TBT Before & After: Crown Heights Limestone

Welcome to a new feature on the BHA blog: before and afters! Every Thursday we will dig up old photos of our finished projects for some satisfying eye candy.  These may include the traditional ‘before’ of what the property looked like when we first measured the space, but we may also show the projects at various points in the construction, from studs to sheetrock to finished professional photos.  It’s hard sometimes to envision how a dramatic change in layout might actually feel in your home, but these may inspire you to take the plunge.

There are few things in life more satisfying than a good old fashioned make-over.  Ugly Ducklings, rejoice!

  

Today’s Throwback is from our Crown Heights Limestone project, which remains a legend in the BHA office as one of the most intense ‘before’ houses we have measured.  The photos convey some of the dark, rabbit-warren feel of the neglected rooms, but they do not convey the smell.  With Project Manager Ilva Skaraine at the wheel, the floorplan got a meticulous reworking to maximize light and function, but original details and vintage fixtures helped keep the soul of the place intact.  Hop into the wayback machine and take a ride. (more…)

Rooftop Addition: Moving Day

Hallelujah! We are substantially complete with the project and we had movers come this weekend.  We are working on furnishings and window treatments, hanging art and unpacking.  We will settle in a bit and then I will get some professional photographs taken of the space and post them on the website. (more…)

Rooftop Addition: Minor Setback (!)

Major renovations have many moving parts and, usually, at least one thing goes wrong along the way.  In this case, we have had some problems with the ‘stone’ that is going up on the walls of our bathroom.  (more…)

Rooftop Addition: Almost There…

Thanks Julia for the great choices shown in the last post.

This current blog installment is a hodge-podge of pictures showing the progress on the site since last time.  I think the house will be move-in-able by the end of the month if we choose to get in then.   (more…)

Rooftop Addition: Status Update

As plumbing and electrical and mechanical work are ‘roughed-in’ and we are getting ready to close our walls with sheetrock, I thought I would step back for a minute and look at the bigger picture both with schedule and budget. (more…)

Rooftop Addition: Closing Up

We got a roof on the front deck and got the walls closed up with new windows at the rear and sliding doors at the front. We have framed up all of the interior walls and ceilings and even got our fireplaces installed. We are now ready for the plumber, electrician and HVAC sub to start their work. (more…)

Rooftop Addition: Opening Up

A lot has happened since the last installment. We tore off the roof, opening up the house to the elements. It rained hard (as predicted) but not much made it in to the house. (more…)

Rooftop Addition: The Roof

The addition is now all ‘bulked-out’ and the true size and shape can be seen. We are on the verge of tearing the existing roof and starting to close the building back up.

Roof 1 (more…)

Rooftop Addition: The Wall

Our new rooftop addition will be framed in the same way as the rest of the house – joists spanning from the party wall on one side to the party wall on the other side. One neighbor’s house is one story taller than ours, so the party wall is already built up. On the other side, we need to build up the party wall to the height of our addition. (more…)

Rooftop Addition: What’s it going to look like (inside)?

What’s it going to look like (inside)?

I think we will go somewhat ‘clean’, bright and not-too-traditional with this new story. I put most of the material decisions in the hands of Julia Conti, one of the interior designers here at BHA, and she has sold me on several options including black faucets (!) in the bathroom. (more…)