[MassHistPres] advice on kitchen/laundry sinks appreciated!

[Rosemary Foy]

I have two other ideas for your wise and wonderful friend, Veronica. First,
she should get her hands on a copy of the building code for existing
buildings, and see what she can find about old fixtures in situ. While the
existence of an old laundry room on the 2nd floor seems unusual to me, if
she can prove that it has always been there, and has been used as such (not
as a kitchen sink for an illegal apartment)and if it were not for
renovation, would have continued to be used for laundering, then that might
be one more piece of contributing evidence. Are there any explicitly stated
rules about reusing sinks, toilets, light fixtures & other working parts? 

Second, find a secondary source about "below stairs" functions in old
houses. I know that there was recently a book written on pantries, and I
recall a Historic New England exhibit/book on kitchen designs. There has got
to be one on laundries. In othere words, if she can find an image,
description or manufacturer of something identified as a "laundry sink" and
compare it to something identified as a "kitchen sink", then there's the
proof. Who is the building inspector to tell her about different types of
historic sinks?! Simply judging from her description, I can see the deep
basin could have clearly been used for washing, and the shallow one perhaps
for soaking or bleaching; perhaps "ridge topped lid" was some kind of
draining tray for these smaller items, too. 

The type of house and its neighborhood both historically and today could
also lend credence to the sink's use for laundry; does she have or could she
find the original plans? Is this laundry room adjacent to or near what could
have been a maid's room? (She would have been the one to use it.) Or perhaps
near a nursery? Both were usually smallish rooms. What else is in the room
that appears to be original? Built-in cupboards, wall-mounted hooks,
evidence of a gateleg folding table are all pieces of physical evidence that
would help. Are there other houses in the neighborhood like it? Do they have
similar interior plans & fittings? If the house is located in what is today
an expensive, affluent neighborhood, doesn't the idea of trying to get away
with a lodger's apartment sound slightly ridiculous? 

In short, the onus is on your friend to find the evidence that her sink
never was and never will be a kitchen sink. Hopefully, presented with
several pieces of proof, along with some well-chosed quotes from the
existing building code, the inspector may feel that there's enough there to
cover his liability, which is, at the end of the day, the real issue. 

Best of luck,
Rosemary Battles Foy, M.A.
Architectural Historian & Preservation Consultant

-----Original Message-----
From: masshistpres-bounces at cs.umb.edu
[mailto:masshistpres-bounces at cs.umb.edu] On Behalf Of McClure, Veronica
Sent: Tuesday, October 26, 2010 1:44 PM
To: masshistpres at cs.umb.edu
Subject: [MassHistPres] advice on kitchen/laundry sinks appreciated!

I am forwarding this on behalf of a friend who bought an older home and
would like to keep the older things in it.  

Any suggestions for her?

Thanks
Veronica McClure

____________________________________________________________________________


We have a lovely old sink, enamelled cast iron, in our 2nd fl laundry room.
We're undergoing renovations and were going to move it to a different spot
in the room.  Apparently it's considered a kitchen sink and the inspector
won't allow us to keep it, as they're afraid of it [the second floor]
becoming an illegal apartment.

I'm *so* annoyed.  It's a great laundry sink and would be a horrible kitchen
sink - it's really deep on one side - 12.5" deep - and very shallow on the
other (that side's covered up with a ridged-topped lid, and is actually very
dirty as it's never seen the light of day, at least for a few decades, I'll
bet...).

To buy an antique one, they go for $1500 from one website I looked at, and
ours is in great condition.  Not to mention that we already have it, and I
don't want to spend money on a stainless steel sink (and can't abide those
plastic buckets on legs) when we have something we already like and own.

Sigh.

Thanks,

Christine

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