Saving a West End Home: Preparing for the Future

Note: This post continues the Saving a West End Home series. Not everything in a historic home is worth saving. Consider the furnace. Does anyone want to live in a house with a 105 year old furnace? Especially if it was completely preserved in original condition? It’s possible that someone might, but most buyers and homeowners would prefer to have a modern furnace generating their heat. Not only is it more efficient, it’s also safer.

Saving a West End Home: Preserving the Past

Note: This post continues the Saving a West End Home series, please also see Part 1 and Part 2. Architectural details make West End homes unique and interesting, but also add to the complexity of renovation projects. Christian Winkley, of Oxford Builders, recognized that challenge from the start. Throughout the demolition process he and his team carefully salvaged original fixtures and materials that would eventually be part of the revitalized home. Do Not Disturb Many

Saving a West End Home: The Beginning

Note: This post continues our series on Saving a West End Home. Jan Klein thought about the run-down house next door again. She’d been thinking about it a lot since it was listed for sale. It was an attractive home, one with a considerable amount of architectural character, but it was in desperate need of a new owner who would be willing to take on the years of cumulative wear. As a long-time resident of

Saving a West End Home

Historic preservation is a labor of love, with individuals and small groups fighting to restore pieces of our collective past. Two families in Hartford’s West End, the Kleins and the Winkleys, have stepped up to personally commit their resources and talents to revitalize a historic home in their neighborhood. By the time they’re finished, the team will have transformed a poorly maintained and out-of-date structure into a brand new Shingle style home circa 1905. For