Finally getting started!

18 years ago

After more than a year of planning that included working with an architect, 2 months to go through historic review and another 8 months to get all the necessary permits from the city, and then several delays by our GC, things started happening, and happening all at once! We were still moving things out of the house as the crew was literally demolishing around us. While construction is underway we are living in our basement, which is finished as an apartment (we had to kick our tenant out, which means no rental income for the next few months!).

One thing that really impressed us is how fast demolition has gone. They demolished the kitchen and both full bathrooms in just one day, and that included hauling away debris and old appliances. (This is part of a much bigger renovation project on our 80 year old rowhouse that affects all 3 floors (attic is becoming a master bedroom suite) but these are all the photos I have right now.) Anyway, here are some photos--first, our dreary little galley kitchen from the 1980's, everything lined up on one wall with a tiny bit of counter and a useless blank wall on the other side:

and from the other side:

Here's what it looked like 8 hours later:

Part of the plan is to open the wall between the kitchen & dining room for a pass-through with additional counter space and cabinets beneath. Here are before & after views from the dining room:

The rest of the studs came down the next day and then they moved on to the rest of the house. I know, demolition is the easy part, but all I can say is, IT'S ABOUT TIME!

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (5)

clax66
18 years ago
How exciting for you! I love old rowhouses:) May I ask why you had to go through an historic review?

What do you envision for your new kitchen and dining room?
JohnnieB
Original Author
18 years ago
Anything that affects the exterior of the house has to go through historical review, even if it isn't visible from the street. We're expanding our attic/third floor into a master bedroom suite by bumping the roof up and the back wall back, and adding a deck over the rest of the roof. Supposedly they only care about the front of the house and we were careful not to do anything that was visible from the front, but even so it took them 2 months to approve our plans (and which included their losing our plans and our architect having to print up new ones at our own expense). BTW here's a view of the house from the front:

And from the rear, showing the flat roof where the deck will be (A/C compressor will have to be relocated, obviously):

Oh yeah, these modest, middle class, nearly-identical urban rowhouses are historic, all right. (Don't get me started.)
Related Professionals
Branson Kitchen & Bathroom Designers · Elizabeth City Kitchen & Bathroom Designers · Frisco Kitchen & Bathroom Designers · South Bend Kitchen & Bathroom Designers · Augusta Kitchen & Bathroom Designers · Manhattan Kitchen & Bathroom Designers · Green Bay Kitchen & Bathroom Designers · Fort Collins Kitchen & Bathroom Designers · Spanish Fork Kitchen & Bathroom Designers · Florence Kitchen Remodelers · San Diego Kitchen Remodelers · Daytona Beach Custom Countertops · Lexington Custom Countertops · DeRidder Custom Countertops · Johnson City Custom Countertops
edlakin
18 years ago
i'm wondering how the astroturf and chain link fence on the neighboring house passed the historical review.
JohnnieB
Original Author
18 years ago
They can't make you change anything that was already there when our neighborhood got its historic designation (late 1980's or early 1990's, I believe). The house next door was owned by an elderly lady who has since died. The young couple who bought it are doing some pretty major renovations of their own (all interior so far) and are leaving the indoor/outdoor carpet to protect the porch and steps until the work is mostly finished. They haven't said anything about the fence but we would love to see it go! I heard a rumor that they may use it as leverage when they have to go before historic review themselves for some exterior work ("we'll take down the chain link fence if you'll allow us to...").

The end result of the historic district designation is that many people try to do work on the sly, without permits. Many others just let their properties deteriorate because they know that any renovation work will be costly, time-consuming, and a general pain in the neck. We know of one guy who had his original, cracked & leaky attic windows replaced literally in the middle of the night because his new, high-effiency windows didn't have the wooden frames that are required in our historic district. Yes, they are that picky. My question is, if you can't tell from the street if the frames are vinyl or wood, WHO CARES?
louisa_smith03
18 years ago
Let me guess-- DCRA, right? (from the look of your house we must be neighbors!)

My GC swears he will exclusively work in VA from now on. The missing plans sound so much like what I went through during my basement remodel. We are paying the extra money to have contractors do the inspections rather than the DCRA people. Wish it would have been an option to paid extra to avoid DCRA at the front end too!

Good luck! It's a great feeling, isn't it?