American Rehab: Charleston

Licensed contractor Trent Fasnacht has a passion for renovating pig's ears, aka old homes in Charleston, South Carolina. His next project is just outside the city in the small town of Summerville. It's a 107-year-old country Victorian home that has fallen into disrepair over the years. Trent starts the renovation with the exterior. He restores the original porch with period correct tongue and groove flooring, and re-uses the home's original wood shingles and century old brick to create a new arbor and front walkway.

Licensed Contractor Trent Fasnacht begins the interior renovation of his 1906 country Victorian in Summerville, South Carolina, about 30 minutes away from Charleston. Hoping to save as much of the original house as possible, Trent is careful as he begins demolition in the living room and foyer. But as soon as demo begins, he realizes termite damage and wood rot have destroyed nearly every surface, and he takes the rooms down to the studs. He sources historic flooring, creates a period-appropriate window seat, restores the beautiful fireplace and mantel top, and recreates the tray ceiling using wood molding that could have been seen in a home from 1906.

Licensed Contractor Trent Fasnacht restores the octagon room and sun room, and he creates a new side porch in this phase of the restoration of his 1906 country Victorian just outside Charleston, South Carolina. The octagon room goes from a strange blue bathroom to a dirt hole during demo, and then becomes a beautiful breakfast nook. The breakfast nook is attached to the sunroom, which also goes from a completely demoed space to a finished sitting area with plenty of Southern touches in the décor. The side porch project is almost stalled by not one but two rain storms, but in the end becomes a period-correct addition with details that mimic the home's original front porch.

Licensed Contractor Trent Fasnacht rebuilds the kitchen in its original spot at the front of his 1906 country Victorian in Summerville, South Carolina, just outside Charleston. His design plan calls for custom bead board cabinets, a glass tile backsplash and authentic butcher block countertops. He also tries his best to save the original hardwood floors, the only remaining original floors in the house. After touring a recently renovated historic home in Charleston to get ideas for his kitchen, Trent borrows the idea of using a piece of furniture in place of cabinetry for his kitchen island.

Licensed Contractor Trent Fasnacht is about half way finished rehabbing his 1906 country Victorian in Summerville, South Carolina, about 30 minutes from Charleston. In this phase of restoration, he is demolishing the home's dated bathroom, and pulling down walls in an office and bedroom. Since historic bedrooms were small and had tiny closets, Trent solves the problem by adding custom built-in bookcases in the bedroom for extra space. In the office, he tears down drywall, hoping to expose a fireplace. In the bathroom, he installs period-authentic mosaic floor tile, and creates countertops using reclaimed products common to the Charleston area, including oyster shells and recycled glass.

Licensed Contractor Trent Fasnacht finishes the restoration of his 1906 country Victorian, in Summerville, SC by turning the old 1960s kitchen and dining room addition into a beautiful master suite. In the new bedroom, Trent installs shiplap paneling, reclaimed wood floors and doors salvaged from Church Street, a historic area in Charleston. In the bathroom, he hopes to find an antique claw foot tub, and he installs marble-look porcelain tiles, along with a marble mosaic tile floor 'rug.' Once the master suite is finished, it exudes coastal calm, with elements of the past repurposed for modern use. The entire home is now finished and Trent is anxious to find out what potential buyers think of his renovation.