NUTS & BOLTS DESIGN POIN
STRATEGIES: REITs VINTA REHABS
LIVING ROOM BEFORE
LIVING ROOM AFTER
STAIRCASE BEFORE
MASTER AFTER
Cast members (L-R): Dustin Bates (carpenter), Brad Antisdel (designer), Kim Antisdel (designer), Erin Shipps (host), Jennifer Bertrand (designer), Deb Vogler (interior designer), and Donald “Jonas” Jonas (old home enthusiast).
Secrets in theWalls OLD-HOME RENOVATION IS A REWARDING ADVENTURE.
MASTER BEFORE
by Carole VanSickle Ellis
STAIRCASE AFTER
I
to replace old knob-and-tube (K&T) wiring, hazardous material abatement, and tearing out old brick chimney vents.” She added, “As an investor, it can be tempting to cut corners in old houses, but we always encourage best safety practices, no matter how much money and time they take. You’ll likely need to address ungrounded outlets, old plumbing pipes, lath and plaster walls, layers of shingles, old siding, rotting wood floors, overgrown yards, and cracked foundations, to name just a few. It’s certainly more fun to put money into granite countertops and cool light fixtures, but old homes soak up a lot of money in things unseen.” It might sound like Shipps is speaking a different language than most rehab- bers, but if you’re going to renovate older homes you need to know what she is talking about, or work with a contractor who does. For example, K&T wiring was
commonly used to wire homes for elec- tricity through about 1950. It generally has more wires than modern options and may provide poor connections. Many in- surance companies will not cover homes with K&T wiring and local building codes may require you to upgrade the wiring. “We use a lot more power in our homes today than they did 50 years ago,” Shipps said. “In addition to removing dangerous knob-and-tube, you’ll also want to look at upgrading your electrical panel to 200A.” Hazardous material abatement involves the removal and disposal of hazardous materials such as asbestos or lead, as well as remediation of mold and other environ- mental issues, which Shipps recommends leaving to specialists. “It’s not something to mess around with,” she warned. Finally, Shipps sometimes finds herself dealing with brick chimneys that were part of the original venting systems, and typically built around during modern renovations.
t’s going to get messy, and walls hide a lot of secrets.” That’s the note of caution Erin Shipps, creator, executive producer and host of Kansas City-based web series “ShowMe Renovation”, gives to investors looking to rehab old homes. “Any renovation project has the potential to make a mess, but old homes especially can be filled with lead paint, asbestos tiles, mold, and sometimes a century of dust and grime,” she said. ShowMe Renovation, owned by Think Realty’s founder and CEO of its parent company, Affinity Worldwide, Mike Wrenn, specializes in houses from 40 to more than 100 years old. TRULYNITTY-GRITTY When Shipps dives into a new proj- ect, she makes it her policy to expect the unexpected. “We do intense stuff,” she explained, citing “trenching walls
KITCHEN BEFORE
color as the walls or in shades around the wall color,” she said. “I also always think about functionality and flow. Old homes can suffer from decades of dysfunctional upgrades. Really spend some time in your spaces and figure out the best function and flow for a modern family. It’s often a balance of preservation and renovation.” Shipps’ best advice for renovating old homes? “Be prepared, but have fun!” she said. “It’s messy, tedious, and sometimes very costly, but it’s always, always worth the adventure.” •
KITCHEN AFTER
GETTING TO THE “GOOD STUFF” ShowMe Renovation uses a team of inte- rior designers that really make the show’s re- habs stand out. “Color choices can be a little bolder in older homes. All of my designers are painting ceilings now, either in the same
“We find vents in all kinds of places, in- cluding one we removed from a corner of a kitchen that also ran up through a bedroom closet. It wasn’t necessary as a vent anymore and by taking it out, we gained much need- ed kitchen and closet space,” she said.
You can learnmore about old-home renovation andwatch ShowMe Renovation at www.showmerenovation.com.
34 | think realty magazine july :: august 2017
thinkrealty . com | 35
Made with FlippingBook - Online magazine maker