A historic home renovation goes well when you treat the house like a museum piece first and a project second. This exhibit walks through a complete renovation of an 1893 home in Brookville, Ohio, the same small town where Thrush & Son® is headquartered, and turns it into a step-by-step guide you can use on your own older house.
Read the character first, test for lead and asbestos before opening walls, keep the details that make the house itself, and update what is worn out. That is historic home renovation in four moves.
What’s In This Guide
Gift shop at the exit: talk to a local crew
A Historic Home Renovation, Start to Finish
This house stood in Brookville for well over a century and showed its age. In the project write-up’s words, the kitchen was dark, cramped and closed off.
The plan sorted every part of the house into three bins. The original interior trim and the original staircase stayed. The front porch posts, railings and trim were restored. The aging roof, the worn windows and the closed-off kitchen were updated. That simple sort is the backbone of any historic home renovation. Read the full project story on the Thrush & Son® 1893 home renovation page.
- 1893The house is built in Brookville, Ohio, the town Thrush & Son® still calls home.
- The decadesPaint goes on over paint. Systems get patched. Rooms get closed off from each other.
- 1978The line the EPA lead rule draws: homes built before it are covered by lead-safe work requirements.
- BeforeAn aging roof, drafty windows and a dark, cramped kitchen.
- NowNew roofing system, siding and windows sized for the house; restored porch; an open kitchen filled with light.
Read the Character Before You Swing a Hammer
The National Park Service’s Preservation Brief 17 lays out a three-step way to see what gives a building its visual character. It is the cheapest first move in any historic home renovation, because all it costs is a slow walk.
Stand back and take in the overall shape: roof, porch, the pattern of windows and doors, main materials and setting.
Walk up close to see color, texture and craftsmanship. The Brief warns these details are easy to lose with the wrong paint or patch.
Move through the spaces one at a time. Note the rooms that matter, how they connect, and features like trim and stairs.
On the Brookville house, step three is where the original staircase and interior trim show up. Both stayed.Curator’s note, Gallery B
Hidden Hazards in a Historic Home Renovation
Every historic home renovation should test and plan for these before any demolition, sanding or wall opening starts.
Layers of lead paint
The EPA’s lead renovation rule covers homes built before 1978, and paid workers who disturb paint in them must be certified in lead-safe work practices. Ask any firm to show its certificate.
Possible asbestos
The EPA’s asbestos guidance for families says material in good condition that remodeling won’t disturb should be left alone. Before remodeling, have a trained and accredited asbestos professional inspect, and don’t sample it yourself.
Old wiring and systems
A house this old may hide early wiring, such as knob-and-tube, or plumbing from several eras. Have a licensed electrician and plumber evaluate it before walls close. In a historic home renovation, those findings shape the budget more than finishes do.
Never dry-sand, power-scrape or torch old paint. The NPS paint guide notes a torch can vaporize lead paint. Ask how dust will be contained and cleaned up before work starts.
Windows, Paint and Substitute Materials
Three more Preservation Briefs guide the exterior side of a historic home renovation. Here is the question each one asks.
| Feature | Question the guide asks | Guide |
|---|---|---|
| Wood windows | Survey each window on its own: paint, frame and sill, sash, glazing, hardware. Moisture is the main cause of decay, so check sill slope and putty. | Brief 9 |
| Exterior paint | What kind of failure is it? Dirt, mildew and chalking need cleaning, not stripping. Remove failing paint only to the next sound layer, gently. | Brief 10 |
| New materials | Can the original be matched in kind? If not, a substitute should match its color, texture and profile. If it can’t match a defining feature, don’t use it there. | Brief 16 |
How it played out here: the worn, drafty windows were replaced with units sized and styled to suit an 1893 house, which is the same thinking behind our guide to replacement windows in historic districts. Preservation Brief 9 on historic wood windows is worth reading before you decide either way. The porch trim was restored, and our exterior house trim guide covers the profiles to protect.
Slide Through the House’s Timeline
Pick a stop to spotlight that moment. Every historic home renovation runs on the same keep, restore or update sort; here it is in order.
The porch, trim, staircase and room shapes date to the first chapter. A historic home renovation should protect them.
Photo toned in sepia as a nod to 1893; it shows the finished house.An aging roof, worn and drafty windows, and a kitchen that was dark, cramped and closed off. The bones and the original details were still there.
Lesson: worn is not the same as gone.Work order · the sort
- KeepOriginal interior trim
- KeepOriginal staircase
- RestorePorch posts, railings and trim
- UpdateAging roof
- UpdateWorn, drafty windows
- UpdateDark, closed-off kitchen
Every element got one label before work began. Write your own historic home renovation list, room by room, and share it with every trade.
Lesson: the list protects the character.A new roofing system, new siding, and windows sized and styled for an 1893 house. The porch details are back, and curb appeal returned with the landscaping.
Lesson: update the shell, keep the face.
Modernize Without Erasing
The kitchen is where old houses fight modern life. This one got an open layout, updated floors and more natural light, with finishes chosen to let the rooms keep their character.
That balance is the whole point of a historic home renovation. Put modern work in the kitchen, systems and weather shell. Leave the stair, trim and facade shape alone. For the curb side, our guide to exterior styling shows how color and detail can respect a house’s age.
Spot the Original Detail
Tap the six pins on this sketch. Each reveals whether that part was an original detail that stayed or a worn part that was updated. Spotting originals is the core skill of historic home renovation.
Original details spotted: of 4
The Takeaway Worth Sharing · Guest book
A good historic home renovation keeps what makes the house itself, updates what is worn out, and tests for lead and asbestos before anyone opens a wall.
Know someone who just bought an old house? Send them this exhibit before they call a dumpster.
Own an Old House Near Dayton? Let’s Walk It Together
Thrush & Son®: family-owned exterior pros since 1960, based in Brookville.
Planning Brookville, Ohio remodeling work or a historic home renovation anywhere in the Miami Valley? See how we handled this house in the 1893 historic home transformation, then book a walk-through for your roof, siding, windows and trim.
➡️ Schedule in Dayton➡️ View All ServicesCall (937) 833-5136 · 115 Jefferson St, Brookville, OH 45309
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- Best of Dayton 2024 Winner · 2025 and 2026 Finalist
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Further Reading
Official sources: National Park Service Preservation Briefs 17, 16, 10 and 9; U.S. EPA lead renovation rule and asbestos guidance.
Historic Home Renovation FAQ
Where should a historic home renovation start?
Start by reading the house. Look at it from the curb, then up close, then room by room, and list the features that give it character. Then test for lead and asbestos before any work disturbs paint or materials.
Does my old house need a lead-safe contractor?
If it was built before 1978 and the work will disturb paint, yes. The EPA requires paid renovators in those homes to be certified in lead-safe work practices, including one-person firms.
What should I do if I suspect asbestos?
Leave it alone if it is in good condition and the work won’t touch it. If you plan to remodel, the EPA advises having a trained and accredited asbestos professional inspect first. Don’t take samples yourself.
Should I keep or replace the original windows?
Survey each window on its own first. Read Preservation Brief 9 on historic wood windows, check the sash, frame, sill and glazing, and weigh condition against comfort. On the Brookville house, worn and drafty windows were replaced with units sized and styled for the house.
How do I modernize an old house without losing its character?
In a historic home renovation, keep the features that define it, such as stairs, trim and porch details, and put the modern work in kitchens, systems and the weather shell. When original material can’t be matched, choose substitutes that match its color, texture and profile.
Written by Corey Thrush, Vice President and third generation of Thrush & Son®.
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