Many home buyers are attracted to buy vintage or century-old buildings and remodel the interior to suit their needs. However, experts have mentioned that before doing the renovations, there are things to consider.
First, the new house owners should consider the environmental and safety issues of the house. According to reports, most of the vintage houses contain lead or asbestos or other minerals. So before they decide to remodel the house, they need to consult licensed professionals and know the mineral content of the house before starting on the renovations.
Second, focus the attention on the basics or the functionality of the old house. Take ample time to check the plumbing, electrical wirings, and even the insulation of the whole house before starting the work. There is a big need for a licensed professional to check the entire functionality of the house so the new house owners will have an idea what work should be done especially the priority ones.
Third, study the old house before buying it. For example, try to check if the intricate details of the original house are still needed, especially some of the house's old features. These are built in accord to the old age's needs. With the case of the new house owners, there are different needs to be catered to.
Fourth, if the new house owners found that some of the features of the old house are still usable for the needs of the family, these should be updated.
Fifth, use materials that meet today's needs in accord to standards in housing development. This means that when the new house owners finally decided to renovate the old house into a modern 2016 looking house, use materials that are stable like granite, marble, and any other solid surfaced countertops. Old and vintage houses are usually made from "low brow" materials like slab-door wood kitchen cabinets, laminate countertops, vinyl flooring, so on.
Sixth, they also have to consider the fact that remodelling an old house is a bad investment. According to the 2014 cost versus value report, "there is not even one remodelling project, upscale or midrange that was deemed likely to recoup a homeowner's expenditure upon resale."
Seventh, final fixes needed for remodelling an old or vintage house will take so much time, energy and money. All of these will be consumed at the same time. From the safety measures, environmental or infrastructure considerations, and a lot more should be properly checked in accord to the modern standards. Try to imagine bringing a century-old house to modern standards.
Eighth, remodelling an old house will surely bring one a lot of headaches. This is because the new house owners should also check the consumer reports, too, aside from considering the small and big aspects of remodelling like the materials, finances, so on. They also need to review the deliverability value of the house especially on its energy consumption.
Ninth, find the best contractor to do this big job. Don't just pick somebody or a friend to do the whole project. This is not just renovating a house, but remodelling an old house to make it cozy house like the ones designed now. They should be an expert on remodelling vintage homes or at least knowledgeable on what they should do before giving this project in their hands.
