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August 17, 2009

Gut Reno on Gates

When we saw this post go up on the Forum last week, we emailed the poster and asked to see more photos of the 5-story gut renovation he'd been performing on a brownstone on the eastern edge of Clinton. He obliged, along with a brief description below.

The project came about as a way to give myself a informal, tactile education in architecture and building. I was trained as an engineer but I always felt curious about the built environment, partly its appearance, of course, but moreso how it is put together and how it affects us psychologically, emotionally, and socially. I came across this building about two and a half years ago and it was a wreck - no working plumbing or electrical above the parlor floor, every window was shot as was every flight of stairs, all three roofs leaked liked sieves, and it was snowing in the top stairwell. Still, I loved the scale of the building and the details, and it was undoubtedly a big project, bigger than I could probably handle, which made it that much more enticing.

I collaborated on the design with Public, a firm from San Diego, California, where I lived before moving to New York. We knew getting light in the middle of the building was important, as was taking advantage of the building's stepbacks to create outdoor space. And we wanted to preserve some of the building's sweet ruin and add modern elements carefully and in balance with the building's delicate detail. This was probably the hardest and most time-consuming part, creating details in the language of modern materials and construction realities that didn't feel faux-historic or forced. Hopefully we managed to succeed in a few places - whether or not we did, I got my education, and opened up all kinds of possibilities in my head for what and how to build in a brownstone.




Posted by Brownstoner at 10:31 AM | Comments (25)
Categories: Clinton Hill, Renovation

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Comments

How cool. Bravo!

Posted by: wasder at August 17, 2009 10:40 AM

"I collaborated on the design with Public[publicdigital.com], a firm from San Diego, California, where I lived before moving to New York. "

ROTFLMMFAO!!!!!!!!! Brace for impact!

The What

Someday this war is gonna end...

Posted by: Return of The What at August 17, 2009 10:42 AM

Very interesting. Curious, where did you get those beautiful wooden double-hung windows? Any idea what they cost? Thanks so much.

Posted by: mopar at August 17, 2009 10:45 AM

"And we wanted to preserve some of the building's sweet ruin..."

Love this concept and the phrase "sweet ruin."

Posted by: cpchkp at August 17, 2009 10:47 AM

wow, looks nice. real nice.

Posted by: more4less at August 17, 2009 10:54 AM


Very cool. . . how much?

Posted by: IronBalls at August 17, 2009 10:56 AM

Ah Eli that is a job well done. We love the skylight light tunnel combination...interesting idea really.Congratulations again.

The What you do realize that some people actually have money even in these harsh times right? Is that such a hard concept to appreciate? Dommage!

Posted by: pierre de taille at August 17, 2009 10:57 AM

Mopar you can get wooden windows like that from Marvin. Excellent noise and temperature insulation but they are expensive especially if the windows are arched.

Posted by: pierre de taille at August 17, 2009 11:05 AM

WOW! This is gorgeous. I have been wanting to do a similar gut on my PHeights Brownstone but my husband is unconvinced--this is just the ammo I need. Thanks for sharing!

Posted by: bklynrosie at August 17, 2009 11:19 AM

I usually find reno's and new construction extremely boring, but this looks great to me. Beautiful work - nice combination of materials and new/old. If it gets finished off without the usual viking stove and whateverthehell stainless fridge I will regard the owner as something of a master...

Posted by: lalaland at August 17, 2009 11:22 AM

Beautiful! I would be very interested in what you learned in the process. What are your successes and your regrets, and what advice would you give to someone embarking on a gut renovation in your neighborhood?

Posted by: Maly at August 17, 2009 11:50 AM

This is very exciting and well-executed gut level work in a brownstone structure. I'm drooling over the various ways natural light is being allowed to flood into a historic rowhouse and most especially loving that center light shaft! So much so, I want to see and hear more about the project specifics. I find this and the current garden reno in PH to be exactly the kind of home reno projects I'd love to see featured on the front page of B'stoner week after week.

Posted by: Brooklynista at August 17, 2009 11:52 AM

This is indeed a very beautiful gut-renovation!!! I am speechless!
But what is a ballpark cost for such a work???

Posted by: lostintranslation at August 17, 2009 11:58 AM

Wow, there are some wonderful features in this house, and you are going a great job. To avoid being redundant, please re-read what Brooklynista said. Would love to see more, both from this poster, and in general.

Posted by: Montrose Morris at August 17, 2009 11:59 AM

Amazing windows -- who did all your window carpentry???

Posted by: iz at August 17, 2009 12:30 PM

Lovely work. Hope it all comes together in the end. Just a word of clarification: the option to higlight historic features in a given house or a given room and to replicate missing or damaged pieces or features in order to return a room to its original or historic appearance is usually referred to as restoration, not faux. It really isn't faux if it is done right and with some knowledege of historical styles and construction details.
The approach taken here of mixing and matching new and old is perfectly valid and good. I appreciate that the old features did not end up in the dumpster as they so often do.


