Over 25 years of restoration work on century-old home has 
taught Omaha couple a thing or two.

“You learn from screwing up,” Paige said.

The Lewises, now in their early 50s, bought their house in 1990. Built in 1904, the house needed a lot of work. To date, they’ve worked on almost every room in the house.

“We made so many mistakes,” Mike said.

They should have never torn out some of the plaster walls and replaced them with drywall, he said. They could have saved themselves hours of work by stripping painted-over wood trim in place, instead of tearing it all off the walls to do the work. They should have kept the hardware for some of the original windows they replaced. The list is long.

Nowadays, they’re trying to do their house justice. They want to honor its history and they’re willing to learn some new tricks or hire the right person to make it happen.

They credit much of that enlightenment to Restoration Exchange Omaha’s Restore Omaha conference. To be held this weekend, the conference brings old-home craftsmen and owners of old homes together to make connections and share tips.

“It’s just this great networking and support group,” said Kristine Gerber, executive director of Restoration Exchange Omaha. “It’s like family now. I know I’ll always see Paige walking around the halls.”

Paige has been to every single Restore Omaha conference, except one when she was sick. She and Mike learned to repair plaster there, and they learned the value of repairing old windows instead of replacing them.

The skills and knowledge would have come in handy when they first got the keys.

Off-white paint was slathered in layers over original woodwork and doors. Office-style carpet was glued over laminate on top of original wood floors, including the dark and unwelcoming kitchen. Aluminum siding on the house diminished its curb appeal, which is today arguably the house’s greatest strength.

Some walls, when Mike tore into them, had scorch marks. The roof had five layers of asphalt roofing, plus cedar shakes underneath.

They started in a front room and a dining room, gutting, insulating and adding drywall.

They then opened up a wall in the kitchen, rebuilt existing stairs and installed skylights where a drop ceiling once was. They installed a wrap-around porch out front with columns, by Mike, and they removed the aluminum siding, exposing original lap siding.

One room at a time over a quarter century, they patched up the old house and added color and warmth, using pieces from antique shops and thrift stores to fit the era in which the house was built.

But some projects were just too time-consuming. After attending the conference, they learned to let go a little bit, to make sure it was done right, and faster.

“We would just get so overwhelmed,” Paige said.

So they called craftsmen they met at the conference, including David Lawrence, and they offered to pay him a fixed sum per week. Do what you can for that amount in that time, they said, and we’ll see where we get over time.

Lawrence, who has 15 years doing restoration work and more years working as a contractor, estimated that his crews spent 1,000 hours just working in the Lewis’ hallway with the grand staircase.

He remembers feeling the same way about his own home as the Lewises did when they came to him for help.

“My story was like theirs, where you get into it, it’s a big house and you have to learn it,” he said. “How do you learn it? Trial and error. I spent years trying to figure all that stuff out.”

Work continues on the Lewises’ house, and may continue forever. This spring, they plan to re-deck the wrap-around porch, and Mike and Paige are still working on the entryway and front parlor, with the basement set as a future project for a man cave and workspace.

In total, including the $39,000 purchase price in 1990, they’ve spent about $175,000 on their house. They want to leave it in good shape for future residents.

It’s not just about their house.

“We want old neighborhoods to be livable and vibrant,” Paige said.

They’re considering taking on another project. They’re trying to acquire the condemned property across the street to fix it up, too.

They have the confidence to do it now. When they bought their South Omaha house, with the slathered-on paint and the termite damage, they bet on themselves and they bet on their neighborhood. And, mistakes aside, they love what they’ve accomplished. That’s why they want to do more.

“You don’t have to find one of those neighborhoods you heard of,” Paige said. “We looked at Field Club or Dundee, but we couldn’t afford to live in a name-brand neighborhood. Just find an old house.

“We had no idea, but this has turned out to be the best place ever.”

RESTORE OMAHA CONFERENCE AND EXHIBITION

What: Conference for property owners, community leaders, developers, architects and real estate agents

When: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday (reception Friday)

Where: Institute for the Culinary Arts and Mule Barn at Metropolitan Community College, Fort Omaha Campus, 5300 N. 30th St.

Tickets: $50 for the conference, $75 for both the conference and the Friday reception. Discounts for Restoration Exchange Omaha members.

Keynote: “Why Old Places Matter” by Tom Mayes, vice president and senior counsel for the National Trust for Historic Preservation

More info: restoreomaha.org

Original Article: http://www.omaha.com/living/over-years-of-restoration-work-on-century-old-home-has/article_12dcb9d4-d993-54f3-9f5a-9bfd7c3b1cbc.html