Sequence the work in this order
Doing it out of order is the most expensive mistake in historic renovation.
- 1. Water
- Roof, flashing, gutters, downspout discharge, grade, and foundation drainage. Everything else fails if this is unresolved.
- 2. Structure
- Settlement, framing repairs, rotted sills, and any prior addition that was under-built.
- 3. Systems
- Electrical service and rewiring, plumbing supply and waste stacks, HVAC zoning and duct routing through a house never designed for it.
- 4. Envelope performance
- Attic and crawl insulation, air sealing, window restoration and storms — done in ways compatible with a breathable masonry wall.
- 5. Plan changes
- Kitchen relocation, primary suite, mudroom, and any addition. Now the walls can move without undoing new work.
- 6. Finishes
- Plaster, millwork, floors, tile, lighting, and hardware. The part everyone wants to start with.
Additions that work
The reliable move in Eastover is a rear or side wing that steps down in ridge height and reads as subordinate to the original block, connected by a short link. It keeps the street facade intact, allows a genuinely modern kitchen and family space, and preserves the proportions that make the house good.
The unreliable move is expanding the main block upward or forward. It changes the house's relationship to the street permanently and is the most common reason a renovated Eastover house feels wrong.
What to leave alone
Original plaster in good condition, quarter-sawn oak floors, paneled doors and their hardware, mantels, stair details, leaded and true-divided-light glass, and mature trees. These are the things that cannot be bought back at any price once removed.
Painting exterior brick is the decision to think hardest about. It can be handsome, it is effectively irreversible, and on soft historic brick the wrong coating traps moisture inside the wall.