The Folly of Waiting to Renovate

Houses are a fickle asset. Some wonder if you can call them an asset at all (looking at you, Grant Cardone.) Between taxes and general weekly maintenance it can certainly feel a little more like a gift horse than the treasure you were hoping for when you purchased it. Lord knows Charlottesville loves to ream us all with property taxes!

Owning your own home, though, is certainly worth it as long as you realize you need to take the necessary steps to keep your asset in good condition. This will include a renovation at some point. If you have a new home, in ten years prepare to renovate.

And, for some reason, if you decide to wait to renovate your now dated home you can certainly be looking at some problems, if not some serious challenges, once you decide to finally pull the trigger on that much needed renovation.

As an Architectural design firm located in Charlottesville, we have the lion's share of historical homes that need renovating. We have seen our share of some serious problems that would have become an absolute disaster had the homeowners not decided to go ahead and renovate now rather than later. Deciding to live with it can be not only costly, but downright dangerous.

We definitely have some examples from some of our projects. In one of our first renovations as a company, the walls were opened up and a live wire was just sitting back there, exposed, but minding its own business - but for not for long if we had not seen it. On another fairly recent project of ours, the studs on one wall had been cut, sistered in with only two nails, and the wall itself was basically being held up by drywall and a promise.

They slapped the studs twice and said "yep, ain't goin' nowhere!"

On another project, a main floor renovation, the load bearing wall was discovered to be 2'-0" away from the basement structural line - causing the floor to sag. These serious problems would have continued to go unknown, until disaster struck, had the homeowners not decided to call us and move forward with their renovation.

Please do not let this happen to you. Do not wait until your sagging second floor moves into the basement because it is held up with only 2x4s and a prayer!

We just inspected another project, and the house had gone untouched for decades. Because of the 1920's construction methods, the floor had completely rotted out and the brick piers supporting the home were crumbling away. The studs on the exterior walls are being held up by hopes and good vibes, and the front corner of the house is essentially hovering.

The exterior walls themselves have sagged and are essentially disintegrating back into the earth as they buckle and begin their descent into the dirt. The windows are off kilter and opening on their own.

Well, see for yourself:

"I'm Meltiiiiing!"

The wall studs are being supported by...something.

Homes are like people, they need care and feeding. Getting the home "new clothes" like paint and a new roof are fine, but sometimes you have to open up the place to really know what is going on in there - especially if you are not the original owner or there are major symptoms. Is the house sagging in places? Are any windows tilting? These are serious symptoms being displayed and it is time to bring in the house doctor, a good contractor.

A good contractor is worth the energy to take the time and talk to. You'll find out what is happening to the asset that, if you take the care to nourish and replenish as the years progress, will be your shelter for the years ahead for you and your family.