[00:00:00] Eric Goranson: It's around the house. We've been talking about my secrets, tips, and tricks for remodeling or restoring, more importantly, restoring an old home and taking it back. Uh, so you can, you know, make sure that that story is being told, you know, told decades later, maybe even after you moved on to another house, but really trying to take that classic architecture of your town, city, neighborhood, county, And keeping it true to form because, you know, um, there's a lot of new homes going up out there that are, that are fairly cookie cutter in these developments where they're right next to each other.

[00:00:43] Eric Goranson: Because really what they're trying to do is create homes that are affordable

[00:00:54] Eric Goranson: for people. When it comes to Around the House, show us what we can help you get the most out of your home. [00:01:00] Information and education. Thanks for joining us the house show head over to around the house online. com. You can find us over there with the videos. We have this podcast, this radio show, and of course, around the house, Northwest TV show that you can stream anywhere across the United States or check it out on YouTube.

[00:01:23] Eric Goranson: Well, today we are going to be talking about my secrets to restoring an old home. And first, just kind of talking about how we do things or what I believe in when it comes to working on an old home. It's kind of interesting. And this is, I kind of take the, probably the best description is the, this old house model of it, where you go in, you're going to make it.

[00:01:47] Eric Goranson: Better. You're going to return it style back to where it was intended to be. But while you're doing all of that, you can kind of make it your own in that you can add some more upgraded features. Maybe things that weren't original to that [00:02:00] home, but make it look like it was always meant to be that way. So it's kind of the hybrid approach.

[00:02:05] Eric Goranson: It's not like you're taking this house and making it exactly the way it was built in that day. And some homes require that. I mean, if you've got some. Historical home that was done by an architect of note, you know, uh, you know, some Frank Lloyd Wright house or another great architect out there that I can see doing a 100 percent complete restoration.

[00:02:30] Eric Goranson: And that's where I think those homes should belong. And even if you're going to be putting something on the national historic, you know, list of places there, you can do something like that. But to me, I think for most people, They want to live with a home that is classic, but to be able to really have something that is livable and Safer than it would have been when it was originally built.

[00:02:54] Eric Goranson: So let's um, let's dive into here What we should do to get going and [00:03:00] the first step I think is really get the basics knocked out and what I'm talking about is is you know, you do a home inspection find out what Are the items that are really getting you just crushed on this thing. What is, what is going to fail?

[00:03:16] Eric Goranson: What is going to be a problem down the road as far as your investment. And so I'm talking about making sure that you've got any foundation issues taken care of first. Make sure you've got that all dialed in, making sure, cause you don't want to be doing work on something. And then you have to get in there and do some jacking or moving things around.

[00:03:35] Eric Goranson: And you've damaged work later on. So I want to make sure that any foundation issues or leveling of the house is done first. Second of all, and here's an important one here, get any wet basement or crawl space issues resolved. And maybe that's because there were never gutters on the house. Maybe it was just something that was always just a cellar that was never conditioned.

[00:03:58] Eric Goranson: But really making [00:04:00] sure that you have any of those bigger projects knocked out down there before you go in and put in maybe flooring or. Or, uh, or anything up above and closing it, make sure you get that knocked out. Now the next one is, is, is really taking a look at repairs or bad remodels, right? Stuff that was, was there an addition put on that was, it was, you know, somebody drug up a mobile home and attached it to the side of it.

[00:04:25] Eric Goranson: I know it's ridiculous, but I've seen it. Things like that. What can you do to kind of get the overall project dialed in? Cause really I want this first step to be as protecting the home and making sure that it will last even longer down the road. And so that way you've got just kind of the billing envelope and the foundational things taken care of.

[00:04:46] Eric Goranson: Uh, another one of those is making sure that it's all dried in, making sure you don't have any roof leaks, that things are caulked up, you know, just make sure that it's made like right now that it's ready for winter. You know, what can you do to stop damage from [00:05:00] coming in? So even if you have to redo it later, I would like to see you make sure that it's just going to be a solid foundational basis for doing your restoration slash remodeling work.

[00:05:11] Eric Goranson: And so make sure you get that dialed in and really looking good. And that way, um, you don't have to worry about when the storms come or rains or, or whatever the climate is in your area. That you can get that dialed in and that's a big one. Now the next one I think is really important here. And this is understanding the history and doing your research of where this older home came from.

