Home Builders At Work (1928)

[@Skateforlifelad]

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

[@heyeverybody5616]

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]

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]

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]

@@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]

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]

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

[@PurpleNinja-vn4hv]

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]

Well tell us the bar and where it is!

[@PurpleNinja-vn4hv]

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

[@FloydCourtnell]

The quality nowadays is terrible and will do well to last 40 years We are roofers in England and the rafters are 38mm wide pre made at 600 centres , Too much insulation and air tightness. Condensation is rampant

[@jmarco4331]

@@PurpleNinja-vn4hvno way. I know exactly where it is and have been there several times. They do a good business …

[@thomaswayneward]

There are plenty of well built homes built today. I know because I built them for fifty years.

[@mcbridecreek]

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]

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]

We still work 6 day weeks

[@levonferguson6548]

@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]

@@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]

@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.

[@TacoBell5DollarBox]

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

[@riverraisin1]

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

[@AnguishedMan]

No it about shitposts and memes

[@qm421]

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

[@waterheaterservices]

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

[@fnhwk]

No it really isn't.

[@tikitavi7120]

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]

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]

@@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]

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

[@trickyricky12147]

​​@@arlenmargolin1650 I'm sure they had some sort of a trick up their sleeves back then like maybe "the tile spacing should be no more bigger than a nickel", then they probably would use a bunch of nickels as spacers. Being it's back in 1928 though, a .05 cent quarter was a decent amount of money to be using as tile spacers so more than likely just eyeball it.

[@dave642]

@@arlenmargolin1650 I have been to the Philippines and the still set tile the same way, no spacers, nothing and it comes out perfect, of course all houses there are concrete and tile.

[@327Erich]

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.

[@austin2842]

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

[@WelshRabbit]

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]

@@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]

@@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]

Wonder what type of GoPro they used to film that 😁

[@austin2842]

@@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.

[@csmith9684]

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!!

[@minuteman4199]

My house was built in 1925 and is still solid. It's been rewired and replumbed and has new windows and roof, a lot of the plaster interior walls have been replaced by drywall, but it's still going strong.

[@wr7033]

The reason for the compaction testing is literally to go above and beyond to ensure it NEVER fails. There is a lot that goes on in construction that the average person has no clue of. Following International codes ensures the publics safety that they will not be electrocuted, crushed, blown up, injured, or killed due to faulty building practices. One real example is if the person who lived in the house prior to you had an electrical line installed, but did not pull permits and did not dig deep enough while laying the new line per building codes. 15 years later you go to pull permits to make an edition to the house, the hidden electrical line does not show up on the utilities plans and does not get spray painted when marking utilities. So you start digging in the "safe zone" and are immediately electrocuted and die when you sever the shallow electrical line previously installed. Every single day homeowners are hiring cheap laborers to install and build things they are not trained or certified to do which means, some innocent person, hopefully not a child will pay the price, later.

[@carlosalvarez6599]

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

[@uptalk144]

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

[@steak8]

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

[@Rickswars]

@@steak8now theirs meth or crack on every corner.

[@vaquero7072]

Alcohol 😂 was medicine

[@larryharris937]

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.

[@guytech7310]

"Sad to say it caught on fire and burned a few years later. My father cried." I would have done the same.

[@lamplighter6794]

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]

F’ing sparkys...

[@Bradley-tx6ed]

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

[@johnlennon1151]

@@franciscodanconia45 you sound like a plumber

[@gtb81.]

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]

@@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.

[@robertmejia4554]

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

[@williamobrien2759]

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]

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]

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]

@@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]

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

[@Melissa0774]

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

[@wilshirestrasse2220]

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

[@PacoOtis]

However, "good old days" my ass! LOL

[@downhilltwofour0082]

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.

[@steak8]

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.

[@JerryCalvert-x9u]

​@@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.

[@j.clowers7223]

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

[@jamesdostie3556]

get a life you mor5on

[@karenolson4000]

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]

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

[@maxi-me]

Thank goodness we have robots to build houses now

[@finscreenname]

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]

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

[@joemasse4568]

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.

[@seanmcguire7974]

Cant have a classic home without the old piano

[@sethc4758]

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..

[@hayjacob666]

When 2x4’s were really 2”x4”.

[@paulh7589]

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]

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]

@@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]

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]

They were rough cut.

[@beav4202]

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

[@Guest-br5mz]

Just like the Sims

[@thomaswayneward]

LOL, my wife was just saying the same thing.

[@MrSloika]

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]

Me too

[@kskate91]

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

[@chrismoody1342]

My father post WW2 built some 50 homes. All of them hand nailed, all of them hand sawn. Even myself worked in the new home and custom home industry. Picked up skills that translated to probably $150,000 in my personal home building and constant updating and repair projects.

[@kmonnier]

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

[@garyteague4480]

Oh wow

[@zfilmmaker]

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]

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

[@patbrennan6572]

My dad was two when those amazing skilled workers performed their arts and skills.

[@thisplaceisazoo]

@@zfilmmaker I got to talk to my great grandmother when I was a teenager. She told me about riding in horse and buggies in the late 1800's.