Posted by: Minard Lafever at August 17, 2009 12:45 PM

"Me want to go to there"

Posted by: cobblehillcat at August 17, 2009 12:48 PM

me want to live there!! :-)

Posted by: bxgrl at August 17, 2009 2:25 PM

Please tell us who did the windows...Pretty please, with sugar on top!

Posted by: cobblehillcat at August 17, 2009 3:02 PM

Looks great so far, I hope the decorating is as equally thoughtful and spirited. (You might want to visit Darr on Atlantic Ave for some pieces) A great renovation need not be a full return to the original grandeur. Modern interventions do need to be thoughtful and purposeful.

Posted by: FloatingWorld at August 17, 2009 3:56 PM

Hello Eli, glad to see that things are coming along! It's amazing to see what you have done to this house.

Posted by: Abdul Muid at August 17, 2009 5:46 PM

Beautiful work being done.
The light shaft really brings it into the 21st century. I've also seen a few rowhouses where reflective light tubes are brought down from the roof level to lower floors.
Nice combination of materials througout, even the exposed brick works. The re-design reminds me alot of the green house movement in New Zealand.
Any information on energy saving measures taken and sustainable materials?

Posted by: Legion at August 17, 2009 8:10 PM

Thanks for all the kind feedback and thoughtful remarks and suggestions! As for the questions:

Windows
All the windows and doors are Pella architect-series wood windows. Not cheap, also not perfect, but built well, good proportions, and good thermal performance. All the windows were installed by one of my contractors, R Frost Design Build, who does tons of window jobs for Pella and Marvin.

Energy-saving measures
I went with pretty simple and in some ways old fashioned ways of saving energy:
- lots of natural light in every space on every floor to reduce usage of artificial lighting
- operable transom windows, large patio doors, windows on two sides of rooms when possible to improve natural ventilation
- overhangs and trellises on south-facing windows, converting roofs to planted decks to cut summer sun
- full window replacement, exterior wall insulation, zone pumps for each floor, radiant floors where practical, re-sized high efficiency boilers to improve heating efficiency
- salvaging & re-using existing building materials

There were plenty of decisions that involved trading off aesthetics and efficiency [exposed beams in the attic and exposed concrete being two of the big ones], but I tried to make these sacrifices only when it seemed very important for the aesthetic integrity of the project and when I could find a solution that got me back some efficiency.

More Project Info
You can find a lot more construction photos of the project on public's website [publicdigital.com -> 'Under Construction' -> 'Fernald Brownstone']. I'd be happy to answer other specific questions about the project as well, here or by email.

Lessons learned
I could write a small novel here, but I'm not sure if I'd be writing it to another first-time owner-builder or to someone looking to hire a GC. I almost certainly wouldn't have done this project if I knew how difficult, stressful, consuming, and expensive it was going to be. It was an extraordinary experience, and I got to make almost exactly what I wanted to make inside and outside of this building, which I feel very fortunate about, but it was draining in every imaginable way. But, if you're curious and excited enough about how a building goes together and about how to do a year-long piece of collaborative sculpture and engineering with 30 construction workers, expediters, inspectors, suppliers, creditors,etc, and you're not afraid of going broke, plunge on in!!! General contracting is maddening and extremely satisfying in similar measures.

Cost
I'd rather not put up specific numbers, so the best I can do is say what the big ticket items are in a project like this:
- being inexperienced and slow and carrying the building for two and a half years during design, permitting, and construction
- windows & doors
- structural work [steel, excavation, foundation, etc]
- poured concrete dining room extension
- plumbing & heating
- roof removal & re-structuring to support exterior decks

Posted by: ejfernald at August 18, 2009 2:42 PM

As one brownstone renovater to another -- all I can say is that I feel and appreciate your pain and revel in the glow of your triumph. Congrats! I hope success is sweet for you.

Posted by: HomeSweetstuy at August 18, 2009 10:15 PM

Hi Eli,
Welcome to the neighborood. We live one block over on Gates, bought our B'stone the same time as you did, and had the same misconception about how much energy, time and money a gut restoration would take. Manny Lassalle took me over to your house at times in order to cheer me up when I thought we made the biggest mistake ever when we embarked on this endeavor. We followed your example of wood stripping, radiator blasting, fireplace restoring etc. so, thank you.
Our house's style is more traditional than yours, but I like your final product, congratulations.
One thing you did that I regret not doing is soundproofing the bedrooms. It aes only after we moved in that we realized we needed it.
When I recover from the ordeal (and win the lottery), I'll get in touch with you, if you don't mind, to get your opinion on that issue.
In the end, we absolutely love our house and think it was worth the effort. Financially, it will take eons to break even.
Enjoy your house,
Ruth

Posted by: RG at August 19, 2009 7:02 AM

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