Port Byron has houses from just about every era: canal-period homes near the village center, farmhouses out on the back roads, postwar capes, and ranches and splits from the decades after. When you remodel any of them, the walls you open up tell you when the house was built and how many times it has been worked on since.

Knowing the era ahead of time does not tell you exactly what you will find, but it does tell you what to plan for. Here is what tends to show up behind the walls, by the age of the house, and what it usually means for a remodel.

Before About 1920: Plaster, Balloon Framing, and Many Owners’ Repairs

What you often find: plaster on wood lath, rough-sawn lumber that is a different size than today’s, balloon framing where the wall cavities run from the basement to the attic, stone or brick foundations, and little or no insulation. Wiring and plumbing have usually been redone in pieces over the years, so one room can be very different from the next.

What it means for a remodel: new walls and cabinets rarely meet old ones square, so expect shimming and scribing. Open wall cavities need fire blocking before they are closed back up. Plaster is heavy and messy to remove, so decide early whether a room gets patched or taken down to the studs.

Old plaster and wood lath exposed in an opened wall of an older farmhouse

About 1920 to 1950: Knob and Tube and Galvanized Pipe

What you often find: knob and tube wiring or early cloth-covered cable, galvanized steel water lines, cast iron drains, and plaster walls, sometimes over a gypsum board base instead of wood lath. Bathrooms from this period are small and often tiled over a thick mortar bed.

What it means for a remodel: old wiring in the walls you open generally should be replaced, not extended. Galvanized pipe tends to close up from the inside and is worth swapping while the wall is open. A mortar-bed bathroom floor can sit higher than the hallway, which affects how the new floor transitions at the door.

About 1950 to 1975: Early Drywall and Materials Worth Testing

What you often find: drywall or early plaster-board, two-prong outlets on ungrounded circuits, copper water lines, and fewer circuits than a modern kitchen or bath needs. Some homes from this era used materials that can contain asbestos, like certain floor tiles, pipe wrap, and textured ceilings, and paint from before 1978 can contain lead.

What it means for a remodel: if an old floor, ceiling texture, or pipe wrap is going to be disturbed, have it tested first. Plan on adding circuits for any updated kitchen or bathroom. This era is usually the easiest to work on because the framing is standard and fairly straight.

Opened drywall showing older copper water pipes and electrical cable inside a wall cavity

About 1975 to 2000: Newer Bones, Dated Surfaces

What you often find: standard framing, fiberglass insulation, plastic-sheathed wiring, and copper or early plastic plumbing. The surfaces are what show their age: builder-grade tub surrounds, sheet vinyl, hollow-core doors, and original windows. Bathroom fans in this era were often vented into the attic instead of outside.

What it means for a remodel: most of the work is cosmetic and layout, which keeps surprises down. Check where the bath fan actually exhausts, and look for soft subfloor around toilets and tubs, which is common after a few decades of small leaks.

Every Era: Previous Owners’ Work

The biggest variable in any older house is not the year it was built. It is what past owners did to it. Spliced wires with no box, a drain with the wrong slope, a wall removed without a proper beam, or new tile laid over old tile all show up regularly. That is why a good remodel plan leaves some room in the schedule and the budget for what is found once the walls are open.

If you are juggling more than one project, our post on the order to tackle remodeling projects can help you open each wall only once.

Freshly remodeled room in an older home with new drywall, trim, and wood floors

How to Plan Around It

Find the build year on your deed or county property records, then look for signs of later additions.
Look in the basement and attic first. Exposed wiring, pipes, and framing there show what is likely inside the finished walls.
Test before you tear out anything that might contain asbestos or lead paint.
Hold back a contingency for hidden conditions, especially in the oldest houses.
Decide patch vs. replace for plaster walls before work starts, not halfway through.

Talk It Through

We remodel bathrooms, basements, and whole rooms in Port Byron and across Wayne County and the surrounding towns in Cayuga and Oswego counties, and we take on the handyman repairs older homes always seem to need. Call or text (315) 754-9996 to set up a consultation, and we will walk the house with you and talk through what to expect.