Renovation Reveal and Advice
Hello all I thought I might share with you the (almost) culmination of a brownstone gut renovation I embarked on 20 months ago. Having a background in design I drew the plans myself and designed the house entirely, which was the easy part… I consulted this forum as well as other sources for GC recommendations…
Hello all
I thought I might share with you the (almost) culmination of a brownstone gut renovation I embarked on 20 months ago. Having a background in design I drew the plans myself and designed the house entirely, which was the easy part… I consulted this forum as well as other sources for GC recommendations and did as much research as I thought I needed to, but still ended up choosing the wrong GC, who pretended to know more then he did, made a lot of mistakes and cut corners (many of them I only found out about after I fired him) and stopped showing up to work when he finished spending most of the money.
I luckily found a wonderful new GC who saved me and helped me complete the 4 story renovation.
I now live in the duplex apartment, comprising of the basement and first floor of the house, while the second and third floors each are 1 bedroom tenant’s apartments. The duplex is almost finished (I am still fixing problems the first GC left me with), but the rentals are complete and are rented out to lovely tenants. I would be happy to lend advice to any of you out there who are contemplating a gut renovation, as I have learned so much about construction through this process and what to watch out for. I can also recommend some good people. To see the complete work as it stand now you can visit my web showcase:
https://sites.google.com/site/spacedesignproject/
Love it also.
The over the top negative comments were totally uncalled for. This is the forum where people come for advice, it’s not the House of the Day looking to get hammered with nasty comments.
To me the forum is supposed to be a more civilized place where the old saying “if you don’t have something nice to say, don’t say it” should apply.
Coming here to voice how much you hate someone’s reno (and in such a harsh and arrogant way) is just plain rude, and I absolutely see why the poster reacted as they did.
Thanks for sharing this…I really enjoyed looking, and like the open nature of the cabinets, the floors, the white wall of brick, some of your light fixtures and that garden is going to be really fun to get to work on in a couple months.
Enjoy it!
I think you did a great job. Your door design rocks. The floors are really beautiful and I think your design makes good sense. I would love to hear about what you think your big mistakes were. Also, how long did you think it would have taken you if you’d had the good GC all along? DId you have to replace all the mechanicals or level the floors? Who do you recommend for tile, etc. And did use an architect or engineer along the way to submit plans, etc.?
Congrats on your new home!
I think your reno looks great! I wish I had the creativity to do what you did with the space -very cool!
thanks for sharing
there are a LOT of assholes and asshole wannabes on the internet.
I like your reno. fuck the haters they can suck a bowl of dicks.
“Why does it bother you so that someone likes my doors so much?”
probably because your original post, and your follow up responses come across as being arrogant, pretentious, not to mention desperate for attention!
OP,
I like what you did. Some folks on here just love being able to be rude behind the anonymity of a screen name. Guess it’s how you were raised. The “before” pics are hysterical -now. And those floors, wow.
Thanks for sharing. Enjoy your new digs!
“In some caltures and countries, having a kitchen that opens up to the garden makes a whole lot of sense. espcially if you plan to entertain there a lot and serve food”
Well, last I looked this ain’t one of those, it’s not a Mediterranean climate, you know. “Deck”+”Stairs”
You know, for someone who voluntarily put up your design on one of the most snarky sites on record, you’re remarkably thin-skinned. Maybe some of these critiques are over the top, but to respond aggressively as you do makes no friends (or clients, if you need them.)
Lights: Thanks for the history lesson. Even authentic antiques can be ugly. And misplaced in a stark modern aesthetic.
I think it’s great and really appreciate you taking the time to post! A lot of people on this forum love victorian scroll work and etched glass, which i find oppressive. your design is bright and original. well done! A few questions:
how did you get your first gc? i ask because you seem very knowledgeable so if you got it wrong, that means the rest of us could easily as well..
about how much did the whole project cost?
did you file the project?
many thanks
Floors are beautiful and I love the shower tile in the master bath. Question: what color is the wall paint you used in the kitchen?