When is a home a good candidate for whole house remodeling?

Our beautiful New England towns have some great architecture, and because our housing stock is older than other areas of the country, many require remodeling, a home addition or maybe just a new kitchen or renovated bath. However, some homes we work on have suffered “differed maintenance issues” throughout and may be better contenders for whole home remodeling.

A couple of factors that make this undertaking worth the capital investment:

1. Is this a diamond in the rough investment? Compared to newer homes in the area, what will be your total expense… keep in mind that when you are involved in the home renovation process, you have better quality control over the work, and can dictate the proper budget for quality finishes rather than settle for builder grade choices.
2. Older homes often offer better, nostalgic architectural details in lieu of the neo-classic lines used to save money today.
3. When you moved in years ago, maybe you thought about waiting for the right time to move on. Now, perhaps you love the home (aside from some of the “ticks”), and the location and/or neighborhood are working perfectly for your family.

Whole home renovations are always a bit different from one another and don’t always involve every room; however, the typical project usually involves adding some more space, as well as kitchen and bathrooms receiving full gut renovation. With that type of capital investment, the entire electrical and heating and cooling systems; as well as the insulation, windows, exterior cladding and roof should all get an update.

In a recent project in the Poets neighborhood in Wellesley, we brought a beautiful 1930s/40s Foursquare colonial (a mix of two styles based on the square stance and the colonial roof-line) back to her glory. The interior received a major upgrade adding on space to expand the kitchen, while adding a master bath. The owners had the plan to renovate when they purchased the home and had already invested in a new very efficient boiler and front stairs. The neighbors were delighted when the brown aluminum siding was removed, and commented that the bare sheathing boards were a welcome improvement even before the pre-stained shingles even adorned the sides.