One House, Three Ways

JOHN CASSERLY of 41 North Builders

Estimated cost: $216,944
Estimated time: Three and a half months (plus one month to obtain permit)

Basement: Move the basement stairs from their current location at the back of the kitchen to the front of the house, underneath the existing staircase that leads to the second floor. Add a bedroom and full bath.

First floor: Knock out the walls that separate the foyer from the living room, the living room from the dining room, and the dining room from the kitchen—creating a large first-floor great room with a peninsula between the kitchen and dining room. Use the backroom—which was added on to the dining room in a previous renovation—as a breakfast nook. Convert the existing bathroom into a powder room that opens into the great room instead of the kitchen.

Second floor: Create higher ceilings where the roof currently slopes in by adding dormers about 10 to 15 feet from the front on the roof. Extend the back bedroom across the roof of the kitchen below, and add French doors that open to a small deck. Install a master bathroom and a second bathroom next to it, which opens to the hallway. Space permitting, include laundry on second floor.

Exterior: Redo the front and back porches. Rebuild the one-car garage.

Final specs: Four bedrooms, three and a half baths

JIM AND STEPHEN RONAN of Ronan Construction

Estimated cost: $335,455
Estimated time: Four to six months (plus six weeks to obtain permit)

Basement: Move the basement stairs to the front of the house. Convert the front of the basement into a family room with a wet bar; the back area becomes a guest bedroom with a full bath.

First floor: Knock out the walls that separate the foyer from the living room and the living room from the dining room. As you enter the living room from the front door, you face the powder room and a coat closet, which used to be the bathroom. Extend the kitchen across the full width of the house by removing the wall that separates it from the dining room. Take out the existing back porch and square off the back of the house so that the kitchen now opens to a great room.

Second floor: Dormer the roof. Extend the back bedroom across the length of the roof below to create a master suite with bath. Install a washer and dryer at the top of the stairs. In between the two other bedrooms, add a Jack-and-Jill bathroom (doors on two sides, with a separate area for the tub and toilet).

Exterior: Create a landscaped deck on top of the new one-car garage.

Final specs: Four bedrooms, three and a half baths

HOWARD ROTHSTEIN of Redstone Builders

Estimated cost: $245,800
Estimated time: Six to seven months (plus one to two months to obtain permit)
Basement: Move basement stairs to front of the house, and finish basement to create a large family room.

First floor: Create half walls between the dining room and living room, possibly with decorative columns, to open up the space but maintain the distinct areas. Create similar half-wall peninsulas between the kitchen and dining room. Turn the bathroom into a powder room that opens into the living area instead of the kitchen. Either narrow the opening from the dining room into the added-on backroom, adding a door to turn it into a laundry room or office; or knock out the walls to create a larger combined dining room and living area.

Second floor: Tear off the entire second floor, and rebuild on the existing footprint, with a new roof that can accommodate eight-foot ceilings across the width of the house (this will increase the usable space by four feet on each side). Include a full bath directly above the first-floor powder room. Add a laundry room upstairs.

Exterior: Redo the front and back porches.

Final specs: Three bedrooms, two and a half baths