Renovation Tips for Older Homes

What are the best tips when considering a renovation for an older home? Whether it is the home you have been living in for decades, or the home you are about to purchase, ownership of an older home can be a wonderful experience. Older homes have character, are usually in well established neighborhoods with mature landscapes and, if properly maintained, have stood the test of time.

Yet, even if you own the most carefully preserved older home, there will come a time when you will find yourself considering renovations. That kitchen which once seemed so cozy may now be really cramped, the quaint bathroom has become painfully old-fashioned or your family is simply outgrowing the bedrooms and storage space.

Renovating a home is a delicate balance between creating your perfect living space, and insuring a return on your investment. For example, on a recent reality TV show, two teams were each given a house to renovate, with the winning team being the one that increased the value of the property the most. Each team tackled similar improvement projects - bathroom and kitchen - but one team decided to create a master bedroom by knocking down a wall and absorbing an adjoining room. While the workmanship was fine, by reducing a three bedroom house to a two bedroom house, they actually devalued the property, and as a result, lost the competition.

So, what renovations are the best investments for the owner of an older home? Before even thinking of remodeling or adding on, the owner of an older home should first look at what systems in the house need to be upgraded. Is the electrical system up to current code standards? Have all outlets been changed over to 3 prong plugs and are there ground fault circuits in the bathroom and kitchen? Is there enough room with the current electrical service to add more to the load or does the entire electrical box need to be upgraded and expanded? In the middle of adding a room or installing central air conditioning is not the time to find out that your home's electrical system cannot handle the additional needs.

Examine also the heating system in the home. How old is the furnace or boiler and how well does it function? Adding a new room or a new bath is no fun if you suddenly find out that the heating system just can't reach it, or the hot water heater is too small for the additional bath. In the case of both electrical and heating systems, when going to the expense of upgrading, always leave room for future expansion.

Another area to consider is the insulation. Most older homes have little or no insulation, which means even a new heating system will have to work that much harder. Insulating an attic can be fairly inexpensive and can make a big difference. Some homeowners are even choosing to have foam insulation "blown" in between their outside walls and the house exterior to increase insulation without tearing out walls. New windows can also go a long way toward preventing heat and cooling loss.

Once you have brought the systems of your older home up to date, it is time to think about what kind of remodeling and or renovations can give you the best return on your investment. Home appraisers and real estate agents agree that the following home improvements not only make your home a nicer place to live in, but increase the value of your home:

1.Bathroom renovation, or adding an additional bath
2. Kitchen renovation
3. Interior and exterior painting

An interesting conclusion reached by real estate agents and appraisers alike was that although outdoor decks are desirable and value-increasing, an outdoor swimming pool, especially a below-the-ground pool, can actually make the home harder to sell because of the safety and maintenance issues. In addition, there can be such a thing as "over-renovation" if your home ends up being dramatically different in size, value and style than the others in your neighborhood.

So, for the owner of the older home, the best advice is, upgrade your systems and then renovate those areas of your home that bring you the most pleasure and return on your investment.