Complete Home Renovation for Resale

Rebuilding a Home for Resale

A Lender-Owned Home Ready for Renovation

18 Russell Avenue was acquired as an REO property, meaning a home owned by a lender after foreclosure. The goal was to renovate it for resale.

The interior had wood paneling, carpeting, a divided first floor, and small upstairs rooms. We gutted the interior and reframed the layout, with structural improvements and modifications throughout the renovation.

Original interior beside the front windows with wood paneling and carpeting — The original interior beside the front windows.

Opened wall framing beneath front windows with an exposed horizontal member above — Exposed framing at the front windows.

Rebuilding the Structure and Connecting the First Floor

Opening the first floor exposed deteriorated floor construction. We repoured footings and rebuilt the floor framing before installing the new interior finishes.

The existing stone foundation wall remained in place and was later enclosed with studs and drywall.

We removed partitions to connect the kitchen, living room, and dining area. New cabinetry and wood flooring completed the first-floor renovation.

Original kitchen with wood-front cabinets, a peninsula, appliances, and surrounding walls — The original kitchen before the first-floor layout was opened.

Opened first floor beside the stone foundation wall and new wall framing — The opened first floor beside the existing stone foundation.

Concrete footing form beneath the opened first floor beside exposed framing — Footing work beneath the opened first floor.

New wood first-floor joists beside the exposed stone foundation wall — New first-floor framing beside the foundation wall.

Worker installing wood flooring on the first floor beside stacked boards — Wood flooring being installed across the first floor.

Wide view of the renovated kitchen with white cabinets, stainless steel appliances, and wood flooring — Renovated kitchen and adjoining living space.

Creating Larger Bedrooms and a Primary Suite

We combined two small second-floor bedrooms into one larger bedroom. Separately, we converted the former sunroom into the primary bedroom and incorporated space from the existing corridor into the new layout.

The primary suite included a private bathroom, a walk-in closet, and access to an outdoor terrace. We also finished the third-floor attic living space and added another upstairs bathroom.

Bedroom with skylights, light carpet, and white wall vent covers — Bedroom with skylights.

Replacing the Tub and Updating the Bathroom

The bathroom originally had a jetted tub beneath the window and tiled walls. The renovation replaced the tub with a glass shower enclosure and added a white vanity and dark hexagonal wall tile.

Bathroom before renovation with a jetted tub, tiled walls, and a window — The bathroom before renovation, with a jetted tub and tiled walls.

Bathroom with dark hexagonal wall tile, a white vanity, toilet, and glass shower enclosure — Bathroom with dark wall tile, a white vanity, and a glass shower enclosure.

Keeping and Refinishing the Existing Staircase

We kept the existing wood staircase while gutting and reconfiguring the surrounding rooms.

We removed the blue carpeting, refinished the wood treads, and painted the railings and risers white. New wood flooring at the landing connected the staircase to the updated rooms.

Existing wood staircase with turned balusters and blue carpeting before renovation — The existing staircase and blue carpeting before renovation.

Existing wood staircase beside exposed wall framing during interior work — The existing staircase retained during the interior work.

Refinished staircase with wood treads, white railings and risers, and wood flooring — The staircase after refinishing, with wood treads and white-painted elements.

Renewing the Exterior with Standing Seam Siding

The exterior work included new siding, roofing, doors, and skylights, along with replacement of most windows and the front-entry columns.

Wood and cement-board cladding were cost prohibitive for the project. We selected standing seam siding to achieve the intended vertical appearance within the renovation budget, with gray siding and white trim.

We also decommissioned the old oil tank and repaired the retaining-wall area beside the house.