[00:05:39] Eric Goranson: You know, great example. My brother has an older home in Yakima, Washington in that area there. And he knows why it was built. It had a greens hall in the basement that used to have an old bowling alley in the basement. It was a farmer's house with acreage. And it's where people would come over. It even had a little kind of [00:06:00] speakeasy that looked like it was built in there after the house is built that kind of hid things in the back.

[00:06:05] Eric Goranson: So that was kind of cool. So I really liked what they were doing with that. And so he has gone through and found the original family just doing searches and stuff. And then 1 day here, a couple of years ago, the lady who was a grandkid in this house when it was built from the, you know, it was her grandparents house.

[00:06:28] Eric Goranson: Basically came back with pictures, came by 1 Sunday morning after church and knocked on the door. They helped her up there and he got a whole history of the home with pictures, made nice copies of the pictures and got it back to him so it could be in the family, but really chasing it down. And so.

[00:06:45] Eric Goranson: Knowing the history, knowing what happened, I think is a really key important part of that. Now, one of the things you can do is you can hire somebody out there to do the research and figure out what the history is. And there's, um, Historiatic Research is [00:07:00] another one that's really good. They do stuff all around and, uh, they will do a full history search for your home.

[00:07:06] Eric Goranson: But, um, you can check into your local historical society and, uh, go back and do a title search and see if you can find who the original family was. Or building permits and see when it was built and then, of course, if you still have a newspaper around checking in with them to see if they have any old archival footage of your home, it could have been there was a wedding outside or or there was a crime across the street or something like that where it shows up and you can get some historical pictures.

[00:07:35] Eric Goranson: Of what this looked like. So there's a lot of places you can find things. Um, you know, especially in the historical stuff for the newspapers and the media, you'd be surprised what shows up. All it takes is somebody going off to school for their 1st day or something like that. It's amazing. What you can find out with that, so do your research, understand the history who is there and that will help you on to the next.[00:08:00]

[00:08:00] Eric Goranson: Part of this, which I think is really important and this is called coming up with a full plan for the project guys. I mean, really that full plan is the key right there to get that completely dialed in. If you can get that going, you're going to be dialed in on that. And I really want you to come up with a plan.

[00:08:18] Eric Goranson: And what I mean, my plan is plan out each step of this of this renovation restoration. And that way you don't do something twice. You know, I don't want you to take. Okay. You know, like we talked about earlier, I don't want you to go through on the 1st floor and go, wow, I just did the bathroom and then realize that you've got to do some foundation work and Jack things up and clean things up.

[00:08:39] Eric Goranson: And all of a sudden, you're cracking tiles that you just installed. So, really, as you go through this, if you're going to be re plumbing the house, for instance, you want to do that earlier versus later. That way you get the whole house done. And you're really thinking about what comes first, what comes next.

[00:08:56] Eric Goranson: Sometimes you got to rip things open and put new electrical. Let's say you're [00:09:00] going to put a a bidet toilet seat, you know, up in the master or a heated towel rack, and you have to run power for it because there was no power there. Or maybe the old house didn't have a bathroom fan and you need to run more power for that.

[00:09:14] Eric Goranson: So really making sure the things are dialed in. You're going to be looking pretty good. So I really want you to take some time, work through that and see what you can do. And, uh, that plan is going to be your, your game plan for this entire project. And I think that's super important to do that. So come up with a game plan.

[00:09:33] Eric Goranson: And when we come back, we're going to talk more about how to, uh, restore that old home of my secrets.

[00:09:49] Eric Goranson: It's just a team. I'll be so hot,

[00:09:56] Eric Goranson: so many people.[00:10:00]

[00:10:12] Eric Goranson: I'll show this where we have to get the most out of your home through information and education. Thanks for joining us today. We've been talking about my secrets, tips, and tricks for remodeling or restoring. More importantly, restoring an old home. back. Uh, so you can, you know, make sure that that story is being told, you know, told decades later, maybe even after you moved on to another house.

