Taking on the renovation of a 112-year-old house is no small feat.
These homes carry a charm and history that is hard to replicate, but they also come with unique challenges.
My husband and I recently purchased a house built in 1912 that had been empty for several years. The power was no longer on and the water was shut off.
As we walked through the house with our real estate agent, flashlights in hand, we could see potential in the house, although it was going to take a lot of work and time. We checked everything out, going down into the basement and climbing a ladder to check out the attic. It looked structurally sound, but some of the roof rafters had cracked under the weight of snow.
Why were two older people taking on such a challenge? We love the idea of taking something old that is in good shape and making it new again. These old homes have history, and if they could only tell stories of the good old days.
The first step in renovating an old home is appreciating its history. If the old homestead has original woodwork or fixtures, preserving them is always a great idea. This home had seen some renovations before and none of these items remained in the house.
Older homes often lack modern conveniences such as updated plumbing, electrical systems or heating, and these things come at a cost.
Our first item to repair was the roof rafters. Luckily, we work in construction, so this was an easy fix for my husband. I do not do attics, and basements that are old really are not my thing either. We took a pile of photos and went home to work out our game plan.
Of course, people were curious to see who was crazy enough to take on such a task, but we absolutely love renewing the old.
Old homes have character and although it is a lot of work, we enjoy bringing these old homes back to life.
These houses have raised families, and I am sure they have had many good times in them. This is our plan for this old house.
The first day we went to work we had several visitors, which was a pleasure knowing people were interested in what we might be doing to this place. As we took out part of a wall to make the kitchen area bigger, we came across writing on one of the studs in the wall. This wall was put in place in 1967, and the fellow who wrote on the stud was 13 at the time.
The ideas for the kitchen have changed at least 10 times and each time it looks better.
We hope to modernize the house, but also to preserve some of the history by keeping some of the old windows and making them into frames.
Many people today take old barn boards and create a beautiful piece of art with them; we are just doing it in a bigger fashion.
While taking on a home from 1912 can be daunting, the end result is often worth the effort if a person has the time and knowledge to do it properly.
We are excited to see what the finished product will look like, but then again, our thoughts keep changing with new ideas.
This is not just a project, it is a labour of love that breathes new life into the past, creating a space that will stand the test of time for generations to come.
