Community Highlights: Meet Christopher Hewett of My Old House Fix

Today we’d like to introduce you to Christopher Hewett.

Hi Christopher, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself. 
I have always been a lover of “old things,” it seems, and have always liked working with my hands and building things associated with the “blue collar’ trades. I love supporting the Trades! It all started with classic cars and gradually progressed to Old Houses. In my teenage years, my brother and I didn’t have a lot of money, so we had to fix things when they would tear up – go-carts, dirt bikes, cars, etc. That led us to a building a small car collection of classic cars, gaining automotive repair and painting skills in our High School Vocational School, and later on graduating from the local Vocational Community College with an associate’s degree in Automotive Theory, Repair, to include Paint and Body work. 

After a few stressful years in the world of Body Shop Repair (all commission work), I realized it was time for a change. I worked a few construction jobs, gained a little more experience in the “trades”, and finally landed a job with the Department of Defense in 2001 – Anniston Army Depot in Anniston, Alabama (where I grew up). This time, I wasn’t fixing damaged or wrecked cars…I was fixing “wrecked Army Tanks” as a Welder and Fabrication Technician (Body Shop for wrecked Tanks, lol). After a few years as a welder, I got bored again, and so I decided to go back to school at night and pursue a Business Degree to give me more career options – mixing my hands-on technical skills and knowledge with a college degree in Business. In 2003, I started school at night, commuting after work to University of Alabama, Birmingham (UAB). While working on my degree, I was able to volunteer for an apprenticeship at Anniston Army Depot in their Program Management and Production Planning Department. The rest is kind of history. I started at the bottom supporting the production lines as a Production Controller, and was promoted up to Program Manager after a few years. In the meantime, my college degree was progressing slowly, so I managed to obtain my Program Management Professional (PMP) certification and license from Program Management Institute (PMI.org) – that helped me go get promoted until my degree was finally finished. 

In late 2008 I was approached by the Army Logistics Command and offered a job in Logistics/Program Management in Warren, Michigan. So, I packed up the family, and moved to Ann Arbor, Michigan in 2009. This is where I was bitten by the “Old House bug.” After 6 months in a one-bedroom apartment, we were going crazy, so we decided to look for a house. That’s when we found this old Folk Victorian that was built in 1890. It was located in the City’s Old West Side Historic District and in need of a lot of TLC. We decided to take on the challenge, and that’s where I fell in love with this Old House, its history, story, and decided to restore it back to its original state and former glory. That meant removing aluminum siding from the 1960s and removing an addition to the original wrap-around porch. I then started repairing all the exterior damage to the original details when the siding was installed, stripped all the lead-based paint back to bare wood, and repainted the entire exterior. Over the course of 15 years now, the roof was replaced, electrical completely replaced, new insulation, new boiler, added air conditioning, and remodeled the kitchen and bath with a “vintage style” that complemented the 1890 design. We also added solar panels to the roof to increase energy efficiency. 

Today, there is still work to be done as the interior is completed room by room – plaster repairs, stripping paint from trim to re-varnish back to original, repaint, add period lighting, and millwork that is missing. Fast forward to 2018 and I finally had my college degree after transferring to an online college after moving to Michigan, and all this house restoration work led to the next adventure. My Old House Fix. 

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Not a smooth road at all! Hunting, gathering, acquiring, learning, and maintaining all of these skills/info/knowledge along the way has been a fun but monumental task. The struggles were with money, college, marriage, day job, and literally not knowing ANYTHING about Old Houses. On one hand, it was great having all this hands-on and project management knowledge that came in REALLY handy as I constructed our whole-house repair plan and managed bathroom and kitchen remodels. But on the other hand, there was this black hole of super specialized knowledge with very few places to find info, data, resources, and the specialized trades that can perform some of the work (correctly) on these Old Houses. 

So, the Project Manager in me started archiving data, resources, businesses, suppliers, and trades there were specific to the “Old House niche”. I ended up joining a Facebook Group for Old Houses around the 2016 timeframe, and one thing became abundantly clear – It was super frustrating to convey very detailed Old House repair data, steps, and projects (from start to finish) via Facebook comment threads and pictures. It’s kinda like watching that 30-minute renovation show – you watched if for 30 minutes, you kind of know how they did it, but have no clue what products, tools, paint, and info needed to do it yourself…so it’s basically kinda useless, lol. 

So, in 2018 I decided to start My Old House Fix – first as a private Facebook Community and then added a “limited” companion resource website where I documented some resources and published detailed Technical Blogs about various Old House repairs and topics. But I yearned for more. My dream was to someday have a gigantic resource directory that could contain a vast amount of Old House information – businesses, suppliers, products, etc. Well, after many failed attempts, technology finally caught up enough for us to launch the new Resource Website and Global Directory mid-2023. 

The next hurdle – absent a $1M budget, I had to at least gain a working knowledge of websites, website building, coding, build a new Directory, Website Apps, Apps/tools, blogging, SEO, Social Media management, content creation – audio/visual/etc., marketing, building a community, followers, etc. It’s REALLY hard. Fast forward to 2023, and our Directory launched this past summer; we have 40K Members in our Old House Community (private Facebook Group), 10K followers on Instagram, and closing on 1M views on YouTube. 

The challenge moving forward is continuing to grow and develop the Directory and Community and continue to support the Old House Trades and Old House Homeowners. 

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
MISSION: My Old House Fix – There’s no Angie’s List for Old Houses, right? That’s where we come in! 

So, we have a huge Mission: A Resource Directory and Community dedicated to Old Houses. MOHF is your one-stop for all your Old House needs. 

