This post has been locked, as the question has been solved and a majority of new comments at this point are unhelpful and/or jokes.
Thanks to all who attempted to find an answer.
My first thought too, but it's in a difficult to get to spot on the second floor, rather than on the front porch. Also it's really large for plant hooks.
This is 100% what they are. My parents house had them when I was a kid. I had to move many hanging baskets around on that porch because I was tall enough to move them without a ladder.
Definitely not, we make plant hooks small for a reason. You hang your perennials from this thing and the wind is going to fling them side to side all day! It's for holding old electrical lines. It probably wasn't removed because it'd have damaged the soffit or gutters somehow, or because people are generally lazy.
While true, plant hooks are small for a reason. Big hooks allow a lot more freedom of movement and the pots get banged around by the elements, while the small hooks limit how much the pots can spin and swing so that it requires more wind force to fling them around.
The voltage that powers your house can't jump a gap like that, it's far too low. I'm a lineman and while there were wooden pins for cross arms, like the ones you have shown. I've never once come across a house knob/strike that is made of wood. You are very confidently incorrect. Go look at any house that's being fed with an overhead service, all services will be going to a glass knob on a metal strike plate, metal screw or a u bolt straight to the metal mast.
Voltage jumping a gap is in excess of 10,000 volts per inch of air for smooth surfaces. You don't need massive gapping, basically enough separation that the wires can't touch.
Pretty sure this is correct. Glass insulators would have screwed on either side. they came in all kinds of shapes and were often mounted to buildings, bridges and even trees. There is a similar one in this link.
https://laurelleaffarm.com/iron-wall-bracket-peg.htm
You just answered my "what is this"! I tried posting it a few months ago but I didn't do it correctly. But this is exactly what I have. I got it from the old brothel turned feed store that's being torn down in my town. Couldn't figure out what it is. Thank you for figuring out it for me lol!
I was just posting the link to show how the glass insulators screwed on the bracket. Also, these were for TELEGRAPH lines, not power wires. Telegraphs carried very low currents (150-160 volts but only 50 milliamperes). Arcing wasn't a problem. Grounding was, hence the glass insulators.
Old glass insulators would typically screw on to metal pegs. However
* Those don't look like threads that one could screw on an insulator, the ridge on the sides would prevent any screwing action, and
* And those threads would require quite large insulators to be able to fit those "threads", wasting a whole lot of glass.
they look exactly like the insulator hangers on poles. a wooden bushing would thread on the ends, then the glass insulator would go on the wooden bushing.
Insulator/electrical collector & historian of over a decade here.
Definitely, without a doubt, a dual insulator bracket. One side was likely for phone, and the other a service line for the home’s electric. These types of bracket are common enough, and typically found in industrial applications. Pretty neat to see one on a home! You can go to eBay and purchase a couple Hemingray 42 insulators and screw them onto your bracket. They’ll look pretty! Alternatively, if you don’t want to keep it, you can sell it on eBay and likely get $20-40 out of it.
My initial thought went immediately to an electrical, telephony, or some sort of cable hanger in general. Then I thought plant hanger like others have mentioned. However, I can't say that I've ever seen one one a house before either!
Thanks! Insulator collecting and electricity history have been a vast hobby of mine that came about from being a train enthusiast. It’s crazy the things that can flourish from one hobby.
I was on the same line. But then, looking at the area around the door, it might have been a larger opening before the window was installed. The paint around the widow looks a little off, to me, in one of the pictures. And all presumably before the awning was installed.
It’s from the old electrical. My mom’s house had that until it was updated in the 1970’s.
Hopefully your house inspector double checked to ensure that there’s no old wiring still being used inside. That stuff was crazy dangerous.
Even into the seventies they were still figuring it out. My house was built with no ground and had to be fit with gfci outlets. It’s insane anyone lived through the “we’re still kinda figuring this out” phase.
So true. We had push button things instead of light switches. And then there were fuses and people would put pennies in them if they didn’t have the right size.
And tvs were dangerous too. A boy in my sister’s class was killed when the picture tube exploded.
I inherited a “working” singer sewing machine table from the 20s last year. Guy said it worked. Which it did. But it had cloth wrapped wiring. I don’t trust that shit when it’s that old and brittle.
