Where to find historic floor plans? Help understanding old layout.

http://cdn.brownstoner.com/518fcee78ff5f-.jpg

I am not looking for my original blue prints, but wondering where I could find period-specific floor plans or layouts for 1910’s Brooklyn row houses? Any help pulling these out would be appreciated.    One of the reasons is I am trying to understand the location of the ash cleanout door in the corner of the basement foundation. It looks like a chimney rises up through the corner, but I there are no signs of a fireplace on the upper floors.

putnam

in Brownstoner Renovation 11 years and 11 months ago

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putnam | 11 years and 11 months ago

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I just picked a used one up for around $45 on amazon. I am thinking that there must be some ISBN code mess-up for those prices.

rcltrh | 11 years and 11 months ago

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Holy crap.  Barnes and Noble now has them used from $499 to new at $966!

rcltrh | 11 years and 11 months ago

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Wow, that is expensive.  There are a couple copies on ebay in the $75-$100 range.  I gave $75 for mine (brand new at a Barnes and Noble store) a few years back.  Maybe it is no longer in print?

adam_dahill | 11 years and 11 months ago

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Is bricks and brownstones really $400+ ??? That’s seems crazy

rcltrh | 11 years and 11 months ago

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There is also a possibility they removed the fireplaces from the above-basement floors and simply refinished the walls and floors as if there were never fireplaces there, however the basement flue openings would still remain.  My house still has the orig fireplaces in the front and back on all the upper floors as well as 2 flues in the basement on separate flue shafts from the 2 FPs above which means they were originally designed where 3 fires could be taking place at once on each stack. My gas boiler and water heater exhaust into the rear one.  The house next door which was orignially identical to  mine had the firepleaces in the back half removed, and now the rooms are rectangular with no protrustions or evidence of fireplaces, yet her basement also has the two openings  – the one in the back leads nowhere – and she also has her boiler venting into the front one which remains functional since there are 2 unremoved fireplaces above.

putnam | 11 years and 11 months ago

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Wow, what a cool reference, thanks joearchitect! After doing some more research, I think you are right that it was probably a utility flue – itt’s hard to believe that someone was once burning coal in the basement! There was a whole lot of creosote and chunks of terra-cotta in the clean out box, too. I still think it is odd that they would have placed the exhaust at the front corner of the house rather than the back where the utilities and coal chute are located though.

joearchitect | 11 years and 11 months ago

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One of the best references for Brooklyn Row houses is “Bricks and Brownstone”, by Charles Lockwood. http://www.amazon.com/Bricks-Brownstone-1783-1929-Classical-Architecture/dp/0847825221 In any case it sounds like the cleanout may have been for the flue of a coal burning furnace that was in the basement.