The Musings of a Philadelphia Contractor: Room Rehab

When we started the work in this West Philadelphia house, we found a mostly unusable/inhospitable room in the rear of the 3rd floor. It was a simple painted brick room with an old carpet. The bricks were peeling, there were no overhead lights, very few electrical outlets, and it did not feel very comfortable. The homeowners had recently installed some new windows on the north side of the room, and wanted us to make it into a functional bedroom.

Here is what the room looked like when we found it. There were a few plants, a couple of lamps, and an Ikea futon in there, but nothing else. It was an interesting room that seemed like an addition. The old slate siding and a nice door entryway were still there. Also, the kids who lived there had some fun writing on the bricks before we started, and someone spent too much time making a checkered pattern on the one drywall portion of the area.

East

North

South

West

We started by tearing up the edges of the carpet so we could frame. The owners wanted to keep the mansard roof exposed, so we framed 3 of the walls. There were some odd angles in the corners at the west side, so we had to be a little creative. When finished the framing, an electrician came in. He installed some LED recessed lights and 5 outlets.

East

North

South

The next step was for us to insulate and drywall all of the framed areas. Images of un-primed and un-painted drywall are not very interesting, so I only have one here.

South

The final step took the longest. We installed baseboards, window sills, window trim, and repaired the old "entry" into the rest of the house. Then we primed and painted the entire area, including the slate. They chose 3 complimentary colors for the walls, a flat white ceiling, and white trim. The homeowners had a new carpet and cast iron radiator installed after we were done. I was able to take the final photos when I returned for some other work and before they moved in any furniture.