Historic and Older-Home Renovation in Alpharetta, GA
Older houses reward patience and punish assumptions. Framing that is not where the drawings say, plaster over lath, knob-and-tube in a wall you did not plan to open, and pre-1978 lead rules that govern how the work has to be done. We plan for discovery instead of being surprised by it, and we build the contingency into the proposal rather than into a change order.
What a project like this includes
- Exploratory openings during design, so the surprises happen while the number is still being written
- Federal lead-paint work practice where the house predates 1978 — containment, cleaning, and verification
- Plaster, lath, and original trim assessed for repair before replacement is considered
- Knob-and-tube, cloth-sheathed wiring and galvanized supply lines identified and planned for
- Structural correction of framing that has moved, settled, or was never right
- Historic review coordination where a local overlay or a certificate is involved, on that body's calendar
- Window repair versus replacement assessed honestly, including what the review body will allow
- Permit package and the five-year workmanship warranty
What it usually does not
- Guaranteeing what is inside a wall nobody has opened — that is what the contingency is for
- Historic tax credit applications and documentation, which are a specialist's work
- Abatement of asbestos or other hazardous material, which goes to a licensed abatement contractor
- Matching a discontinued material exactly; we will show you the closest available
Anything on this list can be brought into scope. It is here because it is not automatically in it, and knowing that now is worth more than finding out in month three.
How this work moves through our six phases
- 1
Discovery
We walk the house and put scope and a realistic band in writing.
- 2
Design AgreementPayment
Design goes under a signed agreement with a defined fee and scope.
- 3
Design & Selections
Drawings, structural review, and every selection locked before construction.
- 4
Fixed-Price ProposalPayment
One fixed price, from the trades who will build it, with the scope attached.
- 5
Construction
One production manager, one project manager, weekly written updates.
- 6
Warranty Walk
Punch list closed, warranty handed over, and we come back at eleven months.
What this usually involves
We publish four investment ranges and our minimum of $60,000, along with what each range typically includes and who we are honestly not the right firm for. Your own number comes from the Fixed-Price Proposal in phase four, once the drawings exist.
Browsing rather than scoping? Whole House in the portfolio is the same work photographed rather than described.
If the house is an older one
Federal lead-paint rules govern any work that disturbs painted surfaces in older homes: containment, specific cleaning at the end of each day, and verification before the containment comes down. It is time and money, it is in the fixed-price proposal rather than in a change order in week three, and window replacement is covered however small the area is.
Projects featuring this work
Questions about historic & older-home renovation
How long does an older-home renovation take?
Longer than the same scope in a house from 2005, and we build that into the schedule rather than apologizing for it later. Design typically runs ten to sixteen weeks because of the exploratory work, and construction carries a contingency in both time and number.
What investment range do older homes usually land in?
Higher than the equivalent scope in a newer house — the exploratory work, the contingency and the lead-paint procedure all land in the number. The four ranges and what each one includes are published on The Right Fit.
My house was built in 1968. Does that change anything?
Yes. Federal lead-paint rules govern any work that disturbs painted surfaces in homes built before 1978, and window replacement and demolition of painted surfaces are covered regardless of how small the area is. It affects containment, cleaning, verification, schedule and the number, and we build it into the proposal rather than discovering it in week three.
What does the five-year workmanship warranty cover?
Our workmanship for five years from substantial completion. It does not cover the original building fabric we did not touch, or normal settlement and seasonal movement in an old house — which we will point out at Discovery rather than at the warranty walk.
Do we have to keep the original windows?
That depends on whether your address sits inside a local historic overlay, which is a different thing from being in a National Register district. A National Register listing is largely honorific and does not require a certificate; a local overlay does. We find out which one applies to your address before we design anything that touches an elevation.
Tell us about your house
Four short steps. It goes straight to Priscilla, who will call within one business day to set up a free Discovery visit.
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