Rich Aronson needed just one thing to complete his renovation of a 115-year-old historic home in Rogers Park: a pair of antique outdoor lamps.
He found them at Home Depot. Sort of.
Aronson simply sprayed black paint over a pair of modern white lamps. When he finished, they looked just like something you’d find standing outside an 1884 home.
“It certainly cost less than buying antique lamps,” said Aronson, a Chicago resident who is renovating six historic homes in the Rogers Park neighborhood. “Sometimes, you have to be creative when working on one of these historic buildings.”
Many homeowners shudder when they consider the prospect of renovating their historic homes. They know that state and local guidelines often restrict what they can and can’t do to their properties.
Homeowners, for instance, may have to submit detailed drawings before rebuilding a sagging front porch. They may not be allowed to replace those tiny front windows with modern bay versions. And they may be out of luck when they try to replace faded wood shingles with vinyl siding.
Other homeowners fear that local historic preservation commissions will force them to spend loads of money on everything from antique clay roof tiles to costly architects.
But state and local historic preservation specialists and renovators say these fears are misplaced. They say it’s possible to renovate one of these old houses without spending a fortune or running afoul of a municipality’s historic preservation commission. If you’re lucky, they say, you may even spend less than you would when renovating a modern home.
It’s all in how creative and resourceful you are, they say.
Talk first, renovate later
Before starting a renovation project, owners of historic homes need to research their municipality’s preservation codes or ordinances. They should also check with the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, the Springfield-based organization that oversees the state’s landmarks.
Once they research the ordinances, owners should then make appointments to talk with members of their local historic preservation board or commission. If a municipality doesn’t have one, odds are an administrative staff member is responsible for overseeing historic renovations. Owners should call their city hall to find this person.
Homeowners who don’t do their research, or who skip a meeting with local officials, may be asking for trouble.
“You should talk to your municipality,” said Caroline Dyson, architectural coordinator with the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency. “The people there are usually a great source of information. They will often know where to find good people to work on your home. They’ll be happy to walk you through the process. The sooner you contact them, the better.”
In Evanston, a city that features more than 800 historic buildings, members of a Preservation Commission oversee all historic renovations. Carlos Ruiz, the city’s senior planner/historic preservation coordinator, recommends that those planning such renovations present the city with architectural drawings before they even begin their projects.
“We review these drawings, and compare them to our city standards,” Ruiz said. “If there are any areas not in compliance, we will advise the homeowners on how to comply. That way, when they come before the Preservation Commission, it will pass.”
Homeowners can also show their properties and plans to officials with the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency. Every month, Dyson and Mike Jackson, another architectural coordinator with the agency, spend three days in the Chicago area meeting with homeowners and reviewing projects.
To get on a list for such a meeting, call the agency at 217-785-4512.
Gail Hodges, a member of the Lake Forest City Council, helped create her city’s Historic Preservation Committee last year. City officials formed the committee in part to encourage Lake Forest home buyers to preserve the municipality’s historic character.
“I’ve seen some people who didn’t even know their home sat in a historic district,” Hodges said. “Before you spend one penny on plans, you should go to City Hall. If you find out you’re in a district governed by a historic preservation commission, find out everything you can about your property before you start working on it.”
Homeowners can find out if their property is in a historic district by calling either their municipality or the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency.
Protecting the facade
Preservation officials at many towns keep a close eye on any changes homeowners make to the outside of their homes. But they may not care about what goes on inside them.
The only way to find this out, of course, is to talk with the officials.
“These people are trying to preserve the identity of the house. They want to make sure certain qualities are not obliterated off the face of the earth,” said Ellen Bailey Dickson, managing partner of Bailey Edward Design, a Chicago-based architectural and design firm. “Typically, they care about the exterior of your house, especially if you can see it from the street.”
Some municipalities are sticklers about windows, Dickson said. They may not care about the back porch, though, if it can’t be seen from the street.
Local architects advise homeowners to keep an open mind when entering into talks with preservation officials. No one will benefit from an adversarial relationship, they say, least of all homeowners.
“The majority of municipal officials are not out there trying to make the project as costly as they can,” said Mike Holmes, who owns Aurora-based Creative Carpentry Remodelers with his wife, Lynne. “If they make it too costly, you won’t be able to afford it at all. And they don’t want that. Most people think it’s a case of the government getting in there and trying to tell you what to do with your home. But that’s not the case. The state and local officials are there to help you.”
Freeze out tax increases
When Nancy Duguid and her husband renovated their historic Lake Forest home in the early 1980s, they did almost everything right.
They researched their city’s historic preservation codes. They drew plans outlining the changes they wanted to make. And they worked with people who had experience rehabbing historic properties.
But they forgot one important cost-saving measure: the state’s property tax assessment freeze program.
