7 Renovation Mistakes That Make an Old House Look Cheap

A renovation can cost a lot and still leave an old house looking flat or out of scale. Martin Kessler explains seven decisions that change how an older home reads, from the sidewalk to the living room, and what to compare before choosing replacement materials. The seven mistakes: • Ordering replacement windows without matching the original openings and sight lines. • Changing siding profiles without checking their shadow lines and trim. • Rebuilding a porch with posts, railings, or ornament that do not fit the house. • Choosing a front door without studying the full entrance. • Removing simple baseboards and casing that give rooms their proportions. • Choosing a wood-look floor from one sample instead of its pattern across a room. • Repointing historic brick with visually mismatched or physically incompatible mortar. These are planning and comparison tips, not instructions to dismantle windows, porches, or masonry. If work will disturb paint in a U.S. home built before 1978, arrange appropriate lead-safe assessment and practices. A qualified contractor should assess structural porch work and a mason experienced with older brick should assess mortar compatibility. SOURCES • National Park Service, Preservation Brief 9: The Repair of Historic Wooden Windows • National Park Service, Preservation Brief 16: The Use of Substitute Materials on Historic Building Exteriors • National Park Service, Preservation Brief 45: Preserving Historic Wooden Porches • National Park Service, ITS Number 4: Inappropriate Replacement Doors • National Park Service, Preservation Brief 18: Rehabilitating Interiors in Historic Buildings • National Park Service, Historic Wood Flooring and the Use of Substitute Flooring Materials • National Park Service, Preservation Brief 2: Repointing Mortar Joints in Historic Masonry Buildings • U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Reduce the Risk of Lead Exposure at Home Martin Kessler is a fictional character presented by an AI avatar. #oldhouses #homerenovation #historicpreservation #oldhomedesign #martinkessler