framing contractor that I worked for--Jack Haglund , a framing contractor-- told me that in the early 60's.

@bh9275

3 жыл бұрын

I wouldn’t be surprised if it was multiple houses that these shots were taken.

@williamd4707

3 жыл бұрын

@Samwell I wonder what that property is worth now? Probably well into 7 figures.

@williamd4707

3 жыл бұрын

@@bh9275 I do not think so, due to the fireplace location in several scenes and the earth work that created a bilevel house garage tuck under.

Amazing work by all😆👍

amazing many thanks

Amazing. They were more modern than I thought in 1928

The flooring guy looks like he's wearing Chuck Tayor hi-top sneakers which came out in 1921, that's pretty cool. I like the big paint brush used for the doors, I use a 3" Corona but I need to look into a bigger brush.

@AS-cu2rd

4 жыл бұрын

Richard McKrell corona ??

@steelwheels327

3 жыл бұрын

You mean Chuck Taylor's, lol!

@richardmckrell4899

3 жыл бұрын

@@steelwheels327 not the Rifleman?

I was surprised to see the finished house ended up looking a 1950s ranch.

Roof guy is amazing

the only thing more remarkable than how much has changed since then is how little has changed since then

Home building process of the past was brilliant, however homebuilding now is way much better, and more efficient.

It would be great to build a house today with a hybrid of old and new construction methods/ materials. I was amazed at some of the clearly better older construction methods, but horrified by others. Here's what I would do the old way/ do the new way: - foundation/ framing: old way, but with modern tools. - wall sheathing/ roof decking: DEFINITELY the new way, but diagonal plank wall sheathing and plywood roof decking, not OSB. Also would use modern methods of weatherproofing, not tar paper (LOL). - wall insulation: new way without question. - plumbing/ electrical: mix of old and new. I would avoid cast iron drain pipe; PVC is faster and easier to work with and won't plug up with rust over time. For supply pipe I'd use copper. For electrical I'd use Romex (if the code allows). - subfloor: old way. - interior wall finish: new way, but drywall thicker than 1/2". - exterior wall finish: old way; hand troweled stucco is better hands down, not that machine blown stuff that crumbles just by running your fingers over it. That being said, however, if it were brick I'd use thinbrick, why use time-consuming veneer brick if it's not structural anyway? - windows: mix of old and new. Definitely new methods of weatherproofing, but I would never use cheap PVC windows.

It's amazing to see how homes were built back then. So much craftsmanship and attention to detail. Sadly, here in Florida, like 80-90% of how that home was built wouldn't be up to code. A prime example is the outer walls of that home. While well made, no way it would stand up to even a sustained Cat-3 hurricane. Same of goes for that wood shingled roof. I cringe so hard at that iron pipe plumbing! Oof! We had to recently replace all the pipes in our home and property because they were that old iron plumbing because ONE pipe on the EXTERIOR had JUST started to crack and collapse. The rest, all tho old and showing wear had quite a few years left in them. Even the plumber said so. The reason for complete replacement being is that it's illegal, at least in Florida, to leave iron pipes in place for insurance purposes.

@foamer443

3 жыл бұрын

I would have also thought that iron plumbing would be a health issue with possible rust. In the past, as a Sparky, I have worked with Sprinkler Fitters tying in flow switch and valves for fire alarm systems and obviously not the same, but if the water sits for any length of time, what comes out can be pretty nasty.

@BigDrewski1000

3 жыл бұрын

@@foamer443 I probably should've explained better. Lol. The pipes that were iron were the 1's leading AWAY from the house. The incoming water pipes had either been replaced before we bought the house, or were never iron to begin with afaik.

@foamer443

3 жыл бұрын

@@BigDrewski1000 AH. That makes sense. Have a good Christmas.

Real man that made real build that lasted real long time 💪💪💪💪

Some of those pulley driven shovels were still around in service when I was a kid in the early 60's.

Master Builders of a long gone era working skillfully at their craft. Nowadays it’s all about cheap building materials and cheap, ‘undocumented’ labor.

When I learned my trade, I was taught by guys in their sixties and seventies. Even in apprentice school we learned with all hand tools. As I progressed through my career as a carpenter, then superintendent, I watched as young apprentices and journeyman couldn't think their way out of a task, because they were not taught, first how to think and second because they relied too much on power tools. Another thing that is to blame for them not being able to think their way through a task is that most construction done now is all thought out at some pre-assembly location. All these guys have to do is fit the parts together, like painting by numbers.

@paulmaryon9088

3 жыл бұрын

so very true my friend, like you I was only allowed near power tools after learning to do the job by hand

Beautiful, fascinating footage. Did it make anyone else want to quit their desk job and become a builder?

This is Awesome 👌🏽👌🏽👌🏽