Since 1985, Steve and Desi Burrell have lived in the home that used to belong to Desi's grandparents, Adolph and Bunny Mathisen. The 108-year-old home was comfortable, but it needed repairs that the two were unwilling to spend money on.

"I guess when you've been living in an old place, you realize the things you would do to make things really comfortable and easy," said Burrell.

The electrical wiring hadn't been touched since the 1960s. The lack of insulation in the home caused Steve and Desi and their visitors to assume someone had left a window open when a draft would blow in through the wal...