Aging Well

If houses could talk, they would no doubt rave about all the wonderful families they've hosted. A few might also mention the abuse they have endured over the years, such as a homeowner who ripped out the elegant Craftsman built-in buffet or one who slapped on a bad addition. Houses do talk. "Most tell their own story," says Dave Amundson of TreHus Builders in Minneapolis. “A restoration is just a matter of being consistent with what’s already there.” When considering a remodel, owners of homes built from the late 1800s through the 1930s usually choose to stay true to the home’s architectural roots. “If an old house is salvageable, we recommend staying with authentic materials,” says Mark Warren of Warren Home Restorations in Deephaven. The condition of the structure, the size of remodeling project the homeowner has in mind, and budget are all considerations when restoring an older home. The most difficult decision that owners of older homes face is where and when to compromise.

The Art of Compromise
“A lot of people start out as purists, but when they find out the cost, they are willing to compromise,” Amundson says. For instance, he says, ball-tip hinges  can be ordered in solid brass for about $40, but the poor man’s ball tip can be ordered for $15. The difference: the poor man’s version has rounded edges on the hinge, whereas the authentic version has square edges. Because most people don’t even notice the door hinge, homeowners are often willing to compromise.  According to Bob Boyer of Boyer Building in Minnetonka, there are varying degrees of restoration. For instance, the Phillips screwdriver wasn’t even invented until 1934. So for the purist, Boyers says, Phillips-head screws cannot be used, and that’s when a restoration really gets expensive.

Brian Jones of Jones Design Build in Shorewood recently restored a Minneapolis home in which the next-door neighbor had actually played in the home decades earlier. The all-white kitchen with corian countertops had obviously been remodeled, and the neighbor recalled that the kitchen once had hardwood floors, painted cabinets, and linoleum countertops with metal edging. While the homeowner compromised and chose granite for the countertops, Jones restored the flooring and cabinetry to mimic their original look. “People have lived through 1970s, ’80s, and ’90s homes that were built out of maintenance-free products,” says Boyer. “They have begun to tire of homes without character.” Some homeowners are replacing aluminum siding with actual wood or a modified wood shingle. They are also removing the aluminum cladding on the fascia and soffits for an open-rafter look with exposed decorative bead board.

Restoring the exterior of a home is actually more difficult than restoring the interior, Warren says. Exterior architecture is well documented, but the “exterior products have changed so much over the years,” he says. “It’s harder to find the right products.” Warren recently restored an Excelsior home built in the late 1800s. This farmhouse style home had a wraparound porch and a sub-par addition. Warren demolished the old addition and expanded the home into part of the porch, then he rebuilt that part of the porch elsewhere. “We had to have a special run of millwork,” Warren notes. To make the porch look authentic, the millwork was run twice—once for cut and once for shape.

Recreating the Past
Aside from the old newspapers stuffed in the wall that were once used for insulation, the surprises found by builders during restoration remodels are not the kind that make homeowners’ eyes light up. “People often say, ‘They don’t build houses like they used to!’ And it’s a good thing they don’t,” Amudson says. “While the finished carpentry of the old home is wonderful, there weren’t the structural requirements back then that we have today.” During a restoration of a 1906 home in the Kenwood neighborhood of Minneapolis, Jones uncovered unrepaired structural damage from a 1917 fire. Jerry Roelofs of Roelofs Remodeling and Renovation in Minnetonka recently completed a restoration of a 1880s home in Minneapolis built without electricity. “Later, when the home was wired for electricity, rather than opening the wall surface, they built new walls (which contained the wiring) alongside existing interior walls,” Roelofs says. “On the original walls were perfectly preserved 100-year-old wall coverings.”

