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johnnieb_dc

The urban experience

JohnnieB
17 years ago

I'm interested in hearing about the experiences others have had renovating/remodeling their homes in urban areas, particularly rowhouses. Costs? Permits and bureaucracy? Unexpected problems? Live in or move out? Horror stories? Happy endings???

My partner and I have a 1927 rowhouse in Washington, DC that needs quite a bit of work--it was remodeled in the 1970's and/or 1980's but the kitchen and baths need to be completely redone, and some of the previous remodeling will be UNdone. We're still in the design phase and working with an architect who has experience with similar homes. The house has an "English basement" (basically an apartment that is rented out, never heard the term before coming to DC), two full floors, and an attic over the front 1/3 of the house, angling sharply down to a long flat roof over the rest of the house. (I'll see if I can find some photos to post later.)

The biggest part of our project will be converting our attic into a master bedroom suite, which will mean constructing a new staircase to the third floor, bumping up the roof, bumping out the back wall a few feet, and adding a full bath and closet space (not to mention all new floors and possibly reinforcing joists).

On top of everything else, getting construction materials in, and demolition debris out, is something I'm wondering about. It doesn't help that we are on a hillside, with steps up to our front door, and steps in back going up to our garage on a narrow alley.

The big payoff is that the new third floor will open to a rooftop deck overlooking the back garden, with decent long-distance views and a surprising degree of privacy thanks to mature trees all around the neighborhood.

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