When Keith and Donna Hall first looked at the house they wanted to buy in Gastonwood/Coronado Hills, it was falling down. Bricks were crumbling off the exterior, and the laundry room was rotted beyond repair.
The out-of-state owner had rented to tenants with a large dog for eight years. The animal had chewed every surface he could reach with his mouth and urinated on everything else. And if that wasn’t enough, the back door fell off when Keith tried to open it.
Nevertheless, the Halls saw a reason for renovation, and saw a way to do much of the work themselves.
“We started out getting quotes, but if you can’t afford the contractor, you’ve got to do it yourself,” Keith says of the project’s shaky beginnings.
“The majority of it we did,” Donna explains. “The big jobs we hired out — the roof, central heat and air, hardwood floors and some brickwork — but everything else we did on our own.”
This included refloating walls and ceilings, stripping woodwork, painting and installing tile floors and countertops. In addition, the kitchen, original to the 1926 home, desperately needed to be updated.
“Where the stove and refrigerator are now, there was a hot water heater and the original stove, which was an old fireplace,” Donna says. “There was a chimney that went all the way up. We took that down and put the hot water heater in the attic.”
The Halls were mindful of the home’s origins and they tried to retain the architectural integrity. For example, the original kitchen cabinets were salvageable, needing only a new coat of paint.
As it turned out they got more than an older home with character and charm. Their house had a history. Earl Cabell, a former U.S. congressman, lived in the house in the 1930s.
After almost four years, the Halls are finally enjoying the fruits of their labor.
“We finished the interior of the house in about two years,” Donna said. “This year, we finally painted the outside of the house and did some landscaping.”
