Built in 1901 vs. 1900- just curious

[Kelly N.]

Hi,
We are investing in some pretty old homes, one of which says it was built in 1901. The inspector mentioned that this usually means they don't know what year it was built, but I thought that when they didn't know they put '1900'? Just curious if anyone knows what is typical.
Thanks!
Kelly

[Steve Babiak]

Originally posted by Kelly N.:

... one thing on my list is replacing the floor tile on a small stairway landing, the inspector said it probably has asbestos in it but we wouldn't know for sure until it has been replaced. ...

The "rule of thumb" is: if floor tile is 9 inch by 9 inch, then it is likely to have asbestos (either in the tile itself or in the adhesive that attaches the tile to the subfloor).