If you have a townhouse gut renovations project in Park Slope, Brooklyn NY then perhaps we can help. We have been performing townhouse gut renovations in and around the Park Slope area for over fifteen years. Our specialty, and what we’re famous for, is completing complex gut renovations in relatively short amounts of time.
If you are looking to increase the value of your townhouse and you need to bring the project in on time and on budget then Picasso Expert Renovations might fit your bill. And, since you’ll be spending serious money, you should definitely contact several of our competitors to get firm bids from them as well.
While you’re at it, ask our competition how long their work will take. We have a track record of finishing our projects on time and on budget. We will encourage you to speak with our previous clients to verify our claims of speed and satisfaction.
In the meantime, George will be happy to schedule a time to meet with you for a discussion of your project. This will be a free meeting where you will be able to gain some valuable information and useful tips. Schedule your no obligation consultation now. What have you got to lose? Click here to schedule a consultation.
At Picasso Expert Renovations we are frequently asked to execute gut renovations, which means stripping everything down to the studs and often totally eliminating unnecessary interior walls. “Blowing out” a wall can dramatically change the look and feel of a kitchen. What’s not to like about a massive kitchen?
Cabinets-Traditional or Modern This is just a matter of taste and style. Some like the style of their kitchen to more closely match the traditional look of the exterior of their row or townhouse. While others, even though the are really fond of their building’s classic exterior, enjoy the contrast of an ultra modern interior.
The traditional cabinet is often large and somewhat dark in color. Although they are mainly wood they will sometimes have glass fronts. There is a warm, country home feel to these traditional looking cabinets. Some cabinets are “aged” or “distressed” so they will look older than they actually are.
This traditional, “old world style” in the cabinets is usually carried over to the furniture, which has earth tones of brown. Arched doorways and wood floorboards as well as wood beams on the ceiling all combine to give one a rustic, traditional feel.
The modern cabinet will usually be smaller and more compact than the traditional. You’ll find the modern to be made of metal, laminates and glass. The colors will be lighter and brighter. Bright whites, greys and variations of silver are all popular modern cabinet colors.
There are a variety of tricks designers use to show off a modern kitchen area, or for that matter, any area of the home. Bright lighting and minimal furnishings all contribute to making the open space look a little larger than it actually is.
The modern renovated kitchen will often have granite counters, tiled walls and space saving compact appliances.
Both modern and traditional kitchen styles are found throughout Park Slope. It’s really your subjective taste kind of decision. Either one can work well.
Many bathrooms that were built before the 1990’s need to be gutted down to the studs. When you tear down the walls, ceiling and floor you will uncover all of the past construction sins.
Dangerously old waste-pipe & other pipe problems These should be replaced with modern pvc/abs because these old pipes have a tendency to corrode badly and will then leak and ruin the room below. Yes, uncovering old bathroom walls can expose some unpleasant plumbing surprises.
Installing a proper exhaust fan Average old bath fans don’t move nearly enough air…probably about half of what they should. A modern fan, installed correctly, will be able to push twice the amount of hot, moist air out of the room. Sometimes this fix can be made from the attic but quite often one needs to open up the ceiling to do it right.
Repair termite damage Eastern subterranean termites can be found in older Brooklyn buildings. When you open up an exterior wall you will occasionally find termite damage. Your building may be having termite treatments now, but if its an old building then you may uncover old, early termite damage done before the treatments were started.
Rotten Sub-floor Old tile is often cracked, broken or loose and then there may be leaks that are rotting the wood underneath the tile. In that case the sub-flooring should be replaced.
Inadequate wall insulation Sometimes there is adequate insulation in you building’s exterior walls but again there may be little or none. When you strip down to the studs you will know exactly where there is adequate insulation and where you may need to add more
A master bedroom gut renovation allows you do some things that will add comfort and luxury to your night time hours without breaking the bank.
Soundproofing your bedroom You want to guarantee a quiet night’s sleep in your newly remodeled master bedroom? Then it it would be a good idea to install thick and highly dense stone wool insulation in your interior walls and your ceiling. This is a special type of insulation that will absorb sound and muffle any noise.
Multi-zone lighting system Before he puts up the new drywall George will instruct his electrician to install a remote controlled lighting system that will give you a variety of lighting options at the touch of a button. From bright light to low light for romance to pink or blue light for sleep..you will have many options.
Money saving ceiling fan You have may have spent time in the tropics then you would know about the tremendous cooling advantages of a powerful ceiling fan. Although the fan will cost more to buy than a cheap air conditioner, the monthly cost will be much less.
The maintenance and repair costs of a air-con unit can be quite high. Whereas as good quality fan will run forever and not break your monthly budget. Some specialty can run in reverse as well. This reverses the airflow and can help to warm your room in the winter by pushing the warm air downward.
A decent sized attic will allow you to get fairly creative with that area. So you can safely qualify with the building department code you will want at least 50% of your attic to have a ceiling height of at least 7 feet. You will also want the space to be at least 70 square feet. Sometimes adding a dormer will help you acquire the necessary space to pass the code. George will be happy to examine the space and let you know what has to happen for you to qualify with the building department.
