« Just Sold in Brooklyn The Latest on the Love Lane Garage? »

January 25, 2007

Welcome the the Windsor Terrace Reno

chrenofacade07.jpg chrenofacade07.jpg
We're pleased to announce that we've got another reno blogging team on board and they're off to a roaring start. Mr. and Mrs. Limestone just closed on their 1910 limestone house in Windsor Terrace and, judging from the pics already up, the place is absolutely dripping with architectural details. Their plan?

Total renovation of the kitchens and baths. Add a master "suite" with bathroom and closets. Create a kitchen/dining room on the parlor floor. Restore the details that can be saved like the doors, floors, etc.. Replace what can't be saved with house appropriate choices. Get it warm in the winter and cool in the summer. Toilets that flush. Windows that open and close. Ceilings that don't leak. You know, the usual.

We can't wait!
Windsor Terrace Reno [Brownstoner]




Posted by Brownstoner at 11:13 AM | Comments (21)
Categories: Windsor Terrace Reno

Trackback Pings

TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.brownstoner.com/mte/mt-tb.cgi/392

Comments

hello can you tell me how much it would cost to purchase a brownstone/limestone like this place in the area? Also, how much will it cost to rennovate?

Posted by: price? at January 25, 2007 2:16 PM

OMG, you people are so lame. Mr. & Mrs. Limestone are offering us a peak into their house and chronicling their renovation and restoration, and the only questions/post are prying personal questions? Give me a break.

Thank you Mr. & Mrs. L. , I look forward to seeing the progress on this wonderful historic structure.

Posted by: Anonymous at January 25, 2007 2:56 PM

Congrats on a great house, and thanks for saving it (and writing about it with wit and courage)! Meanwhile, there is nothing wrong with asking personal questions--the problem with "Price?"'s question was its ridiculous vague-ness. ("How much will it cost to renovate?" is like asking "How much would it cost for a new outfit?" Um, are we talking Barneys or Loehmans?) I, too, would love to know what this house cost--ball park, at least? I'm also curious why Mrs. L says she has been waiting months to close--what legit factor would cause such delay? Also, may I gather from Mrs. L's stated plan to put a kitchen on the parlor level that she intends to buuild a rental unit on garden level? Understandable if you need the rental, but it's tricky to mess with these floorplans. Finalmente, are the Ls brave enough to plan on stripping all that woodwork? I agree with another poster who wrote elsewhere that they probably should leave the floors alone--enjoy that patina. Cheers!

Posted by: Bob999 at January 25, 2007 3:23 PM

fantastic house! look at those amazing floors and woodwork. dig the limestone. and the sweet doors and mouldings too. don't sweat the bathroom, you'll figure it out.

Posted by: P at January 25, 2007 3:53 PM

We were excited to start the blog to get feedback (and maybe a wee bit of encouragement on the dark days) on the renovations plans.

As longtime brownstoner groupies, we already know what happens when the issues of price come up. Im sure sharing any specifics on dollars would only escalate into a full on tar and feathering of how we spent too little/too much and that we should have bought something else or some other thing that is completely not the point of a renovation blog.

We won't be sharing anything exact reno dollars at this point - but when all said and done, we'll be happy to give some figures about costs. Until its done, I wont really be able to tell you how much it costs to renovate. And telling you what my "budget" is likely as useless as having one.

Hope everyone enjoys and posts constructive critism, suggestions and compliments throughout.

Posted by: Mrs.Limestone at January 25, 2007 3:56 PM

The house was probably in the 900K to 1.2mil range and a full renovation in the 150K-350K area depending on taste and quality..

Posted by: Tom at January 25, 2007 4:24 PM

dont mean to sound ignorant and all but where exactly is windsor terrace in brooklyn? does it neighbor crown heights flatbush etc? thank you

Posted by: anon at January 25, 2007 5:24 PM

This looks like prime Windsor Terrace -- one of the choice streets near Prospect Park (Sherman, Windsor Place, 16th). From what I've seen, those houses are definitely going for over a million. 1.2 sound right to me. If they got it for 900K that is a bargin, assuming there is a rental unit.

Posted by: anonymous at January 25, 2007 6:47 PM

Looks like a beaut -- congrats! I love walking or bike riding across the park to visit pals in WT.

You've obviously got some fabulous woodwork on the parlor floor. Don't hate me for saying this but, if you can find the $$, strip it now -- not later when your reno is finished, which is what we did. It's slow, dirty work and we are still doing it -- 6 years the initial reno. I hate the disruption, dust and damage to adjacent painted surfaces etc. It would have gone much faster if we had paid to have it done during the heavy construction phase. And the results are thrilling!

