Avenues Historic District Home Inspection: What to Expect

Published May 25, 2026 by Mike Chen

Salt Lake City, UT

Utah landscape

Vera Holcomb called me last spring about a house she was under contract on in the Avenues neighborhood of Salt Lake City. It was a 1898 brick Victorian on K Street, three blocks above South Temple. She had walked through it twice and was in love with the original woodwork, the leaded glass transom, and the view of the valley from the upstairs bedroom.

She was also nervous. Her real estate agent had mentioned the inspector had flagged 11 items, two of which were called significant. She forwarded me the report and asked if I would take a look before her contingency deadline expired in four days.

I read it that night. The findings were exactly what I would expect from a 127-year-old Salt Lake City home, but exactly the kind of items that scare buyers who have never owned a historic property. Here is what we found, what it meant, and what Vera ended up doing about it.

The Foundation Was Sandstone, Not Concrete

The first finding was the foundation. Vera's home sat on a coursed sandstone foundation with lime mortar joints. The inspector wrote that the foundation was "original to construction, with deterioration of mortar in several locations and recommendation for masonry evaluation."

This is normal for the Avenues. Until roughly 1910, most homes in the neighborhood were built on local sandstone quarried from City Creek Canyon. The stone is reasonably durable but the lime mortar between courses degrades over a century. Repointing with appropriate lime-based mortar is the standard repair, not Portland cement, which is too rigid and damages the soft stone.

I told Vera that the finding was real but not unusual, and that repointing a foundation of this size runs $4,500 to $9,000 with a qualified historic masonry contractor. She negotiated a $5,000 credit at closing and had the work done that summer.

Knob and Tube Wiring in the Attic

The second significant finding was active knob and tube wiring visible in the attic. The inspector noted that approximately 40 percent of the visible wiring was still original, with newer Romex spliced in where outlets had been added or renovations completed.

Knob and tube is not inherently dangerous when it has been installed correctly and not modified. The problems develop when homeowners bury it in insulation, add modern loads, or splice new wiring into it without proper junction boxes. Most home insurance carriers in Utah will write a policy on a home with knob and tube only with a signed letter from a licensed electrician confirming the system is safe and properly used.

Vera's inspector recommended a full electrical evaluation. The licensed electrician we brought in priced a partial rewire at $11,400. A complete rewire would have run closer to $24,000. She negotiated a $9,000 credit and proceeded with the partial rewire after closing, focusing on the kitchen, bathrooms, and any circuits feeding modern appliances.

Plaster Walls and What Lurks Behind Them

The Avenues home had original lath and plaster walls throughout. The inspector noted cracking in several locations, particularly above doorways and at the corner of the dining room ceiling. He did not flag this as significant, but he noted it.

Lath and plaster cracking is sometimes cosmetic, sometimes a sign of structural movement, and sometimes a sign of failed plaster keys, which is when the wet plaster pushed through the wooden lath when the home was built. Failed keys mean the plaster will eventually fall.

For a 127-year-old home, some plaster failure is inevitable. I told Vera to budget $2,000 to $5,000 over the first five years for selective plaster repair or skim-coating, and to plan major plaster work room by room as she renovated.

Seismic Retrofitting Was Not Done

The inspector noted the home had no visible mudsill bolts, no cripple wall bracing, and an unreinforced brick chimney. The Wasatch Fault runs about three miles east of the Avenues, and a magnitude 7.0 earthquake would shake the neighborhood hard enough to do real damage to unreinforced masonry.

According to Utah Geological Survey hazard maps, the Avenues sit in an area of high ground shaking potential. The neighborhood is also where most of the city's unreinforced brick homes are concentrated. The combination is exactly why Salt Lake City created its earthquake retrofitting incentive program.

Vera was not going to get the previous owners to retrofit before closing, and I told her that was a fair conversation to have but not a deal-breaker. The work runs $5,000 to $15,000 for a basic mudsill bolt and cripple wall package. Chimney reinforcement or removal is separate and depends on whether the chimney is functional.

She put the retrofit on her 18-month plan and proceeded with the purchase.

The Roof Was Newer Than the House by a Century

One pleasant surprise. The roof had been replaced four years earlier with architectural asphalt shingles. The inspector found it in good condition with no immediate concerns. Original wood shake roofs in the Avenues are rare now because of fire code restrictions and insurance requirements. Most homes have had at least one full roof replacement in the last 30 years.

I told Vera this was the boring good news of the report. A newer roof on a historic home removes one major variable from the budget for the next decade or so.

What Vera Decided

She closed on the house in May 2025. Total credits from the seller came to $14,000. She did the foundation repointing and partial electrical rewire in the first six months. The seismic retrofit is scheduled for this fall. Plaster repairs are ongoing room by room as she paints.

Two months after closing she sent me a photo of the leaded glass transom catching late afternoon sun. The note said the house was worth every dollar of the negotiation headache. Avenues homes usually are, but only if you go in with realistic expectations about what 127 years of history actually means.