Have you renovated a mid-century rancher here—any lessons learned about layout, insulation, or foundation work?

Man, yeah, those older ranches can be sneaky with how much they need under the surface. We did ours a couple years back and the biggest eye-opener was how thin the original insulation was—barely anything in the walls or attic, so we went all in on adding foam board and blown-in wherever we could access. For the foundation, ours had some minor shifting from soil stuff, nothing catastrophic, but getting it leveled properly before any interior demo saved headaches later. Layout-wise, knocking out a non-load-bearing wall between the dining and family room made a huge difference in flow without messing up the mid-century lines. We ended up bringing in a general contractor bellingham who knew local codes inside out and handled the permitting smoothly. Totally worth it for peace of mind, especially since I'm hopeless with paperwork. Just my two cents—start with a solid inspection to avoid surprises.