Remodeling a Philadelphia Rowhouse? Read This First.

-


From challenges and solutions to expanding square footage and tips on preparing for the process

With your Philadelphia rowhouse, you’re part of Philly’s unique personality with restaurants, friends, and schools within walking distance. The character of Philadelphia is defined by its rowhouse streetscapes.

Rowhouses are space-efficient, compact, and often cost-effective. Renovating a Philly rowhouse comes with its share of joys and challenges. Sweeten lays out what you can expect with renovating these historic buildings.

Sweeten matches home renovation projects with vetted general contractors, offering advice, support, and up to $50,000 in renovation financial protection—for free.

What is a rowhouse in Philadelphia?

A Philadelphia rowhouse is an urban one-to-four-story house that has a narrow front exterior. Rowhouses are attached to similar rowhouses on both sides.

Philadelphia has more rowhouses than any other type of housing structure. Designed as an inexpensive way to house Philadelphia’s rapidly growing industrial population, rowhouses have become desired, premium properties.

Some Philly rowhouses are quite large. Rittenhouse Square mansions can be as huge as 3,000 to 6,000 square feet. Most Philadelphia rowhouses are small to moderate in size, though. Trinities and Bandboxes (smaller versions of Trinities) can be as tiny as 400 to 600 square feet. Two-story rowhouses in Center City, South and North Philadelphia, and Manayunk can range from 1,000 to 1,600 square feet.

Remodeling a Philadelphia rowhouse: Challenges and solutions

Because Philly rowhouses are unique, renovating them can present challenges. But to an experienced contractor, solving these issues is just a part of the daily work of creativity and flexibility.

Philly-area-based Sweeten contractor John calls his approach “bob and weave,” after a boxer’s split-second, nimble approach to punches that come their way. “Rowhouses don’t always need to be more difficult,” said John, “because we try to be flexible.”

John cites his approach to debris removal as an example. It’s no problem to park rolloff dumpsters in the driveway of a suburban single-family detached house; you just do it. But when a dumpster needs to be parked on a public street, all sorts of permitting issues arise. With COVID-19 slowing government processes to a near-halt, it’s been “next to impossible” to secure permits, said John.

John’s solution is to cycle out debris every day. “A hauling company picks up the daily load and some of my guys have trucks, too, so they can move debris.”

Narrow doorways are obstacles to moving in building materials and appliances. Sometimes the old 30-inch doorways have been widened already. When they haven’t, John calls this one of his biggest problems with rowhouse remodels. But he can always find workarounds by temporarily removing door trim or by unboxing appliances.

Ways to increase square footage in rowhouses

Squeezed in on both sides, the average rowhouse is fairly small. So, remodels need to be creative. Some contractors build soffits (or bulkheads) over exposed pipes, wires, and vents. However, doing this reduces space. “We like to avoid building soffits,” says Sweeten contractor Mario, who is based in Philadelphia, “and most homeowners don’t want soffits, either.”

So, Mario finds it worthwhile to reroute pipes and electrical through walls and ceilings. “It gives it a cleaner look and that’s what people want.” In some cases, Mario will push out a wall or ceiling a smidge. “If the ceiling is 10 feet or more, we might drop the ceiling just a little to run services through there.”

For homeowners who want more room, there is always more space to be had in the back or upward. “Pilot houses,” says Mario, referring to rooftop decks, “are one of the most popular ways to expand upward.” Plus, he sees some clients purchasing two adjacent rowhouse units and removing the wall between the two. This effectively doubles the rowhouse square footage.

Permitting and approvals for remodeling a Philadelphia rowhouse

With most substantial Philadelphia rowhouse remodels, you’ll need permits. Any alteration that costs $10,000 or more requires drawings of the proposed construction. These drawings must have the seal or stamp of a licensed architect or engineer.

Sweeten general contractors can refer an architect if the services of one are needed. Having an experienced architect and general contractor by your side will help you move through the permitting process more easily.

Not every Philly rowhouse is a historically designated structure. However, thousands of them are! If yours is one, you’ll need to seek authorization and go through a separate approval process with the Philadelphia Historic Commission.

Check the Philadelphia Register of Historic Places to see if your home is designated as historic.

