A Complete Guide to Renovating a Period House

Stone-built period house

Renovating any home feels like a colossal task; it can be extremely time, energy, and resource-consuming. However, consider the various risks of an unkempt home, it can be highly necessary for homeowners to invest in renovating their house. Renovating a period house is seen to be the trickiest compared to other types of houses.

One important thing to acknowledge is that the contracted work of this home can only be carried out by Specialist Heritage Certified Professionals. When renovating these homes, the main purpose is to restore their original beauty rather than to replace its originality.

Checklist for Renovating a Period House

We have come up with a checklist for you since renovating a period house can be quite a task. This elaborate checklist breaks down the entire renovation into a step-by-step process. This is further cut down into a few separate tasks to make things more manageable. Moreover, this checklist can also be an effective way to help you evaluate your costs.

Create a Renovation Timeline

One of the biggest mistakes that homeowners make when renovating a period house is that they move too fast. Setting a realistic timeline for the renovations helps keep you from deviating from your main goal. Your renovation timeline should highlight all the major work that is to be done with added contingency hours.

Here is why a renovation timeline is important when renovating a period house.

Helps Plan Your Budget

When it comes to renovating period homes that are particularly old, it can be quite difficult to determine the amount of work that needs to be executed. While careful and mindful planning is a rather long process, it is pretty essential for the long-term integrity of the structure. Moreover, this will also require a much bigger budget. The point is that a renovation timeline can help you identify various factors and help you plan your budget accordingly.

Gives a Clear Vision

Different types of surveys are done to determine multiple aspects of a period house including roof access issues and energy efficiency. However, many homeowners make the mistake of only fixing the most prominent and persistent problems that lead to further work later on. In this case, a detailed renovation timeline can be rather helpful for all parties involved. Not only does it give a rather clean picture to the contractors about what needs to be done from start to finish, but it also helps avoid misunderstandings.

Determine the Project by Time Period

People instantly start thinking about a few things when renovating a period house.

What order should the renovations be in?

Which room should be renovated first?

Well, these questions may be what all homeowners thinking about when commencing the renovation process. However, period houses differ from normal homes in more than one way so there are certainly other things you need to consider before answering these questions.

When renovating a period house, you need to start by determining the correct time period of your home.

For instance, Victorian houses rarely tend to have any structural issues due to their sturdy nature. This helps give you a better idea of the surveys you need to be prioritizing. You will need to align all the appropriate building materials to restore the place before time. Victorian houses require breathable lime render rather than normal cement for exterior work. Considering this, the main details of all the above questions will change for you.

So, you will need to determine the correct time period of the home and conduct your research according to that before rushing into anything. You will have to respect the architectural era of a period home in order to strike a balance when renovating a period house.

Set Clear Objectives

You should proceed to set a measurable goal once you are well aware of the type of work and logistics required for your property. This will help you maintain your focus, enhance your communication, and manage your expectations throughout the extensive process.

Aiming for Perfection

Many people often strive for perfectionism when it comes to renovating a period house. Even though this may be understandable, it can often be a big mistake when it comes to period houses. Perfectionism means lots of modifications and modernizations, which can ultimately ruin the look and feel of a period house. In this case, it is crucial to maintain the rawness and uniqueness of the property.

Renovating a Period House for Profit

Many people often pursue these projects in the hopes of making a tidy profit on the job. If your main goal is to make a profit, then it is important for you to budget for all the crucial aspects. Moreover, you will need to control yourself from getting too carried away as you could end up overspending unnecessarily.

Recruit a Specialist Team

The last step for you to do is to hire the best specialist team there is! Renovating a period house isn’t a piece of cake; it requires significant thinking and consideration. You should select a company with an impressive sand solid portfolio and various accreditations when it comes to conducting this intricate process.

You need to ensure that the specialist team will conduct proper building surveys of the old property before plunging into anything. Moreover, in many cases, you also have to receive the necessary planning permission to carry out the job. So, you should ensure that the company you choose can get that done.

Have a meeting with various companies to see what they can do for your renovations. Just make sure that they meet you the full way on all fronts starting from organizing preliminary work like hiring an architect.

Renovating a period house is a demanding task that is not to be taken lightly at all. Those who are planning to commence the renovation process should consider the above checklist and follow it to a T for good execution.

Tips for Renovating a Period House

Renovating a period house requires to preserve its artistic architectural integrity without compromising on its health and safety. There are a few ideas that could be useful for you if you’re planning on renovating your period house.

Add Some Industrial Touches

You can start renovating a period house by adding some industrial touches. This includes using steel-framed windows and doors internally and externally to give your home a different look and feel.

Design a Mezzanine

You can put the additional headspace in your barn or industrial building to good use by throwing in an extra level. A mezzanine can help you make the best of this extra space, which would otherwise go to waste.

Free Up the Eaves

You should consider freeing up the eaves when renovating a period house. This is one of the most affordable ways to extend your living space and making the best use of it. Moreover, you can also consider an open plan layout to get a better and more airy living space.

Highlight the Staircase

You should consider experimenting with different materials, forms, and colors when it comes to renovating the staircase in a period house. You can choose some bright and eye-catching colors such as red or yellow. Moreover, you can opt for steel or plywood stairs to jazz up the place a little.

Add Sliding Doors

Give your period house a little rustic touch by adding a barn-style sliding door. The best part above sliding doors is that they add to your vision of an open-plan home. However, the only challenge is that sliding doors tend to be heavy and often require more wall space.

Experiment with Levels

One super-interesting thing about period houses is the split level. You can turn these unusual split levels into your asset! You can add different levels and assign these various spaces for different tasks and purposes.

Showcase and Highlight Existing Features

Try to embrace and highlight the original essence and features of the period house when renovating it. Almost all period houses have a certain unique element to it. So, instead of eliminating this element completely, try to use it in your favor by showcasing it.

Use Breathable Paint and Lime Plaster

Period houses differ from normal houses; they require different materials to be able to remain intact. For instance, period houses need to be breathable. As bizarre as this might sound, period houses were built using completely different materials. So, by using newer modern materials, you can affect the breathability of the wall. No matter what colors you choose, make sure you use breathable paint and lime plaster to allow the home to sustain itself.

Conclusion

A successful period of house renovation is one that aims to enhance or preserve the original elements and features of the unique period property. Period houses have a great vintage and traditional value that needs to be kept unaltered. While it might be super-easy to just take a sledgehammer and renovate your home, a period house requires a completely different approach.

The point is, when renovating a period home, make sure to pay attention to reviving it. Moreover, remember that this extensive process will require a lot of resources, expertise, time, and care. You can get material for your project at the Home Depot.

Recent Posts