Two things at once. Preservation rules that govern the exterior, and older systems hiding inside the walls. A newer build in Davenport or Winter Garden does not carry either burden. A historic Lakeland home does.
In districts like Lake Morton, the character of the street is protected, so what you can change on the outside is limited by design. The street sets the rules. Inside, you are working with a house that has decades of systems and materials still in place. At Guy A Remodeling, we have restored award recognized homes in Lakeland, so we plan for both realities from the start. We have done this before. Homeowners looking into remodeling in Lakeland should expect a slower, more careful process than a modern build.
That dual challenge is exactly why a historic remodel is not a job for a crew that only builds new. The two jobs pull in opposite directions. You need someone comfortable protecting a plaster wall and updating an electrical panel in the same house, on the same day. Those two skills rarely live in the same crew, and on a historic home both are required from start to finish.
Own a historic Lakeland home? Call (407) 460-8588 or reach out to our team to get started.
More than most owners expect. Siding, roof color, windows, and columns all fall under review. On the outside, the preservation guidelines drive the decisions.
The width of the siding, the color of the roof, the style of the windows, the shape of the columns, all of it has to fit the period and the district. When we restored the Warren House, matching the original details was as much of the job as the construction itself. You do not get to pick whatever you like at the store. You match what was there, or you get as close as the code and the materials allow. That exacting work is what earns the preservation recognition in the first place.
Getting these details wrong is expensive, because a review board can make you tear out and redo work that does not fit the district. So we document the originals, source materials that match, and check the plan against the guidelines before we order anything. On a historic exterior, measure twice is not a saying. It is how you protect the budget from a costly do over.
Outdated systems and original craftsmanship worth saving, side by side. Behind the walls of an older Lakeland home you meet outdated electrical, aging plumbing, and often no central HVAC at all.
There is plaster instead of modern drywall, and original trim that has to be matched if a piece is damaged. On the Butler House the challenge was updating what had to change while protecting what should never be touched. Both have to happen at once. We bring the systems up to something safe and livable and preserve the details that give the home its value. New flooring in a historic home, for instance, has to respect the original subfloor and the look of the era.
We sequence the interior carefully around what stays. Original trim gets removed, labeled, and reinstalled rather than tossed in the dumpster. Aging systems get brought up to something safe without gutting the rooms that give the home its character. It is slower than a straight gut job, and on a home like this that patience is the entire point of doing it at all.
For the right owner, yes. These homes carry value that a new build cannot replicate. A historic home means more to its owner and to the community around it, and that shows up in long term value.
The work is harder. You match old materials, you protect original trim, you update systems carefully, and you plan a kitchen remodel or a bathroom remodel around what has to stay. When it is done right, you have a home that is both livable and true to its history. That balance is exactly what preservation review is protecting, and it is what we aim for on every historic project we take on.
For the owner who values the home, the result is worth every extra week. You get modern comfort inside a house that still reads as what it always was. That is a very different outcome than a new build, and in Lakeland's historic districts it is the outcome the whole neighborhood is quietly rooting for you to reach.
Own a historic home in Lakeland and thinking about a remodel? Call (407) 460-8588 or reach out to our team and we will plan a project that respects its history and passes review.