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I think the open concept and exposed beam fads is ruining a good many historic homes. It's going to be hard to put that material back when actual rooms are popular again, and of course by then all the 250 yr old hand planed paneling and plaster is long gone.
Plaster was horrible stuff. Modern drywall is much more durable. As for the hand planed paneling, just go to a millwork shop. There will be a base cost for setting up the cutters, and after that they will duplicate anything you like and just charge you by the foot.
There is no particular reason to have exposed beams. Either you can hang joists from the side of the beam and tuck it into the ceiling, or if you have an older home with 10' or 12' ceilings you can just frame a new ceiling below the beam. An open floor plan is easier to heat, cool, and decorate. The dinky little rooms from the 19th century were a response to the hovels most people started life in. That style is never coming back in conventional homes, though you will find them in the tiny house hovels that are becoming popular among the destitute.
Plaster was horrible stuff. Modern drywall is much more durable. As for the hand planed paneling, just go to a millwork shop. There will be a base cost for setting up the cutters, and after that they will duplicate anything you like and just charge you by the foot.
There is no particular reason to have exposed beams. Either you can hang joists from the side of the beam and tuck it into the ceiling, or if you have an older home with 10' or 12' ceilings you can just frame a new ceiling below the beam. An open floor plan is easier to heat, cool, and decorate. The dinky little rooms from the 19th century were a response to the hovels most people started life in. That style is never coming back in conventional homes, though you will find them in the tiny house hovels that are becoming popular among the destitute.
The east and west coasts have very different architecture.
18th century colonials actually had good sized rooms. And open floor plans are EXPENSIVE to heat and cool, in a part of the country where utility costs are already sky high. Decorate? Everything is going to look the same since there are no walls to define different areas. And less wall space for things like cabinets and closets.
*I* know there is no particular reason to have exposed beams. What I am saying is that people think they are "in" now and ripping everything out just to expose them.
My opinion is mine and only mine. If you think I am wrong then say so without trying make me seem stupid for it. There is too much of this crap going on.
When someone takes a early 1700s paneled wall ......
This should have said "1700s paneled wall", without the word early. While early 1700s houses exist, they are nowhere near as common. I missed the edit cutoff window.
I would love to see a few "poor man's" renovation shows.
Where I'm from, there are tons of mobile homes everywhere. Almost 19% of homes in South Carolina and almost 17% of homes in North Carolina are mobile homes. A lot of them are NOT in mobile home parks like in other states. I'd love to see a legit renovation show where someone comes in with, say, a "tax refund size" budget and helps people fix their mobile homes up.
I'd also like to see home renovation shows be a little more realistic for those who might not have hundreds of thousands to throw at the renovation. I understand that there can't be shortcuts on things like electrical, plumbing, roofs, etc., but it'd be nice to see professionals work their magic on a kitchen or bathroom when they actually have a tight budget (not a "I can easily afford brand new granite countertops and all high end appliances and new cabinets AND for y'all to move everything around so that the plumbing and electrical are changed as well budget.)
It's fun to see what can be done with older homes, but I think a lot of it seems unachievable to the average American. And I'm not sure it totally shows off the talent of the contractors and designers when they have a huge budget to work with. I know people can't work miracles, but show me a contractor who can turn a trailer or outdated house into something nicer with a budget that's more in line with many people's budgets, and I'll be super impressed.
Plaster was horrible stuff. Modern drywall is much more durable.
Umm no, not at all. You could nto be more wrong. Have you ever actually seen either plaster walls or modern drywall? Because this is completely incorrect. Modern drywall is a temporary wall covering. It is so thinned down and poorly made that you can walk right through it if you know where the studs are (done it). Try that with plaster. IN fact try to get through plaster with anything short of a sledge or jackhammer. In many cases you can even take your thumb and press it through the modern 3/8" drywall. In what way do you imagine it is more durable than plaster which is basically concrete in the lower coats?
Like many old construction methods and materials, plaster is no longer used because it is expensive. Plaster walls cannot be made in a factory and can only be installed by craftsmen. There are very few such craftsmen left in the world and most of them are outside the United States. There are some plasterers because it is still used in some very high end houses. Plaster is far more durable, more fire resistant, has better acoustical quality. It can also hold heat much better so it works better with radiated heating systems (another better system that is now mostly used only in expensive houses).
5/8" reinforced drywall comes nearer to matching the superior qualities of plaster, but it is not commonly used in homes. why? because it is expensive and adds no "ooohhh pretty" factor. It is not shiny and therefore does not appeal as a valid added expense to a modern home buyer properly trained through mass marketing. More durable is irrelevant to a home buyer today. 95% of them know absolutely nothing about what makes a house durable and do not care anyway. They care about how big it is, how shiny and blingy it is, and what the price is, nothing more.
You should study this a bit. Many older construction methods and materials are actually better/stronger than what we do today. Lumber is a perfect example as today's economized forced grown lumber has as little as 1/100th of the strength of true sized old growth timber used in the past.
