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Working on old homes can be a challege. You might be dealing with previous owners that have removed all the charm for a 1980's update or you have a pristine example of a home that has not been messed with. Either way there are things to consider when restoring or renovating that home. Here are my tips and things to consider when you are working with an old home.
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Mentioned in this episode:
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Transcripts
[00:00:43] Eric Goranson: Because really what they're trying to do is create homes that are affordable
[:[00:01:23] Eric Goranson: Well, today we are going to be talking about my secrets to restoring an old home. And first, just kind of talking about how we do things or what I believe in when it comes to working on an old home. It's kind of interesting. And this is, I kind of take the, probably the best description is the, this old house model of it, where you go in, you're going to make it.
[:[00:02:05] Eric Goranson: It's not like you're taking this house and making it exactly the way it was built in that day. And some homes require that. I mean, if you've got some. Historical home that was done by an architect of note, you know, uh, you know, some Frank Lloyd Wright house or another great architect out there that I can see doing a 100 percent complete restoration.
[:[00:02:54] Eric Goranson: So let's um, let's dive into here What we should do to get going and [00:03:00] the first step I think is really get the basics knocked out and what I'm talking about is is you know, you do a home inspection find out what Are the items that are really getting you just crushed on this thing. What is, what is going to fail?
[:[00:03:35] Eric Goranson: And you've damaged work later on. So I want to make sure that any foundation issues or leveling of the house is done first. Second of all, and here's an important one here, get any wet basement or crawl space issues resolved. And maybe that's because there were never gutters on the house. Maybe it was just something that was always just a cellar that was never conditioned.
[:[00:04:25] Eric Goranson: I know it's ridiculous, but I've seen it. Things like that. What can you do to kind of get the overall project dialed in? Cause really I want this first step to be as protecting the home and making sure that it will last even longer down the road. And so that way you've got just kind of the billing envelope and the foundational things taken care of.
[:[00:05:11] Eric Goranson: And so make sure you get that dialed in and really looking good. And that way, um, you don't have to worry about when the storms come or rains or, or whatever the climate is in your area. That you can get that dialed in and that's a big one. Now the next one I think is really important here. And this is understanding the history and doing your research of where this older home came from.
[:[00:06:05] Eric Goranson: So that was kind of cool. So I really liked what they were doing with that. And so he has gone through and found the original family just doing searches and stuff. And then 1 day here, a couple of years ago, the lady who was a grandkid in this house when it was built from the, you know, it was her grandparents house.
[:[00:06:45] Eric Goranson: Knowing the history, knowing what happened, I think is a really key important part of that. Now, one of the things you can do is you can hire somebody out there to do the research and figure out what the history is. And there's, um, Historiatic Research is [00:07:00] another one that's really good. They do stuff all around and, uh, they will do a full history search for your home.
[:[00:07:35] Eric Goranson: Of what this looked like. So there's a lot of places you can find things. Um, you know, especially in the historical stuff for the newspapers and the media, you'd be surprised what shows up. All it takes is somebody going off to school for their 1st day or something like that. It's amazing. What you can find out with that, so do your research, understand the history who is there and that will help you on to the next.[00:08:00]
[:[00:08:18] Eric Goranson: And what I mean, my plan is plan out each step of this of this renovation restoration. And that way you don't do something twice. You know, I don't want you to take. Okay. You know, like we talked about earlier, I don't want you to go through on the 1st floor and go, wow, I just did the bathroom and then realize that you've got to do some foundation work and Jack things up and clean things up.
[:[00:08:56] Eric Goranson: Sometimes you got to rip things open and put new electrical. Let's say you're [00:09:00] going to put a a bidet toilet seat, you know, up in the master or a heated towel rack, and you have to run power for it because there was no power there. Or maybe the old house didn't have a bathroom fan and you need to run more power for that.
[:[00:09:33] Eric Goranson: And when we come back, we're going to talk more about how to, uh, restore that old home of my secrets.
[:[00:09:56] Eric Goranson: so many people.[00:10:00]
[:[00:10:36] Eric Goranson: But really trying to take that classic architecture of your town, city, neighborhood, County, whatever, and keeping it true to form because, you know, um, there's a lot of new homes going up out there that are, that are fairly cookie cutter in these developments where they're right next to each other. Cause really what they're trying to do is create homes that are affordable for people.[00:11:00]
[:[00:11:18] Eric Goranson: And so, you want to be able to track that down and understand it and, uh, keep the house going in the right direction. So, you know, we talked about earlier here in the last segment getting the, uh, basics knocked out as far as foundational power, you know, all those kind of things understood. And then making sure that you know the history of the home and doing the research with that.
