Renovating Old Brownstone Apartment
There’s a elderly lady who lives in the brownstone next door to me. She offered for me to move into the apartment inside her brownstone for less than half the market rent. The catch is the apartment is terribly dated although livable. The brownstone was never really changed from a one family except for the…
There’s a elderly lady who lives in the brownstone next door to me. She offered for me to move into the apartment inside her brownstone for less than half the market rent. The catch is the apartment is terribly dated although livable. The brownstone was never really changed from a one family except for the seperate kitchens on each floor, that said the bathroom and kitchen is only accesible from outside the main part of the apartment. She said I was free to renovate the apartment and she would take it out of my rent which sounds good. The problem is I’m really young and I don’t even know how to begin doing the work or how much it would cost. I’d like to start with restoring the wood floors, a portion of the apartment has the wood floors in tact, a portion has linolium and another portion has carpet. Has anyone ever done something like this? How much should I expect to pay to sand and polish the floors per sq. ft? Also, I’d like to update the kitchen cabinets and the tile in the bathroom and kitchen. I’m sure this is a broad question but I’d like to know what I may be getting myself into. I can’t afford a contractor and I don’t really think its necessary. Any suggestions would be very helpful. Thanks
wow I guess I am totally underestimating. I didn’t plan to do any major plumbing work or anything massive I was only planning to undertake the cosmetic upgrades. I am very well aware of the pit falls of taking on projects in older brownstones, I considered the possible setbacks especially since its a landmarked building but I guess I was not realistic.
wow I guess I am totally underestimating. I didn’t plan to do any major plumbing work or anything massive I was only planning to undertake the cosmetic upgrades. I am very well aware of the pit falls of taking on projects in older brownstones, I considered the possible setbacks especially since its a landmarked building but I guess I was not realistic.
CHP provides a perfect illustration of what happens when you mess with anything in an old building. I didn’t know that it was called “mushrooming”, butI have lived this renovation scenario many times over.
Old House Journal (a great magazine, btw) used to have a word for what happens when you start a project in an old house: mushrooming.
Example – I’m having a bathroom done in my brownstone. Tearing up floor revealed water damage to subfloor (totally rotted, but I knew that)Tearing that out revealed massive damage to beams and joists, which had to be replaced and sistered. Touching the plumbing revealed that all of the valves had to be replaced, as they were fused shut and couldn’t be turned off once turned in any way. Further trauma caused by just working with them revealed that everything except the waste pipe needed to be replaced, as the whole system was a disaster waiting to happen. The same thing happened in the electrical wiring. Job is now way past due date and costs twice as much as estimated.
I’m glad I’m having everything fixed,once and for all, and I know enough about it to know that my guys were not exaggerating, but once you start in on repairs and renovation, be prepared for it to go way beyond your expectations in terms of money, time, materials, and possibly your expertise and DIY abilities.
I think 50% more is underestimating. Double it and add another 50%.
Listen to the naysayers on this one. As somebody who’s renovated a couple times, I can safely say that with these old buildings, nothing ever goes right, or on time, or on budget. And the headaches are BIG. Also, you’ll need to invest in tools. Is the LL going to pay for that. Plus the incidental costs really add up.
What is going to happen is that about halfway thru the project, you’ll need to deliver the bad news that it is going to take twice and long and cost 50% more than you expected. At which point the LL will accuse you of trying to rip her off and throw you out.
thanks, I assumed about $3 per sq foot for the flooring. ideally, I’d like to just take the tile out off the bathroom walls and paint them to save costs. I’d only like to replace the tiles on the bathroom and kitchen floors. I won’t change the counter tops only the cabinets. I don’t really think that it seems like too much work, I’m estimating 6-7k.
One last point, you may be spending money for things that may need to be torn up again in the near future. For instance if the apartment needs new tile in the bathroom it may also need the shower body to be replaced. I wouldnt spend alot on tile if in a few years it is just going to be ripped out later. As someone who started working in construction as a teenager, I have fixed up many of the apartments I was renting. Everything from electrical upgrades to complete plaster jobs, with or with out the landlords compensation. Here is my advice to a renter with little DIY skills. Stick to small jobs you can finish in a week end. Try pulling back the rug a bit and see what shape the floors are in first before you go all gonzo. FLOOR REFINISHING $3 per sq foot
When you get some bids for the job, make sure everyone knows your part of the job will consist of “being there” while the work is going on. Have all contracts downpayments ect addressed to your land lady. When thats done move in and enjoy your cheap apartment. In a few weeks think about painting or maybe the kitchen. Standard small off-the-shelf kicthen cabinets (Lowes or HD) with off-the-shelf sink and counter top will run you about $1000. Labor?
You will be able to do kitchen cabinets, sink etc on the cheap from Ikea. For our kitchen ,which is large by NY appt standards, the cost for cabinetry will be around $2000.
Wood flooring will be more expensive. You will need to get a contractor in to give you an estimate.