Which comes first?
When renovating a brownstone that’s in really terrible condition inside and out, which do you do first? Would it make more sense to do the roof and facade first, or the interiors, or do the two have to be coordinated? For example, when you’re replacing all of the windows, do you do that before or…
When renovating a brownstone that’s in really terrible condition inside and out, which do you do first? Would it make more sense to do the roof and facade first, or the interiors, or do the two have to be coordinated? For example, when you’re replacing all of the windows, do you do that before or after the facade?
Thanks for the advice!
We had our entire facade redone last year- we’d originally wanted to replace the windows and tackle the facade when we were better suited to financially. The prevailing wisdom was that doing it all at once was the best option. It should be noted that we live in a landmarked district and are thusly required to use wooden windows. The concern was that installing them, removing them, and re-installing them would potentially damage them. In any case, we did it all at once and it went without a hitch
I agree with CHP. The facade may look lousy (ours does!) but unless you have evidence that it is allowing the elements to enter, it can be dealt with later. If you do go ahead with the facade, I would recommend doing the windows after it’s completed. It’s a very messy job and you don’t want your new windows (and frames)to be damaged. Roof jobs aren’t generally too expensive and there are plenty of good recommendations on this site. But plumbing and wiring are key interior up-grades. You don’t want to open the walls more than necessary and ideally you’ll only do that once.
Hi there CrownHeightsProud, I’m the original poster. Could you please shoot me an e-mail when you get a chance? Thanks a bunch!
Forgot to mention that if you are going to have tenants, their space(s) are high on the list. You want to be getting those rental dollars coming as soon as possible.
Some of it depends on whether or not you are going to be living in the house while the repairs are going on, how large your budget is, and how bad “bad inside and out” really is. This is what I’d do with a decent, but not overly large budget.
Sealing the house from the elements is first. If the roof is leaking – do that first. If the windows are crappy, but not broken or gone, I’d wait a bit. My next move would be to upgrade the entire electrical and plumbing systems. From what I’ve seen, electrical usually needs complete upgrade, plumbing may only need some tweaking. If you are going into the walls for electric and plumbing, or taking the walls down to the lathe, have as much of the interior plumbing inspected at that time, and replace as necessary. Nothing worse than finding out after you replaster or put up sheetrock, that you have a leak.
From there on in, if you are planning to live there during the rest of the reno, I’d do the important rooms (for you) first: bath, kitchen, bedroom(s), and a space to relax.
I’d leave the facade, and don’t forget the back of the house, for last. You may hate having the ugliest house on the block, but that’s better than living in misery inside. My facade has yet to be done, and I’ve only begun the inside, so I’m going to have the ugly house on the block for a while.
Roof and facade comes first, but remember to ask the facade crew to fix around the windows.