Realizing there was no single resource for all the information, I wondered… What if there was a resource… A place where all of this information was readily available? A hub with vast amounts of information on Old Houses. A Directory of vetted businesses that support Old House homeowners. A Community of Old House homeowners, enthusiasts, and professionals that are able to easily connect to inspire you and motivate you on this journey. That’s how My Old House Fix was born… 

My Old House Fix’s mission and vision is to build the Web’s most comprehensive resource Directory and Community for all of your Old House maintenance, repair, and restoration needs. By providing an easy-to-use platform that connects users with local businesses and industry experts, we strive to make old house ownership more accessible and convenient. We also hope to support the Old House community, vocational trades, and historic preservation in general by giving back to these causes and advocating for their continued success. Through our commitment to customer service excellence, we are dedicated to helping our customers maintain their homes while preserving the history and charm that comes with owning an Old House. 

At My Old House Fix, we believe that Old Houses have the power to bring us together and create meaningful connections with our past. Our mission is to help preserve these beautiful homes and keep them alive for generations to come. We strive to provide the resources and information necessary to make informed decisions about buying and restoring an Old House, as well as connecting owners with specialized businesses and service providers who can help make their dream into a reality. With My Old House Fix, you’ll never be alone in your Old House journey – you’ll have a dedicated Community of like-minded individuals at your side! 

MOST PROUD: 

I’m most proud of being able to overcome all the hurdles and challenges mentioned and finally…finally making my vision a reality with basically a two person Team and two wonderful Moderators in our Community – there are usually 10+ person Teams for such efforts at the corporate levels. After all the sacrifices, time, money spent, sweat, and tears…this journey has all come together comprised of nearly every skill that I have amassed to date that proved to provide value, no matter how useless I thought it was in the past. We are all a culmination of our life’s experiences, and that’s what makes us all uniquely different and valuable. I have gained a much larger appreciation for each and every small business and entrepreneur out there that goes through the same struggles and hardships. We don’t clock out after eight hours; we often work multiple jobs and still find energy to pour into our passion! In this case…Old Houses! 

Inventor: I’m also proud of my “COVID” invention. During COVID, I invented a “hands-free” accessory kit for infrared paint stripping tools. They are usually hand-held to strip paint on your house, and they get very heavy holding it all day while working. So, my invention holds the tool while it heats, so you don’t have to. I’ll provide a link – The InfraRed Rack Kit. 

Also, proud to support our history and Historic Preservation…and the preservation Trades tied to these special properties that are part of our history. 

BRAND/OFFERINGS: 

* My Old House House Fix is a FREE private Community – link provided to Facebook Group 

* Global Resource Directory and Community website (sign up for free) – resource site with over 60 Categories of Old House info across content types like Businesses and Supplier listings (and pinned to a global map), Trades, Blogs, Videos, Events, Historic District map, Products, Properties, Training Courses, and much more. 

* Sponsorship Opportunities 

* Partnership Opportunities 

* The InfaRed Rack Kit – my invention. It is a hands-free accessory for infrared paint strippers used for stripping paint on your house. They are usually hand-held to strip paint on your house, and they get very heavy holding it all day while working. So, my invention holds the tool while it heats so you don’t have to. LINK – https://www.myoldhousefix.com/infrared-rack-kit 

What do you like and dislike about the city?
ANN ARBOR: LIKES – Ann Arbor is a vibrant and diverse city that has a rich history and culture dating back to the early 1800s and with University of Michigan. It has a unique blend of modern energy and good public transit. It has old-world charm, historic buildings, walkable historic neighborhoods, and Old Houses that have stood the test of time from one generation of families to the next. Many cities in America lament over the character and communities lost to a sea of high-rises, but we still retain much of that charm and character…for now, thanks to the Historic District Commission. The food scene in Ann Arbor is also fantastic, with a wide variety of delicious options to choose from. 

DISLIKES – Ann Arbor is a popular college town, so the traffic is a little crazy with so many commuters that drive in/out each day, so the roads are pretty congested here. I don’t mind change, and I know that we need more housing, but over the past 15 years, I have noticed land values skyrocketing, and many, many Old Houses and entire neighborhoods that are outside of protected historic districts have been knocked down, all in the name of “progress.” It would seem that maximizing the “reuse” of these older properties might make more sense than super-expensive luxury apartments and condos that most can’t afford. All the “affordable” housing and property is being sold off, combined, and turned into multi-million-dollar properties and high-rises. 

The thing is, once these Old Houses are gone…they are gone forever. Premium building materials, millwork, and old-growth timber end up in a pile of rubble in our landfills. We will never replace this level of craftsmanship and superior materials again. They are non-renewable resources. It seems that the “greenest” building is the one already built, and again, I’d like to see more adaptive reuse like in old European cities and towns – it also looks nicer compared to the cheap “disposable boxes” that we seem to build these days. 

Pricing:

• Businesses & Homeowners – Sign Up for FREE
• https://www.myoldhousefix.com/join
• Upgrade: Directory Prem. Business Listing-$99/year
• Upgrade: Directory Category Sponsor – $599/year
• Directory Partnership – Book a Call (Work With Us link)

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.myoldhousefix.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/myoldhousefix/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/myoldhousefix
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/my-old-house-fix-llc
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/MyOldHouseFix
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/MyOldHouseFix
• Yelp: Work With Us (book a call) – https://www.myoldhousefix.com/work-with-us
• SoundCloud: The InfraRed Rack Kit (my invention) – https://www.myoldhousefix.com/infrared-rack-kit
• Other: https://www.facebook.com/myoldhousefix (business page)

Image Credits
My Old House Fix, LLC