Floors, walls, trim and paint in Oreland

Oreland is named for what was under it. In 1686 Thomas Fitzwater found lime deposits here and built a kiln, and William Penn had a road built from the Delaware River port to reach it; that road is still Limekiln Pike. The village was laid out in 1889 beside the North Penn Railroad, the line SEPTA still runs along the east side of town. Oreland covers about one and a half square miles across Springfield and Upper Dublin townships, just outside Chestnut Hill and Mount Airy. Most of its streets filled in during the building boom after World War II, with Cape Cods, two-story colonials and solid brick ranches on lots of around a quarter acre.

Houses from that boom were built solidly, which is why so many here get renovated rather than replaced, and they share a few habits worth planning around. Rooms are modest and ceilings are usually eight feet, so trim has to be scaled to the room rather than borrowed from a new build: a taller baseboard and properly sized casing change more than heavy crown would. Upstairs in a Cape, knee walls and sloped ceilings decide how paneling and wallpaper are laid out. Old tile that is sound, flat and well bonded can often stay where it is, with engineered hardwood glued down right over it, which saves the demolition and the mess. We did exactly that with about 650 square feet of white oak here in Oreland. Most houses here were built before 1978, so we confirm the year before any painted surface is disturbed.