When one thinks of reuse and not refuse seldom does one
think of old houses, but my husband, Ed, and I do. We never intended to remodel more than one
old house, but life happens, so it has been more than one.
When remodeling old houses, ours is one hundred and
six years old, people usually think of mansions, but let me recommend redoing a
small home. Ours is nine hundred and
sixty seven square feet; although, we are planning to add a room and a half
bath making it about twelve hundred square feet.
People only seem to think of the historical
significance of large homes where famous people either owned or slept, but
think of the value of restoring an old gem where ordinary people lived their
lives. We like that idea.
We do not know who built our home but they had good
taste, because she has a beautiful bone structure. We are trying to keep nearly all of her old
lines and moldings and interior doors, but yet she must become a place where our
lives can be comfortably lived.
We always start with redoing all of the wiring, then
comes the roof, plumbing, heating system, insulation and windows. We focus on the kitchen and bathroom. All the beautification comes last. Paint becomes one of your best friends. We used to do much of the remodeling
ourselves, but now we have most of it done.
It costs a lot of money to remodel, but the
combination of buying and remodeling usually costs less than purchasing a lot,
septic tank, mobile home, etc. or all new construction for the same amount of
space.
There are many lower cost good craftsmen and vendors
in our two state area which makes things more affordable. The biggest problem is having the fortitude
to see the project through. The rewards
are great, because you will end up with a nice place to live and you will have
preserved an historical property for yourself, your community and for future
generations to enjoy.
©Patty F.
Cooper December 9th, 2014 Elizabethton, TN
All Rights Reserved