[:[00:11:56] Eric Goranson: If you're doing electrical and plumbing rough ends for the project, make sure you've [00:12:00] got it going up there. So that way, when you've got rooms that you want to get done, you've already got all the wire and everything else, run plumbing, run everything else. You don't have to go tear it back down again, or make some holes in fresh drywall just to get that new electrical circuit in there.
[:[00:12:35] Eric Goranson: That designer is going to help you get things. On schedule and even what I mean by on schedule is you've got the right things going in at the right time. So you want to have that managed, especially on a longer project. So I can't say this enough. Nobody wants to do something twice. So this is where you're trying to avoid that.
[:[00:13:13] Eric Goranson: So that could be the problem of just going through and having a lot of restoration work done. You also want to know too early on here it's and this is where you want to test for lead and asbestos and make sure you understand it because if you're stripping down a front door that is original to the home and you've got to deal with lead paint from So 1965, you want to make sure that you've got that covered.
[:[00:13:59] Eric Goranson: Or [00:14:00] the asbestos in the resilient flooring that's down there. So you need to really understand what asbestos material containing materials kind of look like. So you know what to test in the eras. So you can still in my area here. If I have drywall, um, from 2004, I have to have a tested. So understand what those local laws are.
[:[00:14:41] Eric Goranson: So they will have to take some drywall texture. They'll have to take some some plaster. They'll have to take Things like that, you know, cut a section out of a vinyl floor or 2 or 3 versions of it before you go. But understanding that and having those tests done are good for you and your family and it's good safety as well.
[:[00:15:18] Eric Goranson: Maybe there was an addition done 100 years ago, whatever. Understand what those changes were, how they changed and what did it do to affect the structure. And this is one of those things that I really start to want to lean on. If you're taking rooms down to the studs, That are maybe exterior walls, it might be a good idea to hire an engineer to come in and make sure that everything was done correctly as far as bracings.
[:[00:16:08] Eric Goranson: To make sure things aren't balloon framed or you can go in there and put fire blocking in. So fire doesn't go through re insulate do some of these things that are important because these are things that could save you some serious money and build a stronger house. You know, if you're underneath there and you're doing work in the basement or crawl space, you know, like, hey, I'm gonna do an earthquake retrofit because I'm in an earthquake area.
[:[00:16:48] Eric Goranson: You know, how many times have I seen in my old house groups that I'm a part of on social media that they're like, look at this house. It was stood everything. I'm like, yeah, but that house looks beautiful and it's sitting out in the middle of [00:17:00] the street, which means someone's gonna probably come in and use a backhoe and destroy it.
[:[00:17:28] Eric Goranson: So great example. Um, I've seen many old homes that had that attic space up above that had a small, tight staircase that went up out of a downstairs hallway, and that was attic storage space. And then somebody converts that into living. Well, that was never intended or built to be living space. Cause it's got two by sixes, maybe two by four floor joists.
[:[00:18:10] Eric Goranson: So make sure that you've got all those structural things done early. So you don't have to go back and do it later. 'cause I promise you, going back and doing it later is gonna be so expensive. It's gonna hit you hard. So make sure that you've got that dialed in, okay? Make sure that you understand what has to go, what has to stay, and what upgrades you have to do before you start finishing things off around the house.
[:[00:19:12] Eric Goranson: Welcome back to The Round the House. Show this where we hunt. You get the most out of your home through information and education. Thanks for joining us. We've been talking about my secrets to restoring an old home and how to tackle this stuff and um, You know, we've gone through a bunch of different processes here to help you, you know, do this intelligently and not have to do things twice.
[:[00:19:54] Eric Goranson: And really just doing a health report of the home, what you've got existing, you know, are [00:20:00] there things that you want to change back? Did somebody come in 20 years ago and become a house flipper and rip out all the, uh, uh, you know, all of the interior, uh, niches and, you know, where the. Is this a 1920s or a turn of the century house where they had really cool pocket doors and somebody drywalled over those and maybe they're still sitting in there in the pockets or at least the hardware is these are things that you really want to make sure and understand, you know, what's going to get restored, what's not and what is just going to be lost the test of time.