4 tips for renovating a Philly rowhouse

  • Be ready for costlier materials

Renovating a newer home means that you can use a wide range of materials. Many homeowners can find off-the-shelf materials at the local home center to use. But historic Philly rowhouses have masonry, molding, trim, ornamental metals, walls, and ceilings of a more specialized—and costly—nature. Prepare by padding your materials budget.

Remodeling a Philly rowhouse isn’t a “set it and forget it” project. Be available and responsive to everyone working on your project, including the architect, contractor, or project manager.

  • Predict the unpredictable

Prepare yourself and your budget for contract change orders (changes that alter the original scope agreed and signed upon). Change orders help your remodel project adapt to unexpected discoveries along the way.

Unless your daily job is renovating rowhouses, the experts you’ve hired know more than you do. After all, they do this on a daily basis. You’re not just hiring a pair of hands; you’re taking advantage of years of experience and knowledge.

Starting a Philadelphia rowhouse remodeling project

Understand the process of renovating a Philadelphia rowhouse, and along with the right team, you’ll have the guidance you need for your dream home.

—

Sweeten handpicks the best general contractors to match each project’s location, budget, scope, and style. Follow the blog, Sweeten Stories, for renovation ideas and inspiration and when you’re ready to renovate, start your renovation with Sweeten.



Source link



source https://civilco.construction/remodeling-a-philadelphia-rowhouse-read-this-first/

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

An L.A. Bath Remodel Reveals a Wet Room-style Vibe

-
Image
Teaming up with a woman general contractor in L.A., a remodel partnership delivers a dream bathroom “After” photos by Madeline Tolle for Sweeten. Stylist: Emily Bowser Before: Turn a must-do gut reno into a custom master bath remodel When they bought the Spanish Revival Mediterranean in South L.A.’s Park Mesa Heights, they’d pulled off a victory: a first-time home purchase in SoCal. But Liz and Kevin’s 1923 house had a secret: water damage beneath the master bathroom floor, thanks to a shower pan installed incorrectly a decade before. “To deal with it,” said Liz, the executive director of an education nonprofit, “we needed to take the bathroom down to the studs.” With this, Liz and Kevin started planning for a bath remodel in their L.A. home. Liz and Kevin, a technical production senior manager at Disney Studios, viewed the dank discovery as an opportunity “to add storage and maximize space,” Liz said. But also to showcase their style. The two Mid-Century enthusiasts, who live
Read more

Gut Renovation Costs 101: How To Calculate Your Budget

-
Image
Demolition, amount of work, a home’s condition, and alternate living arrangements all affect gut renovation costs Gutting a home requires a different level of owner commitment than a smaller renovation project. Here, Sweeten provides some guidance on points to consider when planning a major project like this. Sweeten matches home renovation projects with vetted general contractors, offering advice, support, and up to $50,000 in renovation financial protection—for free. What is a gut renovation? Gut renovating a home is more than an extensive remodel. It means taking the walls down to the studs, removing existing interior doors and trim, cabinets, sinks, and exposing the structure of the home. It often includes replacing windows and exterior doors, the roof, and replacing most or all plumbing and electrical. Gutting also involves removing materials before you remodel. Calculating gut renovation costs Sweeten provides city-specific renovation cost guides, but keep in mind that
Read more

Kovan Wellspring And Hougang Citrine

-
Image
One of the best performers in the Aug 2021 BTO launch were the Hougang BTOs, more precisely Kovan Wellspring, which sits right next to Kovan MRT. Hougang Citrine, the other Hougang BTO that was launched, isn’t packed with as many amenities nearby, but it does have 5-room units to choose from. We look at both sites in our analysis and see the best units to go for. At a glance Hougang Citrine Kovan Wellspring Location Along Hougang Ave 3, opposite Singapore Girls’ Home Next to Kovan MRT station No. of units 749 586 Unit types 2-room flexi, 3-, 4- and 5-room 2-room flexi, 3- and 4-room No. of blocks 6 4 No. of floors 12 to 13 storeys 13 to 18 storeys On-site and surrounding amenities • Neighbourhood Centre : Hougang N1 Centre at Hougang Ave 1 (~10-min walk) • Hawker Centre/Wet Market : Hougang Hainanese Village Centre (~10-min walk) • Supermarkets : Prime Supermarket along Hougang Ave 1 (~12-min walk) and FairPrice Maple Tree 18 (~20-min walk) • Ot
Read more