I’ve always thought this house at 1715 11th St, NW had the potential to be seriously sweet. I was psyched to see a permit had finally been placed on the door to start renovations. I’ll be sure to follow up with photos as progress takes place. It’ll be fun to look at before and after photos.
And of course I’ll be sure to post if it goes on the market so we can see how the inside turns out.
“Dear PoP,
The bottom line is that they’re putting an addition on the house, cutting in a couple new entrances, plowing under the garden to create a small parking lot, and cobbling the house itself into ten apartments.
I took an interest in this place because of it was untouched by the ravages of stupid modern-day renovations. Unlike almost any property in Mount Pleasant (or central d.c.) its a house with a yard. This new plan will ruin the place in the same fashion of the big white mansion next door.”
You can see the full proposal below. Do you agree with the reader or think it’ll be a good renovation?
101027 HPRB Mount Pleasant Final
Here’s the Historic Commission’s report on the plan.
Located at 3324 18th Street, NW, this was a GDoN Post back in March ’10.
I thought these were a couple of cool renovations going on in Petworth. I know not everyone likes when row houses are broken up but I think the one above on New Hampshire Ave, NW turned out pretty well. Do you like the way it turned out?
And the one below has always been a favorite of mine. According to the permit looks like it is going to be a living space instead of retail. I’d love to live there.
Photo by PoPville flickr user KJinDC
“Dear PoP,
We live an old historic row house that doesn’t have a basement. Instead, it has a very shallow crawl space, with no more than maybe a foot and a half of clearance. We would like to insulate the crawl space, because the cold air seeping up through the floors creates a “stack effect” that means our upstairs bedrooms are substantially warmer than the first floor, making it uncomfortable on both floors no matter what you set the thermostat at. We’ve had several insulation companies tell us that we don’t have enough room to do a normal crawl space encapsulation and insulation, and we don’t want to blow insulation in because we would lose access to the pipes and cables that run under the house. Has anyone else faced such a predicament and have a proposed solution or, better yet, a recommendation for a contractor who can help us out?”
Anyone ever tackled something like this before? I’d also be interested to hear the costs.
“Dear PoP,
I’m interested in getting a wrought-iron type fence for my front yard in Columbia Heights. And, a bunch of my neighbors are interested as well, so we may do it as a team. Do any of your readers have a good suggestion for fencing and people to install it? Any idea of likely costs?
Also, and this is a longshot…I really love the fences with the little pineapples on top of the points (there is one like that on Harvard between 11th and 13th)…if any of your readers has one of those, I’d love to hear from them!”
Any suggestions? What do you think the cost of one of these types of fences will be? Given how expensive wood fences are, I’m hesitant to hear the answer…
“Dear PoP,
I’ve been dreaming of doing a small addition to my bungalow in Brookland in order to expand the tiny kitchen and was wondering if you had any information about building restriction lines. How far from the property line does the house have to be in the back (if it helps, my house backs to an alley)? I don’t have any idea where to start finding this info and would like to know my options in order to begin the planning process.”
First step should def. be visiting DCRA’s Home Owner’s Center because permits will be required. But has anyone added an addition to the back of their house? Off hand do you happen to remember some of the rules?
This is actually also a dream of mine. Can anyone speculate as to the possible cost of a project like this?
Photo by PoPville flickr user julianne’s
“Dear PoP,
Two related questions for your readers:
1) Recommendations for hardwood floor repair/refinishing. I am hoping to be able to patch the original hardwood that’s under the carpet, but have no idea what kind of shape it’s in. It’s probably bad, given that there seems to be an extra layer of plywood over the old wood. If it can’t be patched, we’d probably want to have the old stuff removed and a new floor put in. Being able to salvage part of it for re-use elsewhere would be great, but I have heard varying opinions on the feasibility of doing that.
2) Carpet installation. I love hardwood floors as much as anyone, but I also admit to liking carpet upstairs. Not our current carpet, though, which is awful and needs replacing.”
Back in late Sept. I reported some scuttlebutt saying that the Brass Knob Warehouse located at 57 N Street, NW would be closing soon.
Thanks to a reader for sending in confirmation from the Post today:
Owner Ron Allan says the rent on the 24,000-square-foot property at 57 N St. NW has become prohibitive. In addition, the economy, the extreme weather and the city’s shift to modern condos have slowed sales in the business Allan likens to a “Victorian Home Depot.”
This is one time I hoped my scuttlebutt would be wrong. I’ll be sure to keep my eye on this space to see what it becomes. In the meantime you can see what a cool space the warehouse was here.
And they will be liquidating all their contents. You can read more about that here. And of course, “The Brass Knob Architectural Antiques will remain open at 2311 18th Street NW.”
Photo by PoPville flickr user fromcaliw/love
“Dear PoP,
Can I ask you a favor and ask the people if they have any good recommendations for window replacement companies/contractors.
I am looking to replace existing vinyl window in my house and want just the basic white frame that are high efficiency.”
I’ve heard window replacement can be very expensive. If anyone has recommendations can you also say approximately how much you paid?
Ed. Note: For all who’ve sent in questions, I haven’t forgotten you, I’m just going through a queue. My goal is to get to as many questions as possible. Stay tuned for yours!
Former controversial Horse’s ass award nominee from Florida Ave, NW in Ledroit Park is starting to look really good. Props when props are due. Plus they’ve added a sweet lightning rod (I think it’s a lightning rod).
