They approached many contractors who told them to demolish the house but they wanted to retain the character of the neighbourhood and were determined to salvage it. We devised a plan to keep the existing home by moving it off of its existing foundation, excavating for a new concrete foundation, pouring a new 9’ basement, and moving the house back on top.
The challenge was an existing garage located in the backyard of the property, right where we needed to move the house in order to have room to excavate the front yard for a new foundation. Instead of demolishing the garage, we carefully dismantled it and stored the pieces off site; it was brought back and rebuilt after the home move was complete.
The house was meticulously moved off its original foundation and slid back 50 feet to rest on the existing garage slab. The crumbling 100-year old foundation was demolished and hauled away. We excavated the front yard and poured a new basement concrete foundation with 9’ walls. Once the foundation was complete, the house was moved on top, the new basement was fully developed, and the main floor was completely renovated to an open concept design, including a new kitchen, living room, powder room, and revised floor layout which maximized the space by reconfiguring the location of the basement stairwell.
The biggest feature of this home is a new full concrete basement foundation, something that is non-existent in homes of this age. Most century homes have minimal foundation concrete and many are built directly on soil and river rocks. The basement has been developed to include a laundry room, sewing room, dance studio, guest room, bathroom, and large rumpus/play room for the children. Nine-foot ceilings and large windows give it height and spaciousness rarely found in basement developments and never in houses of this age.
We completely preserved the ‘bones’ and exterior of the home and did not compromise the personality of the neighbourhood that is so often lost when an infill is put in. Many original finishes in the home were salvaged and re-used in the newly renovated areas, including wainscoting, metal heating registers, doors, door hardware and a stained glass window. The existing second floor was not touched and was completely unscathed during the home-moving process. The exterior of the home was left completely intact but was fully updated with a fresh coat of paint on the existing stucco, new stain on the front door, new windows, and a complete fencing and landscaping package. This century home is now completely sound top to bottom and will easily last another 100 years!
Not every old home can be saved. But it’s worth thinking about if your home and its unique character are important to you.
