I love older houses. Many of those I've worked on show the skill and pride of the craftsmen who built them. They are solid and have character — and if they are in a lovely, mature neighbourhood, they have value. But, if you are buying an older home to renovate, be sure to do your homework because it could be a money pit.
It's always more expensive and more difficult to renovate an old structure than construct a new one. Your contractor may find at the start of the job that underneath some of the antique finishes, the house is too old or too rotten to build on. As a result, he may have to tear back further than you expected — or budgeted for.
You can prepare yourself for these surprises by hiring a contractor with experience in renovating older homes. Have him look around thoroughly before you commit emotionally to the purchase or the renovation project. His objective opinion could save you from a project that's too costly or too big of a headache.
He can advise you on the condition of the house's structure, the state of the wiring, plumbing, roof and foundation — the most important parts of the home, and the ones that will cost the most to repair. Most people care more about the new cabinets they are planning for the kitchen, or the tile for the bathroom. But you need to make sure that the new kitchen and bathroom you are imagining will be installed in a house that won't fall down.
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Some of the biggest problems in any renovation are structural. They can be fixed, but at substantial cost.
The frame of a house is like the bones in our bodies — it holds everything up. It's full of joints and fasteners, and a weak point can act like a hinge. Any movement in the frame (through settlement or failure of framing members) upsets the balance, and can cause a house to lean, bend or tilt. This problem will get worse if nothing is done.
In an old house with foundation problems, a section of wall might give way or sink causing a domino effect. The leaning affects the whole building because an unbalanced load is trying to even itself out.
Rotted sill beams will have the same effect on a wall as a crumbling foundation. Or it could be that a structural element has been removed in a previous renovation — one of the most common, and most serious, causes of problems in old houses.
It's a part of renovating an old home that an experienced contractor can help you deal with. Believe me: Tearing up a subfloor to discover the main support beams of a house were cut away to allow for some new plumbing is scary. Fixing these "improvements" will cost you a lot of money, but you can't go forward with your plans until they are.
Finding that a load-bearing wall has been taken out to "open up the space" between the kitchen and dining room means you'll need to re-support that load. That will probably affect other rooms — even floors — that you hadn't planned on touching.
I'd rather deal with an older house that's had no "improvements" than with one that's full of fixes and crappy renovations done bit by bit over the years by a series of homeowners or incompetent handymen. That's why you need to make sure you hire a pro with experience renovating older homes before you make the leap.
Mike Holmes is the host of Holmes on Homes on HGTV. E-mail Mike at mikeholmes@holmesonhomes.com or go to www.holmesonhomes.com.
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