[00:10:36] Eric Goranson: But really trying to take that classic architecture of your town, city, neighborhood, County, whatever, and keeping it true to form because, you know, um, there's a lot of new homes going up out there that are, that are fairly cookie cutter in these developments where they're right next to each other. Cause really what they're trying to do is create homes that are affordable for people.[00:11:00]

[00:11:00] Eric Goranson: And we just don't see a lot of those classic styles anymore without getting into the higher end custom homes. So having something that is high end style and more affordable, which is great. And something that tells the history of your area as well, because many times something notable happened in that house.

[00:11:18] Eric Goranson: And so, you want to be able to track that down and understand it and, uh, keep the house going in the right direction. So, you know, we talked about earlier here in the last segment getting the, uh, basics knocked out as far as foundational power, you know, all those kind of things understood. And then making sure that you know the history of the home and doing the research with that.

[00:11:38] Eric Goranson: You know, really tracking stuff down, but really the most important part here is kind of the 3rd step in this, which is coming up with a full plan for the, for the project, which we had started to talk about when we went out to break. So you really want to plan it out and make sure that, uh. You get kind of the basics up there.

[00:11:56] Eric Goranson: If you're doing electrical and plumbing rough ends for the project, make sure you've [00:12:00] got it going up there. So that way, when you've got rooms that you want to get done, you've already got all the wire and everything else, run plumbing, run everything else. You don't have to go tear it back down again, or make some holes in fresh drywall just to get that new electrical circuit in there.

[00:12:15] Eric Goranson: So you want to make sure you got that dialed in, but really this is maybe where you want to hire that professional and bring them and get them installed. You can actually lean on them to help you with this. And so whether or not you're tackling, this is a DIY project. That's going to be on a number of years, or you're hiring a contractor.

[00:12:35] Eric Goranson: That designer is going to help you get things. On schedule and even what I mean by on schedule is you've got the right things going in at the right time. So you want to have that managed, especially on a longer project. So I can't say this enough. Nobody wants to do something twice. So this is where you're trying to avoid that.

[00:12:53] Eric Goranson: And then understanding the style of the home and really doing your own research to understand that if it's a craftsman, what [00:13:00] key pieces stay in that craftsman style because many times. You know, maybe you got lucky. Maybe you have all that woodwork there, but it's got four coats of latex paint on it and and all of that and you're really trying to get things dialed in.

[00:13:13] Eric Goranson: So that could be the problem of just going through and having a lot of restoration work done. You also want to know too early on here it's and this is where you want to test for lead and asbestos and make sure you understand it because if you're stripping down a front door that is original to the home and you've got to deal with lead paint from So 1965, you want to make sure that you've got that covered.

[00:13:35] Eric Goranson: So that's really important. Understand it. And in that way, you can keep testing for it as you go along. That way, you know, if you have to abate something or if, um, you know, especially with drywall, things like that flooring, you know, there's a lot of times you're tearing flooring back in a bathroom and you get back 2 or 3 layers and all of a sudden you find asbestos mastic, which is that black tar stuff.

[00:13:59] Eric Goranson: Or [00:14:00] the asbestos in the resilient flooring that's down there. So you need to really understand what asbestos material containing materials kind of look like. So you know what to test in the eras. So you can still in my area here. If I have drywall, um, from 2004, I have to have a tested. So understand what those local laws are.

[00:14:22] Eric Goranson: What the processes are, how far do you have to go when you bring in the professional and lab tests are cheap. It's very easy to do that. You can turn around and take those samples down or hire somebody to go around that knows what they're doing to take those samples and they will have to cut pieces out of things.

[00:14:41] Eric Goranson: So they will have to take some drywall texture. They'll have to take some some plaster. They'll have to take Things like that, you know, cut a section out of a vinyl floor or 2 or 3 versions of it before you go. But understanding that and having those tests done are good for you and your family and it's good safety as well.

[00:14:59] Eric Goranson: So you know [00:15:00] what you're working with and of course what it's going to cost you to have to go through and do all of that. So understand that. So now here's the next 1 here. This is kind of an important 1 to me. Understanding the history of the changes that have happened, you know, maybe there was a porch that was enclosed.

