Renovating an Old House – Practical List of Where to Start
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Are you renovating an old house and want to know where to start? Well, start here!
Our two-family house was built in 1912 and screamed “pre-Titanic” from its creaky old rooftop. We can 100% understand that overwhelming feeling when you look at the mess and say to yourself, “What first?!”
While old houses come with delightful elements like “charm” and “character,” they also boast particular liabilities like lead paint and outdated electrical.
In this post, we’ll explain how to start fixing your old house from an appropriate safety standpoint, prioritize your renovation project, and help you turn that creaky old house into your dream home.
Renovating Old House: Start With a Home Inspector
If you haven’t had your home inspected yet, start here!!
Find a reliable home inspector who will search every nook and cranny, test for serious troubles like radon or lead paint, and give you an honest opinion of how your house stands.
Do not skip an inspection! We cannot stress this enough!
Ensure Safety
Structure
Foundation, framing, staircases
If it isn’t sturdy, fix it! There’s no sense in renovating anything until your home’s foundation is reliable.
Mold / Asbestos / Lead Paint
These are the biggies. Leaving mold, asbestos, or lead paint issues unchecked can produce health risks in the future. You will likely need a professional to eliminate these problems.
While it stinks to fix these liabilities upfront, remember the old adage – a stitch in time will save you nine!
We found lead paint while buying our FHA 203k HUD Home – and while it was annoying, it will never be a problem again.
Roof
No sense in fixing the inside if you can’t keep the outside, out. Get your roof attended to!
Broken Windows
Again – keep the weather (and other dangers like looters) out of your house!
Replace broken windows or walls. Or, if you have the capital, replace all the windows for a fresh start!
House Systems
Heat & Air Conditioning
If your heat doesn’t work, and your climate needs heat, get your heat working! Or, if you’re in a super hot environment, have your AC tuned up!
After un-winterizing our house, we needed our heat to function to turn our plumbing on. We closed on our house in October 2016 – right before the freezing overnight temperatures hit our area. Frozen pipes would not be cute!
No one needs a hot, humid house filled with mold. No one needs a freezing, brittle house filled with frozen pipes. Do not ignore this step!
Plumbing & Electric
Speaking of pipes… old houses may or may not come with their original plumbing and electricity.
Our home has steam pipes visible in our living spaces. That means the house stood before the heating system came along. We confirmed this when a house around the corner hit the market – a cold water flat! As in, it had no boiler!! (Super cool, literally and figuratively, if you ask me!)
If you’re opening walls, take advantage and get all the plumbing and electric work done now. There’s no sense in ripping down a wall and not doing it!
Rewire the wires that need it. Add the outlets. Update the electrical and plumbing. And then you’ll sleep at night knowing your home is safe from leaks and fires.
Cosmetic Improvements
Renovating an old house is a big process– if your systems are good to go, start with cosmetic fixes!
Patching & Ceilings
Take a good look at your ceilings and walls. Now is the time to patch anything that needs some love.
Also, while you’re up there, seize the opportunity to acknowledge if something isn’t right. We kept repairing a seam in our second-floor apartment ceiling for years, only to discover it was related to a leak in our chimney. Lesson learned!
Does your old house have a popcorn ceiling? Now’s the time to shave it off (or cover it up). Eliminating the popcorn look will definitely bring your home into modern times.
Fixtures
Lighting can date a home. If your house has older light fixtures, you should update them. Old wiring can be dangerous! Be sure to take a close look at it.
Also, this is when you get to pick and choose fixtures you really like. (Tip: say no to the nipple lights. You’re welcome.).
Flooring
Hopefully, you can work on this checklist item when your home is still empty – before moving in.
Related: What to Do Before Moving Into a New House
Patching, polishing, or refinishing floors is the way to go!
Note – if the flooring is painted, as was in vogue many years ago, be sure to test if it contains lead paint.
Paint and Wallpaper
Paint can hide a multitude of sins. Folks have been painting their kitchen cabinets for a solid decade to update and refresh the basic oak look. I’m not the biggest fan of painted cabinets (what will happen when we all want to un-paint our cabinets?). But if that’s your thing, go ahead.
Another thing you can do to update your old home is to watch out for frilly trims and accouterments. Those circular or swirly lines and patterns can date a home.
Now is also the time to take down wallpaper. Wallpaper is a real beast, depending on the glue used. And, if it’s got a loud pattern, wallpaper is a real eye-sore.
Take it from me – fill a spray bottle with water and liquid fabric softener. Spray liberally and that will help loosen the glue!
Related: 101 Proven Home Renovation Tips for Your Next DIY
Trim
Does your home contain larger-than-life baseboards? This is another obvious sight that dates the look of a home. Some people like it and leave it. Others replace the 6” base with something smaller. If the trim is in poor condition, you may want to upgrade to a 3.25” trim instead.
And, don’t forget to re-paint your trim if it was painted! Personally, I believe that we all should varnish wood trim at most. However, if it was already painted, now is the time to re-paint.
High Ticket Rooms – Kitchens and Bathrooms
Kitchen Updates for Old Houses
Kitchens are often the rooms that reveal a house’s age. The cabinet style/color, the appliances, and the fixtures can scream their original decade.
Now’s your chance to install a suitable kitchen to bring your home to this century. If the cabinets are in good shape and you’re keeping the layout, perhaps you just replace or paint cabinet fronts. Or, go whole hog and gut the whole thing with new cabinets, too.
Update your appliances, enjoy that snazzy new electric and plumbing, and flex your culinary muscles for years to come!
Check out these Kitchen Remodel Ideas on a Budget plus our 11 Best Kitchen Renovation Tips!
Bathroom Updates for Old Houses
There’s plenty to update in an old house bathroom renovation. Reconsider your tiles, fixtures, and even your toilet.
If you’re renovating on a budget, you could replace one thing at a time. Or, replace as much as possible simultaneously in a big gut renovation. Be sure to check for leaks before you do anything cosmetic!
Final Thoughts on Renovating an Old House (Where to Start!)
Renovating an old house is not for the faint of heart, but if you know where to start, it’s not so crazy!
You can bring a classic back to life with a lot of carefully planned TLC. Start with safety, work your way through systems, and eventually you’ll get to the fun cosmetic fixes.
Good luck and remember, we are here to help you at Our Two Family– subscribe here for more home renovation tips and tricks!
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