How to Approach Restoring your Victorian House

Introduction

Not all old houses are Victorian. To be considered Victorian they must have been built roughly between 1837 and 1901 – during the reign of Queen Victoria of Britain, although the time range usually includes up to World War I. Also, there is a difference between restoring and renovating. According to Webster’s New World Dictionary of the American Language (1975):

• Renovate. to make fresh or sound again as though new; clean up, replace worn parts in, repair, rebuild, etc.
• Restore. 1. to give back something that is taken away or lost; 2. to bring back to a former or normal condition, as by repairing, rebuilding, etc.

The latter goes beyond just bringing an old house into habitable condition – it means going a bit further and transforming its appearance back to what it was first built. Of course, you will include indoor bathrooms and central heat and, probably, air conditioning, so the old house will have to be a bit accommodating.

Christopher Evers in his book, The Old-House Doctor, The Essential Guide to Repairing, Restoring, and Rejuvenating Your Old House (2013) describes that much of the insensitivity many architects demonstrate to old house commissions by asking the question, “what serious artist would be eager to rework a canvas another painter had begun?” “Many architects have simply succumbed to the temptation to ‘paint’ the old work out and begin again with their own design.” I can’t think of a better way of describing this mindset – perhaps ditch the architects?  Or use them sparingly. Note: a valuable painting can be restored and so can the eye-catching appeal of your house.

Know which path, renovation or restoration, you are going to follow and plan accordingly.

Evers, also, echoes my own thoughts regarding the approach to restoring your old house: it’s up to you, to “supply the overview that will hasten the recovery and safeguard the health of the body and soul of your old house.” Hire experts if you need them, read all you can on restoration, and research, research, research!

The National Park Service has some excellent resources such as their Preservations Briefs available on at Preservation Briefs - Technical Preservation Services (U.S. National Park Service). These documents provide information on preserving, rehabilitating, and restoring historic buildings and to help historic building owners recognize and resolve common problems prior to beginning any renovation/restoration work.

Identify Potential Problems

When you bought your house, you probably had it inspected to identify the most obvious problems upon which you made your decision to purchase. But there are always surprises, always. Put on your deer-stalker cap, grab your magnifying glass and look for the clues. If you do not address these critical issues, all work that follows may be a waste of time, money and other resources. As the fictional Victorian detective Sherlock Holmes said in A Scandal in Bohemia:

“It is a capital mistake to theorize before one has data.  Insensibly one begins to twist facts to suit theories, instead of theories to suit facts.”

Don’t make ‘capital’ mistakes.

Even if the house looks structurally sound -- no bowed walls, no sagging roof line it could be beneficial to bring a structural engineer and architect that specializes in historic buildings. Before you call them in, though, examine the house yourself to identify potential additional problems.

Diseases and Pests in Wood Components

Look at all exposed wood in the attic, basement and walls.

Wood-destroying fungi (wet rot).  Identified by the crumbly nature of the wood. You may be surprised to hear that there is no such thing as dry rot. All fungi require moisture to thrive; once the moisture is removed, the damage stops, although the damage remains. (keep moisture below 20%), [1]

Subterranean termites. Extensive galleries with the grain and earthlike shelter tubes.

Dry wood termites. (not common in the United States). Extensive cavities across the wood grain and piles of partially digested wood.

Carpenter ants. Galleries excavated with the grain, often where timbers join. Look for piles of coarse sawdust. You will often see large black ants.

Carpenter bees. Clean holes in unpainted cornices and outside woodwork. You will see half-inch holes. 

Powderpost beetles. Meandering tunnels with and across the grain. Infests the sapwood of hardwoods (including oak, ash, maple). Look for small holes and fine floury sawdust.

Anobiid beetle. Meandering tunnels with and across the grain. Usually infests the sapwood of pine, fir, spruce and hemlocks. Look for small granular pellets.

Old-house borer. Tunnels with and across the grain. Infests the sapwood in pine, spruce, hemlock and fir. Look for small holes and fine floury sawdust.