While those types of discoveries create lots of excitement, the more common discoveries are missing built-ins, sprayed ceilings, window and door trim that was removed and replaced by inferior materials, both in size and quality, and trendy updates that don’t fit with the era of the home. “In the ’50s, ’60s, and ’70s people came in and painted, they put in carpeting and removed the details,” says Jones. “The existing oak trim and floors were often stained very dark,” when people wanted a clean, modernist white-box style. “Everyone was told to get clean lines and white walls.” So how do remodelers undo the damage done to traditional homes by passing trends? “It’s very common for us to scrape ceilings and apply a skim coat to make them smooth again,” says Amundson. Yet perhaps the most common form of restoration can be found in the home’s millwork. One of the first things Jones does in an old home is determine what’s under the paint. Was the original trim a painted pine or maple? Or was it a beautiful quarter-sawn oak? “We find both,” he says.

“Even when homes were built in the 1920s, corners were cut to make the home more affordable,” Boyer says. “For instance, there might be oak trim on the main floor and fir upstairs, or maple in the kitchen and oak in the living areas.” One thing that many owners of older homes are unaware of is that older floors can only be refinished three or four times, says Boyer, before the tongue in the tongue-and-groove pattern is worn through. This could mean putting in new wood floors altogether. Restoring the thick trim around doors and the eight-inch mopboards is also common. “Often you have to have the mopboards and molding custom made, but you don’t need to build a squeak factor back into the old floor,” Boyer jokes. Replicating older woods takes skill. “We have quarter sawn oak today but it is not as high a quality as the quarter sawn oak of years ago,” says Amundson. “There’s a richness to the old wood that is not in the newer woods.

“People don’t want sudden transitions,” says Roelofs. “We have to apply exterior coats of finish to make the various products look harmoniously connected, so that 100-year-old floorboards blend with a one-year-old floorboards.” For instance, Roelofs says, a new door may need several extra coats of finish for its patina to match that of the trim surrounding it.

Wall finishings can also be time consuming. Faux finishes, for example, often require several different layers and colors of paint and glazes—sometimes as many as ten, says Mike Killa of Authentic Construction in St. Paul. But when completed, this lovely finish resembles historic wallpaper.

Windows in old homes are often sorely in need of attention. “Wide window frames had a structural function,” notes Boyer. “They hide the three-inch-wide weight pocket. If you are doing a true restoration, you want to keep the old windows, but you can get rid of the ropes and weights and put in a vinyl window jam.” If the wood of the old windows is rotted, however, homeowners have no choice but to put in new windows—and all of the restorative builders recommend using wood.

Updating for the Present
In an older home, the areas that typically require the most work are the kitchen, bathroom, and storage areas—often because the floor plan has to be updated. “Many old houses now have the 1960s and ’70s look in the kitchen,” Killa points out. “The kitchen can be brought back to its original state using custom craftsman-style cabinetry with inset doors and the shell-shaped handles common in the 1910s and ’20s.” Many homeowners break tradition in the kitchen and opt for stainless steel appliances and stone or concrete countertops rather than the wood countertops prevalent when the homes were built. “Retro appliances from the 1940s and ’50s have not caught on yet,” Killa says. But many homeowners stick with tradition when it comes to flooring. “Wood is the flooring of choice in restored kitchens,” Killa says. “Tile flooring is on its way out.” Occasionally, Killa adds, the back entry or laundry room will be done in linoleum or tile.

Sinks in the early and mid-1900s were often apron-front with tall backsplashes on which the faucet was mounted, says Jones. “Today we’re doing a lot of apron front sinks in stainless steel, cast iron, and ceramic,” he adds. “They are pretty popular in a traditional look.” The retro-looking appliances that happen to be popular today are also perfect for bathrooms in traditional homes. Pedestal sinks and stand-alone vanities are common choices in these homes. “Whirlpool tubs are fading,” Killa says. “Soaking tubs are more in demand.” Tiled walls, or 42-inch tile wainscoting, are also common restorations in the bath.  While storage is a perennial issue in old homes, remodelers can often borrow space from an adjacent room to enlarge a closet or bath. “People didn’t have the clothes they have today and they didn’t have all the equipment like vacuum cleaners to store,” says Amundson.