Brownstone Renovations... just getting started

As someone undergoing the “3-4 month renovation” a year and three-quarters later, I implore you to listen to those who say move in, live a little, before you decide on “raising the basement ceiling” (Perhaps you mean digging out the basement floor?). It’s easy for these forums to become pissing on your parade parties, but there’s a lot of hard-earned truth to all the comments above. My added two cents: You hire architects for their creativity, engineers for their critical analysis, and contractors for real world solutions. There’s a lot of crossover, obviously, but architects have a habit of dreaming up wonderful but unrealistic or cost-prohibitive ideas. Engineers tend to devise solutions that will last forever, when something simple, and cheaper, would suffice. And contractors look for every opportunity to cut a corner to save time and money (their’s not yours). Also, you won’t believe how much money and time all the paperwork and planning and permitting will cost for all you listed if you do it by the book. That doesn’t mean not to do them, but I’d double the time for what anyone tries to tell you, no matter what they say. Other wisdom I failed to heed. Fast, cheap, good: at best you can only ever get two. Pick wisely.