Cost of bring a 1890s house up to code?

How much do you think it would cost to bring a 1890s house up to code? My grandparents house needs a lot of work including a sinking foundation. I know it will be expensive but it's their only house and they can't afford to buy a new house.

Cost of bring a 1890s house up to code?
That is a very general question and no one could truly answer it as it really depends on a lot of other factors. Things such as how big is the home, how many stories does it have, is it pier and beam or slab foundation, where you live has a lot to do with costs as well. Having renovated a few homes in Texas, I can tell you that if you have the work done by professionals it will cost you more than it would to rebuild the home itself regardless of size. If the foundation is pier and beam, that is something you can do yourself. You need to find the trouble areas and find how much you need to raise it up, Purchase a jack or two at your builders supply for about $300 each and raise it placing metal shims as you go. The remove the jack and go on to the next place. A slab foundation requires lots of digging, measuring, metal shims, breaking jacks, and piers to force into the ground down to the bedrock in order to raise it properly (if you do not install gutters around the home, it is a moot point as with drought and rain it will cause the foundation to heave again). If the plumbing needs to be replaced and the home is pier and beam, it is simple enough to crawl under the home and replace the piping while slab requires jacking up the floors and cutting out sections of walls to do it properly (pros cost about $20,000 for this). As for the electrical, It could cost around $40,000+ to replace the wiring, put in a new junction box and meters +permits, etc for an electrician but you could probably do it yourself for around $10000 and that means you need to get the proper permits and make sure you know what you are doing or you might burn the house down. I think that's awesome you want to do that for your grandparents but it is going to be costly. Get at least 3 quotes for each project that needs to be done. Make sure that whomever you get to do the work is bonded, licensed, has more than a 90 day warranty and has the insurance to pay for whatever they destroy. A few hazard tips for you.....do the foundation first as they will discover water leaks and such after they have lifted the foundation especially if it is slab as any work done to the foundation (i.e., digging for pipes) after it has been lifted will null your warranty.
Reply:Hire an engineer first. They'll make an assessment and write a specification or scope of work. This could be hugely expensive. Although engineering isn't cheap, it could be the cheapest money you ever spent. Good luck.
Reply:Been there; same age of my home. The farther we go into it, the more that had to be done. It would have been cheaper to bulldoze it down %26amp; put up a new house. Foundation was $17,000 alone. Then you have electrical, plumbing, etc...





Get several reputable contractors to give bids. Make sure their names is on your local city hall's list of those with valid license and bonded with the city. If work is to be done, make sure to have cost of building permit bought by the contractor and added to bill - - any inspection problems to be fixed must be the responsibility of who purchased the permit.