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Old 03-12-2023, 11:13 AM
 
86 posts, read 46,492 times
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I'm looking at buying a house for my family in the Boston region. Some of them are old Victorian homes from the 1870's. They are in need of work and I'm exploring an interior gut reno. Do you know a contractor with experience in this kind of project?

Thanks!
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Old 03-12-2023, 05:21 PM
 
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Ask Tom Silva: https://www.thisoldhouse.com/
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Old 03-13-2023, 02:08 PM
 
Location: Central Mass
4,627 posts, read 4,894,804 times
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1870s? Look at this guy with the new house!



Most GCs are comfortable with that age.
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Old 03-15-2023, 01:51 PM
 
Location: Needham, MA
8,545 posts, read 14,022,910 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bostongymjunkie View Post
This is his contracting company

https://silvabrothers.com/

They renovated a house not far from me in Wellesley and it looks great.


Quote:
Originally Posted by scorpio516 View Post
1870s? Look at this guy with the new house!



Most GCs are comfortable with that age.
While any contractor can certainly work on a house of that vintage, I would say those with more experience working with them will know better what to expect. AFAIK, there was no building code in the 1870's. So, if you touch a part of the house you'll need to bring that area entirely up to modern code. This might mean dealing with knob & tube wiring. It might mean reframing an entire wall because the studs are not 16" on center. GC's with more experience working on antiques know what to anticipate in homes of certain vintages.

Anyway, whatever a renovation would cost in a more modern house add about 50% to the cost for a house of that age.
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Old 03-15-2023, 03:13 PM
 
Location: Johns Island
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If you have the coin for a real gut rehab, I can't imagine finding anyone better than Silva brothers.
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Old 03-16-2023, 07:49 AM
 
Location: Central Mass
4,627 posts, read 4,894,804 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MikePRU View Post
While any contractor can certainly work on a house of that vintage, I would say those with more experience working with them will know better what to expect. AFAIK, there was no building code in the 1870's. So, if you touch a part of the house you'll need to bring that area entirely up to modern code. This might mean dealing with knob & tube wiring. It might mean reframing an entire wall because the studs are not 16" on center. GC's with more experience working on antiques know what to anticipate in homes of certain vintages.

Anyway, whatever a renovation would cost in a more modern house add about 50% to the cost for a house of that age.
Yep lots of variables. It could even be balloon framed, or it could have had it's electrical renovated in the 70s.

NFPA didn't exits until 1895. Architects didn't have to stamp drawings until after the molasses flood in 1919. The first state building code was 1975, but each town had one in 1974.
Boston didn't even have a building department until 1871 and they didn't finish their first code until 1886. But the first building code in Boston was 1818 that banned wood framed houses and was only 6 pages long.
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Old 03-20-2023, 10:22 AM
 
Location: NYC/Boston/Fairfield CT
1,853 posts, read 1,955,639 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ca1337 View Post
I'm looking at buying a house for my family in the Boston region. Some of them are old Victorian homes from the 1870's. They are in need of work and I'm exploring an interior gut reno. Do you know a contractor with experience in this kind of project?

Thanks!
I recommend that you consult with Renovation Husbands (https://www.renovationhusbands.com/boston-victorian). They are super nice and have gut renovated their own Victorian home as well. At the very least, you'll get some good tips/ideas. Please check out the website to see what they have done.

I'm not affiliated with them and I don't profit from sharing this information. I just like their design aesthetic.
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