[@jimholmes2555]

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

[@backachershomestead]

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]

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]

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]

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

[@gjle]

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

[@randykreifels6171]

The guy putting the roof shakes on does such awsome work!

[@vickileonard72]

Lost skills. My house is 102 yrs old. Entering the basement & seeing the how the framing is joined is a treat

[@johnwayne3904]

What an absolute time capsule of a film this is, I appreciate you for sharing it with us. It makes me yearn even moreso to find an old house to fix-up and call home.

[@rgsaul3]

that little boy would grow up to be what we now call the greatest generation

[@vasil12361]

Or he might have got offed in the war.

[@12yearssober]

​@@vasil12361 Maybe not

[@rgsaul3]

@@vasil12361 offed? you mean killed in action?

[@vasil12361]

@@rgsaul3 offed, KIA, you're dead either way.

[@rgsaul3]

@@vasil12361 tru dat

[@faultygrade]

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]

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]

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

[@dbrown6941]

@@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.

[@gregoryenste3883]

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

[@thomaswayneward]

What has changed? I built for fifty years and good framing is still done the same as then.

[@aquicktake]

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

[@kenelder9615]

only if you know little about house construction

[@heyeverybody5616]

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.

[@aquicktake]

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

[@alb12345672]

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

[@geoffmorgan6059]

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.)

[@cricketnpeachesj14]

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.

[@brandonlewis2916]

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]

Complicated because everyone wants to earn from your endeavors

[@csmith9684]

thats so true!

[@nowerries]

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.

[@elderfarms]

That didn’t come until later 😂

[@sanfordberg4880]

Probably California.

[@randallbadgett4040]

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

[@sundown798]

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

[@nowerries]

@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.

[@gheffz]

Absolutely amazing !!! Thanks!

[@enigmaticx326]

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

[@abc-bu7nr]

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

[@drumer4life21]

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]

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.

[@tonyfehr132]

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]

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

[@captainamerica9353]

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

[@kevinr3263]

@@captainamerica9353 i live in Baltimore

[@darioburatovich2240]

@@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.

[@tomj528]

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.

[@cowboy_broke]

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

[@svensvrgen6336]

I've seen some guys use it on commercial jobs

[@BigDrewski1000]

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

[@BigDrewski1000]

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]

@@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]

@@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

[@peteboss4519]

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

[@linda7345n]

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.

[@abacab87]

Damn, I can relate. I started as an apprentice in the late 80's. I got yelled at frequently. When I became a foreman and then owner, I didn't yell at anybody because of that.

[@linda7345n]

@@abacab87 Well done in holding firm to your honor & integrity and not purposely creating upset with others. I do applaud you.

[@lonnarheaj]

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.

[@tomharris8263]

These men were really craftsmen.

[@mc4492]

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..

[@JMorris216]

some of those houses still stand today. thats amazing

[@Spahi77]

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]

Prob MOST are still standing

[@FloydCourtnell]

My grandfather was a great carpenter. Could pitch roof and make cabinets. All in a suit and tie 😊.

[@tedlahm5740]

The ever present STETSON hat. A symbol of an upperclass workmen.

[@bjj21]

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

[@kays749]

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

[@Ts-zy4bw]

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.

[@JerryCalvert-x9u]

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.

[@guytech7310]

"I think most modern contractors wouldn’t last a day on the job back in 1928." Don't sell them short. The framers I hired worked pretty hard. The did use nail guns but also used hammers & nails. Modern roofers, concrete, workers work just has hard today.

[@leviSyosef]

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

[@Zalgud]

Fascinating to watch these artisans at work.

[@IlIIlllIlIIIlllllIlIIIl]

Remodeled a 1930s house, when I had to drill through the studs in the wall to pass wire through it. Had to upgrade to a new drill and get some some auger bits--old growth lumber is phenomenal. Was able to count 90+ growth rings on some of those 2x4s. I wished I could package up that aroma it sent through my house as well. Smelt so good.

[@mewhor]

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]

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]

@@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]

​@@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]

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

[@LucasFernandez-fk8se]

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

[@Theresistance64]

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

[@-_James_-]

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

[@robertbrandywine]

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]

@@-_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_-]

@@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]

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.

[@scratchdog2216]

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

[@foamer443]

Guaranteed he had a bad back

[@mcbridecreek]

That guy can hand nail!

[@user-hd8ej8yx9p]

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

[@bigpjohnson]

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]

@@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

[@jimcarter4929]

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.

[@25mfd]

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

[@rubbersole79]

I had an older gentleman neighbor once that told me that as a young boy he pounded lath on the inside of homes in Minneapolis for .75 cents a day. Later, he was a radio communications instructor for pilots heading to Europe to fight the Nazis. (Of course very few would return.) Now days no one appreciates the effort that went into putting a roof over their heads. Or for their freedoms they enjoy and abuse.

[@catherineoconnell3213]

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

[@miguelclarkeottovonbismarck]

good man, your dad. now days it's all hi vis monkeys and babies wearing saftey helmets when they ride bikes. Shameful and disgusting society of infants in the west.

[@Doomzdayxx]

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

[@williamd4707]

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

[@danielmay8827]

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.