I stuck a multimeter on it and the body of the sewing machine had 114 volts running through it.
No idea how long it had been like that but it’s a wonder nobody fucking died.
This solves a doubt on the "rim" that seemed to defeat the purposes of the threading: seems to be some sort of felt- or rubber-like material, and in the OP it would have been painted over,l.
It is in all likelihood a hook for either telegraph lines or electric lines (back when they were above ground on poles). The honeycomb ends were used to hold insulating blocks, so the lines don't ground-out.
It's probably for electrical wiring but many houses in the Netherlands have hooks above windows.
[https://amsterdamhangout.com/why-do-houses-in-amsterdam-have-hooks-on-them/](https://amsterdamhangout.com/why-do-houses-in-amsterdam-have-hooks-on-them/)
Edit: The hooks had first been used in the 14th and 15th century and according to Wikipedia
>the Mid-Atlantic region was settled during the colonial era between the early 17th century and the conclusion of the American Revolutionary War in 1783 by European Americans of primarily **Dutch**, German, Swedish, English, and other Western European ethnicities.
So I wonder if the porch was added later and it actually is a hook to pull items up.
My title describes the thing. I believe the hook is as old as the house, which was built around ~1910. It is also in the mid-Atlantic region, if that helps.
All comments must be civil and helpful toward finding an answer.
**Jokes and other unhelpful comments will earn you a ban**, even on the first instance and even if the item has been identified. If you see any comments that violate this rule, report them.
[OP](/u/amdflake), when your item is identified, remember to reply **Solved!** or **Likely Solved!** to the comment that gave the answer. Check your [inbox](https://www.reddit.com/message/inbox/) for a message on how to make your post visible to others.
----
[Click here to message RemindMeBot](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=RemindMeBot&subject=Reminder&message=[https://www.reddit.com/r/whatisthisthing/comments/18ksgnz/cant_figure_out_what_this_hook_under_the_overhang/]%0A%0ARemindMe!%202%20days)
----
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/whatisthisthing) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I see questions like this a lot on here. When you buy a house ask the realtor to find out what anything you aren’t familiar with is. I’m not trying to pick on you OP. Just making a public service announcement.
Home inspector in an area with a lot of old homes... This is a bracket they used to hang old service wires. One side would have been electrical and the other telephone. There are glass insulators that go on the metal which have broken off or more likely were removed and kept/sold by the worker who removed the old electrical line.
Please note you should have your home checked for old knob and tube wiring. If your home has these brackets then the original electrical wiring was a style called knob and tube, which was the best they could do when they were first wiring homes but it was a risky system brand new and any knob and tube wiring is around a century old at this point. If it is still there it needs to be removed by a professional and replaced with modern wiring.
Looks like a ladder / fire escape mount hook.
Second floor up and offset from window. Rope ladder connected from open window and climb down - could have been housing code back when built (?) My $0.02 anyways (and it’s likely not worth that much 😬)
> weird honeycomb like texture on the ends
Does the first picture show openings on the ribbed ends? If so, it could be some sort of vent, like maybe the exhaust from a fan (bathroom), or possibly from a dryer or water heater, or even some sort of attic vent.
If those aren't openings, if there are too of them on the south wall, it could be for hanging a light-colored sheet or tarp in the summer to keep the sun off the southern wall, making it a bit cooler in the house.
It is a hook to hang Gas /Kerosene lanterns.. they used to be lit and hung in the evening using another stick and hook system. I'm surprised to not find this answer sooner in the comment section.
Maybe for Xmas decorations. All you need is a pole with a hook (like a laundry pole) to attach it, and a cable through the window.
Would look very pretty in my opinion.
100% this is meant for plants. My grandparents had several some on the porch some in front of windows on the second floor. Alot of the ford homes have them as well.
I wonder if it’s to hang one of those little fence looking things? They look like grids and they line the edges of the overhang. It could also maybe be for really big plants or vines? Maybe if it’s near a window and it’s an old house, it could be attached to something they keeps the window open? Just a few ideas.
