What renovating a century home really involves.
Long-form answers to the questions owners of 100-year-old houses actually search for — every figure dated, region-flagged, and checked against real bids.
Pitfalls · Featured
13 Old-House Renovation Mistakes That Cost Real Money
Five of these break most first-time century-home owners; the other eight are quieter but just as expensive. Each one is priced with 2025–26 numbers — and each one has a fix that's cheaper than the mistake.
Read the full list →
Strategy & Costs
Restore vs. Gut: The Century Home Decision Guide
What deserves to stay, when gutting genuinely makes sense, and the true 2025 cost of the full-gut premium — with the region multipliers that move the math.
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Due Diligence
9 Checks Before You Sign: Buying a Century Home
The nine non-negotiable inspections that prevent the $18k–$40k surprises — plus the 30-day schedule that spaces them where they matter most.
Read the checks →
Strategy & Costs
The Floor Lottery: What's Under That Carpet — and How to Win It
Ninety percent of century homes are hiding old-growth hardwood under the carpet. The two-minute check, the species guide by decade, and the sanding rules that protect the win.
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Strategy & Costs
What a Century-Home Bathroom Really Costs in 2026
From $4k refreshes to $25k recreations — with the plumbing realities that make old bathrooms different, and the fixture aging guide that keeps the price honest.
Read the breakdown →
Due Diligence
Knob-and-Tube & Home Insurance: The 2026 Reality
Why carriers are walking away from active K&T, what rewire quotes actually look like, the panel brands that must go — and the staged plan that keeps owners insured.
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Strategy & Costs
Contractor vs. DIY: The Trade-by-Trade Cost Breakdown
Twenty-five real dollar figures across every major trade — and the honest rules about what you can safely do yourself, by era.
Read the breakdown →Real owners, real houses.
Field notes only go so far — here is what the Kit's checklists did when they met actual century homes.
"The bathroom chapter paid for itself in one weekend."
We used the Kit's bathroom remodel guide to replate the original brass, reglaze the tub, and redo the courtyard wall ourselves. Living here feels like the house finally matches us.
"We went to three contractors with the audit in hand."
Chapter 01 of the Kit flagged our ungrounded wiring before we signed anything. Two bids dropped by a combined $9,000 the moment we showed the itemized findings.
"The salvage chapter saved my living room."
Found a matching set of period doors at a salvage yard for a quarter of what reproductions cost. The style guide's 70/25/5 rule made the whole room feel intentional.
These notes are the appetizer.
The Kit is the meal.
Every article here is a chapter in miniature. The complete audit, budget worksheet, 90-day sequence, and contractor playbook live in the full Kit — preview every chapter free.