[@guytech7310]

I think those were boxing shoes.

[@thomaswayneward]

Yea but he knew how to nail. Hit the nail, not your foot. LOL

[@Vendetta_Armada80]

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

[@SpressoHead]

All that hearty old-growth lumber! Much more durable than today’s white-wood lumber.

[@thomaswayneward]

No it isn't. Todays lumber is actually better.

[@johnwayne3904]

😂 Sure, Timmy.

[@wr7033]

​@thomaswayneward Are you trolling or did you actually fall out of the stupid tree and hit every branch on the way down? There's a reason loggers in CA were cutting down the giant sequoias when there were millions of acres of small young trees. It wasn't because it was easier. It was way more time consuming and labor intensive to cut a tree down the size of a house. Even they new the older the tree got the stronger the wood got as well.

[@thomaswayneward]

@@wr7033 I am relying on science, not myth. The new strain of Southern Pine grows faster and is stronger. Old growth means nothing except the tree is bigger and older, it is not stronger.

[@stevenlake5278]

It you notice, there is no double header. It's one true piece of lumber.

[@waynedaley7048]

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

[@williamd4707]

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]

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.

[@joegonzales772]

i bought my home in 1971 it was built on 1922 it has knob & tube electrical i upgraded the meter it also has rope & sash weights the walls are also plastered its a craftsman design i still live in it

[@guytech7310]

You got to be in your eighties! My grandparents home was built in 1905. Had gas lighting fixures in it originally which were refitted for electrical wiring.

[@joegonzales772]

@@guytech7310 you got my age pretty close I'm 77 I was 25 in 1971

[@timklein3962]

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

[@rollandjoeseph]

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

[@seanm3226]

⁠@@rollandjoeseph My father fed a family of eight doing that 6 days a week.

[@cyoungso]

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]

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]

it looks like EMT to me

[@fanplant]

@@MrBrendog67rat me as well.

[@fnhwk]

@@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]

@@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.

[@justme8837]

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

[@rawbacon]

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]

Prooove itttttt !!!!!! 🤭🤭🤭🤭🤭

[@mountainmantararua8824]

You beat me by 6 months.🤣🤣

[@abacab87]

What was Keith Richards like as a boy?

[@MichaelCooley-le4zb]

😅

[@richardpena7275]

Amazing video. Truly good to see great work ethic and attention to detail.

[@technicalitems731]

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]

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

[@linda7345n]

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

[@bas1010]

I'm guessing Los Angeles

[@JerryCalvert-x9u]

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.

[@guytech7310]

There is a commenter that stated the boy in the film was his father, You could ask him were the house is, & if it still standing.

[@ericbstudios9807]

Nice to see the guys who put in the stuff i have been ripping apart for 25 years. Interesting it was older gentlemen mostly

[@RADIUMGLASS]

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

[@fluffymittens24]

We did the plumbing on a 1906 house in Mississippi, remodel. I went into the attic and saw the framing, amazing what they did my hand back then.

[@menuly]

14:30 100 years later and tiling is still done exactly the same.

[@KaMil-gw2qr]

100 years later, almost nothing has changed, except the 2x4's.

[@speedysteve9121]

Insulation has moved from R-1 to R-19

[@johnhiggins3943]

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

[@randybobandy9828]

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

[@leeb.patersons6463]

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]

@@leeb.patersons6463 Too funny

[@playboyvic]

😂

[@Betterifitsfree]

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

[@MemoGrafix]

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

[@pacz8114]

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

[@NYRM1974]

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]

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]

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]

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.

[@wadebarnett2542]

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]

Lead and oakem

[@roadrules3671]

Thoroughly Enjoyed watching this. This was so long ago; it was filmed 5 years before my Late Parents were even Born. My guess is that some of the Workers in this film had to be Born in the latter part of the 1800's.

[@riverraisin1]

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.

[@ryanhumanik2846]

Pride in work is everything and it will show and hold up until end of time

[@americanmilitiaman88]

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]

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.

[@27mgt]

Amazing. They were more modern than I thought in 1928

[@walkergillette3918]

The little boy reading would be 100 today

[@aussie8114]

Probably died 80 years ago as war fodder 🙏🏼

[@danielfantino1714]

Filmed in 1928. A year before the big financial krach and so many loosed jobs. Just wonder how these families made their payments ? How many just moved in had to moved out ?.... But that was 1928 ! A year before..... Thanks for sharing that well made and preserved document. 😊

[@mcraigdesign]

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

[@shanemarcotte2062]

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

[@jimmymckay73]

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

[@roertsgrooters-mf2oy]

Love it shows you how much more time it took.and labor have something nice

[@robertgregory2618]

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

[@Skateforlifelad]

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

[@mindeloman]

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]

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]

I was eying those Chuck Taylor's too!

[@arlenmargolin1650]

@@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]

Looks like old school Keds!

[@Rickswars]

This house was built a lot like mine and mine is level still plum all because they built things better back in the day and right!

[@basspig]

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

[@alexander2685]

Amazing work by all😆👍

[@williamd4707]

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]

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

[@williamd4707]

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

[@williamd4707]

@@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.