Starting to Consider a Reno
Apologies, this is a bit long. My sister and I inherited a house a couple of years ago when my mother passed away. In the early stages of dealing with her estate, I had a guy come in to draw up some plans for renovating the kitchen and upstairs bathroom. In the process of that,…
Apologies, this is a bit long.
My sister and I inherited a house a couple of years ago when my mother passed away. In the early stages of dealing with her estate, I had a guy come in to draw up some plans for renovating the kitchen and upstairs bathroom. In the process of that, the scope of the work increased dramatically – he believed a formerly load-bearing wall no longer was. That said, any changes made were done during renovations in the early 1980s, and nothing’s moved much since – ergo there’s no immediate fear. Part of this is also motivated by the fact that the upstairs bathroom once held a big clawfoot tub, and now is just a shower (amazingly, I met someone who used to live here).
Given all that news, and the chaos going on in my life at the time, I punted on everything. I’m now starting to re-examine the situation.
I’m facing a number of large repairs:
* Window replacement (a must)
* Stoop resurfacing (it’s a mess, but not critical)
* Aforementioned kitchen & bathroom
* Potential structural repair.
If I had my druthers and an unlimited budget, of course I’d say to just fix everything. But I can’t do that.
I feel like I need a combination architect/GC/mentor on all of this. I’m still pretty overwhelmed by it all, and I need someone I can trust on this to give me some sense of perspective on this work, especially with regards to the scope of it, how expensive it would be, and how long it would take.
I’ve taken to heart the whole “Good/Fast/Cheap – choose 2” mantra, but I could really use some help & advice.
Thank you for any advice & recommendations, and please ask any questions that would help clarify things.
Instead of jumping “headlong” into all this, I would just replace the windows so that heating bills are kept to a minimum. Windows We Are gave me a good estimate. The kitchen and bathroom can wait till next Spring and you can get a few estimates between now and then. Plus you will get to see condition of stoop after the Winter blows through!
K
We’ve used Steve Baranello and was very happy with his services (http://www.professionalpropertyinspection.com/), but if you go up to the search area on the top right of the page and flip the drop-down menu to Inspector you will see a lot of threads with recommended inspectors. I would definitely make sure you walk through the house with the inspector so you can ask questions. For me, doing the walk through is much more educational than the final report.
I have been underwhelmed by the home inspectors I have met, perhaps someone could recommend a good one?
I think it might be a good idea to pay a home inspector to take a look at your house. It would cost about $500-$800 and they will walk you through the house and identify potential structural issues, mechanicals issues, roof life left, etc. Typically you do this prior to purchasing a home, but we (co-op board) have done it for our co-op building as a check-up on this building to anticipate future work needed. If you have a good inspector they can really highlight potential issues and help you prioritize your needs/wants/goals for the house.
I would recommend Ronald Baker (718) 404-4572. He does good, solid work, is extremely conscientious about doing right by the client. I’m an architect and I’ve been recommending him for my jobs for years. He almost always gets the job because his prices are lower, but the quality of his work is still very high. Ron lives in the area and has a lot of experience in this kind of work. Please call him and tell him I sent you.
When it’s a job that requires filing, and yours seems borderline depending upon the scope of the kitchen and bath renovation, we work hand-in-hand to provide a detailed estimate covering everything from design and filing through construction and sign-off.
Jim Hill, RA, LEED AP
Urban Pioneering Architecture
Is this a house you live in or a rental property? What are you goals? While I appreciate architects in a major renovation, I am not sure this a major renovation. Seems to me the order should be shoring up the wall; replacing windows; renovating the kitchen and bath; then stoop.
try amzihill@gmail.com. He’s an architect and old house lover. Sweet guy too!
btw…i am a contractor..so if you want to talk, send me an email
i seriously recommend hiring an architect… proceeding w/out filed plans will cost you endless amounts of fines