Advice re: Nature and Timing of Brownstone Renovation
Hi, my wife and I expect to be in contract on a well maintained and partially updated brownstone this week, and are looking for advice on the nature and timing of renovations to the home. We have been down this road before, almost purchasing a townhouse a few years ago, but then retreating after researching the process, cost and timing for a project that seeks to modernize a townhouse (not a complete gut, but a nearly full update of electrical, plumbing, roof, HVAC, bathrooms, kitchen, etc.). In this instance, the home seems to have fully updated electrical, full/partially update plumbing, HVAC installed, and recently updated roof, and the layout is workable in the context of our plans (e.g., removal of only one wall, which we do not believe to be load bearing, and no movement of wet areas). In short, it is completely livable, but would require cosmetic work to move in – e.g., painting – but we are trying to decide whether to hire an architect to modernize the kitchen and add a small powder room next to it on the parlor floor, provide the parlor floor with access to t he outdoor garden, separate the garden floor from the parlor floor to create a garden rental (just separation, the garden floor is already setup as a rental) and update a bathroom on the third floor. This type of renovation seems less intrusive than a more involved project, but two of the architects we have spoken to suggested that this would be a $600,000-800,000 job, which sounds far off from what we would expect based on past research. If that is the case, then would prefer to postpone such a large undertaking until we have lived in the house for a year or so, but then we fear that if we don’t do the work before we move in that it will never be done. We understand from previous posts on the topic that the prevailing wisdom is to first live in the house before undertaking such a renovation, while at the same time consulting with experts to understand costs, etc., but wanted to seek your thoughts nonetheless to see if our case yields a different outcome. If helpful, we have lived in a decent sized apartment in brownstone Brooklyn for the past 3 years, and have a good sense of how we would want to use our new home and the types of updates we would like to make (although we appreciate that you don’t fully know how you want to live in a home until you move in). Any thoughts or advice is much appreciated!
francescarobicci
in General Discussion 4 years and 11 months ago
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5 replies
JPDA | 4 years and 10 months ago
If you’re still weighing your options on this one, I would strongly recommend doing the work before moving in. There is literally no torture worse than living through construction, especially when it involves plumbing work and your kitchen. I am happy to talk through some budget numbers if you are interested – your initial estimates do seem high unless there are significant infrastructural issues. Look for us in the Architects section under Find a Pro on Brownstoner.
cate | 4 years and 11 months ago
This sounds like a terrific home for you to purchase because it is already in great shape with the layout you desire and HVAC. Updating a kitchen and a bathroom, plus adding a powder room and garden access from the parlor floor, and painting should be doable for $100K to $300K or so. It will be easier and less stressful if you do it all at once up front while living elsewhere but you could move in, then move out and/or move to the garden level while the work proceeds above, etc. etc. Agree with the above commenter re architect: Find one who’s experienced with the kind of renovations you’re doing and reasonably priced — they’re out there.
brucef | 4 years and 11 months ago
As a long time owner (long enough to have renovated houses twice), your priorities will change after a year or two. Things like a friend has a house you can move to for 6 months while you tear apart something. The best price on something you end up not needing is no bargain.
jcarch | 4 years and 11 months ago
While construction costs have been rising due to high demand for GC’s created by the lifting of the COVID related construction moratorium, what you’re describing is not a $600K-$800K project. I’d be happy to get into the details on the scope of work, and lay out some more realistic cost ranges offline with you if you’d like, you can contact me at jpc at jcarchitecture dot com.
andy | 4 years and 11 months ago
600K is preposterous for what you’re describing. The most annoying issue will prove to be adding the garden access to the parlor floor (need to hire structural engineer, etc). My advice is, instead of starting with the architect, start with the contractor. You don’t need a fancy architect, you need a workmanship architect (and in NYC these days, almost every architect considers themselves fancy). Good luck.