When they are well-maintained, historic residences can be a truly delightful asset to a community. These great, stately homes possess a certain charm and elegance that only the passage of time can bring about. However, the passage of time can also be an older home’s downfall. If not properly kept up, a historic property can very quickly lose its value, cause neighboring properties to depreciate, and become the homeowner’s worst nightmare.
If you own such a home, keeping up with routine maintenance will go a long way toward protecting your financial investment in said property. After all, it takes a very special person to provide the care that a grand old home needs, and faithfully attend to the maintenance it requires. Whether you are planning to live in your historic residence for years to come, and just want to update an aspect of your living space, or you are thinking of putting it on the market, finding the right residential remodeling contractors in Maryland to help you with the task may be the most important decision regarding your home that you can possibly make.
When securing professional services to maintain, or remodel and upgrade your historic home, you have several options:
- DIY – If you are extremely handy, you could try to tackle many improvements yourself, however, given the historicity of your residence, and the costliness of making mistakes, we do not recommend any novice tackle any job involving a truly grand historic home. The stakes are high, and the pricelessness of your home means mistakes are costly.
- Hire a Handyman – Many handymen have a vast amount of useful knowledge when it comes to residential maintenance or remodeling. However, caution should be used when hiring a handyman to perform work on a timeless, historic home. A handyman is not required to be licensed, bonded, or insured. If you choose to hire a handyman to complete your project on your historic home, we recommend hiring one that has been properly vetted, such those with Hopkins & Porter.
- Hire a Residential Remodeling Contractor – If you are serious about taking proper care of your older home, a contractor can be your biggest asset. By hiring a contractor, you are generally hiring someone to handle every aspect of your project, from start, to finish. A contractor is licensed, bonded, and insured, and has the professional expertise to handle any surprises your older home throws his way. Furthermore, a contractor will be able to point out any problems with your plans, and can suggest improvements for your approval. General contractors supervise all the work, will order all needed materials, and will obtain all the required building permits.
No matter how old your home is, when it is put on the market, it will be judged relative to homes in the area that are similar in size and design. Modern upgrades are always taken into consideration, and although a true lover of historic homes will not be satisfied with any other type of house, he or she will still desire and expect it to possess a degree of modern upgrades. Whether your older home has stairs that are too steep, not nearly enough closet space, a kitchen that is too small, or a shoddy addition that was added years ago by a former homeowner who had no idea what they were doing, the friendly professionals at Hopkins and Porter are standing by to help.
Since 1977, our architects, remodelers, and home builders have been serving residents of the Maryland and D.C. area, providing quality work at a price you can afford. To learn more about maintaining, remodeling, or upgrading any part of your historic home, while still keeping true to its original periodic design, contact us today!
