Moving to a 1930s house.........

[ButtonMoon]

We are in the process of buying a 1930s property. I have read a few things on MN about restoring them to their former glory.. I was wondering if there are any of you who have successfully restored or re-introduced period features to their 1930s house. What did you do? Oh and not forgetting the highly debated windows dilemma!

What's it missing, BM? We have an Arts and Crafts house, of that era.

Sorry....what's an Arts and Crafts house?

We have dipped and stripped back our 4 panel 30's style doors.

Just DON'T add uPVC windows (biggest architectural crime of the century as I bawl to any poor sales person having the temerity to try and sell them to me over the phone.)
Have you got any nice sained glass or Art deco-y tiles?

BM, have have absolutely no idea, but that's what our clued-up neighbours tell the developers when they come round

DH keen on Upvc wondows....I am investigating secondary glazing but they look so ugly....just don't know what to do??? We ahev an art deco fireplace and picture rails in some rooms. Think their may be nice doors behind the panels and there is a oak blocked floor in hall.

Please don't put in UPVC windows!! Put up nice thick lined curtains instead if you are worried about draughts in winter. The original windows are so important as part of the character of the house. Yes, I bet the original doors will be there under the panelling and you may find more wood block floors downstairs under the carpet and I think they are beautiful - just need a quick buff and polish.

Sounds like a nice house!
We have a 1930's house and I love it.
No to UPVC - I agree with Moondog here.

Being a 1930's house, chances are the wood for the windows is made of European hardwood so if well maintained, should last for years. We still have ours and all they need is to be patched at times, and painted every few years.
Interior doors and other woodwork likely to be a mix of pine and pitch pine.

Doors would be pine and were never intended to be stripped. They would have had a scumble glaze to give the appearance of oak. Very hard to do now and looks very old fashioned and a bit orange anyway. We stripped ours (non-caustic so the joints didn't separate) and used a wood "stain" to darken them down and seal them. Waxing can tend to mean you get dark patches where finger marks have been over the years.
Skirtings, picture rails and banisters also probably pine and originally would have been painted or scumble glazed. Lots of people strip them, I like white gloss personally - nice and crisp and fresh.
Fireplaces is a hard one. Thirties style fireplaces weren't that attractive so even if the originals are there, you may not like them. I find it is often a mistake to put features into a house which are older than the house itself, like putting victorian fireplaces into a 30's house, but anything later is fine. That might just be me.
The oak block floor in the hall will not need much. A bit of work if there are paint splats etc but mainly elbow grease to lightly sand and varnish.
I've rambled on.
Enjoy the house!

Our stripped doors aren't pine. A darker reddy colour wood. Not sure what alhtough I was told - have forgotton.
we too have picture rails - I love them. It is so easy to reorganise all my pictures whenever I fancy! Ours are white stainwood too. We ahve stripped back an original oak fireplace but not sure I like it so may paint again. upstairs we have tiled fireplaces. Grey and yellow colour.
Unfortunately we don't have block flooring just floorboards in the hall. Have kept original door, removed some flat paneling to reveal lovely panels (recessed). Painted it midnight blue which looks lovely IMO.

Not sure if this helps but we have an Edwardian house with sash windows. Could not face uPVC or cost of replacement sashes so we have had them overhauled by Ventrolla who do period places. It seems to have worked pretty well, they all open and no longer rattle,

Sorry to butt in on this thread, but could you tell me please Cath how much (roughly) Ventrolla charge per window as some of ours could do with overhauling?

The Dragon House is a 1930s house. No wood block floors unfortunately and all the fireplaces have gone/replaced, doors replaced with characterless new ones.... :( It's saving grace is the fat that it has no UPVC (all wooden frames) and retains all the decorative windows bar round the front door. Not sure what to call them - not stained glass because they're not coloured. They're plain glass but in a variety of textures. They're draughty, freezing in winter but I love them. They do need overhauling though. Tempted to get them "double glazed" by having a second pane of glass put behind them. Not like ugly secondary double glazing but it cuts the heat loss from the glass.

Just make siure it isn't riddled with damp though, like the one we were going to buy :(