Undertaking a historic preservation is no ordinary home improvement project

Maybe it is a result of our country being relatively isolated, or maybe it is due to the United States being a young country when compared to those in Europe. But whatever the reason, many Americans have never paid much attention to preserving the historic heritage of the buildings in which they live.

Sure, Americans have always considered the importance of preserving public buildings that are the seat of our heritage, but maintaining older private homes and renovating them to reflect as much of their original state as possible is a relatively recent phenomenon.

While the Midwest doesn't have a wealth of older homes as Eastern states do, there are plenty of older residences that are historically significant, whether for their architecture, former owners, or even the time period in which they were built.

Performing a historical renovation has many of the same characteristics of a regular home renovation. Yet a number of considerations must be taken into account when doing one, not the least of which is preserving the historical integrity of the home. For one, not only is there contact between a contractor and the house owner, there are often local historical commissions and related agencies with regulations as to what can and cannot be done when renovating a historical home.

"You have to marry what the client wants with what the building inspectors want and with what the historical society wants, and it's a whole bunch of battles," said Ron Cowgill of D/R Services Unlimited Inc. in Glenview. "It can be a daunting task to get them all on the same page."

If a residence is within a designated historical district, and particularly if there is some type of funding involved, local or state agencies often have a say in how the renovation can be done. Examples include restrictions on paint colors, types and color of roofing, windows, and even in some cases, the types of grasses used in the landscaping.

Building exteriors can be subject to many restrictions to qualify for funding and/or property tax breaks. Depending on the type of restoration being done, homeowners may want to replace windows to achieve better energy conservation, but may be restricted to using the existing glass, while having rotten wooden sashes rebuilt. Renovation in this manner may not necessarily be a bad thing.

"We're doing anecdotal studies that indicate that people have repaired windows with a wooden sash and are getting good (energy) results," said Royce Yeater, director of the Midwest office of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

Other times, a zealous local building inspector needs to be made aware of why certain facets, such as insulation, cannot be brought up to current code.

"Most villages work under the 2003 International Building Code, but you're protected under certain laws that allow you to do historical restoration work within a certain framework," said Joe Forssander of C & F Builders Inc. in Mount Prospect.

Another consideration in historic home renovation is to expect it to take longer than that of a normal rehab - about 30 percent longer, according to both Cowgill and Forssander.

"It's a nice accomplishment, but at the same time it's very hard work rehabbing an old house," said Tony Little of Elgin, who along with his wife, Edwina, have renovated an 1890 Second Empire-style home.

"You can't get disgusted halfway into the project," added Edwina. "If you find the right old home, they tend to have a lot of character. I feel that there are a lot of stories behind them."

Edwina should know about old homes. As a native of Wales, she has lived in several, including a 200-year-old cottage in her homeland.

A love of antiquity and old buildings in general is a common thread among those who choose to renovate a historical home. Michael and Susan Guigliano of Elgin are still in the midst of renovating their 1873 Gothic Revival home, which they purchased in 2002. The couple often spends several evenings a week, from the time they come home from work until they go to sleep, working on the renovation, which is about 40 percent completed. What started out as a personal passion has turned into a part-time business for Susan, who began Gilded Lily Historical Finishes in late 2008.

"Our house was on the Elgin House walk last year, and the feedback I got was so good that I decided to do faux finishes and stenciling professionally," Susan said.

Although the Guiglianos have done much of the rehabilitation on their own, they are careful not to tackle aspects of the work for which they don't feel qualified, such as working on the plaster ceilings or removing old gas piping once used for light fixtures.

The specialty work that is involved with restoring historic houses is often what slows down the renovation process. That's why it's important to find architects and builders who are familiar with the process, as well as masons, carpenters and contractors who can do plasterwork and sand casting to match the house's historical period.

"The architectural drawings are much more detailed and there is much more lead time involved in planning the project," Forssander said.

But another factor is finding "surprises" such as the Guigliano's gas piping or similar problems when the guts of the house are opened. It may be difficult to run modern electrical wiring or piping through walls that were not designed to accommodate them. Posing even more of a problem are "botched" renovation jobs that prior contractors may have performed.

Colleen Montgomery discovered that problem after purchasing one of the former lieutenants' homes on the old Fort Sheridan property in Highland Park. Montgomery and her husband, Chris Freeman, purchased the home in early 2008 when the original developer went through foreclosure. Cowgill's firm, D/R Services Unlimited Inc., had to resolve the problems caused by a prior contractor as well as deal with stripping hazards, such as lead paint.

"He (Cowgill) was a mastermind," Montgomery said. "You really need to love your contractor because you'll be spending a lot of time with him during renovation."

Dealing with an old house that has undergone virtually no renovation is actually easier from the contractor's perspective.

"I don't care if a house is 100 years old, that's actually easier to work with than something that has been remodeled three or four times," Cowgill said.

The Littles ran into such problems when deconstructing their home back into a single-family residence from the five-unit apartment building it had become.

"When we began tearing down some of the walls between the apartments we found that some of the load-bearing walls, which hold the weight of the house, had been torn down in the past," Tony Little said.

Structural deficiencies and care not to damage other areas of the structure not under renovation are also crucial factors in determining how long a renovation will take as well as the cost. In other words, the contractor needs to go beyond the usual care in making sure that the rest of the house is not damaged. Forssander recalled working on a Prairie-style house where the roof needed extra support.

"The logistics of getting a 20-foot-long support in an 18-inch-high area were considerable," Forssander said.

Some facets of renovation make a house not only unliveable, but unsafe while the work is occurring. Stripping lead paint, as with the Freeman-Montgomery home, or just opening walls, which can expose asbestos, prove hazardous, making most of those who restore a historic home live off the premises for a time. Colleen Montgomery finally moved into the house in April after almost a year of planning and renovating. The Littles lived elsewhere in Elgin for about six months, while the Guiglianos continue to work amid the dust.

While the goal of many owners of such homes is to make their residences as historically correct as possible, they're not going to give up modern conveniences. Kitchens and baths provide the most problems, but it can often be aesthetically challenging to fit flat screen televisions and audio equipment into a Victorian era parlor.

When the final result - or something close to it - is at hand, it is satisfying to those who have brought it forward. The process, though, is an eye-opener.

"It really humbled me," Montgomery said.

Just remember, if you want to do historic renovation, you need a great love for the past and a lot of patience. It's going to take a lot longer than you think.