If you do some research, you will find a book written by a structural engineer who noticed that older balloon framed houses were the only things left standing in many areas hit by hurricanes or tornadoes. He goes on to explain what he found to be the why (it gets pretty boring, but there are pictures).
Next you need to learn about the advantages of framed rafters vs. lightweight trusses, especially in a fire. You can discover why some fire departments will not enter or even try to save a building built with lightweight trusses in a fire. They just try to keep the fire from spreading. It is too dangerous to go inside because the trusses collapse in a matter of minutes ( I think it was 3 minutes after catching fire, YRMV).
Now study the holding strength of square nails vs. the thin headless wire cut roundies used in nail guns. Again a factor of tens of times difference in holding power. Why do they not use square nails anymore if they are better? because they are very expensive to make, compared to cutting nails out of wire.
Talk to really good high quality roofers. They drive nails in by hand powered hammers, the old fashioned way. Why? Because nail guns damage the wood/roofing and cause leaks over time. Where do you find such roofers using old fashioned methods? At high end roofing companies that charge more for a better quality job.
Modern fireplaces are now silly decorations. They do not provide heat and most cannot handle a wood fire of more than two logs if they can handle wood at all.
Some things about modern construction are actually better. Drainage is the biggest one. Roofing materials are better. Grounded wiring is an improvement in some cases (in many cases, it does nothing since few of today's appliances have a ground). LED lighting is certainly an improvement over candles or gas lamps. Furnaces/boilers are more efficient (except they cost so much more that may be a push economically). Masonry is considerably improved as is concrete technology. Insulation is improved as well but that is very easily added, especially with some of the new open celled foam products.
Some things depend on your preferences. Bland solid plane doors are ugly and weak but they are far easier to clean. The same is true of moldings, window casings door frames, hinges, door latches, ceilings and wall coverings (except in higher end new houses with decorative ceilings and walls).light fixtures. . . the newer items are bland, but they are designed to massively reduce cleaning and maintenance needs. So it becomes an issue of preference there, hard to clean and pretty or ugly and minimal cleaning?
Windows are also a push. New Vinyl windows are better than well maintained wood windows with storms as far as insulation (slightly better) maintenance and cleaning, but the vinyl windows decay quicly and most of them cannot be repaired, they are meant to be replaced. while wood windows if maintained remain exactly the same. Wood windows look better too. However although that is pretty much universally agreed, some people will argue with that just to argue. Also if a pane of glass breaks in a wood window, you replace the pane, It takes about half an hour once you have done a few. If a vinyl window breaks a pane, most of the time you have to replace the whole window, and sometimes the window frame and even some of your siding and interior finishes(that depends on the design of the window). to me, longevity, simple repairs, and beauty are worth the trade off of more maintenance,and smidge of better insulation (for a year or two or if you are really lucky - five).
So while there are some things that are better in new construction, try to learn what they are before just imagining something and writing it. Your position will carry more weight.
I would love to see a few "poor man's" renovation shows.
Where I'm from, there are tons of mobile homes everywhere. Almost 19% of homes in South Carolina and almost 17% of homes in North Carolina are mobile homes. A lot of them are NOT in mobile home parks like in other states. I'd love to see a legit renovation show where someone comes in with, say, a "tax refund size" budget and helps people fix their mobile homes up.
I'd also like to see home renovation shows be a little more realistic for those who might not have hundreds of thousands to throw at the renovation. I understand that there can't be shortcuts on things like electrical, plumbing, roofs, etc., but it'd be nice to see professionals work their magic on a kitchen or bathroom when they actually have a tight budget (not a "I can easily afford brand new granite countertops and all high end appliances and new cabinets AND for y'all to move everything around so that the plumbing and electrical are changed as well budget.)
It's fun to see what can be done with older homes, but I think a lot of it seems unachievable to the average American. And I'm not sure it totally shows off the talent of the contractors and designers when they have a huge budget to work with. I know people can't work miracles, but show me a contractor who can turn a trailer or outdated house into something nicer with a budget that's more in line with many people's budgets, and I'll be super impressed.
My brother renovated a 1950s trailer he bought for $100. It was a lot of work. They did not build them that well and water had done a number on it. But it was nice when he got it done (he had no money). It would have made a good show. then he made up with his wife and moved back to the house and got rid of the trailer. I think he lost money on it but it was still a cool project.
If an older home is not maintained, or if it has been "updated" it will be hugely expensive to restore it. The trick is to find one that has been maintained and not updated or to buy one that is already restored and let the restorer take the hit for you. Restoring a poorly maintained or an updated home is a labor of love and not a financially practical proposition.
Before I did a cheapo reno, I'd want to save and do a complete one. I think a lot of project choices come down to man-hours of the crew. If on a home remodel show, you're paying your pros either way, you're going to get the most impact for the hourly rate.
Cabinets sometimes have several sloppy coats of paint, terrible materials lining the shelves, drawers coming off the slides and practically falling out. Getting a set of custom cabinets with brand new, quality hidden hinges and soft-close slides is like night and day.
Sometimes flooring or a drywall job is just inferior and needs to be redone.
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