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March 28, 2006

My Brownstone: Going All Out Carroll Gardens

rear rear
There've been a few new contributions to My Brownstone recently--all of which we'll highlight over the next few days. One stands out in particular for its hardcore renovation pics. After buying this Carroll Gardens brownstone from a family who'd been there for forty years with nary an upgrade the entire time, our fearless contributors proceeded to save what they could and reimagine what they couldn't. Among other things, this included created a double height living room at the rear of the house. In addition to the drama of the photos above, they've included some genuine live-action contractor shots as well.
Carroll Gardens Brownstone [My Brownstone]




Posted by Brownstoner at 10:33 AM | Comments (23)
Categories: My Brownstone

Comments

Is this the house you can see from the F train with its rear removed?

Posted by: Anonymous at March 28, 2006 11:04 AM

this is amazing I can't wait to see what happens to this place. I also LOVE the way he's blacklisting the shady contractors... hahaha

Posted by: stuy blkbuttrflie. at March 28, 2006 11:06 AM

This is one heck of a renovation. Good luck!

Posted by: Anonymous at March 28, 2006 11:12 AM

With these great photos and captions, this is definitely a well put together and most exciting story of your gut reno. I'm looking forward to seeing what comes next as well as the finished product. Also, I join with Stuy in appreciating the fact that you not only pointed out the bad news contractors, but also explained why they get no stars. Thanks!

Posted by: GardensGal at March 28, 2006 11:20 AM


Odd that they had two contractors "walk out on them" during the renovation. I've overseen many renovations and never had anyone walk out. What kind of checking did you folks do on these guys?

It's pretty obvious that the owners are perfectionists, but they went with the lowest bids or didn't get references from trusted friends.

The end result, however, does look very nice.

Posted by: ebomb at March 28, 2006 11:35 AM

YOU GUYS ROCK!

I am about to start a similar project right near you and your photos and insight are inspiring.So informative.
Thank You.

Chop

Posted by: chopper at March 28, 2006 12:30 PM

Love the wall of windows!

Posted by: linusvanpelt at March 28, 2006 1:31 PM

Where is this? It looks like a narrow house, but they do seem to be doing some nice things to it.

I would concur with the previous poster - two contractors walked out? For such extensive work, I'm surprised that the contractors were not thoroughly vetted. The owners clearly knew they were going to put a lot of money in this reno, so don't skimp on the contractor. Secondly, it appears that they've been in construction for two years already? When is the expected date of completion? Who can afford to work this way?

Posted by: David at March 28, 2006 2:05 PM

now that linusvanpelt mentions the windows I wonder how that wall of windows is going to effect their energy costs I'd assume its going give them a good kick in the butt.

Posted by: stuy blkbuttrflie. at March 28, 2006 2:21 PM

if they have radiant underfloor heat on that floor then energy costs shouldn't be too bad.

Posted by: Anonymous at March 28, 2006 2:40 PM

I know this house well. You're doing a great job. Were you able to get rid of the odor?

Posted by: Toni D'Andrea at March 28, 2006 3:23 PM

Just a question -- am I wrong to think that building from scratch would be cheaper than renovating in this kind of situation (assuming you had vacant land)?

If I am, can someone tell me why?

Posted by: Anon at March 28, 2006 4:12 PM

Who finished up the work for you? I am amazed that two GCs walked out on you and you were able to get a third to finish the job.

Posted by: Major Stone at March 28, 2006 4:14 PM

i wonder why, since it seems they are spending quite a large amount of money and basically doing a gut reno on the duplex, that they didn't just replace the urine soaked beams? b/c what is going to happen once they start heating up the floors with all that radiant floor heating? isn't the smell just going to get worse?
the flooring for the loft sounds very interesting-looking forward to seeing the final pics. some very cool ideas going on here...

Posted by: sba at March 28, 2006 4:27 PM

Agree w/SBA re: odor. Animal odor can linger for years, and with all the tearing out/replacing, I bet these owners will wind up wishing they had replaced the urine-soaked beam as well.

Posted by: Anonymous at March 28, 2006 4:59 PM

to 1104 - no that house is on Third Place and I used to live there. They gutted it and are extending it by 15 feet and adding two floors. I was surprised to hear that was allowed. I'm wondering too if that's less money than starting from scratch - must be. Or maybe they just ran into more problems than they expected and decided to just go all out.

Posted by: pickles at March 28, 2006 6:05 PM

I think the contractors should probably have the opportunity to speak out if brownstoner is interested in a fair exchange of ideas. Usually there are at least 2 sides of any construction story.

Posted by: Anonymous at March 28, 2006 8:56 PM


Replacing damaged beams can be very expensive, but it's also one of the most important things you can do when renovating an old house. I never argue with my contractor when it comes to stuff like that.

Having a good relationship with your contractor is just as important as having a good relationship with your wife. I see the contractor client relationship as a give and take. It's not just about one person giving orders to the other. Mutual trust and respect are key.

Posted by: ebomb at March 28, 2006 9:03 PM

contractors walk off of big projects quite frequently. sometimes they feel over their heads, or sometimes they finish the expensive stuff and dont want to stay to finish the smaller (cheaper) items. i see this all of the time, and a lot of the time it has nothing to do with the owners themselves.

Posted by: Anonymous at March 29, 2006 12:59 PM

Sometimes, too, contractors just don't want to be held to (reasonable) standards of quality and craftmanship. I agree with 12:59-- walk-offs happen more often than you'd think, esp. in a boom renovation market when they know that there are always other jobs out there with higher pricetags and more lax expectations.

Posted by: n at March 29, 2006 1:27 PM


Yeah, but no good contractor worth his salt would ever walk of a job! People get ripped off every day in all kinds of ways.

Of course it's probably not the owner's fault. This city is full of shmucks. But it's a good lesson for everybody to be very careful before hiring some random dude with a truck to renovate your house!

Posted by: picasso at March 29, 2006 9:22 PM


LESSON: DON'T PAY ANYTHING IN ADVANCE


Posted by: Anonymous at March 29, 2006 9:23 PM

The house is on Sackett not 3rd Place.

Posted by: Anonymous at March 30, 2006 11:09 AM

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