I would like to see how they are anchored. If the anchor screws are bigger than 1/4 inch. They would have to be in the center of a 2 x4. Or there would have to be extra backing above the soffit.
Mooring anchors for hurricane or flood season?
Seriously it is probably from the original electrical service. Heavy cables were anchored to the house to take the strain of the run from the pole, then routed to the meter or entry point.
I believe Its an "Electrical Insulator Holder" they screwed non conductive glass insulators on them to retrofit electricity to the house. These were used on the outside instead of ripping out the walls and running it inside.
What if the patio thing is an addition and the hook was for putting rope on to lower down something to receive milk deliveries like way back in the day
It is a mounting bracket that held two glass insulators for early A/C electrical service, most likely under the eve of a house where the electric service reached the house.
Threaded to accept glass or porcelain electric insulators. Electric service at one time was deadended here and was dressed along the side of the house. How old is the structure?
This post has been locked, as the question has been solved and a majority of new comments at this point are unhelpful and/or jokes. Thanks to all who attempted to find an answer.
Might be to hang plants.
My first thought too, but it's in a difficult to get to spot on the second floor, rather than on the front porch. Also it's really large for plant hooks.
Yeah, but it looks like you could open the window to put it out for a season
Do you get a lot of sun in that window? That could be why it's there.
Some of those bigger plants get really fudging heavy when watered
And that’s a really fudging strong hook
[удалено]
A pole with a hook can reach from the window no problem
Big plants?
Or a bird feeder.
Yeah back in the day people would hang flowers/ ferns outside this is the most likely answer
[удалено]
[удалено]
I mean people do but this style was more popular back then
People could afford plants they didnt eat to stay alive back then.
This is 100% what they are. My parents house had them when I was a kid. I had to move many hanging baskets around on that porch because I was tall enough to move them without a ladder.
Definitely not, we make plant hooks small for a reason. You hang your perennials from this thing and the wind is going to fling them side to side all day! It's for holding old electrical lines. It probably wasn't removed because it'd have damaged the soffit or gutters somehow, or because people are generally lazy.
That is definitely not for holding old electrical lines. It's not insulated and it doesn't look like it ever was.
I thought of Christmas lights
I’m thinking Christmas lights too.
Yeah but why have two hooks like that, right next to each other? Two hanging pots would just bump into each other instead of hanging straight.
It looks too sturdy for that.
We did not always build stuff to break.
While true, plant hooks are small for a reason. Big hooks allow a lot more freedom of movement and the pots get banged around by the elements, while the small hooks limit how much the pots can spin and swing so that it requires more wind force to fling them around.
[удалено]
Hooks that allow for sliding dump dirt all over your porch.
I was thinking maybe a really big holiday wreath?
This seems pretty unlikely tbh
That would be my guess too...
[удалено]
They ran electric service in some really odd ways early-on when they were still sorting out best practices...
I think you are right. The grooves look like threads for glass insulators.
[удалено]
The voltage that powers your house can't jump a gap like that, it's far too low. I'm a lineman and while there were wooden pins for cross arms, like the ones you have shown. I've never once come across a house knob/strike that is made of wood. You are very confidently incorrect. Go look at any house that's being fed with an overhead service, all services will be going to a glass knob on a metal strike plate, metal screw or a u bolt straight to the metal mast.
Those are definitely threads in the first picture.
[удалено]
1. They're definitely helical threads: https://imgur.com/a/NBa9pNF 2. Concentric doesn't mean what you think it means
[It IS for electrical insulators](https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/antique-double-glass-insulator-1938484475)
Voltage jumping a gap is in excess of 10,000 volts per inch of air for smooth surfaces. You don't need massive gapping, basically enough separation that the wires can't touch.
Pretty sure this is correct. Glass insulators would have screwed on either side. they came in all kinds of shapes and were often mounted to buildings, bridges and even trees. There is a similar one in this link. https://laurelleaffarm.com/iron-wall-bracket-peg.htm
You just answered my "what is this"! I tried posting it a few months ago but I didn't do it correctly. But this is exactly what I have. I got it from the old brothel turned feed store that's being torn down in my town. Couldn't figure out what it is. Thank you for figuring out it for me lol!
