Cavity Wall Construction... and Brick House Salvaging

I had a dream last night that there was perfectly intact brick underneath the asbestos. The house looked AWESOME in my dream. Too bad that isn't likely reality! I fear there will be too many nail holes in the bricks themselves to salvage... or that there is an entire wall collapsing, or WORSE.

That being said, we are sure going to give it our best shot! I've been digging up information on brick houses in the area, and what sort of problems we might encounter.

First, I discovered that our house is constructed with what is known as cavity wall construction, where two courses or wythes of bricks creating the wall are separated by a cavity of air. This was popular in the Denver and Colorado area from the turn of the century onward, though somewhat uncommon in other areas of the United States until the 1960's

I based my assumption on the fact that there are no "half bricks" visible in the identical neighboring houses, as cavity wall brick homes are constructed with the bricks laid end to end, creating a wall that is half a brick thick. I confirmed by peaking behind a rotting window frame; the hollow space and two courses of bricks were quite plain to see.

I found a wonderful article at Old House Journal that talked about brick houses in Denver; they published it 6 months ago, and it couldn't have come at a better time. It makes me feel better about the problems we might uncover, and how we might fix them. It's a great read for anyone who might have a Colorado brick home, or a cavity wall brick home.

We will have to keep a careful eye out for delamination of the bricks (when the outer layers of bricks are separate from the bricks behind them), a condition that is common in the Colorado area due to the sunny summers and cold nights. Any bulges in the face of the wall will be evidence.

I was pleased to note that there are masonry specialists in the Denver area with expertise in the sorts of problems we might uncover; hopefully help will be available if we need it.

Is Your Loveland, CO, Home 50 Years or Older?

The City of Loveland, Colorado, is hosting two workshops in the next few weeks for old house owners. If you are in the area, it might be worth stopping by... it looks like they will supply some great information! Sadly I can't attend the first...

Researching the History of Your Old House
City staff and a genealogist help you learn about your old home and the people who lived there.

Monday, May 5th, 2008
6:30 to 8:00 pm

Your Old House Workshop: Finding and Using Architectural Salvage
The city's third annual Your Old House workshop will focus on how to find, reclaim and use architectural salvage in your old house. Find out how to locate historic hardwood floors, hardware, stained glass or front porch pillars; how to recondition old wood windows; or how to hand a salvaged door. Bring your questions!

Thursday, May 22, 2008
6:30 to 8:00 pm


Both events are at the Loveland Museum/Gallery at 503 N. Lincoln and are free and open to the public.

She's a Brick---- House!

A piece of our asbestos siding fell off today...

and GUESS what was underneath?



I pulled up a bit of the steel siding that surrounds the bottom of the house (on the other side, to get a representative sample)...



This makes total sense, as the other 5 identical houses on my side of the street are solid brick. Mine is the only one with siding. I didn't think much about this, because the houses on the OTHER side of the street are NOT brick...they are clapboard style.

It also explains some of the oddities, like the extra deep front door jamb and the very sunken looking windows!

Now, who would put asbestos siding over brick?

It seems to be in good condition... the mortar looks EXCELLENT, as it should since it was protected from the elements for at least 50 years. There are 1x2's nailed into the mortar to hold up the siding, and tar paper over the brick and under the siding.

I'm thinking that it's worth stripping down the house to see... at least remove all of the steel bottom siding to check on the brick's condition. Asbestos abatement is expensive... but I think ending up with a brick house would be worth the expense (we can do it ourself, too, in this state)! Alternately, if the brick is damaged beyond use, it will make a great surface to stucco over, which was an alternate idea for siding this house (lots in the area are originally stucco).

What have you found under your old siding?

What in the World IS My House- Part 2

Thank you all for your wonderful comments! I am a few steps closer to figuring out this house's origins and style.

This comment from LisaCarol of NunkProTunk's houses sent me off on a google search to search "pyramidal roof vernacular". I found many houses that looked similar, but lacked the "flat" top and centered chimney/vent. They were generally rectangular in shape, as well. Very close, but not quite!

A few of you suggested a cottage style might be more correct. I searched for "pyramid cottage" and found this picture, courtesy of the Park City (Utah) Historical Society and Museum:

Pyramid cottage

"Named for its characteristic pyramid roof, the pyramid
cottage is described as a four room square building with
a pyramid roof and front porch."
Information from: Deborah Lyn Randall, Park
City Utah: An Architectural History of Mining Town Housing, 1869
to 1907

It's my house on the outside! The porch is a little larger, but everything from the flat topped pyramidal roof to the two windows and the simple porch columns is the same. The floor plan is quite similar, also. Our house does not have an entrance hall and the left two rooms are open to each other. There is also a small bathroom tucked between the right two rooms. I will be interested to see if we see signs of previous walls in those places when we re-floor. There is a square "inset" in the middle of the house, as noted in the floor plan above, as well. This is where our furnace and hot water heater are. I think we might have found a match!

I wanted to find out more information about this house style in Colorado. I expanded my search to include hipped roof houses as well as pyramidal houses and cottages. The houses are very common in railroad, mining, and timber towns of the west.

From the City of Longmont's Historical Preservation, Planning, and Development Services: (all emphasis is mine)

Vernacular Wood Frame
By far the most common style of architecture, vernacular wood frame structures have been built throughout Colorado since 1860. With an absence of architectural features and ornamentation that can distinguish a specific style, these simple, modest homes are divided into types according to floor plan and roof shapes.

The hipped box is a small, one-story structure with hipped roof and usually a front porch. These structures are commonly confused with the more elaborate classic box (Four Square) or Bungalow. Ornamentation is the key to distinguishing between these styles. The hipped box has no decorative elements.

So my house is now a hipped box. BUT WAIT! A survey on history buildings by the city of Pagosa Springs states this:

...the “Hipped Box” classification... is a building type, rather than an architectural style. Hipped Box type buildings are simple one story square (or close to square) buildings with pyramidal hipped roofs. They may have a small covered entry or stoop, but they do not have porches

mmmmm... time to do more research, this time at the library to settle these contradictory statements. I'm hoping to find out more information about the earliest occupants, and possibly even information about the original existence or absence of a front porch.

It is pretty clear that it isn't a classic cottage, as those have a dormer and are generally longer.

Conclusion: My house is either classified as a pyramidal cottage, a hipped box, a pyramidal box, or a hipped cottage. OR... all four are right.

What in the World IS My House?

I have no idea what the architectural classification of my house is. None. I've puzzled over this for quite some time. It doesn't help, of course, that ANYTHING original (except the windows) was removed sometime between 1950 and 1980. So, there are few interior clues.

What I know...

• It was built in 1911.
• It sits on a street with 7 other houses that all have the same shape and floorplan (but different construction). There are probably 100 of this house in my city... and I've seen them in other places, as well. We even looked at 2 other versions before buying this one. Some of those houses have Victorian accents, some have very simple accents, some even have Craftsman-esque accents. Some are brick, some are clapboard, some are asbestos (like mine).
• It was originally a square. A small square, with about 700 square feet, 2 bedrooms, a bathroom, and a living room and kitchen.
• The house is laid out with a living room/kitchen open space on one side, and the two bedrooms and bathroom (in between the bedrooms) on the other.

Any ideas? I would love to have them!