Floyd Avenue: A Historic Renovation Part 2 - Demo
In our last blog we introduced you to a historic renovation project on Floyd Avenue in the Museum District that we are undertaking on our own. Today we’re discussing the first major step of any renovation - historic or otherwise: demolition.
When a newer home is simply being updated, demolition is fairly easy. Pretty much everything is ripped out and the new design can begin from scratch. “Out with the old, in with the new.” But when you’re renovating a home with historic features in a historic neighborhood for a market that values these qualities, you have to be more selective and precise in your demo process. “Out with the new and back in with the old” is often more apt.
This is where our skills really shine at RIC. We love the juxtaposition of new, sustainable, efficient design paired with historic, well-built classic features. Every old home is different, though, and certain things can be salvaged or used in one historic beauty that may be a lost cause in another. Lots of things have to be considered when choosing which items stay and go including their efficiency, safety, functionality and style.
In this particular project, we’ve been pretty pleased with what we’ve been able to save and reuse from the original home. We unearthed some really beautiful solid wood floors that with a little refinishing will be able to shine again. It was a huge win to be able to save all of this wood from the trash pile, while reducing the footprint of new materials used in the home.
Mantles that surrounded unusable fireplaces were salvaged and will be stripped, repainted and placed back into the home once drywall work has been done. Although the fireplaces will remain closed off for safety purposes, the mantles bring some historic charm and beautiful design into the master bedroom and living area.
Some of the original windows were able to be saved and reinstalled once new casing was built into the openings to make them safe and more efficient. The original stairs and banister were in good condition and with a little reinforcement will be good to go for another hundred years.
Sometimes demolition reveals design features that were probably not a part of the home’s original design, but which modern buyers appreciate, such as exposed brick. Demolition also exposed some pocket doors inside the walls that had been closed off and built over. The original doors were put back into use for this functional and space-saving feature.
When working with historic properties, demolition can be a series of difficult decisions. There were some original aspects of this home that simply couldn’t be kept. Some windows and doors had to go to improve the efficiency of the home, all of the original kitchen was demoed and certain layout changes were made to suite a more modern lifestyle. But all in all we feel good about what we were able to restore in this beautiful home.
Keep checking back with us as we continue this historic home series. The next installation will be on the changes we made to the home including a new layout, additional bed and bathroom and outdoor living spaces.