Last night on Property Brothers season 12, Jonathan and Drew helped Gerald & Caroline find a rural retirement home of their own. They had been renting a farmhouse where Gerald works the last 30 years and now it’s time for him to retire. They want something of their own with space for entertaining friends and family. Their all-in budget was $925,000 and they want something that has character and charm. They are brought to a historical Victorian style home that is partially original home and partially added to. The inside of the house is what the Property Brothers called country chic.
The first property they went to check out was a small house with a very bad smell. The house had three bedrooms, one bathroom and it sits on almost 10 acres of land. They are really turned off by the size of the house and how small all the rooms are. Jonathan tells them that they would do a full addition on both sides of the house so that they can make the square footage work with what they need. The land is amazing and Caroline is really excited about the land. The house is listed at $739,500, but it’s been on the market for two years and Drew thinks that they can get the house for $695,000 which would leave them $230,000 for the renovation. Jonathan tells them that it would only actually cost $155,000 which would put them $75,000 under their budget.
They looked at a few more houses before Caroline mentioned that they need to cut their search short a little bit. She has to go see her mother in the nursing home. She explained that they have been trying to make decisions on what to do with her mom’s stuff and her house. Jonathan asks if this was the house that Caroline grew up in and when she told him that it was, he had asked her if maybe looking at her mom’s house as an option for Gerald and Caroline would be something worth exploring. They had never thought about that because they had been so pre-occupied with everything going on.
Three days later, they go to Caroline’s mother’s house to see what the house needs. It does need a lot of updating. The house looks like it’s stuck in the 70s, but we have seen Jonathan work small miracles in worse houses. Caroline mentions that a lot would have to change, the only thing that she would really like to keep in the house would be the front door. The house is 1350 square feet with three bedrooms and one bathroom. Jonathan does mention that there is a bit of a sag in the floor so there are some structural issues and the kitchen is horrendous, but that’s not the end of the world. The bathroom is tiny, but there is a bedroom on the other side. He will take some of the space for the bathroom and some of it for a walk in closet for the master bedroom. The basement is finished and would make a great family hangout area.
After talking to her sisters, Caroline tells Drew and Jonathan that her sisters are thrilled that she and Gerald are thinking of buying the family home. Two weeks later, they do finally decide to go with Caroline’s childhood home. The home is valued at about $800,000 and the renovations will cost about $125,000. It will put them at their budget, but the sentimental value behind it is priceless. This is what the house looked like before.
Gallery: ‘Before’ the Property Brothers Renovations
It’s demo day and Caroline is excited about it, but once the walls start coming down, she gets a little emotional. She was thinking about what her mom and dad would think about this. She thinks that her parents would love what this house is going to be. While taking the tiles down in the bathroom, Jonathan stops them because he noticed that there is a chimney in the wall where they were hoping to put the vanity and toilet. In order to get rid of this chimney, they would have to get rid of the existing oil furnace which is 15 years old anyway. However, replacing it with something more efficient is going to cost $11,000.
They have decided to go with replacing the furnace and Jonathan is doing the demolition of it himself to save Caroline and Gerald some money. After the propane tank came in and was set up, they redid all the electrical in the house and fixed the sagging ceilings and floors. All of the structural stuff ended up costing $1200.
Caroline and Gerald check out their new bathroom and she mentions that Gerald turned an old antique dresser into a vanity that he would really like to see in the bathroom. They have a lot of stuff that they would like to have incorporated into their home which will save them some money. Jonathan comes to their farmhouse to check out some of their antiques and is pretty blown away by some of the things they have. After they get the vanity into Jonathan’s truck, it looks like rain and Gerald tells him that he has to get the cattle in. Jonathan gives him a hand with that before he heads out.
It’s shopping day! They are looking for couches and dining room chairs that can blend with some of the things they have already. After this, we get a look at the rest of the house and how quickly it’s all coming along. The bathroom tiles are being put in, the cabinets, island, and countertops are all in also. Jonathan tells Caroline that there is a small area where they had to put a wood beam in the wall and it’s not going to refinish well. He mentions that he was thinking about making a small shelf out of reclaimed wood for that area and she said it would be perfect for some of her antique oil burners.
After all the decor is brought in and placed and all the finishing touches are done, it’s reveal day! This is what the house looks like now!
Gallery: ‘After’ the Property Brothers Renovation
They went a little over their budget, but being able to keep the family home and all those memories is something Gerald and Caroline would have never been able to put a price tag on. Let me know what you think of this transformation in the comments below, on Facebook or on Twitter!
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