[00:15:18] Eric Goranson: Maybe there was an addition done 100 years ago, whatever. Understand what those changes were, how they changed and what did it do to affect the structure. And this is one of those things that I really start to want to lean on. If you're taking rooms down to the studs, That are maybe exterior walls, it might be a good idea to hire an engineer to come in and make sure that everything was done correctly as far as bracings.

[00:15:45] Eric Goranson: And that's the thing that happened many times, you know, in 1930s and 40s, even and beyond, uh, you know, as far as older, there weren't pulling building permits for that, or they did, there wasn't engineering. So now we've learned a lot over the last [00:16:00] 100 years of how to build homes stronger. So why not go through while you're doing it, especially if you have walls opened up to put in the right brackets.

[00:16:08] Eric Goranson: To make sure things aren't balloon framed or you can go in there and put fire blocking in. So fire doesn't go through re insulate do some of these things that are important because these are things that could save you some serious money and build a stronger house. You know, if you're underneath there and you're doing work in the basement or crawl space, you know, like, hey, I'm gonna do an earthquake retrofit because I'm in an earthquake area.

[00:16:29] Eric Goranson: So I'm gonna make sure and bolt the house down to the foundation. Because really houses before the 60s only had a few nails really holding things in that they just did to hold the lumber on there until they could get stuff in. So maybe going through and doing that earthquake retrofit and making sure that in a windstorm or an earthquake that that house is going to stay there.

[00:16:48] Eric Goranson: You know, how many times have I seen in my old house groups that I'm a part of on social media that they're like, look at this house. It was stood everything. I'm like, yeah, but that house looks beautiful and it's sitting out in the middle of [00:17:00] the street, which means someone's gonna probably come in and use a backhoe and destroy it.

[00:17:04] Eric Goranson: So the house didn't survive. But if they would have went through and done an earthquake retrofit, that house would probably be standing there on its foundation unhurt. But it literally blew it off the foundation, and that was just from a tornado. You see stuff like that with hurricanes. So making sure you understand what's going on and what the new uses are are going to are going to hold on to it.

[00:17:28] Eric Goranson: So great example. Um, I've seen many old homes that had that attic space up above that had a small, tight staircase that went up out of a downstairs hallway, and that was attic storage space. And then somebody converts that into living. Well, that was never intended or built to be living space. Cause it's got two by sixes, maybe two by four floor joists.

[00:17:48] Eric Goranson: They're sitting on a couple of walls. They meant for it to maybe have your Christmas decorations go up there and sit in there, or maybe. Something else, you know what I mean? And that's where that could be a key. And if [00:18:00] you go to pull a building permit later, you're going to need that beefed up anyway. So that's the time that you go, you know, we're going to put the proper size floor choice in because later on, we're going to want to do something with this space.

[00:18:10] Eric Goranson: So make sure that you've got all those structural things done early. So you don't have to go back and do it later. 'cause I promise you, going back and doing it later is gonna be so expensive. It's gonna hit you hard. So make sure that you've got that dialed in, okay? Make sure that you understand what has to go, what has to stay, and what upgrades you have to do before you start finishing things off around the house.

[00:18:32] Eric Goranson: We'll be right back after these important messages that go.[00:19:00]

[00:19:12] Eric Goranson: Welcome back to The Round the House. Show this where we hunt. You get the most out of your home through information and education. Thanks for joining us. We've been talking about my secrets to restoring an old home and how to tackle this stuff and um, You know, we've gone through a bunch of different processes here to help you, you know, do this intelligently and not have to do things twice.

[00:19:32] Eric Goranson: Cause you know, that's always the worst is doing things twice. And so one of the things that I really want you to think about here in this next part is, you know, understanding the changes your home has had over the years. And so going back and understanding what remodels were done, what needs to be upgraded.

[00:19:54] Eric Goranson: And really just doing a health report of the home, what you've got existing, you know, are [00:20:00] there things that you want to change back? Did somebody come in 20 years ago and become a house flipper and rip out all the, uh, uh, you know, all of the interior, uh, niches and, you know, where the. Is this a 1920s or a turn of the century house where they had really cool pocket doors and somebody drywalled over those and maybe they're still sitting in there in the pockets or at least the hardware is these are things that you really want to make sure and understand, you know, what's going to get restored, what's not and what is just going to be lost the test of time.

