In this episode

Heritage Homes

This week we are focusing on heritage homes. Jen shares the reno she is underway with on her 1880s workers cottage & we have builder Matt from Intact Construction in to chat about the intricacies of renovating heritage homes - protected or not.

 We also cover:

•  What an ‘overlay’ area is in relation to heritage homes
•  What a character home is
• The two sets of drawings builders work from when renovating a heritage home
• The era that is considered ‘heritage’ whether its protected or not
• Some of the intricacies of working on homes like this
• How much contingency you need
• What the walls are often lined with
• Wall framing materials then and now
• Why there’s an extra labour component when working in homes with high ceilings
• The difference between a cottage, villa and bungalow and how to identify each when looking at the front facade and roofline
• The impact of access issues for adding extensions and installing pools on older homes
• Why it’s especially important with character renovations to engage with a builder during the design phase
• When you need traffic management for renovations
• A stand out favourite project of Matt’s - converting a heritage hall into a family home in Ponsonby
• How much more expensive a heritage home renovation is than a standard renovation
• The difference between heritage home, heritage protected homes and character homes
• Where you can buy new colonial look finishing lines (scotia, skirting, architraves) versus getting custom made to match existing profiles
• Typical budget blowout items which are actually common problems in all character renovations
• Even with a strip out, the most common issue with these homes that adds cost
• What Matt likes most and messy about character renovations