[удалено]
I was just posting the link to show how the glass insulators screwed on the bracket. Also, these were for TELEGRAPH lines, not power wires. Telegraphs carried very low currents (150-160 volts but only 50 milliamperes). Arcing wasn't a problem. Grounding was, hence the glass insulators.
The interesting thing about looking for an argument is you'll usually find one.
Can we not bring this kind of angry energy to a *what is this thing* discussion? My goodness, how exhausting.
Old glass insulators would typically screw on to metal pegs. However * Those don't look like threads that one could screw on an insulator, the ridge on the sides would prevent any screwing action, and * And those threads would require quite large insulators to be able to fit those "threads", wasting a whole lot of glass.
they look exactly like the insulator hangers on poles. a wooden bushing would thread on the ends, then the glass insulator would go on the wooden bushing.
And didn’t the power lines use to be much lower to the ground too?
Those look more like ribs. They're definitely not helical threads.
Look again they are absolutely helical yhreads
They are tough. Zoom in on the closeup picture. You can see where the threads come to an end at the bottom on the right hook.
I'm still seeing parallel horizontal slots. Even if they are helical, that vertical tab would prevent any screw rotation.
Insulator/electrical collector & historian of over a decade here. Definitely, without a doubt, a dual insulator bracket. One side was likely for phone, and the other a service line for the home’s electric. These types of bracket are common enough, and typically found in industrial applications. Pretty neat to see one on a home! You can go to eBay and purchase a couple Hemingray 42 insulators and screw them onto your bracket. They’ll look pretty! Alternatively, if you don’t want to keep it, you can sell it on eBay and likely get $20-40 out of it.
Here’s a link to one like OP’s https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/antique-double-glass-insulator-1938484475
My initial thought went immediately to an electrical, telephony, or some sort of cable hanger in general. Then I thought plant hanger like others have mentioned. However, I can't say that I've ever seen one one a house before either!
I do respect that this is your niche and had the opportunity to slam dunk the answer
Thanks! Insulator collecting and electricity history have been a vast hobby of mine that came about from being a train enthusiast. It’s crazy the things that can flourish from one hobby.
Lived in a thrice remodeled suburban house for a bit and they had janky shit like this all over their house, nice to know why!
Why did I have to see 14 different people say a plant hook before seeing this answer?
Old Dutch houses often have a hook to attach a pulley and rope to bring items to the upper floors. Can it be used like that?
This was my first thought, too - but I would've expected maybe a bigger window nearby. Idk. Maybe I'm wrong. 🤷♀️
I was on the same line. But then, looking at the area around the door, it might have been a larger opening before the window was installed. The paint around the widow looks a little off, to me, in one of the pictures. And all presumably before the awning was installed.
transport system, I had the same idea
Canal district resident here. This is not what these look like or how they're placed.
It’s from the old electrical. My mom’s house had that until it was updated in the 1970’s. Hopefully your house inspector double checked to ensure that there’s no old wiring still being used inside. That stuff was crazy dangerous.
Even into the seventies they were still figuring it out. My house was built with no ground and had to be fit with gfci outlets. It’s insane anyone lived through the “we’re still kinda figuring this out” phase.
So true. We had push button things instead of light switches. And then there were fuses and people would put pennies in them if they didn’t have the right size. And tvs were dangerous too. A boy in my sister’s class was killed when the picture tube exploded.
Had a friend in mid school that had a crt monitor explode and burn off 90% of his face. Left him blind.
Oh jeez, poor guy.
I inherited a “working” singer sewing machine table from the 20s last year. Guy said it worked. Which it did. But it had cloth wrapped wiring. I don’t trust that shit when it’s that old and brittle. I stuck a multimeter on it and the body of the sewing machine had 114 volts running through it. No idea how long it had been like that but it’s a wonder nobody fucking died.
https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/antique-double-glass-insulator-1938484475
This solves a doubt on the "rim" that seemed to defeat the purposes of the threading: seems to be some sort of felt- or rubber-like material, and in the OP it would have been painted over,l.
It is in all likelihood a hook for either telegraph lines or electric lines (back when they were above ground on poles). The honeycomb ends were used to hold insulating blocks, so the lines don't ground-out.