[:[00:20:51] Eric Goranson: So that could be really cool. Or you've got something that a house flipper did a, did a train wreck on. So no matter what you want to be able to understand what was there. [00:21:00] And, uh, you know, sometimes taken out. That mirror in the bathroom reveals what the wallpaper looked like or anything like that. So just understand what you got going on and understanding those changes help you make the best decisions looking backwards.
[:[00:21:39] Eric Goranson: And, and I say that just because it's for your health, safety, and welfare. So. When you're doing new things to the house, you want to be able to bring this up to building code. And this is something that, that I think we need to talk about a fair amount because I want you to be pulling permits on this stuff, especially when you're having other trades coming out, [00:22:00] doing electrical and plumbing and HVAC and structural.
[:[00:22:24] Eric Goranson: And this is where I really want you to pay attention to, because, you know, when they say, hey, a bathroom fan is required, it's going to be required, and in most areas it is. And the other thing is, too, especially if you're doing things outside to make sure that your house is Is energy efficient, it's a little tighter, things are caulked, maybe you're redoing siding and you're doing it correctly by putting in a vapor barrier behind it, or a rain screen, or whatever you're doing, these are important things.
[:[00:23:09] Eric Goranson: And so that's going to be the key right here. So, you know, in kitchens, you need kitchen exhaust bathrooms. You need bathroom exhaust laundry room. You need that vent fan as well. And so these are all important things and making sure that you've got that house dialed into current building code is going to be an important 1.
[:[00:23:44] Eric Goranson: So now you have to figure out where to put this in your old home. And so maybe there's not a big laundry room. Maybe there's not a easy place to put it. So you really have to plan for these things early because it later on, and you come back and they go, Oh, but you didn't do [00:24:00] this or you didn't do that.
[:[00:24:18] Eric Goranson: So when you're in the design phase, you can actually go, Hey, I need to make a little bit different laundry room so I can have some utilities in here. For all these other things I need to do so you can help design and understand it. So really understanding what those codes are and what those recommendations are, and this is part of that research part early on.
[:[00:25:08] Eric Goranson: I think it's really important. So understand what those are That's why people like this old house and those groups go and do this stuff is so that you can understand what's going on And, uh, and do it correctly. So just keep that in mind that, uh, that research will go a long way to helping you understand what you need to do around your home.
[:[00:25:46] Eric Goranson: So when I get up there to do my Christmas lights and everything else, I can tie off and be safe. So they make brackets and stuff like that. So it's really easy to do it. You know, nobody wants to fall off a roof. Nobody wants to deal with that stuff. And [00:26:00] so at my house, I'm going to be installing fall protection so we can do that correctly.
[:[00:26:21] Eric Goranson: Why not make it a little bit safer? So you're not going to hit the ground. And that you can run that correctly. So understanding what that is, putting that in is good. Now, one of the things I want you to think about too is resiliency to your weather conditions. So I have an older house and I say older because it's in the seventies, but this is a contemporary home.
[:[00:26:56] Eric Goranson: And so I have to do a lot more and keeping it clean, keeping it all dialed [00:27:00] in, making sure that it's kicking button, taking names, right? So that's one of the things you want to be working with. So plan on that in your new house. What are its weaknesses? What, what is going to help in its resiliency? Are you putting a new windows and you're in hurricane area?
[:[00:27:40] Eric Goranson: Maybe that, that roof is in not great condition, but you want to do something that's going to look like it's period to the home, but that's going to handle 80 or a hundred mile an hour winds. So really understanding what your weather, weather conditions are, what happens, what's going on and really making something that's going to hold up.
[:[00:28:18] Eric Goranson: That you've got a secondary layer of protection under there to keep water from coming in because many times the rains come in And then you got the rains afterwards and it's the rains that do the big part of the damage So really trying to plan for what's smart for your house and what's going to keep you going into the next decade Or decades later is going to be key for making sure that house stands the test of time We'll go back and wrap it up after these important messages.
[:[00:29:06] Eric Goranson: Welcome back to the round the house show. This is where we help you get the most out of your home through information and education. Thanks for joining us. We've been talking about to, you know, being the caretaker of an old home and what it takes to restore one. And this is a really great subject that I really want people to really think about how they're treating these old homes and what they're doing.
