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In article ,
says...

Have a septic inspection, look carefully at the roof
and siding, check out the well and the chimney, and look
for rot around the sill. Everything else is cosmetic.

Almost everything else is cosmetic, but some old construction practices
can cause a bit of stomach-churning when you discover them during a
remodel.

My 1901 Dutch-Colonial Revival has had a few of those. Like no headers
over ground-floor picture windows -- the load from the second floor was
simply spread across the shiplap sheathing to the studs alongside the
windows. And no real rim joists, the floor joists were apparently held
square during construction with more of the same shiplap sheathing on
the ends. Survived a number of earthquakes and a broken foundation
despite these defects. That old shiplap was amazingly versatile
material, no?

--
is Joshua Putnam
http://www.phred.org/~josh/
Updated Infrared Photography Gallery:
http://www.phred.org/~josh/photo/ir.html