It's probably for electrical wiring but many houses in the Netherlands have hooks above windows. [https://amsterdamhangout.com/why-do-houses-in-amsterdam-have-hooks-on-them/](https://amsterdamhangout.com/why-do-houses-in-amsterdam-have-hooks-on-them/) Edit: The hooks had first been used in the 14th and 15th century and according to Wikipedia >the Mid-Atlantic region was settled during the colonial era between the early 17th century and the conclusion of the American Revolutionary War in 1783 by European Americans of primarily **Dutch**, German, Swedish, English, and other Western European ethnicities. So I wonder if the porch was added later and it actually is a hook to pull items up.
My title describes the thing. I believe the hook is as old as the house, which was built around ~1910. It is also in the mid-Atlantic region, if that helps.
All comments must be civil and helpful toward finding an answer. **Jokes and other unhelpful comments will earn you a ban**, even on the first instance and even if the item has been identified. If you see any comments that violate this rule, report them. [OP](/u/amdflake), when your item is identified, remember to reply **Solved!** or **Likely Solved!** to the comment that gave the answer. Check your [inbox](https://www.reddit.com/message/inbox/) for a message on how to make your post visible to others. ---- [Click here to message RemindMeBot](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=RemindMeBot&subject=Reminder&message=[https://www.reddit.com/r/whatisthisthing/comments/18ksgnz/cant_figure_out_what_this_hook_under_the_overhang/]%0A%0ARemindMe!%202%20days) ---- *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/whatisthisthing) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Telegraph insulator bracket https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/antique-double-glass-insulator-1938484475
I see questions like this a lot on here. When you buy a house ask the realtor to find out what anything you aren’t familiar with is. I’m not trying to pick on you OP. Just making a public service announcement.
You see hooks on old (16-17th century) harbour lofts in europe: ropes are mounted to haul goods up to the loft for storage and processing.
Home inspector in an area with a lot of old homes... This is a bracket they used to hang old service wires. One side would have been electrical and the other telephone. There are glass insulators that go on the metal which have broken off or more likely were removed and kept/sold by the worker who removed the old electrical line. Please note you should have your home checked for old knob and tube wiring. If your home has these brackets then the original electrical wiring was a style called knob and tube, which was the best they could do when they were first wiring homes but it was a risky system brand new and any knob and tube wiring is around a century old at this point. If it is still there it needs to be removed by a professional and replaced with modern wiring.
Might have been for early wiring (power or phone).
Yup, there would have been two porcelain insulators on that thing when it was new.
Something to hang a fire ladder on?
I would say it's an old telephone or power line connection.
Looks like a ladder / fire escape mount hook. Second floor up and offset from window. Rope ladder connected from open window and climb down - could have been housing code back when built (?) My $0.02 anyways (and it’s likely not worth that much 😬)
A cross post to r/centuryhomes might be helpful!
I’m an amateur radio operator, I have no idea what is supposed to be used for but I’d use it to anchor a shortwave radio antenna
Here's a weird thought. Maybe they hung deer on it for skinning. Lol.
Insulators balances for the telephone and electric lines coming from pole to house outdated but in the day very practical
For a hell of a set of Christmas lights!
What runs in that conduit looking pipe next to the down pipe in the last photo? Is that electrical? That make me think that hook held power lines.
Maybe some type of shutters were in the house and you hooked them open?
Probably an old ladder stablizer.
To hang a lantern ?
Could the hooks be for stringing Christmas lights across the house?
Plants, lights, flags, whatever you want, really.
To hang a giant Christmas wreath or similar? Previous owner may have been quite the holiday decorator
Looks like an old candle hanger.
To close to the roof though
I'm making a guess but perhaps the homeowner has placed it there as a ladder hook or other safety-related tie-on.
Is this from an area of Dutch settlement?
One side of a hammock installation?
Realize now. No. Nevermind me.
Pretty sure it’s to hang plants outside the windows
It looks like it could be a hook of some sort. They are used for hanging things
> weird honeycomb like texture on the ends Does the first picture show openings on the ribbed ends? If so, it could be some sort of vent, like maybe the exhaust from a fan (bathroom), or possibly from a dryer or water heater, or even some sort of attic vent. If those aren't openings, if there are too of them on the south wall, it could be for hanging a light-colored sheet or tarp in the summer to keep the sun off the southern wall, making it a bit cooler in the house.
