Old House Project Inspiration: Profile with Michael Duffy's Neighborhood Investment in a Historic House

Michael Duffy hard at work on his historic property.

Preservationist Michael Duffy of Manchester loves to restore older homes. He learned by working with some of Portsmouth's most accomplished restoration contractors, Steve Roy and David Adams of Adams & Roy, and Donald Hickmott, a skilled house painter.

Duffy is now both investor and contractor on residential projects in the Queen City. Currently, he's working on a single-family home on Concord Street that he bought as a rental property over a decade ago. When the long-time tenants moved out, he decided it was time to restore the modest historic dwelling.

Many of the original architectural features had been removed or covered over when the former owners “updated” the house with vinyl siding.

Duffy knew the vinyl siding would be the first thing to go. He and some friends removed it all, revealing original clapboards, decorative shingles, and evidence of roof brackets and other details. "I guess vinyl isn't so final after all," laughs Duffy. “We got it off before the condition of the clapboards and trim had deteriorated from moisture build-up, a common problem caused by synthetic siding.”

Duffy reproduced missing elements such as the cornice brackets and repaired trim restoring the original architectural details hidden for decades.

Victorian-era paint colors emerged as the old white paint was scraped off.  Replicating those paint colors, Duffy completed the front façade of the house before winter set in.

Duffy’s friends, who are living in the still-unfinished house, are pitching in to complete the welcome renovations.  Using a rented asphalt saw, one of them created areas of green space for a little gardens on either side of the driveway to enhance the appeal of the front yard.

Preparing a spot for a garden alongside the driveway.

 "What's so great is that houses like this can function today in the same way they did when they were built," Duffy observes.  "Starter homes, some sweat equity, and some guidance from experts--like the NH Preservation Alliance--and you're on your way to having a great home and improving the community around you."

Stay tuned for Part 2 of this renovation! 

During the winter, Duffy has been tackling kitchen renovations. We’ll cover that exciting transformation as well as completion of exterior painting in a later post.