i would at least renovate out into the neighbors alcove and steal some of their space.

One last thing – If you can Keep the exposed brick in the mudroom.

Good luck – budget for more costs and more time and if you finish on time and on budget you’ll be really happy!.

First, we are only just now finalizing the plans, we still need to run things by the structural engineer and then get permits. We are definitely not planning on starting this in the winter, we just want to be ready as soon as spring hits.

Excellent point on the kitchen door. Throughout the early phases I kept pushing to keep it in, my wife and the architect finally convinced me I was wrong.

The plans don’t show it, but there is a parking spot which will remain untouched by the renovation, we have a “fairly” long backyard. That said, we want to maintain some green space, rather than concrete the whole thing as our neighbor’s have done.

Best idea of the thread has been to add a bay window! I have no idea why we didn’t think of that. I will send an email to the architect to see if it is feasible, but I can’t imagine why it won’t be.

I want to leave the discussion of cost to another post perhaps. I have done some very preliminary budgeting, so I have a good feel for what this should run. We’ve also received a number of bids from contractors, so I have a feel for the ceiling. After the plans are done I will sit down and do a full budget which I’d be more than happy to share!

A Strange- Thanks for sharing your experiences, like most things in life, I am sure this will come in over time and over budget, but being aware of that is important.

Just J- Sorry man, but yours was just another typical uninformed POP hater post. I guess there has to be at least one. Now that I’ve been the victim of one I really need to watch how I respond elsewhere. You made many assumptions that were not based on or substantiated by the original post.

We anticipate living in this house for at least 20 more years. The work we are doing is not meant to be a financial investment only, but rather an investment in quality of life. We love our home and our neighborhood, we don’t want to move elsewhere and yet we need more space. While we may not, at the end of the day, recoup all of our costs, I am confident we’ll recoup some and I am certain our home will sell faster. Also, I am sure 10-15 years ago someone would have responded similarly about a house in Columbia Heights, no? And now I am quite certain that the number of bathrooms in a Columbia Heights rowhouse affects the sale price. That said, we are not looking to make money on this, just looking to improve life. Also, is a 3 bedroom, 2.5 bath house with in-law suite unheard of? Because I’ve seen a fair amount of those and it actually makes a lot of sense. Most people would love a real master bathroom and that requires at least a second bathroom to service the other bedroom. An in-law suite wouldn’t be much of a suite without the bathroom though, would it? I don’t think this setup is nearly as strange as you imply.

I perhaps undersold my experience in my initial post to be coy. I am by no means a professional, but have done some major improvement projects in this house and in others. I spent years in international development, developing, overseeing and participating in major building projects in other parts of the world. Doesn’t make me an expert in DC codes, but I can swing a hammer. Moreover, not sure where in the plans you see ripping a hole in the back of the house. This project was designed very specifically to use existing openings, doors and windows, to avoid having to rip new holes in the house.

Finally, and most importantly, we can, actually, afford to hire a contractor to do the work. We’ve interviewed a number of them and received some interesting proposals and yet we’ve decided to go this path. I enjoy doing the work and this seems like an interesting project, a great opportunity to get my hands dirty. We will hire out where necessary or prudent, for sure and I am sure moments will arise where some emergency help will be necessary. I have a number of family members in the trades, as I mentioned, who will be of tremendous help, I am sure.

but, i think if its what you want, and you plan on living in the city for more than 10 years, your “recouped costs” dont matter that much. (just dont come back to us in 3 years and say the schools havent gotten good enough for you and you have to move to va)

i think the bay window in the back is an aweosme idea. look at the green pop up, see how the addition doesnt add any curb appeal? dont make the same mistake. bigger windows are always better and so is light from multiple angles– i dont have that and its my biggest regret right now.