These problems could lead to a sagging roof line and necessitate replacement of roof support components, not to mention that rotting wood allows more moisture to invade, resulting in an endless cycle of structural decay. The same goes for wood of the walls and the floors.

Deterioration and Cracking of External Brick or Stone

Look for crumbling and spalling bricks and missing mortar in exterior walls. These will need to be replaced using good salvage bricks or new ones that match. Very important – if repointing use lime mortars, Portland will not match and give the work an amateurish look, and more importantly, it is destructive to bricks.

Cracks in bricks and stone if severe, may indicate subsidence, foundations that are too shallow, or structural alterations e.g. wall removal, have created new stresses due to the remaining support having to accommodate all of the load. A structural engineer can assess the mode and manner of the cracks and suggest remedies. Subsidence can also be the result of incorrectly place downspouts which can weaken the integrity of the supporting soil. Also, water around the foundation can weaken the support of the enclosing foundation soil.

Check to see if the existing external siding covers original wooden siding that may be in overall good shape. Check carefully for evidence of water and insect damage. Assess if it can be rehabilitated with some replacement wood. No need to say it, but fix the moisture and infestation problems before proceeding.

Other problems with exterior walls such as bowing, leaning or ‘swayback’ walls indicate structural problems, and should be looked at by a structural engineer to determine the cause and the appropriate ‘fix.’

Basements

Look to see if downspouts drain away from the house. The previous owners of our brick Victorian Italianate had the downspouts directed into the ground beside the stone foundation! Much of the mortar was missing between the stones and some of the brickwork setting on it was crumbling and rotten – in one spot, the previous owner had merely stuffed rags into a gap where bricks were entirely missing! We replaced leaking downspouts to direct the flow away from the house, replaced the mortar between the stone and repaired the brickwork. What a difference!

Also, the same owner had covered the distinctive brick archways in our basement with white 1970s-vintage paneling. Ugh! As the basement was damp from the water around the foundation, the moisture seeped into the base of the paneling resulting in mildew. When we removed the paneling, the lower two and a half feet of the brickwork needed repointing, which I did. In other areas, the paneling hid portions of the arches where the bricks had been smeared with Portland cement. I was able to remove most of it, but stopped in places where the Portland was bringing the face of the brick with it. These people had not a clue.

Damp basements and mortar loss may be due to other causes: e.g., you are located at the lowest point on a hillside or proximity to a stream, leaks from water lines, etc. You may have to installed French drains or similar solution, or install a sump pump. You want to prevent weakening of basement foundation walls. If you notice bowing and cracking, seek a structural engineer, if the basement goes, so goes the house. After identifying and remediating water issues around your foundations, if you have a beautiful stone wall, consider leaving it exposed to show the beauty of the stone -- originally, basement walls were covered with plaster and painted white; later owners may have covered it probably badly. Most Victorian basements were dirt or partially bricked. Your Victorian homes has probably had a cement floor added. Check for cracks and water seepage. If water is around your foundation, it will be under your floor. Repair and seal cracks and seal it.

Finally, make sure the ground around your house slopes away from and don’t plant trees and shrubs too close to you house; if there are any remove them. Roots will damage and weaken the foundation.

Windows

Often the decorative embellishments around windows have been removed because one is missing and it’s easier to remove them all rather than replace just one. A pet peeve of mine is that some owners cover some windows, alter the size and shape of others and totally replace the entire window frames and sills. This changes the entire look of the house, not always for the good. I just see a sad house.

If the wood was rotten due to moisture and invasions of fungi and insects, understand the need to replace; however, chose something other than plain, sterile-looking (and possibly cheap-looking) replacements. If the source of moisture and insects has not been remedied, the damage may spread beyond the windows.

Consider uncovering some of those windows and letting the light shine in – that’s why the windows were as large and plentiful as they were. They were designed before the days of air conditioning and artificial lighting to allow light to enter different rooms during different times of the day, and by raising and lowering windows you could promote air flow and cooling in the summer. Consider replacing the existing window ‘replacements’ with replicas of period windows, with embellishments, appropriate to the style of your house. You’ll get the charm of the old with the performance of the new. Double-hung sash windows were de rigueur in the 19th century.