Once it’s determined that you have sufficient space to work with, you can then decide what to do with it. Some popular and creative ideas for an attic room are a children’s play area, a quiet adult home office space or even an adult get-away master bathroom. George will gladly share even more attic ideas with you.
Beefing up the structure The attic will need additional strength to safely carry the extra weight. You may also need to strengthen the foundation of the townhouse itself. The minimum reinforcement you can expect to need is to build the floor joists in your attic deeper and closer together.
Ceiling fan When you have the head space a ceiling fan will cool you down in the summer months. You can reverse the fan for added warmth in the winter.
Quiet floor When you decide to make the attic a children’s playroom you will definitely want to beef up the attic floor joists and well as filling the bays with densely packed insulation to muffle the sound.
Spray on foam ceiling insulation While your attic ceiling is “gutted” and stripped down to the rafters you can spray on foam insulation which is going to make your attic climate more comfortable than the typical fiberglass batt insulation.
There are numerous possible mistakes you can make when you renovate a Brooklyn townhouse. These are five major mistakes. Avoid them and your chances of experiencing a happy and successful renovation will improve dramatically.
You should get at least three bids. And it doesn’t hurt to get more than three. Make sure you are interviewing experienced contractors with verified testimonials on places like Angie’s List and Google My Business.
Look through the contractor’s verified reviews and see if you can find past clients who had work similar to what you are having done. Ask the contractor if you have his permission to contact some of his past clients.
When you reach these old clients, talk to them about your questions and concerns. When he worked for them, did he finish their project on time and on budget ? Did his crew clean up the work site at the end of each working day ? Did he ever suspect the crew was running around to other Brooklyn jobs ? How fast was he at resolving problems ? Was the contractor agreeable to project changes ? etc etc
Some things you might want to consider before your final renovation designs are: Will you be adding to the family ? This could mean future children, future pets or even a possible future renting tenant for a basement apartment. Any of these, or similar distant plans, could influence your design layout.
And what about future buyers ? You want to make sure you’re adding value by making changes that will bring you the best return when you decide to sell. It’s been frequently said that the kitchen and bathrooms sell the home…so that keep that in mind.
A full master suite, for those who can afford it, is becoming very popular. Ordinary bedrooms have become kind of boring. More and more we are seeing clients deciding to eliminate an interior wall so that they can create a master suite with a large bedroom, a walk-in closet and a full bath.
You should have a written plan with the precise details of what’s going to happen and when it will happen. That forces everyone to focus and not go off track.
We suggest a contractor and his client always complete a “Scope of Work” document. This document will list in writing exactly what will be done and what materials and products will be used. In some cases you will supply the material and in some cases the contractor will be the supplier.
You want this written document to be as detailed as possible. This will prevent future confusion and misunderstandings. Your budget, a timeline for completion and a starting day should all be included in a written document and signed by both parties.
Many renovation construction consultants will tell you to expect to spend at least 15% to 20% more than the initial bid. And this is true in a lot of cases. However, George at Picasso is a little different in that he prides himself on taking a tough-love type approach with his client’s budget.
This doesn’t mean that he will stand in your way if you want to spend a lot of money. That being said, if you have a budget ceiling you want to stay under, then George will open his bag of tricks and search his endless supply of sources to find you the very lowest prices on cabinets, tile, fixtures, appliances and all the possible materials that can be used.
Realistic planning is the key to developing a renovation budget that you can live with. It really helps to have a contractor who is willing to put in the time with you during this budget planning stage. A good contractor will let you know when you may be experiencing some unrealistic expectations. You really need honest, constructive advice when you plan your budget. George is good at this.
If you planning to make this townhouse the last home you will ever have then, for goodness sake, make your townhouse as trendy as you would like. However remember, trends come and go. And if you wish to sell the home someday, you won’t want it to look “dated” or saying, “this is an obviously 2020 interior”….in say, 2035, when you plan to sell.
Picasso Expert Renovations has successfully completed remodeling project throughout most of Park Slope. The renovations have ranged from brownstones to apartments to commercial shops to townhouses.
The serious building of townhouses and massive grand homes in Park Slope began in the mid 1880’s soon after the Brooklyn bridge was finished. Some of these beauties can be seen today near Park Place West.
Because there is a low inventory of these Park Slope grand, single family townhouses their median sales price now is in the range of $3,000,000.
Probably the main draw for the 60,000 citizens of Park Slope is Prospect Park which can be reached by crossing Park Place West. Made up of rolling hills, meadows, bike paths and walking paths, Prospect Park is a year around recreation and relaxation destination.
Park Slope Brooklyn NY is broken up into two zip codes: 11215, also known as South Park and 11217 which is also part of Boerum Hill. Residents of both zip codes generally use public transportation more so than most areas of the country. And a relatively large amount of people living on the South Slope are able to work at home.
Park Slope and Carroll Gardens are high income neighborhoods with great schools and lovely parks along with beautiful brownstones and townhouses. It’s amazing to think that back in the early ’70’s a four story brownstone that now sells for 5 million could have been purchased for 25 thousand dollars.
Previously, before there was neighborhood “gentrification”, the poor and working class would rent rooms in these massive brownstones and share a common bathroom. Now affluent families dwell there.
Picasso Expert Renovations
21 Bay Ridge Pkwy,
Brooklyn, NY 11209
(347) 276-2081