Old Farm House

Bruce in CT · Jan 30, 2013

Hey guys, I know a lot of you are builders and carpenters and such. I've done a lot of work on old houses in the last 25 years, but I've never seen this before. There are bricks cemented in between the wall studs in most of the exterior walls. First and second floors. They range in height of 3 or 4 bricks high to as many as 15. There are even a few on the interior walls. The framing seems to be mostly sawn chestnut. I was told the house was built in the 1850's. Has anyone ever seen that before? Here are a couple pictures.

John B. · Jan 30, 2013

Yes I have seen that before. As much as I know they used it for insulation or to keep the wind from blowing in.

We had a small building at home years ago. It had 3 windows, front and back door, attic & chimney. It was a 1 room building. We were told the tenant lived in it while the big house was being built. The North & West walls were lined with brick. I have pictures some where I'll try to post them.

gene bender · Jan 30, 2013

When we removed the old plaster in our house we found the same. Also part of newspaper that had a story about civil war which was going on at that time.

Dick2 · Jan 30, 2013

Whoever did that must have been a few bricks short of a full load?

Anonymous-0 · Jan 30, 2013

We live in central Minn and our house had the first floor outside walls filled in with bricks and mortar. House was 140 years old. Darn thing would hold the heat in the summer and hold the cold in the winter!!

GordoSD · Jan 30, 2013

To keep varmits out?

641Dave · Jan 30, 2013

Keep bullets from passing though if you were manning that window.

Vito · Jan 30, 2013

Could have been for fire stopping as the old houses where ballon frame. I have seen horse hair plaster used as fire stopping material.

JMHO and could be wrong.

Vito

Bruce in CT · Jan 30, 2013

It's not balloon framing. The bricks are sitting right on top of the bottom sill plate that is sitting on the stone foundation, and there are top plates so the second floor and first floor are separated by that. There are bricks sitting on the top late as well. We thought about varmits, but you wouldn't need that many bricks to keep them out. We thought about bullets, which is our best guess, but they have bricks 1 or 2 high on some of the interior walls. We also found some small flat rocks cemented into the walls as if they ran out of bricks. Insulation idea sounds good, but then why wouldn't they go all the way to the ceiling? Like I say, I've worked in a lot of old houses in this town and surrrounding ones and never seen it before. BTW, the town is Roxbury CT. Any other ideas, guys?

Ed in Northern VA · Jan 30, 2013

Its called "nogging"
Used to give bulk, stability to walls. Depending on the circumstance they would use brick, dirt, stone, any kind of debris.
Wikipedia Noggging

Tim(nj) · Jan 30, 2013

The oldest part of our farmhouse has the same thing but with fieldstone. This part of the house is on a dry-laid stone foundations and there are no physical connections between the sill and the foundation. The nogging adds weight to keep the house on the foundation walls in the wind. It must work because Hurricane Sandy couldn't move it last year.

larrystinescorner · Jan 30, 2013

where do you live in nj? I live near Bridgewater

Vito · Jan 30, 2013

Thanks Ed.I learned another thing today.

Vito

farmerjohn · Jan 30, 2013

A house near here built c. 1840's has the same timberframing but instead of bricks they used blocks of wood.

just another old geezer · Jan 30, 2013

The house my grandfather built in 1905 had concrete in the walls of the first floor. he did it as an attempt to stop drafts. Gave the Amish a workout this year when they tore it down.

Bruce in CT · Jan 30, 2013

Thanks Ed, I knew there would be a reason!

I knew you guys wouldn't let me down! I come here every day, usually with my morning coffee and then again in the evening. I never post, but I learn a lot. So, thank you to everyone that replied I knew I'd get an answer from this website. I told my boss that you are a bunch of guys from all over the country and other countries for that matter, and I told him that somebody would know, and you didn't let me down! Thank you again, you guys are the best!

Bruce

PaGlenn · Jan 30, 2013

In the farmhouse in Penna we found corncob and newspaper for insulating. Newspaper were 1854. One mentioned Lincoln running for senate.

Tony in Mass. · Jan 30, 2013

You sure the house is 1840 rather than 1640? That looks like a European start to a post and beam rebuild. Too bad Dave 2 is dead, I think the walls in his place were packed up alot like that. How old do the bricks look? Never mind bullets, they might have been prepping for Pequot and Mohican attacks...

2x4 · Jan 31, 2013

prolly built with green lumber which will twist & warp as they dry. It is sometimes stabilized by cutting pieces of 2x4 & toenailing them horizontally. Bricks & mortar are doing the same thing. They didn't always have time to kiln dry the lumber.

evilboweivel · Jan 31, 2013

centrl Ohio here
my first house was built in 1913
it had bricks all the way up in the outside walls
it had 4x4's beside all windows, doors, beams for sill and top plate
I was the third owner in 1980
bought it off of the esate of the daughter of the original builder
house had two 110 vac ciruits, one for three lights, one for three recptacles.
gas lights upstairs

Tim(nj) · Jan 31, 2013

between Frenchtown and Pittstown

Old Farm House

New User

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Member

Well-known Member

New User

Member

Well-known Member

Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Member

New User

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Member

Well-known Member

Similar threads