A woman who bought an old lighthouse in Ohio for $71,000 has shown off its incredible transformation into her dream summer home – for which she had to shell out another $300,000 over a decade of renovations.
When Sheila Consaul of Washington, DC, purchased the Fairport Harbor West Lighthouse, located on the shores of Lake Erie, in 2011, it was in “very poor condition.”
Determined to make it a beautiful place where she could spend the warmer months, she set about renovating it.
But little did she know that the transformation would take more than a decade and cost her hundreds of thousands of dollars, especially since most of the building and what was inside had not been updated since it was first illuminated in 1925.
A woman who bought an old lighthouse in Ohio for $71,000 has shown off its incredible transformation into her dream summer home – which cost her $300,000 over ten years
When Sheila Consaul of Washington, DC, purchased the Fairport Harbor West Lighthouse, located on the shores of Lake Erie, in 2011, it was in “very poor condition.”
Sheila set out to fix it up, but the transformation would take more than a decade and cost her hundreds of thousands of dollars. The lighthouse is pictured before its renovation work
It was difficult because most of the building and what was inside had not been updated since it was first illuminated in 1925. It is seen above before the renovation
The lighthouse uses solar energy to keep its beam of light burning, but when Sheila got it, there was no electricity in the lighthouse, no plumbing system and no heating. The photo above is after the renovation
“The Coast Guard kept the lights on all the time, but the building wasn’t very well maintained. So when I got it, it was in really bad shape,” she recently explained Insider.
The lighthouse uses solar energy to keep its beam of light burning, but when Sheila got it, there was no electricity in the lighthouse, no plumbing system and no heating.
The lighthouse is pictured above in the 1900s
She has since had a generator and composting toilets installed, and started collecting rainwater for showers.
“I’m not allowed to get water from the lake, so I have to collect rainwater from the roof,” she said. ‘That’s where I get water for showering and washing dishes.’
Because the lighthouse is located so close to the water on such a narrow piece of land, it is not possible to reach it by road.
That means she has to park her car in the nearby state park parking lot and walk about a half mile each time she arrives and leaves the property.
This has made bringing furniture and carrying out construction work on the lighthouse extremely difficult and extremely expensive.
She had to have most of her belongings brought in via ships, which cost about $2,500 a day to rent.
Sheila converted the nearly 100-year-old, 3,000-square-foot lighthouse into a spacious home, complete with three bedrooms, three bathrooms, living room, dining room and kitchen
She has had a generator and compost toilets installed, and she has started collecting rainwater for showers. Despite its numerous changes, it has retained the original staircase
Because the lighthouse is located so close to the water on such a narrow piece of land, roads cannot access it. That means she has to walk about half a mile every time she goes out
This has made bringing furniture and building it extremely difficult and expensive. She had to have most of her belongings brought in by barge, which cost $2,500 a day to rent
‘Everything you can think of has to be done by hand, back and forth. It’s a 40-minute walk one way,” she continued.
“When it came to the really big things, like appliances, granite countertops, water treatment equipment, all of which had to come by barge.”
Despite the challenges, Sheila has now transformed the nearly 100-year-old, 3,000-square-foot lighthouse into a spacious home, complete with three bedrooms, three bathrooms, living room, dining room, kitchen and utility room.
“It’s amazingly calm and serene and pretty much in the middle of the lake with 360 degree views of the water,” she said
Along the way, she also found a few old treasures in the attic, such as the “crate with which the original refrigerator was shipped to the lighthouse in the 1940s.”
She has also built a relationship with many members of the local community, who were happy that she was upgrading the lighthouse and eager to help with the project.
“Many community members helped with the renovations by painting, removing trash, carrying items in, cleaning and many more tasks,” she explained.
In 2000, the U.S. government passed the National Lighthouse Preservation Act, allowing members of the public to purchase lighthouses.
Since then, about a dozen lighthouses have been offered for purchase to nonprofits or charities each year, but if no one wants to buy them, they are auctioned off for someone else to bid on.
Sheila has built relationships with many members of the local community, who were ecstatic that she was upgrading the lighthouse and eager to help with the project
She told Insider: “It’s really a symbol, an icon of the community… I’m just the steward of this lighthouse.”
Sheila told me earlier BBC that it took her about three years to “finally secure” the lighthouse, after being outbid numerous times.
‘It’s amazingly calm and serene and virtually in the middle of the lake with 360 degree views of the water. At night you can see stars everywhere,” she said.
She explained why she wanted to buy one in the first place CNBC that she saw it as a “great opportunity” to “combine” her desire for a summer home and her “love of historic preservation.”
“The renovation process has been long and arduous,” she admitted. “This has been a great challenge, a great opportunity, and I have loved every minute of it.”
Sheila now holds an annual party on the anniversary of its first opening almost a century ago, inviting anyone in the area to come in and check it out – and the event has grown so big that about 800 people came this year.
“Most people in the community have looked at it all their lives and never seen the inside,” she told Insider.
‘This year around 800 people came along in one afternoon. It’s very much a symbol, an icon of the community…I’m just the steward of this lighthouse.”