Say the house is between 160 and 170 years old.

It needs everything. Siding, insulation, roof, wiring, plumbing, strenghtened in some areas, plaster torn out, studs added and drywalled. Basically the only original part left would be frame and subflooring. I'm talking gutted and renwed inside and out.

It'* wood frame on a stone/morter basement/foundation. 1.5 story, 2100 square feet plus basement. In current condition, the house is maybe worth $15k.

I know there are a lot of variables to consider, but what kind of price range are we talking about here?

The price range depends on the what you want to spend. There really is no limit. Ideally you want to look at what the house will be worth at most for the neighborhood its in and let that decide the expensiveness of what you want done. for example take windows. Now the house is OLD so none of the windows will be the same size. You probably can get away with having cheapies made for around $100 each but you can also spend well over a grand on each window. Multiply that by say 20 windows and you see the range just for that is 2k-20k not counting finishing expenses.

The house being that old also probably has ~8.5' ceilings. You'd need to buy 10' lumber and cut it down, adding to the expense, or modify the current ceiling to drop it to 8'. The walls will be balloon construction, there will be nothing under the plaster and lathe so you'll need lots of insulation and the studs won't be 16" centers nor will they be 2x4. Well actually they will be true 2x4 not the shrunken 2x4 we use today. Most people don't realize that a 2x4 doesn't measure 2x4 anymore LOL. You will find lots of old gas piping in the walls from the gas lighting they used to use. We found a few were still live so be careful there and be sure to check.

For just cheap walls, insulation, electrical, & floors I would plan on around 7k per floor though I haven't priced any of those materials in a while. I would recommend gutting both floors to do the electrical. Its alot easier. Its also a good time to upgrade plumbing.

Ok, more details.

8' ceilings, some sloped on second floor
Not even 2x4'* in the original portion of the house (it had been added on in the 20'*), they are actual logs, round and everything, flattened where they needed it.

Window holes can easily be changed to fit standard sized windows, and they are all at least close to the same size. The whole house has the same windows.

It'* out in the country, so there is no neighborhood to set a bar at.

Unless it is of utmost importance to keep the original house It would likely be cheaper to take it all down to the foundation and start over..

IMO a 1.5 story house has no real value in todays market. Might as well goahead and make it a full 2 story house, If the foundation is in good shape (only after having it inspected) that would be my route.

I wouldn't look at spending any less then 40-50 k.

Question how much land is involved and is the house close to anything big, Cities, Malls, Work...

If you take it down to the foundation, you'll likely be denied a permit to build a new structure on an old foundation that doesn't meet code. You will get grandfathered in, however, if you keep the original construction.

Be warned that any time you strip the inside or outside walls on old construction around here, code requires you to 'fir' out the studs to 6". This may apply in your case too, which would be the entire house UNLESS you just install new siding over the old.

I restored a historic home for a total of about 10 years. It was built in 1882.

If you're thinking of this as a project and an investment, you need to research the 'market' for historic properties. If that market is strong, you should make every effort to preserve the historic look and feel of the existing structure. This may also be REQUIRED. It was in my case, as my house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Unless you do it one wall at a time.... At least thats law around here.

It takes a little more time but can be done. and gets you around the red tape.

There was even a guy here who gutted a house and built 4 walls inside that outside walls tore down the outside walls and moved the inside ones to the new locations lol

It'* my parents' house. Been in the family since built by John Wikoff in 1843. Nothing close by but a creek. They are looking to move to a fairly new house in town. We've never registered it, even though it was requested of us, so we could keep freedom in what was done with it. It'* only important to me, really.

I know a portion of the foundation will need rebuilt.

I'd be willing to spend upto 200k right off the bat, figure house and 4 acres with typical farm buildings (most needing rebuilt or torn down) to cost 65-70k.

I would be doing an addition, most likely making it a full 2 story by adding ~1000 sq ft, although probably not right away. The layout of the house is a little awkward, as it originally didn't have bathrooms, and 1.5 we're added later.