How were 1930s houses built?

Even as late as 1930s some houses were still built with solid walls (one-brick thick). Mortar was usually lime based, sometimes gauged with cement. DPCs could be lead-cored bitumen coated, slate, asphalt, and, for horizontal DPCs only, waterproof cements and natural pitch (from coal).

Do 1930s houses have foundations?

Broadly speaking, most period houses built before the 1930’s were on footings of bricks laid in a stepped fashion known as corbels. Although concrete was sometimes used underneath corbel foundations, for the most part they were laid directly onto the ground.

Do 1930s houses have cavity walls?

Most houses built after 1930 have cavity walls. It is very rare for houses build before 1920 to have cavity walls, while most houses built after 1985 will have been constructed with cavity wall insulation built in. Most older houses will have solid walls.

How deep are 1930s house foundations?

Between the Wars. During the 1920s and 30s foundations remained much the same. Text books from the 1930s suggest that in clay soils foundations should be 3 feet deep (900mm) – guidance in fact not much different from today.

Do old homes have footings?

But old houses often weren’t built on footings. Instead, builders dug a shallow trench on the perimeter of the structure and began building the walls right there, on the dirt. If there is a basement, it may be surrounded by a ledge of dirt that helps hold the walls in place.

Why do 1930s houses have small kitchens?

The typical house of this era was built with a very small kitchen, which might also have been referred to as the scullery. The kitchen was primarily viewed as a functional space, without decorative touches. …

Are 1930s houses popular?

There’s no single reason that there are so many 1930s houses scattered throughout the country, but one of the biggest factors was that they were a relatively cheap way to build lots of new homes quickly after the depression in the early 1930s and the destruction wrought by WWI.

What kind of walls do old houses have?

Older homes and high-end new homes will have plaster instead of drywall. Harder and more durable, plaster is also more expensive to install. In old homes, plaster is a three-coat system applied over wood or metal lath. In new homes, it’s usually a single coat applied over blueboard, a special type of drywall.