Advice for Home Renovators - If you own a Vintage Home, are thinking of buying a vintage home or are restoring one in the Southern California area please, please, please take some things into consideration while contemplating buying or while restoring your home. 1. Do not remove your windows and doors. Take the time to restore the windows and doors you have. In most cases, the windows have already survived all this time and have been protected with paint. Remove the paint and fix the weights. If you are looking for energy conserving ideas, then look into storm windows on the outside. You can alternate screens for the nice time of the year and storm windows when it is too hot or cold. You can have the storm windows made out of wood reflecting the same design as the original ones. If youre handy, you can make them yourself and take them to your nearest glass man to have glass installed. Taking your windows out ruins the original feel of the home and I have seen in most cases where it has destroyed the total look of the house. Vinyl is vinyl and looks it. There is nothing vintage about them. There is nothing like looking through old wavy glass! On my street alone, I have seen old beautiful doors torn off of Craftsman and Victorians. This is not what you do! You are the caretaker of your vintage home. Restore it at all cost. If it is really beyond repair, then get on Ebay or shop the antique stores and find a period door that is similar to one you have or a better one! 2. Take the time to restore all of what you have in the home that is period or original. This includes Sinks, Toilets, Woodwork, Flooring, Lighting, Hardware and all architectural elements. Ebay is an excellent place to find missing items. 3. Lately it seems that I have seen several homes being destroyed by removing the original clap board or tongue and grooved wood cedar or redwood siding and then covering the home in Stucco. What a sad, sad thing to do. The home once again looses all style and beauty. 4. If you are looking to buy a Vintage or Historic home and your really not into keeping the design and style in place and you want to be Modern, then buy a contemporary or Mid Century Home. Do not buy an older home then destroy everything that is vital to what made that home what it was in the first place. 5. It is a lot of hard work but if you have the true passion and love that it takes, it is worth every bead of sweat and dollars you are investing! 6. Seriously, when people are looking at older historic homes, it is because of the nostalgic feel of them. Not because they look brand spanking new and look like Home Depot or Lowes decorated it! It is like going back in time and visiting another era. 7. Lastly, the monetary value of your home will definitely be worth more. Your home will be more desirable when keeping with the design and style of your home. We do not live in Upstate New York or Seattle where they deal with moisture and colder temperatures we live in Beautiful Sunny Southern California! Get it? Restore it!
Posted on: Mon, 26 May 2014 21:01:04 +0000