Remodeling an Older Home in Minneapolis or St. Paul: What to Know First
Some of our favorite projects are in the older neighborhoods of Minneapolis and St. Paul. Craftsman bungalows, foursquares, 1920s Tudors. These houses have character you can't buy new, and quirks you can't ignore.
If you own one and you're planning a remodel, here's what you should know before demo day.
What's Probably Behind Your Walls
Pre-1950 Twin Cities homes share a familiar set of surprises. None of them are dealbreakers, but all of them affect budget and schedule:
Knob-and-tube wiring. Common in homes built before about 1940. It's often still live, sometimes buried under attic insulation (a fire risk), and many insurers won't cover homes that still have it. When we open walls in a kitchen or bathroom remodel, code and common sense say the old wiring in that area gets replaced.
Galvanized steel plumbing. These pipes rust from the inside out over 50-70 years. If your water pressure is weak upstairs, this is probably why. Remodels that open up plumbing walls are the economical moment to swap galvanized for PEX or copper.
Plaster and lath walls. Plaster is a lovely, solid material, and it's also brittle, uneven, and expensive to patch invisibly. Depending on condition, we either repair it, skim-coat it, or take walls back to the studs, which also creates the chance to insulate.
No insulation. Many of these homes have empty exterior wall cavities. If a remodel opens an exterior wall, insulating it is nearly free compared to any other moment.
Settled foundations and wavy floors. An 80-year-old limestone or block foundation has moved. A floor that slopes an inch across the dining room is common and usually stable. (Put a marble on it. Fun party trick.) We check whether movement is historic or active before building anything on top of it.
Budget Differently Than for a Newer Home
For newer suburban homes we suggest a 10-15% contingency. For pre-1950 homes, make it 15-20%. It's not pessimism, it's pattern recognition. Nearly every old-house project uncovers something, and the projects that go smoothly are the ones where the surprise was already funded. Our remodel budgeting guide goes deeper on this.
Permits also matter more here. Minneapolis and St. Paul both have active inspection departments, and older homes in historic districts can carry review requirements for exterior changes. We handle permitting on our projects, but timeline-wise, build in a few extra weeks.
Keep the Character. Seriously.
Here's an opinion we hold strongly: the worst thing you can do to a 1920s house is remodel the 1920s out of it. Buyers pay a premium for these neighborhoods because of the character. Rip out the trim, square off the arches, and gray-vinyl-plank everything, and you've made a worse house.
What we aim for instead:
- Match or salvage original woodwork where walls move. A good trim carpenter can replicate 1920s profiles.
- Refinish original hardwood rather than covering it. It's usually better wood than anything sold today.
- Modernize the closed-off kitchen while keeping cased openings and proportions that fit the house.
- Put modern function inside period character: new wiring, plumbing, and insulation are invisible. That's where the money should go first.
The Payoff
A thoughtfully updated older home is the best of both worlds, and the market knows it. Homes in Mac-Groveland, Longfellow, and Como with updated kitchens, baths, and mechanicals sell fast, because the supply of well-done ones is small.
Own an Older Home?
We've worked on Twin Cities housing stock from every era, and we like the old stuff. Schedule a free consultation and we'll walk the house with you, flag what's lurking, and plan a remodel that respects the place.