Evening star., 1937-01-16
ARCHITECTS GIVE
RENOVATION IDEAS
Imagination Is Held Need in
Restoring Old Homes
and Buildings.

pair and remodeling OF homes are
publis ed in the current Federal Home
Loan bank Review, in the shape OF
four interviews with architects ana
builders reputed to have made out
standing successes in this field. Ihey
are summarized as follows:
Interview No. L. Renovation ana
repair overlap. Theoretically, and by
definition, they ought not to do so.
but in fact they almost always 90.
If repairs are necessary. they naturally
come first very often 1 have found
that the painting and wall paper had
become dull, dingy and dirty In
considering renovation we must regard
a house almost as a personality :.
Every one expects small detached
houses to be we'll lighted and the
dominant colors bright. The pro-
spective purchaser demands this. and
quite reasonably. Unfortunately, how
ever, the prospective purchaser very
frequently does not recognize the TACT
that the house merely has dirty
face. He. or more often she. looks
at it and says, This is dark. / don't
like it.
Restored Brick Steps.
Recently I renovated small brick
house that had two steps leading from
the brick paved sidewalk to the front
door. There was also a landing about
4 feet wide, and for some unaccount-
able reason these steps and the land
ing were of wood =. they took away
from that house its essential charac-
ter If they had been twice as heavy
they still would have looked f1imsy
in front Of that sturdy brick front -.
I made many improvements in the
interior of the house, but l do not
think anv of them eoualed in i'm
portanre, 90 far as the sale of the
property was concerned, the removal
Of the wooden steps and landing. 1
replaced them with brick matching
the brick in the wall. The expense
was small item. but the effect OF
the change was startling. Now the
excellent architectural lines Of the
building are accentuated, whereas be-
fore they we're blurred. l sold the
house Immediately.
Another house was of gray stucco
that had become dark and streaked
with dirt and rust from leaking gut
ters supposed to carry the rain water
from the roof. . I made the
stucco glistening white, put in new
cutters to protect it, painted the
window blinds black, and put black
window boxes in every front window.
The effect Of this sharp contrast in
colors was to sccentuate the size OF
those excellent windows, also the
number. No one could be in any doubt
now that the place was light and
well ventilated. Instead of looking like
a county Jail, 1t looked gay and very
new. 1 sold this place readily
at good profit
Had Young Couple in Mind.
Interview No. 2: Before under
taking the renovation of a house I
always have in mind the sort of peo-
pie who are going to occupy it. I
am guided not only by my estimate OF
what their income will be. but by
their opinion on decoration and
modern conveniences.
Recently did job Of renovating
with the idea in mind that T was
preparing this house for a young
couple with one or two babies. When
the job was finished. 1 had many
applicants who wished to inspect it.
II they did not meet my specifications.
I did not even show the home. I
knew that I had something very
special and very attractive for the
sort of young couple I had pictured
when l planned the work. so l waited
until they came along. 1t had more
value for them than for any other
sort of family. For the practical rem
ovator, the creation of value Is the
only hope OF profit"
Interview No. 8: Georgetown,
d. c.. is very old and one of the
most beautiful residential sections
on this continent. There are sew
eral types Of houses. both frame
and brick. that are characteristic of
Georgetown. =. Here l have found
neglected and dlapidated houses,
originally we'll built with lines and
materials in the best tradition. l
have bought and renovated a num-
Der of those Many other American
cities, especially the older ones, have
high-claSs residential sections COM
parable to Georgetown where similar
work can be done by specialists with
equal success"
Calls for Imag inatiOn
Interview No. 4: In renovating old
buildings for new uses, the principal
obstacle I have met is the tendency
of lending agencies to estimate the
amount they would be willing to ad-
vance upon the basis OF appraisal of
the value OF the building in its di-
lapidated condition and while either
vacant or almost so. Renovation calls
for imagination and enterprise. These
qualities need the co-opera ton OF the
lender
Thousands Of buildings in this
country. now losing money. can be
made to produce more revenue than
they yielded when new. Investment
for renovation should be based upon
en- estimate of what the building will
be worth after the job is finished and
not upon the amount now unprofita-
bly, tied up in it.
Hundreds OF millions of dollars
should be invested in renovation in
this country Immediately. The hold
ers of uncounted thousands of fore
closed properties are at this moment
puzzling over their renovation prob
lens"