09/27/2021
These are pictures of the duplex we are currently working on.
This is an all brick, 3043 sq ft duplex. Each unit is approximately 1500 sq ft, 2 Bedrooms, 1 Bath w/ built in linen closet and drawers, Kitchen with a pantry and built ins, Breakfast Nook, Dining Room, Living Room w/ fireplace and built ins, Office, built ins in the hall, Storage and 1/2 the basement with laundry hookups.
The before pictures are after the new windows and new kitchen cabinets went in, but before the real interior cosmetic work began. We had all the ductwork professionally cleaned, installed 2 new Carrier furnaces, added Central A/C (2 new Carrier a/c units), updated the electric and the plumbing, excavated along the side of the building for better drainage.
What you don't see in the pictures are the walls coated with a knock down texture to hide water damage (and 2 rooms' ceilings and 1 wall needed to be removed), the floors terribly scratched up and ages of staining here and there with different colors of stain and no polyurethane, tiles that were not installed correctly, so they crack (and some have been replaced with a different shade), painted doors and trim that were painted incorrectly originally (no prep, sanding or primer, wall paint directly over varnish), and then repainted over and over and over without ever smoothing it out after it peeled, chipped and split. Bathroom vanity and mirrors are mdf covered in paper that's peeling. There's just so much wrong in this building, and there's no way to take it from Class C-/D and make it Class B+ without taking it apart, undoing what's been done poorly, doing it right and putting it all back together.
In every project we take on, that's how we do it. The end result is stunning, and not only does it create a solid higher end rental property, but it brings these beautiful old houses and duplexes back to life.
So what do we really do to get these properties renovated?
We use high end materials. Besides the updating of the electric and plumbing, replacing furnaces and adding central air, we repair walls and ceilings, prime them, and then apply 2-3 coats of Sherwin Williams' Emerald (one of their best interior paints) in designer neutrals. We repair doors and trim, prime and paint with Sherwin Williams Urethane Enamel. We remodel the kitchens: wall backsplash, quartz comparable countertops, new sinks/faucets, new hardware, LVT flooring. We remodel the bathrooms: new, larger vanities with a quartz comparable vanity top, new sink/faucet, a new tub surround and LVT flooring. We sand the wood flooring and refinish it, either with stain or a specialty flooring paint with a hard protective topcoat. We install new light fixtures throughout, new plugs/switches, new doorknobs and, where needed, new hinges. We retexture ceilings. When we're done, it's basically new ceiling to floor.
Outside, the exterior doors are painted and a rose garden and other plants are added to the landscape.
Perks include a video security system monitoring the doors, wifi/high speed internet, Hulu and Netflix.
