Any major rehabilitation project you undertake on your historic house or building will be complex. But if you take the time to thoughtfully plan and organize your project, you will be more likely to achieve a successful project. An unorganized project will result in contractors and suppliers running into each other—which will cause delays, mistakes and missteps that will cost you more money.

Evaluate the Conditions of Your Historic Structure

You will be in a better position to organize your rehabilitation project if you understand the existing conditions of your historic property. You can evaluate the condition of your property by taking the actions listed below:

1. Conduct these visual inspections of your property:

• • Exterior condition
  • Main and upper floors condition
  • Basement condition

2. Research the history and style of your house or commercial building.

3. Decide how much of the rehabilitation work you can do yourself and whether to hire a professional, such as a preservation architect or a historic preservation construction consultant, to help you plan your project.

4. Have existing-conditions inspections performed for the entire structure. You can coordinate these inspections yourself or hire a professional to coordinate them for you.

5. Meet with the professional you've hired to analyze all the existing conditions found in the inspection reports. You or your hired professional should compile all the inspection data into a report that will serve as a blueprint for changes and repairs to your structure.

Decide How You Will Use Your Structure

In the early stages of planning your rehabilitation project, you should decide how you want to use all of the space in your historic house or building when the project is completed. For example, the first floor of your commercial building might currently be used as retail space and have unused space on the second and third floors. You might decide to keep retail on the first floor and turn the upper floors into apartments. If you own a historic house, you might want to convert space into a bed and breakfast establishment or rental units.

You should work with the professional you have hired to determine the basic floor plan changes that will be necessary to accommodate the uses you plan for the spaces in your structure. You will also have to decide if you can work around the existing tenants in your building or if the building must be empty to perform all the work efficiently.

Communicate with Your Local Officials

Before you create drawings and specifications, share your rehabilitation plans with your local building code, historic preservation and zoning officials. If you will be using historic tax credits, you should also consult with staff from the Wisconsin Historical Society. Your community may have zoning, building code or conservation regulations that you and your hired professional had not considered. By communicating with your local officials early in your planning process, you will be developing a relationship with the people who will be approving your permit and tax credit applications and conducting periodic inspections of your project.

Prepare Documents and Applications

When you have completed the initial planning steps of your rehabilitation project, it will be time to prepare the documents and applications that will allow you to start work on your project. You should take the following actions to get the approvals you will need:

Create drawings and specifications. You or your hired professional must create drawings and specifications for your entire project. These drawings and specifications will be the documents that guide the entire construction process. You should decide on every detail of your project — plumbing fixtures, cabinets, weatherstripping for windows, paint colors, etc. — before the final drawings and specifications are completed.

Apply for financing. At this point in your project, you should apply for project financing with your lender.

Apply for historic tax credits. If you are using historic tax credits, you must submit your application to the Wisconsin Historical Society. Both the Wisconsin Historical Society and the National Park Service must review your application, so expect a waiting period before your application for historic tax credits can be approved. Do not begin any of the work until you receive this approval.

Submit your plans for review. If your historic house or building is an individual local landmark or located in a local historic district, you must submit all your plans to your local historic preservation commission (or equivalent reviewing body) to get a Certificate of Appropriateness (CoA). Usually you should do this before you apply for construction permits. Ask your city or county officials about the timing of getting a CoA and building permits.

Solicit Bids from Contractors

When you have received financing and all the approvals you must get for your project, you can start taking bids from contractors. Unless you have the skills and time to act as the full-time manager and coordinator for your entire project, you should consider hiring a general contractor. A general contractor is the one person responsible to you and your professional planning expert through every phase of the project.

The general contractor you choose will obtain all necessary building permits, coordinate all of the subcontractors and ensure all building materials are on site when they are needed. The general contractor will also coordinate all the necessary inspections and keep you and your professional planner advised throughout the project. General contractors will bid on the entire job.

Determine Insurance Needs

When you are nearly ready to close on the construction loan with your lender, ask your lender what insurance products you will need throughout your project. Make certain you have the necessary insurance before you allow contractors to begin the rehabilitation work on your structure.

Arrange for Final Inspections

When your rehabilitation project is completed, you should arrange for all the final inspections. You must seek an occupancy permit for your final local inspection. If you are using historic tax credits, you will also need a final inspection from the Wisconsin Historical Society. The Society will certify that your project meets all the previously agreed-upon historic preservation criteria for your project.