Aging Well

June 2006 Special Advertising Section

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.