Hurricane Helene left devastation after it passed through the hills of western North Carolina in September 2024, creating rainfall amounts that made Asheville’s Swannanoa River rise an historic 26 feet above normal, uprooting hundreds of trees and causing houses to literally float away. In the months since then, massive efforts have been ongoing by homeowners, businesses, and community leaders to get their town— and lives—back in order.
This Old House’s Season 47 is following the work on five houses—three in Swannanoa that suffered catastrophic flooding, one in North Asheville that was torn apart by tree damage, and one in East Asheville that was flooded to the first-floor ceiling.
Here’s a look at where things stand midway through the renovation process.
Jim and Allie’s House
Tied to the Asheville community for many years, Jim and Allie bought their early 1900s bungalow in 2017, seeing it as their forever home and planning to do small improvements over time. Hurricane Helene changed all of that. Immediately after the storm, their much-loved house and entire street of similar one-story bungalows were unrecognizable. Now, they feel among the fortunate to be working with Balsam Built, a local construction firm headed by Chris Cronin—a college acquaintance of Jim’s—and Nick Swann. “Our house was never fancy or flashy, but it was our home, and now thanks to so many people helping, we will have something we can move back into that will be so well built and well insulated, it goes beyond what we started with,” says Jim.
After gutting the house and mucking out, work crews have installed a new roof, all new windows and doors, new HVAC, and new insulation: “Our nearly 100-year-old house was not remotely up-to-code for insulation,” says Jim.
The interior layout got an update too when they removed a wall separating the living room and kitchen to create an open-plan area. When the house’s original two chimneys and double-sided fireplaces had to be removed, they used the additional space for closets or extra room floor space. Other layout changes include borrowing space form the guest room to give themselves a larger primary bath, a room for which Jim’s brother Bill, came in from out of state to do the tile installation.
As they work on other areas of the house, Allie is hoping to keep some of the old character intact. Choosing red oak for the new floors is one example: “We wanted hardwood floors as similar to what we had before,” she says.
There is still a long ways to go, but they are seeing progress and appreciate all the improvements. Says Jim: “It will be weird to have an old house that is brand new.”
Miah’s House
Although her cherished house had to be taken down to the studs after Hurricane Helene, Miah still sees it as her irreplaceable family home. Her great-grandparents originally owned it going back to the 1930s and it has been in the family ever since; Miah herself grew up spending time with her grandparents, and she has been in the house on her own for more than two years.
“Even with the amount of damage, I am so happy we were able to save some vintage end tables and coffee tables, family pieces,” says Miah.
Nearly everything else but the original structure is gone, and the rebuilding has included new windows, doors, insulation, and HVAC. The chimneys and fireplaces had to be removed, a sentimental moment for Miah, who is considering creating a fireplace façade for the look of the hearth that she remembers from childhood.
Balsam Built has replaced all interior framing, with some layout changes that she sees as improvements. For one, they made room for an indoor laundry room near the kitchen, whereas the laundry formerly was on the back porch and uninsulated.
A large yard was always a source of joy for Miah’s family, but drainage issues are taking additional time, delaying landscape work. For now, Miah looks forward to the day when she can plant things in her yard, another way of keeping memories alive. Says Miah: “My grandfather had a garden every summer. It gives me hope to think I can do that again soon.”
Cat and Jeremy‘s House
For Cat and Jeremy, recovering from the shock of evacuating with their young son during the early hours of the storm and seeing their street turned into a raging river was the first step in the rebuilding process. Once the flood waters receded, the three walked through the ruins of their 1940s bungalow—and prepared themselves for a long process.
After demo, the house was gutted down to the studs, so Balsam Built could replace all interior walls. The roof was replaced, and a new HVAC system went in—this one in an insulated attic versus the previous location in the house’s crawlspace. “Putting the HVAC in the attic is one of the steps in preparation for raising the entire house one day to prevent future flooding,” says Jeremy.
They changed the interior layout by removing a wall to create an open plan kitchen-living room and gained an additional floor space after the fireplaces were removed.
Although they had been in the house for nine years and were thinking they might be outgrowing out, they hadn’t started planning any projects before the storm hit.“We weren’t ready to do a renovation, but we can make it what we want now,” says Cat.
In the yard, they are also creating dream items with family help: The backyard is slowly becoming a grassy area with Cat’s dad painstakingly doing the grading. Deep mud out front, because their house is the low point on the street, has been more challenging, but they have a plan for a pollinator garden in front, without grass.
Says Cat: “We are so lucky to have family nearby.”
Matt and Melinda‘s House
Matt and Melinda experienced both the power and capriciousness of a hurricane when a four-foot thick, red oak tree trunk fell and split their 1960s house in half, putting a hole in the living room roof, but leaving other rooms nearly intact. “We ended up having 40 trees removed from the property,” says Matt, an Asheville native. Sheltering at a neighbor’s house with their two young children, Matt and Melissa had to wait two days to even leave the street because chain saws had so much timber to clear away.
Rebuilding has included taking most of the house down to the studs and starting over, getting a new roof, windows, HVAC, and engineered wood flooring. They are working with builder Hunter Ward, whose construction business typically focuses on new house construction and green building techniques, but who wanted to help storm victims put their lives together. Changing a wall between the kitchen and living room created a new layout that should suit a young family. “It’s more open with better flow and room for a peninsula,” says Melinda.
The family was able to salvage furniture and personal possessions, mainly because parts of the house stayed dry. With work continuing, the family is hoping for the best when they return home, but even now—living in a rental in another part of town—the couple and their daughter, 9, and son, 3, all begin feeling fearful when there is a storm.
Says Matt: “We feel very lucky with family nearby for support and resources to help us through the renovation, but there are many other emotions about the house too.”
Paula‘s House
Although Paula knows she is fortunate to have one of the few houses in her area to survive Hurricane Helene, she has a huge rebuilding task at hand. Flood water rose to the first-floor ceiling leaving damage and rotted timbers. Still, the fact that she watched 11 houses on her street float away twisting in the powerful flood waters keeps her aware of how much she has. Paula believes one of the reasons her 2001 house survived in place was that the architect who built it had combined manufactured sections within stick built, bolting all together and to the foundation.
Teams removed the subfloor on the first floor as a first step to let the house dry out and see what could be reused. With builders James Dose and William Nicholon leading the way, work has involved reusing the OSB walls but putting in a new subfloor, replacing all electrical wiring and all plumbing on the first floor, replacing exterior siding on the lower portion of the house, and installing new windows.
During the renovation, Paula is taking the opportunity to ensure her house is as energy efficient and weathertight as possible, by having a contractor doing blower door test to establish amount of air leakage, followed by applying an innovative aerosolized sealant.
Paula also is making sure the renovated house includes personalized pieces that add character and comfort such as the vintage furniture piece she modified—with TOH general contractor Tom Silva’s help—to serve as a bath vanity.
“I have to rebuild, this is my home,” says Paula. “But I find it hard to feel completely safe when it gets stormy.”
The Comeback Continues
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