Internal Floors and Walls

Your floors are probably covered with old carpeting, old linoleum or old vinyl. If your house is Victorian, the floors are probably of soft pine and were meant to be covered. Pull up the old flooring coverings to reveal what lies beneath.

As always, examine for water, fungi and insect damage and replace boards where needed. Look for loose boards and nail them back in place. Are your floors a little uneven or slant a bit? A little bit is ok. Too much could be a problem. This can be fixed as long as you know the cause and make the appropriate repair.

Walls of the time were covered with lath and horsehair plaster. Most ‘renovators’ remove it and replace it with wallboard. You ‘restorers’ will replace it with original materials. If it’s in good shape, leave it and save yourself some work. If internal walls have been removed, do you put them back? Walls, especially on the first floor, were removed in past decades in order to create an “open plan,” but if a support wall has been removed, it may be a failure in the making. Structural movement and cracking may have been disguised by later wall coverings and repairs. A structural engineer can make that determination. Victorian homes were designed with discrete rooms for specific uses, so putting a wall back would be true to the spirit of the house.

Moldings, Trim Work and Staircases

If there are original moldings present, keep them. They will add to the ambiance of your finished house. They probably have been removed, but replicas of ones appropriate to your house style are available. Center ceiling medallions with a chandelier are a timeless accent to your rooms.

Hopefully, a previous owner did not pull out all the original wood trim work. It probably would have been painted pine, so removing it makes no sense to me, just repaint it. If portions of it have been removed and original sections remain, have new ones made to match. Original trim provides character, a certain je ne sais quoi, that many contemporary houses, constructed in the minimalist style, do not have. Victorian homes were anything but minimalist.

Staircases were most commonly constructed with wooden treads, risers, balusters, newel posts, and handrails. Keep them if you’ve got them. These could have been replaced if the steps were rickety with loose balusters. Rickety balusters and railing can be re-tightened. Another problem that you might see is weakening from fungal rot and insect infestation. These steps will need to be replaced. Modern staircases are available that can mimic the Victorian look; however, be aware that they are made to modern safety standards with respect to the slope of the stairs, width of the treads and heights of the risers. With a good contractor you can make it work.

Parting Thoughts

There is more that can be discussed regarding your Victorian house project; for example, in this article I did not discuss roofs here other than to mention damage to its support by fungi, moisture, and insects, but, take care with it also. It serves as the crown to your regal house – your home in the making, your castle.

This may seem all too much. You may feel as if there is, in the words of the 18th century Scottish geologist James Hutton (1726 – 1797): “no vestige of a beginning – no prospect of end.” Hutton was talking about how things never stay the same -- how earlier evidence in the geologic record was overwritten by later events. So too, aspects of your house may have been “overwritten” by previous renovations, building additions, removal or addition of porches, and sheer neglect. Your research will tell you with some degree of accuracy how your house should look -- inside and out. There is the prospect of a wonderful ending!

Along with the National Park Service’s Preservation Briefs, the references below provide an abundance of good information and excellent advice.

-- Joan Hawk, Researcher and Co-Owner Bedford Fine Art Gallery, January 17, 2025; Use only with the permission of Bedford Fine Art Gallery.

References:

• Evers, Christopher, 2013, The Old-House Doctor, The Essential Guide to Repairing, Restoring, and Rejuvenating Your Old House, Skyehorse Publishing, Inc., NY. 
• Johnson, Alan, 1991. How to Restore & Improve Your Victorian House, David & Charles, Newron Abbot, London.
• McAlester, Virginia and Lee, 2012, A Field Guide to American Houses, Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., New York.
• Rock, Ian, Alistair, 2015, The Victorian & Edwardian House Manual, Haynes Publishing, Somerset, UK.
• Rusk, Katerine, Knight, 1982, Renovating the Victorian House, 101 Productions, San Francisco, CA.