Posted by: NeoGrec at January 25, 2007 6:49 PM

The post asking if the building was on a specific street and number seems to have been deleted. Thank you.

Posted by: Anonymous at January 25, 2007 6:58 PM

Great to see a new reno blog. Beautiful house with a lot of great original detail. Best of luck with it.Looking forward to following the progress.

And, I have to ask, what's up with the Gates reno? No updates for going on two months now. My house is "done," but it's rare that two months ever go by without some interesting project or problem presenting itself.

Posted by: Anonymous at January 25, 2007 9:22 PM

Wish there was some way to contact you less publicly. Do you need one of the built ins that would have been in your dining room on the top floor? We've got one we can't use in our place and Build It Green won't take them. We live nearby and would be happy to donate it to somebody who is really going to use them in a Windsor Terrace house where they belong. We can't use it because, well, because our architect won that argument. Something about needing closets.

Posted by: Anonymous at January 25, 2007 10:02 PM

Hey anon at 10:02--let us know if you still need a taker for that built-in. we're in WT and wonder if the reno blog is about the house Corcoran just sent a postcard about. If so, odd to be delicate about price and location when there are postcards advertising it and the owners names everywhere.

Posted by: Anonymous at January 25, 2007 10:12 PM

Thanks for the offer anon 10:02 - looks like you have a taker already.

We didnt have any built ins on the top floor so Im not sure if our house them originally or not.

In any case, you can email us at BKLimestoner at AOL dot com.

Posted by: Anonymous at January 26, 2007 7:05 AM

I second the guy who says strip the woodwork now. If we had the time to do it in our limestone (we only had one month before having to move in) I would have taken care of that first thing. I didn't want the dark wood-stained wood but I at least would like the paint layers shaved down. Even if it's not original I do prefer the white paint on our baseboards and moldings; it's more my design taste. I'm going to try and do it room by room over the coming year, but the old paint I'll expose will be lead-based I'm sure. Anyway, good luck, congrats and thanks for sharing your blog with all of us!

Posted by: Anonymous at January 26, 2007 7:13 AM

Do they woodwork now if you can. Now we're in the house with kids, and I won't be stripping it 'till they're teen-agers. Wish I stumped up the cash for the reno before we moved in. Now we're living through what we safely can.

Posted by: Anonymous at January 26, 2007 7:38 AM

If the owner of the built-in still needs a taker, I am missing the one in my dining room and could pick it up Tuesday. If it's gone, thanks for the posting. lasagnakng@aol.com

Posted by: Anonymous at January 26, 2007 11:52 AM

Personally, I don't see the point of doing a reno blog without talking about money. The only reason I'd ever read one of those blogs is to get tips, to learn about costs, labor required, etc.

Posted by: carrie at January 26, 2007 12:16 PM

One of the best sites about reno is http://ourvictorianhouse.com/
They have all these fantastic mouse over before and after photos of all the rooms/space renovated. They don't discuss prices, but that in no way makes it less of a resource.

Posted by: Anonymous at January 26, 2007 2:24 PM

I agree it's less of a resource to not discuss costs. Because one of the most helpful things on this site is to get referrals for good plumbers, contractors, kitchen guys, electricians, roofers etc etc. And hearing how their prices weigh against each other is important. Secondly, it can be misleading if a home reno blogger is either doing a lot of work himself, or gets a special deal from workers because of the advertising, because blog visitors who are trying to determine what kind of house they can afford might believe they can accomplish a lot more in a reno than they actually can afford, by glancing at a blog like this when it doesn't include costs. My two cents. Still at the least, these blogs are SO helpful in simply showing options, and necessities in doing renos.

Posted by: Anonymous at January 27, 2007 8:11 AM

I still have the built in. So for all interested WT homeowners please post your e-mail address and I will contact you. And just to be clear, this is one of the built ins on the top floor -- not the massive built in in the garden level dining room. I don't have the measurements now, but it has a double glass (I think it's leaded glass) cabinet door on top, a small old mirror on the bottom, and then I can't remember if it's painted cabinet doors below as well, or drawers. This whole thing should be available sometime within the next couple of months at the very latest. It's a very nice piece and I'm saddened that we can't keep it. But it seems a waste to just Sanford and Son it in our basement.

Posted by: Anonymous at January 27, 2007 1:22 PM

Post a comment

Please be patient while your comment is published. It may take a moment.

Latest Restaurant Additions