The grueling process of historic preservation…
One of the major things that I didn’t expect when I bought this old house was historic preservation. As a romantic soul, I’ve always loved old houses and THOUGHT I wanted to preserve them. But as with all projects, we learn as we go, and here is what I’ve learned about saving an old house:
1. If you live in a historic home or even just a historically designated neighborhood, EVERYTHING you do to your home has to have approval.
Our neighborhood, Granada Terrace is still largely like it was when it was developed in 1925. Because of that, everything that affects the exterior of any house, has to get approval. Any new homes have to go through a grueling process before they can be built. Depending on the changes and the individual house (some are considered contributing properties AKA OLD - others were built later and do not contribute to the historic quality of the neighborhood, but still have to “fit in”) those changes have to have approval from a city preservationist, or they have to go to a committee which votes for approval, based partially on recommendations from the city staff member, And then, the neighbors within 200 feet receive notification and they can email, call or show up at the committee hearing to voice their opinions.
In our case, our windows and doors needed approval from the committee, but our pool, patio and fence should have been approved by the preservationist. However, the preservationist felt that because our property was unique she would make us go to the committee for approval. This is a pain because it adds 6 weeks or more to the process - the committee only meets once per month, and the deadline for the application is over a month in advance. We had to rush to get our application in, and then bite our nails waiting for the hearing date. In the meantime, the preservationist is writing up a report in order to advise the committee on how they should vote, but we don’t get to see that report until 1 week before.
And wouldn’t you know it, the preservationist advised the committee to deny our application - so we had only 1 week to prepare a rebuttal argument - we really had to go into this thing punching and kicking.
2. Your friends are your enemies, and your enemies are your friends.
The city staff member is SUPPOSED to be a resource for the homeowner - to provide guidance and feedback as you are deciding what changes to make. He or she is a trained historian - but not an architect. or designer. Because we have a very large open lot which fronts a public waterfront street and walkway, as well as a large park area, she suggested that our pool should be pushed back into the far back corner and be reduced in size.
This awkwardly shaped, undersized pool would not have been visible from inside the house and definitely would have felt weird in relation to the house and the lot.
So we had to start off by showing how truly far back our pool would be from the street.
We also had to show that the original architect of the neighborhood never intended for our yard to be “open and unobstructed” - its just that the Great Depression happened, and the bottom fell out of the real estate market, and he couldn’t sell the lot to anyone who wanted to build on it. He sold it to the original owner of my house for pennies on the dollar and it became his side yard.
Neighbors have opinions and baggage - and they can make the process miserable or they can save your bacon.
I was nervous at first about any backlash from neighbors, once they got their notification of our hearing. I had my next door neighbor come to the hearing to speak - after all, she is right next to where the pool is going to be. She also gave her professional opinion as a real estate agent (she sold me the house) that putting a pool in an awkward location devalues a house, and that a house of this size and value is devalued by not having a pool. I think her opinion was super important in swaying the committee.
I also got an email from a neighbor that I had never met - she owns the house that mirrors my location across from the park. Not only did she send an email voicing her support and why, but she emailed all the other neighbors encouraging support, which generated 8 more emails of support! Then, she showed up to the hearing and spoke up in support of us as well, bringing 2 more neighbors with her!!!!
One surprise was the head of the preservation committee for the neighborhood association - she met with me and did not support it - she basically quoted verbatim what the staff preservationist had said in her report - it made me wonder how much behind the scenes communication was going on there - but thankfully she did not speak up at the hearing - only sent an email.
3. Expect everything to take way longer than expected.
As stated, just the hearing part of this is a six week process. Then you have to wait 10 days after approval to pull permits - just in case there is any backlash. The architect then has to draw up the construction drawings - these are like what was submitted to the city, but with greater detail. This takes 3 weeks. At that time, then we can go ahead and order the new windows which take 8 weeks to get here. So maybe by Christmas we can get started.
In the meantime, we have had major repairs to the foundation, roof, replaced ductwork, torn up the floor and subfloor, had new sump pumps installed, new pipes and electrical, filled in a wall and torn down many others. Found lots of termite damage and dry rot, window leaks, walls that weep moisture (that’s what destroyed the floor).
We also found that the rain water sheds INTO the crawlspace, so before the pool and patio is put in we have to regrade the yard.
4. It’s going to cost money. A LOT of money. Times 3.
This really shouldn’t surprise anybody. In almost all projects, the budget needs to be re-evaluated. In this case, we thought we could paint, remodel the master bathroom and put in a new pool this year, and worry about the kitchen and some other cosmetic changes in a year or two. However, when we found the water intrusion and foundation problems, we needed to get into the crawlspace to fix those - and the only way to do that was to tear up the floors. Once you do that, the house is not habitable (which means moving into a rental) and all the other stuff that you thought you could put off needs to be done at the same time.
5. Don’t believe the inspectors, the official deed documents, or the previous owners. No one knows anything.
The deed says the house is stucco over masonry block construction - this is desirable in a location with hurricanes, termites, high tides. The walls in this house are 12-14 inches thick - so everyone thought that it WAS block construction. But it’s not - it’s wood frame. Back in the 20s house were built with balloon framing - basically the walls are thick to allow the house to breathe - important before air conditioning. A whole house fan would pull the cooler air in the crawlspace up through the walls and cool off the house.
When air conditioning was installed, this created a thermal and humidity differential - now the interior of the house is cooler and dryer than the crawlspace - so the hot, humid air rises up through these walls and condensates on the cool, plaster interior. Then it drips down the walls and pools on the hardwood floors, rotting them around the edges.
A feature of Mediterranean Revival homes is flat roofs - cool but hard to keep watertight. We also found that the caps on the parapet walls (they surround the flat roof) were not done right so we had rain intrusion.
7. It’s worth it.
Now, before you accuse me of complaining, I want to say that I am 100% on board for fixing up this house. We bought it and there is no where to go but through. I love it and am so excited to have it restored to its former glory and for it to be our forever home. The location and lot are incomparable in our area. Hopefully in time we will recover our investment, but this project really is a dream come true for me.
This home is a blessing for us. We have already learned so much and grown in ways I never thought possible.
I prayed for it - and God gave it to me. He just put it up on top of a really big mountain and told me to climb.