[00:20:34] Eric Goranson: So that's, that's really important. So make a nice solid list. And this is why I wanted you earlier on to get the, get the historical research done. So maybe you can understand what's happened. Maybe you've got a great old house that was in one family entire time, and no, one's really done a lot of bad things to it.

[00:20:51] Eric Goranson: So that could be really cool. Or you've got something that a house flipper did a, did a train wreck on. So no matter what you want to be able to understand what was there. [00:21:00] And, uh, you know, sometimes taken out. That mirror in the bathroom reveals what the wallpaper looked like or anything like that. So just understand what you got going on and understanding those changes help you make the best decisions looking backwards.

[00:21:15] Eric Goranson: So you can decide what you want to do forwards. Now, the next thing is, is pretty, is pretty intuitive here, but it's, it's important because it's things that you want to do now and do those upgrades, you know, just because that bathroom didn't have a vent fan in it. And if you're going to do a complete restoration on this house, it needs to have one back in it.

[00:21:39] Eric Goranson: And, and I say that just because it's for your health, safety, and welfare. So. When you're doing new things to the house, you want to be able to bring this up to building code. And this is something that, that I think we need to talk about a fair amount because I want you to be pulling permits on this stuff, especially when you're having other trades coming out, [00:22:00] doing electrical and plumbing and HVAC and structural.

[00:22:03] Eric Goranson: These are things that are there to protect you to make sure it's being done correctly. Now, a lot of people will throw around the word grandfathered. Well, things are grandfathered because well, You have an old house, and they're not expecting you to have to go through and update it to code. But as soon as you start a remodel, you have now done that.

[00:22:24] Eric Goranson: And this is where I really want you to pay attention to, because, you know, when they say, hey, a bathroom fan is required, it's going to be required, and in most areas it is. And the other thing is, too, especially if you're doing things outside to make sure that your house is Is energy efficient, it's a little tighter, things are caulked, maybe you're redoing siding and you're doing it correctly by putting in a vapor barrier behind it, or a rain screen, or whatever you're doing, these are important things.

[00:22:52] Eric Goranson: So I want to make sure that as you tighten this house up, that you're dealing with things inside correctly, because the more you tighten [00:23:00] it up, the more it's like a new home. And the more it's like a new home, the more things you have to do inside to make sure it breathes correctly. So you have a healthier home.

[00:23:09] Eric Goranson: And so that's going to be the key right here. So, you know, in kitchens, you need kitchen exhaust bathrooms. You need bathroom exhaust laundry room. You need that vent fan as well. And so these are all important things and making sure that you've got that house dialed into current building code is going to be an important 1.

[00:23:27] Eric Goranson: And, you know, maybe you need an energy recovery ventilator or something like that in your area. Uh, in Washington state, for instance, in the state over from where I live, and other states have it too. When you get into a kitchen remodel or a bathroom model, that's over a certain price. They require that to be installed as part of it.

[00:23:44] Eric Goranson: So now you have to figure out where to put this in your old home. And so maybe there's not a big laundry room. Maybe there's not a easy place to put it. So you really have to plan for these things early because it later on, and you come back and they go, Oh, but you didn't do [00:24:00] this or you didn't do that.

[00:24:01] Eric Goranson: Now you're in trouble. Now you're in trouble. Cause guess what? Here's what happens is now you have to find a place to put it. And maybe that's in a place that's not. Desirable. Maybe you're putting that and losing a lot of shelves in a closet someplace or doing something like that. So understand these places early.

[00:24:18] Eric Goranson: So when you're in the design phase, you can actually go, Hey, I need to make a little bit different laundry room so I can have some utilities in here. For all these other things I need to do so you can help design and understand it. So really understanding what those codes are and what those recommendations are, and this is part of that research part early on.

[00:24:37] Eric Goranson: And this is where, um, if you're putting in a new heating and cooling system, you have that discussion. And really work with that expert to get the right information because ventilation, new air coming into the home, new healthier air. Why not make this home? So it's going to last another hundred years before it needs to have major work done on it like that [00:25:00] and If you can do it and and discourage mold and mildew and stuff like that or unhealthy air You're gonna be better off and so I would go with that.

