If you are in the market for a really special place to call home, you might be interested in an older house with plenty of history and period details. Living in an historic home can be a real pleasure, but before you buy, historic preservation contractors suggest you carefully consider what you will be getting into. They have checklists for potential purchasers that will help them decide whether or not the house they have fallen in love with is a good investment for the money.
Before you take your first tour of an old home, you need to sit down and make out a list of things to look for when you are on the grounds. It is easy to get excited and overwhelmed by the high ceilings and transom windowed doors. You might forget to check for leaky pipes and uneven floors. Once you have decided on a serious contender, hiring a contractor to go over the premises is a prudent idea.
You don't have to crawl on the roof to inspect it. From a distance you should be able to tell if it is in obvious disrepair. Sagging roof lines and leaning chimneys are clear indications of serious problems. Once you get to the house, you can tell more readily whether tiles are missing and what kind of shape gutters and eaves are in. You should check the chimneys when you get inside to see if the flue liners still exist.
Walking around the property will give you a general sense of the overall condition of floors. You should look for sagging, tilting, creaks, and cracks. If there is carpet, you can try to pull up a corner to inspect the flooring underneath. Houses with multiple floors may have structural issues with stairs and railings.
Be sure to look up as you are on your tour. Ceilings with cracks and missing tiles can indicate past water damage or worse. The same is true of the walls. Cracks are often signs of foundation problems. It is not unusual for previous owners to wallpaper and paint rather than repair problems. Even though a papered wall looks fine, running your hand over it may reveal cracks.
Basements and attics can be musty and dark, but they are important elements of the structure and should be thoroughly inspected. They can indicate whether there have been water issues over the years. You need to find the hot water heaters to assess their age and condition. If possible, you should find out if there is existing insulation and what type it is.
The previous owner may or may not have had the electrical and plumbing systems updated. If you aren't a professional electrician or plumber, you might need someone to look at the systems in the home and tell you whether they are up to code or outdated. You might not even be able to close on the house until some repairs have been made.
Old homes that have been restored to their former glory are beautiful to look at. They can be a pleasure to own and live in as well. Before you take on one of these projects though, you need to fully understand what you are getting into.
Before you take your first tour of an old home, you need to sit down and make out a list of things to look for when you are on the grounds. It is easy to get excited and overwhelmed by the high ceilings and transom windowed doors. You might forget to check for leaky pipes and uneven floors. Once you have decided on a serious contender, hiring a contractor to go over the premises is a prudent idea.
You don't have to crawl on the roof to inspect it. From a distance you should be able to tell if it is in obvious disrepair. Sagging roof lines and leaning chimneys are clear indications of serious problems. Once you get to the house, you can tell more readily whether tiles are missing and what kind of shape gutters and eaves are in. You should check the chimneys when you get inside to see if the flue liners still exist.
Walking around the property will give you a general sense of the overall condition of floors. You should look for sagging, tilting, creaks, and cracks. If there is carpet, you can try to pull up a corner to inspect the flooring underneath. Houses with multiple floors may have structural issues with stairs and railings.
Be sure to look up as you are on your tour. Ceilings with cracks and missing tiles can indicate past water damage or worse. The same is true of the walls. Cracks are often signs of foundation problems. It is not unusual for previous owners to wallpaper and paint rather than repair problems. Even though a papered wall looks fine, running your hand over it may reveal cracks.
Basements and attics can be musty and dark, but they are important elements of the structure and should be thoroughly inspected. They can indicate whether there have been water issues over the years. You need to find the hot water heaters to assess their age and condition. If possible, you should find out if there is existing insulation and what type it is.
The previous owner may or may not have had the electrical and plumbing systems updated. If you aren't a professional electrician or plumber, you might need someone to look at the systems in the home and tell you whether they are up to code or outdated. You might not even be able to close on the house until some repairs have been made.
Old homes that have been restored to their former glory are beautiful to look at. They can be a pleasure to own and live in as well. Before you take on one of these projects though, you need to fully understand what you are getting into.
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You can get an overview of the things to keep in mind when selecting historic preservation contractors at http://www.nevic.construction/historic right now.
