Historic renovation is a challenging and rewarding remodeling project, and we look back with pride at an 18th century Illinois farmhouse we brought into the 21st century.

To make this home functional, beautiful and welcoming for the 4th generation of family who use it, we melded their personal history with current needs and future aspirations to craft a new home that honors the past.

Here’s an illustrated story of this historic renovation project.

To prepare this home for a 2-story addition and updated, energy efficient systems, Mosby designers and carpenters got a thorough education in building techniques of the 1850s.  For instance, as the original clapboard siding was removed, they discovered the interior walls were lined with brick! Here’s what we learned about brick nogging.

As we stripped the house down to its original bones, we discovered hand-cut iron nails and old-growth wood framing that was still plumb over 140 years later!  We learned that the building techniques of the past still serve us well today, and how building science has improved with the centuries to increase our safety, comfort and energy efficiency.

This Homer Award-winning home makeover inspired and educated all of the Mosby experts involved, and most importantly of all, the family has a modern heirloom that enhances their legacy and lifestyle.

We invite you to explore all the links above that tell this engaging story, and if you have an historic home that needs deep knowledge, understanding and skill to revive it, call us at 314.909.1800 or contact us here.

Related posts:

1. Historic Farmhouse Renovation is Complete
2. The Walls Hold A Surprise
3. 140 Year Old Farmhouse Gains New Life
4. Mosby Wins 2 Homer Awards
5. Seal Your Brick

Learn the Art of Living at CallMosby.com.

This entry was posted on Friday, July 31st, 2009 at 11:51 am and is filed under home makeovers. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.