[00:25:08] Eric Goranson: I think it's really important. So understand what those are That's why people like this old house and those groups go and do this stuff is so that you can understand what's going on And, uh, and do it correctly. So just keep that in mind that, uh, that research will go a long way to helping you understand what you need to do around your home.

[00:25:28] Eric Goranson: All right. Well, next up here, I wanted to talk about, um, some things you can do outside. If you have like a two story house, something like that. What I recommend is if it's a home you're working on, why not put fall protection up there early? Something I'm going to be doing here shortly is I'm going to be putting fall protection up on my roof.

[00:25:46] Eric Goranson: So when I get up there to do my Christmas lights and everything else, I can tie off and be safe. So they make brackets and stuff like that. So it's really easy to do it. You know, nobody wants to fall off a roof. Nobody wants to deal with that stuff. And [00:26:00] so at my house, I'm going to be installing fall protection so we can do that correctly.

[00:26:04] Eric Goranson: And that way I'm safe and it's not going to be a big deal. So, uh, understand what those rules are. And you know, something, if you can do something that makes your job easier. And safer. Um, and you provide yourself some tie offs and stuff so you can get around. Why not? I mean, I hate being up on ladders anyway.

[00:26:21] Eric Goranson: Why not make it a little bit safer? So you're not going to hit the ground. And that you can run that correctly. So understanding what that is, putting that in is good. Now, one of the things I want you to think about too is resiliency to your weather conditions. So I have an older house and I say older because it's in the seventies, but this is a contemporary home.

[00:26:40] Eric Goranson: So they didn't do a great job of building overhangs. And in my six months of winter and spring weather that I get where it's rain. It really leaves the outside exposed to the, to the weather elements a lot. If you have those overhangs are really good at keeping the weather off the side of the structure.

[00:26:56] Eric Goranson: And so I have to do a lot more and keeping it clean, keeping it all dialed [00:27:00] in, making sure that it's kicking button, taking names, right? So that's one of the things you want to be working with. So plan on that in your new house. What are its weaknesses? What, what is going to help in its resiliency? Are you putting a new windows and you're in hurricane area?

[00:27:17] Eric Goranson: Maybe when you put in the windows, you want to put the impact resistant windows in and maybe your local municipality will help you pay for those because that will stop storm damage. Maybe you're going to put a garage door and maybe you want to, uh, that's on a, an attached garage. Maybe yeah. You're going to want to do something a little bit nicer that's insulated so you can keep that garage warmer so you can work on projects out there.

[00:27:40] Eric Goranson: Maybe that, that roof is in not great condition, but you want to do something that's going to look like it's period to the home, but that's going to handle 80 or a hundred mile an hour winds. So really understanding what your weather, weather conditions are, what happens, what's going on and really making something that's going to hold up.

[00:27:59] Eric Goranson: You know, for instance, [00:28:00] I love some of these systems like zip system and some of these. That if you're reshooting the roof to put, uh, you know, composite shingles or something up there, uh, or an architectural shingle that you can put that up there. So if you ever do get. Let's say shingles blown off in a windstorm or a tornado or hurricane or whatever it is.

[00:28:18] Eric Goranson: That you've got a secondary layer of protection under there to keep water from coming in because many times the rains come in And then you got the rains afterwards and it's the rains that do the big part of the damage So really trying to plan for what's smart for your house and what's going to keep you going into the next decade Or decades later is going to be key for making sure that house stands the test of time We'll go back and wrap it up after these important messages.

[00:28:43] Eric Goranson: Don't go anywhere[00:29:00]

[00:29:06] Eric Goranson: Welcome back to the round the house show. This is where we help you get the most out of your home through information and education. Thanks for joining us. We've been talking about to, you know, being the caretaker of an old home and what it takes to restore one. And this is a really great subject that I really want people to really think about how they're treating these old homes and what they're doing.

[00:29:26] Eric Goranson: And being a bigger part of your community by keeping it around for and being the caretaker of it and really thinking about this as a community treasure versus just another home. And there are there's some, you know, things that you want to do with that, that there are some additional responsibilities when you have a home like this, because I tell you what, many times these old homes have such a stack of memories by the community that is that is stacked around it that you need to be careful because.

