Forum Archive: Posts by: housesearcher

Anyone out there have success installing a French drain system? This came up in an earlier post I did about waterproofing a basement in a house we are buying but I’d love to hear from others who’ve actually used one. On my last visit to the house, the cellar was actually covered in 3 inches of water from recent rains, and the broker swore a French drain was the answer. Would love to hear more about these – how likely they are to succeed, rough cost estimates (footprint of this house is 16.5 x 40), good vendors to use, etc.

Advice greatly appreciated – thanks!

We are on the verge of buying a small (16.5 x 40) brownstone in a prime location. Purchase price is pretty low relative to comps but when you factor in the work we need to do (lowest estimates have come in at 400K total) it winds up being much closer to comps, and indeed on the expensive side (esp in this uncertain market). However, we wonder if any brownstone we buy would need work anyway, so in that sense, maybe this is a good deal.

Inspector, contractor and architects I’ve spoken to all tell me that almost all brownstones (unless gut renovated within last 15-20 years) need upgrades to mechanicals, and of course, it’s hard to find a place that’s exactly right as is (in terms of configuration, kitchens/baths, etc.). But I’m curious if most people familiar with the brownstone market can answer whether indeed most brownstones would need work anyway, or are many of them basically in move-in condition?

We are considering purchasing a small brownstone which needs extensive renovation and wonder how to assemble the best team for the work given our tight budget. We have already brought 2 architects, a designer, and a contractor to the house, plus have talked to several others. So far, all the bids are in the range of 350-500K which is of course a large range but it seems to depend on the kind of team we use and finishes we select. While economizing with finishes seems straightforward, saving on our renovation team is more confusing. The most expensive way to go is to have the architect project manage the whole thing plus work with us to select all the finishes – this evidently will add at least 16-18% to construction costs (or $70K on 400K of construction costs). Another way to go is to have the architect do drawings only to file with DOB, then trust the contractor to execute everything. Problem is, both my husband and I have demanding jobs and small kids and are worried about our ability to really supervise the GC. A designer we worked with on a smaller job has offered to project manage for us, as well as help us select finishes – but this could add up to a lot of fees too – perhaps as much as 30K if not more. For budget reasons, I’m tempted to just trust the GC but also don’t want to be penny-wise and pound-foolish, since I saw how great the designer was when we did the small job for us – she saved us money by finding great, economical choices, negotiating discounts on products, catching GC errors, etc. – plus she definitely increased value of our apt. If we were handier or less busy, we would be better equipped to supervise GC. So one question is: are there GC’s out there who are really great and will advocate for you (as opposed to their workers, and cut corners on your job)? If so, I’d love their names! Or, do people think it’s foolish NOT to have an architect and/or designer supervise the job? If we do go with the designer, our other worry is that, even though her hourly rate is significantly less than an architect, she does not have as much experience as an architect so I’m not sure she’ll be as efficient. But others tell me that renovating these small brownstones is pretty straightforward and a fancy architect is overkill. Any advice greatly appreciated…