Last week the Home and Real Estate Preview Be Prepared column advised buyers interested in older homes to check carefully for hidden problems.

According to a few local property owners, the joy associated with living in a historical home far outweighs the inconvenience posed by challenges. That mindset may simply be one of the symptoms of historical house fever, Debbie Shreve suggested.

Stan and Debbie Shreve admit they have a case, one contagious enough to infect friends Richard and Jill Rhoden.

The Shreves live in an over 100-year-old house on Clarence Street in Lake Charles. They’re remodeling a 130-year-old house on Moss Street, their fourth renovation project in the Lake Charles Garden District.

After Hurricane Rita, many storm-damaged properties were available for purchase, repair and renovation. That’s when the Shreves started their first project.

“We enjoy seeing an old house come back and look better,” Debbie said. “This area is coming to life. With all the stuff going on downtown, this is an attractive area to live in again. These properties sell well. We live close to the properties and can keep a check on the work.”

The Shreves admit not too many people would have bought the house they’re living in.

“It needed more than a fresh coat of paint and a change of carpet,” Debbie said.

But they couldn’t be more pleased, even as they are in the midst of working out the solution to a problem they’ve discovered after living in the house for around four years.

“We could not have afforded to have built a house like this,” Debbie said. “But we were able to renovate one.”

The Shreve’s friends, Richard and Jill Rhoden, had always lived in new houses. Richard was a builder, but Jill had always wanted to live in an older home.

“My husband didn’t think it was the most practical thing,” she said.

He did build her a house that looked old. As their children got older and the Shreves grew weary of the upkeep of the one-acre of property the couple started talking about moving.

“When the Shreves bought their house, I was so excited,” Jill said. “I was living vicariously. My husband saw the house at its very worse. The next time he saw it was at their Christmas party after all the work was done.”

Richard Rhoden made an offhand remark after seeing the house at the part that if he could find a similar property, he might consider renovating. Jill held him to it.

“We found the house right for us on first day,” she said.

Not thinking it wise to settle on the first house, they continued to look. Eventually they made an offer on that first property.

They would have to sell the house they were in. The property owner gave them only two weeks to do so.

“We sold our home in less than 24 hours,” Jill said. “It was like it was just meant to be.”

Any fear of the challenges associated in restoring their home was diminished by Jill’s husband construction skills. He built fireplace mantles and they’ve taken their time with certain aspects of the renovation.

Chad and Kim Moreno, like the Shreves, are facing a this-old-house type issue in their Cleveland Street home.

“We probably should have paid more attention to the siding,” Kim Moreno said. “This year alone, we’ve pulled off about 85 percent of the backside.”

When the Morenos moved in, they knew the siding had varying profiles. They removed damaged areas.

“This house was a mass undertaking,” Kim said. “We gutted everything.”

Insulating the house to make it more energy efficient was one of the challenges they tackled early on. Previous owners spent an average of $360 per month to heat and cool the 4,200-square-foot house. The Moreno’s have the average bill down to $180, Kim said.

It was a process, according to Kim. Even with the foam insulation and special attention to insulating around the windows the HVAC unit, sized correctly for the house, was working overtime.

After two summers they found out about how to use a thermal photograph to expose attic areas where the material was applied too thinly. These areas were not visible to the naked eye.

“We had a new home in Moss Bluff,” Kim said. “It wasn’t built as well as the house we’re in now. Living here is like living in a bubble. The office is within walking distance. The girls are in walking distance of their school,” she said.

They’re not pining for a new house.

Thermal photography is just one of the ways that historic district homeowners are using new technology and products to make dwellings meet the expectations of contemporary families.

Local contractor Mike Tremont has been involved in some of the renovations in Lake Area historic districts. He said often these projects can involve gutting the house, leaving the shell and retaining the moldings, trim and other aesthetically-pleasing items.

Homebuyers with old house fever, hoping to find the home of their dreams in one of the Lake Area’s historic districts can find information about guideline standards from the Lake Charles Historic Commission.

Subcontractors replace what is often knob and tube wiring with an electrical system that is up to code and able to handle today’s technology.

New heating and cooling microducts are now available. In the past only ten- and 12-inch ductwork made it difficult to hide new unit installations. Sometimes the ceilings had to be lowered to accommodate heating and cooling ducts. Fiber cement board siding is approved by the National Trust for Historic Preservation for replacing wood shiplap. Plexiglass insert, which are magnetically sealed on the inside, are available for retaining the old look of existing window frames.

In addition to new products, Calcasieu Historical Preservation Society advocate chair, Adley Cormier, said that good old-fashioned know-how and creativity can solve many of the problems associated with older home ownership. He knows of property owners who hired pipe fitters to retrofit plumbing and bring it up to code.

The Marcus Young home. (Rita LeBleu / American Press)