Why (and how) do we preserve old houses?

What is it that moves so many of us to take up these shells of past lives, put them on our backs and carry them into the future?

As I celebrate nearly one year! of writing for The Magazine at CIRCA, this is a question I continue to ponder.

Old houses make me feel connected, rooted, even giddy. Their embodiment of human hopes, joys, frustrations and follies sparks my imagination. In short, I can relate.The mission of my business, Worth Preserving, is to help owners of historic buildings become stewards whose care and investment over two, ten, twenty, fifty years maintains a portal between the past, present and future. I love a great transformation as much as anyone. But, in my experience, the rehabilitation process – “before” and “during” – holds more meaning than the final result – “after”. The fact that a 200-year-old house can be made livable for the 21st century is a given. The million decisions, big and small, we make along the way are the essence of true old house love.

The Rehabilitation Process, Part I: The Hard Look

In past articles for The Magazine, I’ve discussed the importance of identifying “character-defining features”. Along with historical research, it’s the first step towards developing a historic rehabilitation plan. Taking a really hard look at this evidence helps me “crack the code” of the building and understand what makes it special, how it evolved, what challenges it faces, and what potential it holds.

The Rehabilitation Process, Part II: Team

This hard look also informs what kinds of expertise are needed – preservation carpenter, stone mason, plumber specializing in vintage fixtures, for example. Sometimes trades like these bring me into a project to create a holistic strategy. I’m also recruited by interior designers, architects, engineers or general contractors who perceive that their clients need a leader who is laser-focused on realizing their preservation goals. Often, I’m the one who assembles the team of qualified, simpatico professionals.

The Rehabilitation Process, Part III: Strategy

The next step is the rehab strategy itself. “Rehabilitation” is defined as the process of bringing a building back into use through repairs and alterations that preserve its significant historic features. It’s less precious than restoration and more careful than straight-up renovation. Enter the million decisions, big and small. What material should the roof be? Should we tweak the floor plan? Can we insulate *and* preserve the original plaster? Is this hardware right? The concern I hear most often from clients and colleagues is that they don’t want to “eff it up”. Quite reasonably, because while there are so many ways to do it right, there are sooooo many ways to get it wrong.

The Rehabilitation Process, Part IV: Navigating Permits

I find it’s best to approach the permitting process not as a battle but as a meeting of minds. My background as a preservation advocate includes decades of going to the mat for doomed historic buildings, so I’m keenly aware of real estate politics. However, in my experience as a private owner’s rep, building inspectors, planning boards and historical commissions generally want the same thing – to meet the applicant’s goals within legal bounds. Again, thoughtful upfront planning makes this part of the process go more smoothly.

Finally, another CIRCA topic I’ve touched on is the National Register of Historic Places and historic rehabilitation tax credits The availability of financial incentives for conscientious rehabilitation is one more reason to invest in – the aforementioned hard look, team building and meticulous strategizing.

So there you have it, Historic Rehabilitation 101. And we haven’t even picked up a hammer yet!

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AUTHOR KATE WOOD grew up criss-crossing the country in the family’s Volkswagen Bus, visiting house museums, battlefields, Main Streets, and national parks. Today, she is an award-winning preservationist, real estate broker and principal of the full-service historic rehabilitation consulting firm, Worth Preserving. Kate believes in the essential value of old-building stewardship to sustain community character. For her, each property is a cause and each client a fellow advocate. She specializes in matching people with properties, skilled contractors, historic tax credits and other benefits to support top-tier rehabilitation projects.