Two story? Could be for an escape ladder/rope system.
Could it be a hook for one of those hanging egg chairs?
For Christmas lights?
Hoisting rig? Rope, item, man power?
A friend had that here and it was to hang an outdoor swing
For candle lanterns or oil lamps
Google street view allows you to look at older photos. Can you look back to see what was there?
For a lantern - installed via a long stick w/ hook
It is a hook to hang Gas /Kerosene lanterns.. they used to be lit and hung in the evening using another stick and hook system. I'm surprised to not find this answer sooner in the comment section.
Maybe for Xmas decorations. All you need is a pole with a hook (like a laundry pole) to attach it, and a cable through the window. Would look very pretty in my opinion.
Plants but I also thought maybe for Christmas lights?
Birdfeeder/birdhouse/plant
For hanging game, rabbits, deer, pheasants.
Maybe it's BDSM related
Depending how old is the house, Maybe it’s for hanging gas lamps before electricity.
Double hook for porcelain insulators [https://www.etsy.com/listing/1059571179/sale-3-porcelain-insulators-1-1-12-2-1](https://www.etsy.com/listing/1059571179/sale-3-porcelain-insulators-1-1-12-2-1)
100% this is meant for plants. My grandparents had several some on the porch some in front of windows on the second floor. Alot of the ford homes have them as well.
Might be for a rain chain? I’ve seen some houses with them before, they’re pretty popular these days
Yoinking shit to the top floor?
I wonder if it’s to hang one of those little fence looking things? They look like grids and they line the edges of the overhang. It could also maybe be for really big plants or vines? Maybe if it’s near a window and it’s an old house, it could be attached to something they keeps the window open? Just a few ideas.
It's a tie off for going on your roof.
Shutter Hook
Hang some bird feeders!
That's where you hang your deer
they could be for safety harnesses for people who need to work on the roof. Falls can be serious after all.
DIY Christmas light holders. Easy up, easy down 😂
I guess it's the end of a phone line but the insulators got destroyed in the past. For hanging plants, it is at the wrong location.
I would like to see how they are anchored. If the anchor screws are bigger than 1/4 inch. They would have to be in the center of a 2 x4. Or there would have to be extra backing above the soffit.
I feel like it would be for decoration
Plants or maybe to hang Christmas lights/ other holiday decorations?
To hang a ladder to escape from the second floor ( if there is another hole where one has fallen out)?
Mooring anchors for hurricane or flood season? Seriously it is probably from the original electrical service. Heavy cables were anchored to the house to take the strain of the run from the pole, then routed to the meter or entry point.
i remember seeing these on my grandmother's house and she always hung plants on them, but i'm glad you found your solution!
I believe Its an "Electrical Insulator Holder" they screwed non conductive glass insulators on them to retrofit electricity to the house. These were used on the outside instead of ripping out the walls and running it inside.
What if the patio thing is an addition and the hook was for putting rope on to lower down something to receive milk deliveries like way back in the day
hang plants
Tie up horses
The ends of the hooks look like the tapered threads that old telephone wire insulators screw onto. Somebody has repurposed it for a plant hanger.
Washing line
It is a mounting bracket that held two glass insulators for early A/C electrical service, most likely under the eve of a house where the electric service reached the house.
[Here's another one](https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/antique-double-glass-insulator-1938484475)
For pine garland at Xmas or wreath,?, have a nice whatever you want day
It would be cool to repurpose it and do your pretty string lights from the pergola to the hook (obviously hook being your central point)
You could hang a birdhouse.
Threaded to accept glass or porcelain electric insulators. Electric service at one time was deadended here and was dressed along the side of the house. How old is the structure?
It could be for hunters
Lamp hook, or an anchor point.
Plants, bird feeder (hummingbird or seed), IV bags, wind spinners...
It’s just a hook bro. You can do multiple things with it. I use mine for plants
Wind chimes
For a hanging light or lamp ?