Challenges of Renovating a Historic Home: One Family’s Unexpected Experience

When Gia inherited her grandmother’s house in New York, she was prepared for renovation challenges. However, she didn’t anticipate being haunted by a distinct smell.

Two years ago, Gia’s grandmother passed away, leaving the home to Gia and her sister. “It’s a beautiful home, and we’re extremely lucky to own property in 2026, but the house is 100 years old and needs major renovations,” Gia shared with Newsweek.

Renovating a home is notorious for being stressful. Block Renovation’s 2025 ‘How America Renovates’ report, surveying over 1,000 homeowners, showed that over 85% felt stress from renovation projects. Additionally, 57% suffered from ‘renovation fatigue’ caused by delays and numerous decisions involved.

Gia took a philosophical approach to the challenges. “We knew it needed work, but after opening up the walls, we found a lot more than expected, so there’s a long journey ahead for those who want to follow,” she remarked.

Renovating a 100-year-old property led to unexpected discoveries, but recent findings were troubling. Issues with the gas and electrical systems meant Gia spent significant time outside. That’s when she noticed the smell.

The house had a history of a mouse infestation, leaving the basement with a distinct odor. “At first, I thought the basement smell had just seeped into my nostrils and was following me everywhere, but it started getting worse,” Gia noted.

Initially, others believed the smell came from a basement window, but it grew stronger as the weather warmed. It was like rotten meat mixed with spoilt milk—sour and sweet, yet not overpowering.

Gia intensified her efforts to identify the source. Her focus turned to an unexplored crawl space under the deck, unused for nearly two decades. “Decades ago, my grandfather extended the concrete deck with wood. Under the porch addition, he left room for a crawl space and filled it with years of roofing and construction materials,” Gia recalled.

The crawl space had provided shelter to fleas and neighborhood cats over the years. During renovations, Gia discovered two crawl spaces. The second was a concrete compartment with a small window entry.

Despite her aversion to small spaces, Gia investigated the second crawl space once she realized the smell originated there. “I saw it and hoped I was wrong. I honestly thought it was a dog at first,” she said.

What she found was a blur of “eye orbits and a snout,” not a skull but leathery, mummified skin. Gia, having worked in the veterinary industry, recognized it as a raccoon.

The grim discovery unsettled Gia. “I didn’t sleep that night because I was convinced there were more animals, and I was right,” she admitted.

She continued her investigation the next day, enduring over 90-degree heat. Using a hoe and shovel, she extracted what she could. Gia uncovered an opossum skull, a bird, some chicken bones, and a mummified cat.

The cat likely got trapped or poisoned by chemicals like antifreeze, muriatic acid, and pool cleaner present. Removing all evidence and bagging them took hours.

Happily, Gia reported the odor has vanished. Yet, renovations are ongoing. “We continue to find more issues every day. I hired a junk removal team twice already, and we’re saving for round three, but I’m sure that won’t be the last,” she stated.

Though the family still works to make the home livable, Gia remains optimistic. “Hopefully, if we do the work ourselves, we can afford to keep the house in the family,” she expressed. “I’m fortunate that my boyfriend is a plumber and my dad is a contractor, but there’s a long road ahead for us.”