Renovations. Help!
Browstoner community: We’re abut to undertake a renovation on our parlor floor and cellar. Dimensions: 20×45 but cellar has mechanicals, etc. so not a full 900 square feet of renovation there. We’re interviewing engineers/architects and could really use some input from you. What should this type of renovations cost for each floor? I know all…
Browstoner community:
We’re abut to undertake a renovation on our parlor floor and cellar. Dimensions: 20×45 but cellar has mechanicals, etc. so not a full 900 square feet of renovation there. We’re interviewing engineers/architects and could really use some input from you.
What should this type of renovations cost for each floor? I know all the rules regarding cost per square foot but I’d like some feedback on total cost per floor.
In the basement it’s just demo and framing a few rooms and dry walling. Some electric but nothing structural or crazy. Also a half bath renovation but very basic stuff.
On the parlor, it’s more extensive demolition, some structural (replacing load bearing wall with column supports to open up the space), nicer half bath renovation and a new kitchen (not super-high end but nice … no custom cabinets/subzero stuff but not 100% IKEA either).
What are ballpark total costs? Also, we’ve been told that an extension to the parlor would cost the same per square foot to build as the per square foot costs to renovate the existing parlor. True? I’ll answer any questions promptly.
Thank you!!
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They did a full gut renovation of a top floor in a brownstone on the upper west side for about $200 psf including fixtures and appliances.The owner gave them a sketch of the layout he wanted on a 8 1/2 x 11 sheet of paper and they ran with it.
OP
George here again. Regarding your comment about $/sf, you are generally correct in that simple wall framing and sheetrock, painting is going to be less costly than full-on, wall framing w/ new electrical, plumbing, cabinetry and infrastructure work.
As previously posted, the sound way to get real numbers is to develop real architectural drawings describing the scope of demolition, new framing, new electrical, new plumbing. structural work, finishes, lihting, etc. This drawing set can be bid to multiple contractors and will yield some real numbers for the project. If it is a really minor reno, you could conduct the work based on contractor time and materials, but you sound like you are doing a somewhat more involved project.
Also, the addition you mention probably needs to be thought through a bit. How much s.f. are you adding? How much allowable sf by zoning/code are you allowed to add? There are also some issues with regards to new window locations, distance to adjacent buildings, etc.
In short, it would be beneficial to look at the WHOLE picture, based on your idealized reno. Some architectural guidance can help quickly add some reality to it, and developing a very clear bid set of drawings will give something real for contractors to price.
Drop me a line to discuss further,
George Roushakes, R.A.
george@pulse3am.com
PULSE3AM…architecture+design
T: 917.647.2678 F: 917.591.2165
http://www.pulse3am.com
OP here again. Anon 1:11, it is a real cellar with boiler, etc. The format of this townhouse is a cellar with small windows (about 2-3 feet is above grade of 7 feet total ceiling height) with a parlor and 2 floor above parlor.
Other posters, yes, it is time to formulate a budget and speak to the professionals, just thought I’d see what the Forum had to say first.
Last question. For those that have done renovations … any advice? Questions I should ask architect? Important contract items? Anything else? Thanks again.
SF prices are really only for “back of the envelope” calculations. If you are at the point of doing renovations it is time to figure out exactly what you want and bid it out – only then will you know what this will cost. If the bids come back too high for you, scale it back a little. If they are lower – buy those custom cabinets…..and don’t forget to include the cost of the architect and expeditor. These are overlooked but you could be looking at 50+
I believe the cellar is where the furnace is and has not windows. Is the the cellar or the the basement (aka ground floor) you want to renovate. Also you say “maybe an extension” which is a lot more complicated. You sound like you haven’t really thought through what you want to do and should probably meet with an architect.
I can’t say from experiance (since my husband has been doing all our renovation himself) but from my understanding 150 to 200 a sq foot sounds about right. You also may be right that the cellar may be slightly less per square foot but again i am not sure. I do know someone that had work done on their house in ditmas park for significantly less than 150 a sq foot but the work was very poor. One thing to consider that a friend of my family who is a contractor pointed out to me, its generally always cheaper per square foot to do a larger project than a smaller one so if you are considering forgoing the basement i would consider that fact.
If you are willing to put time in to do some of the work yourself and find salvaged materials (which look better than new, IMHO), you can get away with a gorgeous reno for not alot of money.
George and Anon 4:38 et al:
OP here. Thanks very much for the insights. It does seem crazy to me to spend $250k – $300k to renovate one floor and a cellar.
Do the same $175 to $250 per square foot rules hold for square footage on a cellar compared to a parlor with a new kitchen? It seems that the basement (assuming no structural work) would be much cheaper on a square foot basis than the parlor (perhaps $100 – $125 a square foot?).
George, I will give you a call. In any event, what does the Brownstoner community think about renovating the parlor (with lots of demo to open the space), a new kitchen, maybe an extension and basic/simple renovation on the cellar for a budget of $150k to $200k total? Doable? Will it look horrendous? Better to spend that on just the parlor and do the cellar next year?
Thanks again.
I went with mid-range, semi-custom cabinets for the small kitchen in our new house, and moderately priced appliances not the sub-zero nonsense, and the kitchen will STILL come to at least $30,000 once countertops, appliances and installation costs are included. There isn’t even much demolition to do, nor do we need to do the floors; they’re done. Kitchens are pricey! So it might be worth it for you to go ahead and do a budget for Ikea cabinets. People I know who have them love them. But don’t buy anything else from Ikea kitchens – just the cabinets.
Also, figure out which renovations you can live with a while. Do top priority ones first. New homeowners always want to do everything immediately, but I personally believe in only putting in as much money into improvements each year, as what you could get back if you had to sell. Which for us, means we are renovating one bathroom this year not both of the two bathrooms.