I loved our home the first time I saw it listed. The first time, we were no where near thinking about moving – we just liked to look. But I kept going back to this listing. It was out of our price range but something kept drawing me to it.
The second time I saw it listed (it had been taken down for about a year or so), I showed it to Tom – the price has been significantly reduced (which we found out later was due to separation). He was skeptical, but we had gone to see another house that same week that was not for us at all so he was willing to look. It had more land and was in a desirable neighbourhood close to ours, so the kids could attend the same school. All things that were looking for – but perhaps him not so much with the “old” part.
The moment we walked in, that was it for me. The smell, the character, poor Tom didn’t have a chance. He liked it, but was worried – and I had to essentially beg him to take a chance on my feeling. And I will forever thank him for that because since then, this house has truly felt like home.
There were concerns, of course. Some things to keep an eye on – but the inspector assured us that aside from a few minor things, the house was in remarkably good condition. The different owners over the years had maintained it well, did the right upgrades for the most part, in terms of structure and interior design. We felt pretty secure in our decision, and we still do.
So we went ahead with our backyard project last year, and have projects planned for this year to continue to improve the home for our needs/preferences.
However, don’t let the above fool you. There are still things that need to be done that are less than desirable and can f*ck up our plans. And that’s what I want to share in this post – the not-so-great parts of owning a centennial home.
For example, many of the interior and exterior cosmetic renovations were done in haste – rather than the right way. We still have tons of exterior lights that don’t work and switches that don’t attach to anything. The siding was painted over multiple times without sanding it down first, leading to peeling and chipping (which I had shared last year). Same with some of the mouldings – which is quite annoying when it gets a small nick and the dark wood door underneath is exposed (I kind of wish they would have kept the original colour). In some cases, this adds to the charm, in others, its not nice at all and adds to our workload here.
One of the things we were aware of, but unaware of the consequences was the poor or lack of insulation in some areas of the house. For example, the exterior wall of our bedroom has no insulation. We don’t notice it but I’m sure it contributes to our higher electricity bill. However, last spring, and now this one, we are feeling the impact of the poor or missing insulation on the front part of the second floor – which is causing ice-damning and consequently water infiltration during the thaw.
We had water come in last year, we caught it immediately so were able to get away with zero permanent damage – we had the roof cleared and the structure dried out and fixed the cosmetic damages. The roofer said the roof was fine and chalked it up to a bad winter of ice accumulation – which it was – the number of ice storms last year by far exceeded previous years (at least from my recollection).
This winter, we looked into the cables that melt roof ice (which many people in the area actually have) but decided instead to try to just stay on top of clearing it for this year and see how it goes. Last year was our first winter, our roof is not steep, and we were not used to it so we chalked it up to just being naive, new centennial homeowners.
Then today, while discussing the upcoming 2nd floor renovation, we noticed the water infiltration again – this time in the room that’s now intended to be the walk-in closet for both girls.
Then later in the day, water came in at the same location as last year. The reason – ice damming again. We realized that there is no avoiding it now, we need to focus on the insulation this year as a project.
And in the meantime, Tom needed to get up on the roof and clear ICE, ICE, BABY. (get it??…I know, I’m old)
Luckily, this only impacts the front wall and ceiling area of the house – the rest of the insulation in other parts of the house had been updated and there are no ice damming issues anywhere else. So once we fix this, we will be good. And part of our project already considered that we would re-do the insulation in that walk-in closet because we were sure that it wasn’t that great. So it was partly in the plan
However, the reality remains that this is just one of the things we know we have to get to in the next few years. That we know of. And while luckily we are able to do most of the work ourselves (except actually doing the spray foam), this doesn’t negate the fact that likely the cost of this will knock some other renovations we had planned for this year, essentially off the list.
So its pretty much decided that since last year we focussed on the major backyard project, this year will be focussed on the interior second floor for the major project. Maybe if we are lucky, we will get to do a bit in the basement but we are effectively cancelling all exterior projects for the year.
And unfortunately, much of the project for this year will be less about the pretty and more about the function. Hopefully if this goes well, our electricity bill will go down which will allow us to save for the next projects.
I should probably get to the point of this blog point sooner rather than later. My point is that in a world of social media where individuals and company’s are sharing their inspiring images of their homes (new & old), renovations, DIY…just remember that it is not all glamourous. The reality remains that older homes also require a lot of investment on things that aren’t so pretty and share-worthy. And those things have to get budgeted in too – and often have to take priority over the funner, and more beautiful projects.
I posted a picture recently on Instagram with a message around loving your home as is and I want to bring that point back. The most important thing is that you actually have a solid home to live in, one free of drafts and mold, that can keep you dry and has safe electrical and heating systems. You will never find these projects on a glamour shot on Instagram but they are critical. So if you need to do these things in your home, its ok. Be happy that you are aware and can do something about it.
The cosmetic things can wait, you and your family’s safety and comfort can not. So just know if you are thinking about purchasing an older home for whatever reasons (nostalgia, investment, lifestyle) unless it has been gutted completely and all the structure has been re-done, it will likely need a lot of TLC on the regular, for things not so fun – ie electrical, insulation, leaks, plumbing, etc. Its par for the course, but also part of the charm – finding ways to modernize the structure, while keeping the history,
I struggled a lot with whether to post this or not, worried that it could impact perceptions of our home in the future. However, I feel that by just posting the pretty things in our home, I’m not doing you my reader’s, justice – not sharing the truth and essentially putting blinders on you as to the real deal that comes along with purchasing a century home.
So I hope this helps as a reminder to know what you’re getting into if your considering purchasing an older home – even with an inspection – I think its wise to be prepared for more maintenance and surprises than your average home.
I would love to hear any experiences you may have had in the comments. That or questions – maybe you are considering purchasing and older home? Please share any feedback in the comments below.
Thanks so much for reading. And if you think anyone else could benefit from this, feel free to share this post with others.
Leave a Reply