How was a property from the 1930s built? Give me tips for renovation :-)

[BirgitS]

Houses from the 1920s or 1930s very often have natural ventilation with both exhaust and supply air in the kitchen. The supply air was usually where the pantry was when the house was new.

Had a cold pantry in a 1940s apartment but its door was designed to be completely sealed and did not provide any supply air to the kitchen, only cooled down the pantry. I also think it was like that in my grandmother's apartment from 1900.

 

[c_olsson]

Houses from the 20s or 30s very often have natural ventilation with both exhaust and supply air in the kitchen. The supply air is usually where the pantry was when the house was new.

A cold pantry typically had two vents, one for intake and one for outlet. The cold air came in from below and the warm air was evacuated from above, which was usually adjustable with a flap. In houses built with refrigerators, there was often only one vent with a flap. It is rare today to see more than one flap.

 

[kalle55]

The house rather reminds, as you mention, of the 1920s. I checked out some pictures of 1920s houses, and they are all very similar to this one, especially considering the ceiling height and the small windows?

The small windows are probably primarily because unfortunately, the windows have been replaced with modern ones, they compensate craftsmanship and core wood with more material in the frame and sash (partly also to be able to support the heavy insulated glass) and thus you lose a lot of glass area, up to 20% without a problem.

Houses from the 1920s or 1930s very often have natural ventilation with both exhaust and supply air in the kitchen. The supply air is usually where the pantry was when the house was new.

It was also common in older turn-of-the-century houses, so you would get a cold pantry before the advent of refrigerators. Provided that no major changes have been made, it would then be to the left of the kitchen window. Now we don't see a picture of that corner, but it's probably already closed, so the OP probably doesn't have to worry about it. For these old houses to pass the mandatory ventilation checks, air supply vents are usually installed in the window frames instead. I also see that this has been done in one of the pictures.

Supply and exhaust air are never in the same room; otherwise, the air exchange in the apartment doesn't work. Probably the supply air is in the hallway, or alternatively, the supply air previously came through indirect infiltration between the frame and sash. When the windows were replaced, slot vents were installed, but unfortunately, this is a second-hand solution that can cause drafts and cold air, which, in turn, makes people close the vents, leading to moisture/mold.

The pantry's supply air indeed functions to cool it, but it doesn't contribute more than indirectly to the apartment's ventilation.

 

[MasSimon]

The kitchen and hallway floors are quite new, so you should check how they have resolved the flooring there. In the bedroom, the floor should be reusable, but in the kitchen, you could replace it with a period-appropriate linoleum mat if you want. The herringbone parquet must stay

The herringbone parquet in the kitchen today is quite worn, the pictures are a bit deceptive. Also, the floor creaks and is uneven wherever you walk in the apartment, so I will tear out all the flooring and lay floor panels/gypsum and then new parquet so it will be more stable. The new parquet floor will be white-washed.

 

[MasSimon]

With the new floor plan, I think you'll have issues with air supply to the kitchen.

Does a potential future owner really want a kitchen without a window?

The image with the floor plan is a bit misleading, the kitchen will be relatively open to the living room, and you can also add smaller windows in the upper part of the wall between the bedroom and the kitchen to let in more light.

 

[MasSimon]

There should not be supply air in the kitchen.

In Stockholm, there are many who convert kitchens with dining areas to kitchens with separate bedrooms in much the same way as TS plans. Usually, the kitchen is opened up to the living room to get light from there, or transom windows in the bedroom wall.

Exactly as you describe, I have planned, including small windows towards the ceiling between the bedroom and kitchen. Exhaust air is currently in the kitchen above the stove and this will be kept there.

 

[Yaken]

As several have already said, your apartment seems more like the 1920s building style. It wasn't until a few years into the 1930s that the functionalism style broke through, and thus the typical "1930s house." You can probably find some technically interesting details in this short little thread: https://www.byggahus.se/forum/threads/totalrenovering-av-20-talslaegenhet.229497/

 

[MasSimon]

The property was built in 1929. So the 30s were wrong then..

 

[BirgitS]

The parquet flooring in the kitchen today is quite worn, the pictures do lie a bit. Also, the floor creaks and is uneven wherever you walk in the apartment, so I will tear up all the flooring and lay floor chipboard/gypsum and then new parquet so it becomes more stable. The new parquet floor will be white-limed.

In the kitchen, it's probably a relatively new floor, so it doesn't matter what you do there, but isn't it possible to repair, sand, and white oil the floor in the living room because it's a shame to replace a high-quality original floor with one of much poorer quality?

 

[peroande]

The house in the picture has load-bearing walls made of brick.

A curious question: How can you tell that the house has load-bearing walls made of brick?

 

[justusandersson]

One can clearly see that it is a stone house and brick was the only option in that case. I have a decent grasp of 20th-century construction methods and have gathered knowledge over quite a long time.

 

[toolman77]

Looks like Råsunda or Kristineberg/Fredhäll

The easiest way to check what the walls are made of is to test-drill. That way, you'll notice how thick the plaster is and what the core of the wall is composed of.

There might be slaggplattor in the walls, which is a vile material; it turns into a fine black powder when you drill into it. The best way to attach things is with a coarse wood screw without a plug, as long as possible without going through the wall.