[00:29:56] Eric Goranson: I tell you what, I have seen some things on social media [00:30:00] and I'm just going to forewarn you with this and this is a little negative and I do apologize for that. But this is something that in the world of social media, you're going to be putting yourself out there sometimes, especially when you have neighborhoods associations or things like that with social media, because 75 years.

[00:30:22] Eric Goranson: And your arborist goes, that's going to fall down and hurt the house. It needs to go. It has lived a good life, but it has to go. You take it down and I tell you what, it gets absolutely just, you're crucified on social media for what you're doing to this old house because of that one tree. And so I really want you to think about the care that you take.

[00:30:45] Eric Goranson: And how it's presented, you know, if you're in one of those neighborhood associations or one of those neighborhood Facebook groups, maybe put up a post and say, hey, I was talking to arborist a about this [00:31:00] and it's unfortunate guys. I'm curious to see what people think I have to take the tree down because it's going to hurt me or the house or somebody else.

[00:31:08] Eric Goranson: But what kind of tree should I plant? Get some community input on it. You know, it's your house. Absolutely. You own it. You're the caretaker of it. So. But if you make it a little more inclusionary, you might be dealing with a little less of the so called Karen's out there because you brought it up and it's not a shock.

[00:31:28] Eric Goranson: I tell you what, um, we run into this. You know, the worst place for this is next door and next door can be an interesting app for meeting new neighbors. It's also a street fight free for all, where when one person does something that another person doesn't, you will see the worst of humanity come out and absolutely destroy it.

[00:31:50] Eric Goranson: Like great example in my neighborhood here, and I understand this, but I finally had to turn my next door notifications to off and yes, you can do this. Because as soon as you [00:32:00] read something and you could have 200 people commenting on something. Oh lord It gets crazy is how much people blow this up But there is a piece of land down the street for me where they had a bunch of you know Not old trees, but some tall trees And they're taking it out to put some homes in there because, well, they're trying to really infill a lot into our neighborhoods here, because that's what the rules are.

[00:32:26] Eric Goranson: That's what people have voted for. And the people voted for said, Hey, we want to have a denser population. So any of those places that haven't been built on, they're really saying, Hey, before we free up more land out there, we're going to give, we want this filled in first. So of course, when you've got a plot of trees, Trees have to come down so you can get the house built and oh my gosh There are three or four hundred people on there that are you would have thought it's a family of six people that were murdered over There and I love trees.

[00:32:56] Eric Goranson: I love the tree canopy, but you know something [00:33:00] You can't have it both ways and that's the problem that we're gonna see. This is a cause and effect If we're going to be infilling these areas, maybe this area could have been a park or people could have bought it as a park. But, um, you know, a developer bought that land to put homes on it and it's unfortunate those trees are going to be gone, but it's a sign of progress.

[00:33:20] Eric Goranson: And I hate to say it this way, but if you want those trees to be gone, you didn't want those trees to be gone. You could have bought the land. That would have been an option. You could have got a hundred people together and made it a community park. Or something like that, but you know, something that's not what happened and so be very careful on these things.

[00:33:39] Eric Goranson: Um, navigate it carefully. Don't be the enemy of your neighborhood because you painted the house the color you wanted to do. And everyone's offended. Um, you know, I, I tend to just do my own thing out there, but just keep in mind that, um. When people see this, they get emotional to historic homes. So be, be mindful of [00:34:00] that.

[00:34:00] Eric Goranson: And that could be something that makes your job a heck of a lot easier when you go with it. So food for thought, guys, just food for thought on what could happen and what's good, what's bad, and communicate it with your neighborhood. And that way you got people on your back when you go to do stuff.

[00:34:15] Eric Goranson: Another thing I want to talk about here too, as well as there's going to be, um, depending on where you live, there's lots of ways to get other people's money. And now here's the key to this, and I think it's important. Sometimes there are community grants for restoring old homes, because they want them to be restored and not knocked down.

[00:34:36] Eric Goranson: That could be something. There are a ton of energy rebates out there that are coming out now and into the next year. So if you've got that old steam boiler that's running off of oil or gas, Maybe a heat pump could go in there and depending on your location, it makes sense or a furnace, uh, take a look and see what rebates are out there.