[:[00:29:56] Eric Goranson: I tell you what, I have seen some things on social media [00:30:00] and I'm just going to forewarn you with this and this is a little negative and I do apologize for that. But this is something that in the world of social media, you're going to be putting yourself out there sometimes, especially when you have neighborhoods associations or things like that with social media, because 75 years.
[:[00:30:45] Eric Goranson: And how it's presented, you know, if you're in one of those neighborhood associations or one of those neighborhood Facebook groups, maybe put up a post and say, hey, I was talking to arborist a about this [00:31:00] and it's unfortunate guys. I'm curious to see what people think I have to take the tree down because it's going to hurt me or the house or somebody else.
[:[00:31:28] Eric Goranson: I tell you what, um, we run into this. You know, the worst place for this is next door and next door can be an interesting app for meeting new neighbors. It's also a street fight free for all, where when one person does something that another person doesn't, you will see the worst of humanity come out and absolutely destroy it.
[:[00:32:26] Eric Goranson: That's what people have voted for. And the people voted for said, Hey, we want to have a denser population. So any of those places that haven't been built on, they're really saying, Hey, before we free up more land out there, we're going to give, we want this filled in first. So of course, when you've got a plot of trees, Trees have to come down so you can get the house built and oh my gosh There are three or four hundred people on there that are you would have thought it's a family of six people that were murdered over There and I love trees.
[:[00:33:20] Eric Goranson: And I hate to say it this way, but if you want those trees to be gone, you didn't want those trees to be gone. You could have bought the land. That would have been an option. You could have got a hundred people together and made it a community park. Or something like that, but you know, something that's not what happened and so be very careful on these things.
[:[00:34:00] Eric Goranson: And that could be something that makes your job a heck of a lot easier when you go with it. So food for thought, guys, just food for thought on what could happen and what's good, what's bad, and communicate it with your neighborhood. And that way you got people on your back when you go to do stuff.
[:[00:34:36] Eric Goranson: That could be something. There are a ton of energy rebates out there that are coming out now and into the next year. So if you've got that old steam boiler that's running off of oil or gas, Maybe a heat pump could go in there and depending on your location, it makes sense or a furnace, uh, take a look and see what rebates are out there.
[:[00:35:17] Eric Goranson: That's good. That's really good. Now, one thing I was doing here when I was doing my sighting project here, I took the sighting off, I ripped out all of the old 1970s clumped up pink fiberglass insulation, and I tossed it. And I installed in brand new rockwool insulation that is, um, you know, fireproof, so it does not burn and I gave myself a more resilient front part of my house and anytime you can do that and understand, you know, this old house again, I'm gonna go back to those guys.
[:[00:36:19] Eric Goranson: Versus going with one of the composites that kind of look like it and I get it when it comes down to money painting cedar and stuff like that can be Horrifically expensive with cedar prices these days, but as an example, you're better off using the original materials But then again if you're in an area that requires in you when you replace siding that you have to put in something That's more fire resistant Then I think you're okay.
[:[00:37:04] Eric Goranson: And so I'm okay with some newer materials like that when you have to meet fire code and you're going to do something that's going to extend or give that house some extra life. So really understanding those things and, and seeing where you can get money are all great things for you and your home. So, uh, these are all important ones and then just make sure that, um, as you're going through this and you're doing the restorations.
[:[00:37:50] Eric Goranson: Everything's good. You could start saving some money on your homeowners insurance because you've upgraded these older systems. That are safer and [00:38:00] aren't going to have the inherent problems with, you know, electrical fires or things like that. So the more you communicate that stuff with your insurance company, the better off you are that could put money back into your pocket.
[:[00:38:30] Eric Goranson: You'd be surprised. I have seen people come up and go, Hey, I've got these two light fixtures. My dad worked on that house 35 years ago, and they were thrown away and he kept them. So a little social media sometimes can find things in your local area that were originally on your house. I've seen this happen before.
[:[00:39:05] Eric Goranson: I just did a story on this for my Made in Northwest series. Hippo hardware, just like the animal hippo hardware. They can go through and rebuild your antique light fixtures, put the UL listing stamp on them. So they're ready for new. And, uh, they can even refinish them and put a different finish on. So if they're, if they're brass and you want to have something, that's going to be more reliable that you don't have to polish, they can do that as well.
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