This program, run by the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, freezes the assessed valuation of an historic property for eight years once its owners begin a renovation project. After eight years, the assessed value gradually rises back to market level, a process that takes four more years.
In all, that’s 12 years of savings for homeowners.
“We knew about the historic assessment freeze, but we didn’t understand the law,” Duguid said. “Once we learned more about it, we found out that you can reapply for the law. It’s then applied retroactively. I would tell anyone working with a historic home to apply for the freeze. It can save a lot of money.”
To qualify for this program, a property must be a registered historic structure, listed on either the National Register of Historic Places or in a town’s historic preservation ordinance. Homeowners must spend at least 25 percent of the property’s market value on the rehabilitation project, and all repairs must meet a set of state standards known as the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation.
“This is a popular program,” said David Newton, assistant national register coordinator with the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency. “We hope it encourages people to preserve historic buildings.”
Newton also recommends that homeowners talk to their local municipalities. Some offer low-income loans to owners rehabbing historic residences.
Repair, don’t replace
Lynn Holmes, of Creative Carpentry, hates to see someone replace a home’s old wooden doors.
If she had her way, homeowners would refinish the doors, repair them as needed, and then replace them. The old door is probably made of sturdier materials than is anything homeowners could buy today, she said.
“There’s a misconception out there that you’ll always pay more to renovate an historic home. But in many cases, it’s the opposite,” Holmes said. “It’s so much cheaper to repair an old door than it is to buy and install a new one. Repairing it may take more time and effort, but not more money.”
Old windows are another item homeowners should save, added Dyson. Old wood windows often keep out cold winds better than newer vinyl models, she said.
“Don’t replace good wood windows with vinyl windows,” she says. “That’s like replacing a Mercedes Benz with 50,000 miles on it with a new Chevy.”
Dyson also encourages homeowners to save their old cabinets. If they’re in bad shape, they can simply reface them, she said, at a much lower cost. If they want a more updated look, homeowners can replace the old cabinets’ front wood panels with glass, she adds.
And if a home’s old bathroom fixtures are rusted, it might make more economical sense to refinish them than it would to buy new ones, Dyson said.
Be creative
Mike Pliuksis, owner of Chicago’s Mortenson Roofing Co., suggests another way for homeowners to save money: Check the salvage market.
What’s the salvage market? That’s where a homeowner can find old clay roof tiles from a home demolished halfway across the country, or antique light fixtures from a house torn down in nearby Northbrook.
Often, salvaged materials make perfect fits for historic homes. And, Pliuksis says, a salvaged clay roof tile is far cheaper than its new counterpart. As an example, he points to an Oak Park renovation on which he recently worked. The homeowner saved thousands of dollars, he said, by using clay tiles salvaged from a demolished house in Philadelphia.
“There is a whole salvage market out there,” Pliuksis said. “You can find doors and windows, light fixtures, trim. Often, we save a good deal of money using these products. And we often get a better match than new products would give us.”
Homeowners also shouldn’t forget to search for old materials at antiques stores and auction houses. It’s far cheaper to buy an old porcelain sink from an antiques store, than it is to buy a new one, says Rogers Park rehabber Aronson.
How much can you save by shopping auction houses or antiques stores? Aronson recently purchased an old fireplace from an antiques store. It cost him $200. A new fireplace, he said, would have cost him $2,000.
Mike Holmes, from Creative Carpentry, goes one step beyond. He encourages homeowners to learn when garbage pickup day falls in their communities.
“You’d be surprised what people will throw out,” he says. “They’re always throwing out good stuff, things you can use in your renovation.”
Is it worth it?
When all is said and done, does renovating a historic home make economic sense?
It did for Terry Brinkman.
“I bought an 1895 house in the La Grange Historic District,” said the senior vice president and regional manager with Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage. “It was expensive to renovate it, but it was a good investment. Its value increased eightfold while we lived there.”
Of course, not everyone’s so lucky. Before spending money to renovate an historic home, homeowners should study the surrounding neighborhood. If newer homes fill the block, it might not make sense to pour your money into a renovation. Buyers interested in living in an old home may not want to live in a neighborhood filled with newer ranches and split-levels.
“Our home appreciated in value because the neighborhood of older houses continued to push up the value,” Brinkman said. “The community had a certain look to it. It really helps if the home you want to renovate is in a historic district.”
The market for renovated old homes, especially historic ones, is strong, says Richard Becker, owner of Becker Architects and the vice chairman of Highland Park’s Historic Commission. This makes renovating these houses worth any extra costs they might require, he said.
“Some people feel that having their home listed as a historic landmark is like having an albatross around their necks,” Becker said. “But it should increase the value of your home. The home becomes irreplaceable. If you sell, you can price it higher. So there is a reward.”