[00:34:57] Eric Goranson: Anytime that you can get [00:35:00] someone else to help pay for these changes, it's a good idea to take care of those, especially if you're already working on it. If you can get rebates for insulation, if you can get all of these things that will help make your house. We're comfortable and make it more, you know, sustainable to, to take care of.

[00:35:17] Eric Goranson: That's good. That's really good. Now, one thing I was doing here when I was doing my sighting project here, I took the sighting off, I ripped out all of the old 1970s clumped up pink fiberglass insulation, and I tossed it. And I installed in brand new rockwool insulation that is, um, you know, fireproof, so it does not burn and I gave myself a more resilient front part of my house and anytime you can do that and understand, you know, this old house again, I'm gonna go back to those guys.

[00:35:51] Eric Goranson: I give them a lot of credit. Uh, they do a really good job of using the best in technology when they're building and remodeling these old [00:36:00] homes. So really leaning on technology to give you that old world look is really nice. And I think there's, you know, if you're putting up a, you know, if you're going to be painting cedar shingles, yes, I think those details look better if you can put a cedar cedar shingle up there and paint it.

[00:36:19] Eric Goranson: Versus going with one of the composites that kind of look like it and I get it when it comes down to money painting cedar and stuff like that can be Horrifically expensive with cedar prices these days, but as an example, you're better off using the original materials But then again if you're in an area that requires in you when you replace siding that you have to put in something That's more fire resistant Then I think you're okay.

[00:36:44] Eric Goranson: I think that's a smart thing is you want to also, if you've got a wildfires, you know, this happens in California a lot where they say, Hey, that deck has to be fire rated out back. And so maybe you're not putting wood on there. Maybe you're putting a composite that's got a class B fire rating on it. [00:37:00] And that's okay because you're, you're trying to protect your home and do the best you can with it.

[00:37:04] Eric Goranson: And so I'm okay with some newer materials like that when you have to meet fire code and you're going to do something that's going to extend or give that house some extra life. So really understanding those things and, and seeing where you can get money are all great things for you and your home. So, uh, these are all important ones and then just make sure that, um, as you're going through this and you're doing the restorations.

[00:37:31] Eric Goranson: Talk with your insurance company, uh, for your homeowners, have them understand what you're doing. Cause maybe before they looked at it and went, Oh, you've got knob and tube wiring. You're paying through the nose for that. Well, as soon as you have that removed, get with your insurance company and say, Hey, by the way, brand new electrical, here's the permit numbers.

[00:37:50] Eric Goranson: Everything's good. You could start saving some money on your homeowners insurance because you've upgraded these older systems. That are safer and [00:38:00] aren't going to have the inherent problems with, you know, electrical fires or things like that. So the more you communicate that stuff with your insurance company, the better off you are that could put money back into your pocket.

[00:38:11] Eric Goranson: And that could be really good as well. And these are all things that I think are going to be very important moving forward for you and your home. And then the other one, take pictures, document it, have some fun with it. Be good to your neighbors even with it. Uh, if you've got that historical home in a small town, put it up on social media.

[00:38:30] Eric Goranson: You'd be surprised. I have seen people come up and go, Hey, I've got these two light fixtures. My dad worked on that house 35 years ago, and they were thrown away and he kept them. So a little social media sometimes can find things in your local area that were originally on your house. I've seen this happen before.

[00:38:49] Eric Goranson: And, uh, you know, you can put out into these home groups. Hey, I'm looking for this. I'm really wanting this. And you'd be surprised what you can come up with. And, uh, you know, there's a place [00:39:00] here too, if you're doing an old house restoration and you're trying to get some lights going, check out here in Portland.

[00:39:05] Eric Goranson: I just did a story on this for my Made in Northwest series. Hippo hardware, just like the animal hippo hardware. They can go through and rebuild your antique light fixtures, put the UL listing stamp on them. So they're ready for new. And, uh, they can even refinish them and put a different finish on. So if they're, if they're brass and you want to have something, that's going to be more reliable that you don't have to polish, they can do that as well.

[00:39:29] Eric Goranson: So check out the bow hardware. All right, guys, we're out of time for this episode. Stay tuned for episode hour. Number two, coming up right after these important messages.