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I don't know what your plan is - to live in it, or to flip it. But, I will say that I personally love old homes. And I don't like a lot of extensive renovations done to them.
My daughter bought a little 2/1 1930's cottage, and it was mostly original, and when she turned it into a rental, wondering if anyone would want to live in it - the renters went bonkers with glee because it was so cool and retro. It appeared that some changes were done in the 1950's, when the 2nd larger bedroom was added on, and the kitchen was "modernized" with space-saving 1950's appliances.
But, both renters and buyers absolutely loved the retro tiles and appliances, and the original hardwood floors, etc. And she just had old gas wall heaters and window air conditioners, and that was not an issue at all, as people actually like that. Not only is it "retro," but, it's cheaper to heat and cool rooms as needed, instead of an entire house.
So, really think about every single change you're thinking about making, and if it really needs to be done - and if changing things will actually make the place more desirable - because people really love old houses. I do draw the line at shag carpet, though lol.
I will say that no matter what, hardwood flooring will get you a better price - whether it's renting or selling. People want/love wood flooring.
My daughter's cottage had the original tile counters and even had the original flip-down electric burners. People went crazy for them. She also had a built-in wall oven. This is basically what she had:
At any rate, you might be able to actually spend less money than you originally thought, and cater to a crowd that loves retro stuff.
Now if it's all for you, and you hate all that old stuff, well, you'll have to decide. But, I have a hard time understanding people who buy antiques, basically, then do their best to turn them into modern things. Just seems wrong.
Oh, another thing I thought of - I bought a house that was built around 1906 in WA on the Canadian border a milliion years ago. The walls were original shipboard planking and the wind whistled through the house. In that case, it made perfect sense to drywall the thing.
But, the contractor I hired to do the work I needed done to that place (which did include re-wiring and plumbing, leveling the entire house/foundation, on and on....) was able to carefully pry the old cedar baseboards and crown molding off in each room. Then, they took them to a place that specialized in removing old paint from boards, etc., by putting them in huge vats of chemicals.
So, the contractor, then put up new drywall, but then placed the stripped old cedar baseboards and crown moldings back over the new drywall. Then, I could paint them the way I wanted to (the stripping didn't make them nice enough to leave plain, but removed about 90 years of layers of paint, so they gave me a nice surface to paint.
So, just in case you have nice moldings or baseboards, and you're thinking they can't be salvaged, I am here to tell you that even old dry cedar can be removed and fixed, if it's done carefully. And it turned out amazing. It's a huge selling point to have original features.
Oh, and there was a chimney in the middle of the house, but it basically started at almost ceiling level because it was for old oil burning stoves. So, functioned as just a flue. My contractor, removed that old chimney, and a friend and I cleaned the old bricks - which was really easy, as the old grout was so old and dry and brittle, you just basically had to tap the brick with a hammer and it all fell off. Then, he used the old bricks to make me a hearth where I put a wood stove. It was beautiful and I could say it was made with the original bricks from the original oil stove chimney. So cool!
So, obviously, sometimes upgrades must happen, but there is often a way to keep at least most of the original charm.
I hope you share photos. I just love old houses :-)
You probably aren't accounting for all the "while it's opened up" phone calls when remodeling an older house.
If you're doing all that work, I don't quite understand why you wouldn't open up all the exterior walls, rewire, insulate, and install new wall board.
My remodeling costs were over $200 per square foot. It would have been cheaper to tear it down. I had moderate labor costs that are likely similar to Pittsburgh and wasn't paying GC markup. I did it out of cash flow so I was broke for four years. Every penny I made went to remodeling.
What NoMoreSnowForMe said. If you're doing this as a "flip", you'd better look at the costs extensively before starting the work, because I really don't think you're going to recoup what you're going to spend. Most people who buy old houses want the "old" in them as much as possible, like the original floors, doors, baseboards, trim, and windows. Yup, we like original windows too, even if they seem like energy-suckers to the rest of the house buying world (they're wrong, btw). And if you're buying it for yourself, well, you can either spend a whole lot of bucks messing up this old house, or leave it alone for an old house lover and find something more modern that better suits your tastes. Please.
There's no way for anyone online to get you an idea how much this will cost. You need to speak with local architects and local contractors. Prices are all over the map. The materials will vary greatly as well. Hardwood flooring at Home Depot will be cheaper than a flooring store (not a discount place like Lumber Liquidators), but it's not the same quality. There's a million kinds of granite counters and pries vary....even something as the edging will vary and can add up quickly. There's a thread on here from ages where someone asked how much it cost to build a garage. The prices ranged from $25K to over $80K.
Oh lordy. You make me cry when you talk about "rehabbing" an old home. It sounds like you're going to destroy it by stripping all of the character out of it. Please watch a few episodes of Rehab Addict with Nicole Curtis before you destroy a bit of history forever. Old houses are beautiful until someone comes along and "modernizes" them. Those windows you want to replace will last maybe 20 years if you're lucky. My 107 year old windows are still going strong with that old growth wood. There are ways to make them more energy efficient and you have the best of both worlds when you preserve them. Think about what you're doing.
Glad to see Nicole Curtis dragged into things, not because she's some wonder woman, but because she has a vision for what she does, and it isn't "How can I make the most money out of all this?" She's like the antithesis of the usual "Blow out all these walls" HGTV nonsense. When she says these old houses are crying "Make me beautiful again," that's what she hears and that's what she tries to do. "Demo Day" is definitely not her favorite day. More likely to be a "Reclamation Day" spent restoring a 1920's window or getting all the built-up stain and varnish off an old hardwood countertop and prepping it for service once again. Good on her is all I can say.
Oh lordy. You make me cry when you talk about "rehabbing" an old home. It sounds like you're going to destroy it by stripping all of the character out of it. Please watch a few episodes of Rehab Addict with Nicole Curtis before you destroy a bit of history forever. Old houses are beautiful until someone comes along and "modernizes" them. Those windows you want to replace will last maybe 20 years if you're lucky. My 107 year old windows are still going strong with that old growth wood. There are ways to make them more energy efficient and you have the best of both worlds when you preserve them. Think about what you're doing.
Our house is over 70 years old. We replaced the original windows a few years ago and it made a HUGE difference in drafts and our heating bills. There were several broken/cracked panes of glass. The wood also had a mildew problem. The windows were very hard to open and close. Several contractors and other folks said it was faster, easier, and cheaper to replacement. They were right! To repair the windows would have cost more than the new windows. Our house still has the charm from 1942. The previous owners did a major remodel and addition back in the 80's.....and the bathrooms and kitchen scream 1980's country floral wallpaper. Some of the greatest days of my life were stripping those wallpapers!
Preservation isn't always practical. Sometimes it's a necessity. Money is a huge factor. Finding skilled craftsmen to make these repairs is quite challenging in many areas. They're not cheap either.
Oh lordy. You make me cry when you talk about "rehabbing" an old home. It sounds like you're going to destroy it by stripping all of the character out of it. Please watch a few episodes of Rehab Addict with Nicole Curtis before you destroy a bit of history forever. Old houses are beautiful until someone comes along and "modernizes" them. Those windows you want to replace will last maybe 20 years if you're lucky. My 107 year old windows are still going strong with that old growth wood. There are ways to make them more energy efficient and you have the best of both worlds when you preserve them. Think about what you're doing.
Look you haven't seen one pic of the place. It doesn't have old charm it needs a modern renovation.. not all old homes have nice mantles, built ins etc.. I thoUght in the forum a contractor would chime in not negative people
Your gut-job laundry list of an OP is close to a tear-down and in-fill. People will question that with a 100-year old house.
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