renovation cold feet
After hiring an architect, getting our drawings approved (FINALLY), and narrowing down our choice of contractors (haven’t decided on one quite yet) my husband and I are having second thoughts about the extent we want to renovate our Boerum Hill/Park Slope brownstone (owner’s duplex). We’re planning on moving the kitchen from the garden level to…
After hiring an architect, getting our drawings approved (FINALLY), and narrowing down our choice of contractors (haven’t decided on one quite yet) my husband and I are having second thoughts about the extent we want to renovate our Boerum Hill/Park Slope brownstone (owner’s duplex). We’re planning on moving the kitchen from the garden level to the parlor (and thereby adding a third bedroom where the current kitchen is), and adding a bathroom (to the parlor level). Also renovating bathroom on garden level. It’s going to be alot of money obviously and we’ll have to move out for a while (with toddler). Can’t decide if it will be worth it in the long run or not. We’ll have to borrow the money. It’ll be so much nicer – the current kitchen and bathroom are disgusting and we bought the house last year knowing we’d renovate them, but just not planning on doing this much work. We suddenly decided to move the kitchen upstairs and then it snowballed into this $150k project. Think it’s worth it, investment-wise?
I moved the kitchen up to the parlor and had a full bath (well, shower) put in up there as well. There was no plumbing on the parlor level, but we just went through the floor from the garden. Agree with the posters that this is the “entertaining” floor and it both made sense for me and for future resale. I could only fit 2 nice sized bedrooms on my garden level though. I don’t have an extension and there are some details in the front room that would’ve been lost if I cut it into 3 smaller rooms. As far as pricing, I’m always surprised by the numbers people throw around. I spent way less than $300k on the entire 4 floors of my brownstone and it was nearly a gut job. If you have time and you’re handy…as much DIY as possible, you can GC, which always helps and shop around for salvaged antique materials, which are usually 10x nicer than new “high end” shite. Also, it sounds as if you’re going to re-do the existing kitchen and bath anyway, so it’s just a matter of running some plumbing.
Not to jump on the bandwagon and I will caveat this with the fact we are just in the exploratory phases of our reno project but I cannot believe that you can get this done for $150K – again depends if you’re putting in IKEA etc. but still I would think $300K+…if you are confident on the 150K…do it
I agree with 5pm..150k for a bstone duplex reno sounds cheap. A lot will depend on the material chosen, but once your in the thick of it, upgrading all the electric, heating, plumbing, etc will make more sense…and with that the budget may expand. I’ve been through this many times, and what starts out as a no brainer, quickly gets out of hand. In my experience, similar projects have cost 35-50k for the plumbing/elec/heating alone, given the licensed trades..add the contractor cost, additional subs and material..and the numbers are astounding. If your doing it all for 150k, its a no brainer..
150 sounds cheap. My prediction: it ends up 300+. Hard to believe, but believe it. If you can’t afford the 300, cut your losses now.
I am doing the same thing; I think it is worth it both if you plan to stay or for resale. When I was looking for a place I would have jumped at anything properly configured with three bedrooms on the garden, a kitchen that allows me to stay on the same level and inter-act with my guests and family. I know some folks keep the bedrooms on the Parlor flr, but for me, 14 foot ceilings double doors and marble mantels seem better suited to entertaining.
I have, however, been racking my brain to try and fit the 3 real bdrms on the garden flr; I have a small 7ft wide by 13 ft long extension and will use that for a while until I have the extra money to bump it out and make a proper bedroom or alternatively have one middle bedroom without a window and use the extension as a bath.
How have others configured the bedrooms on the garden flr?
It is a big job to be sure to undertake this renovation — moving the kitchen is expensive, but the other poster brought up good points – you have to look at your overall cost, the cost of the renovation, your monthly outlay to pay for your mortage etc. Having the kitchen on the garden floor is not a modern idea — it worked when servants did the cooking. I finally decided to leave it there in my renovation because my house is skinny and it wouldn’t have worked on the parlor floor without taking over completely. But that doesn’t seem like your issue. If the “numbers” work and the design works, go for it. You will experience disruption in any case and you may as well get the place you want. Good luck.
we are not quite where you are yet, but we are planning to move our kitchen to the parlor level and create 3 bedrooms in the basement. With kids in mind, it’s almost something you have to do. The kitchen and family room together will be so much more user-friendly when they’re on the same floor. No more running up and down from the kitchen to serve people in the living room. It’s worth it–just don’t feel like you have to do everything all at one time. The baths can wait for awhile until the kitchen is done.
impossible to say without knowing more details. purchase price, comps for area, your own financial situation, etc etc etc…
all that said, if when you are done you will have your dream home that you plan to live in for a long time, then it will probably work out for you.
good luck.