Has anyone renovated a four square house? (Pittsburgh, Penn Hills: to buy, construction)

[SammyKhalifa]

Ugh. I'd keep it.

[ditchdigger]

Originally Posted by jimmyev

Then one day I realized that the only reason new homes use an open concept (and builders have convinced people this is stylish) is because it's cheaper to build with less framing and sheetrock.

Yep. In a house that costs a couple hundred grand, fifty 2x4s and a dozen sheets of drywall can often mean the difference between profit and loss. Gimme a break...

[gg]

Originally Posted by DomerJen

That's the style we've purchased, and I'd be interested to see what others have done with it. There is a surprising lack of renovation inspiration on the internet!

I'm especially interested in homes that may have removed the wall between the kitchen and dining room. I'm tempted to do this, but unsure if it'd really "kill" the character of the home.

I think it depends on the size of the kitchen and dining room. If it is a smaller home and the downstairs is really tight and chopped up, then have a look at taking out that wall to improve the flow. It can be done tastefully I am sure. If your kitchen and dining room are large enough, I would leave them alone. That is just my take.

[greg42]

I know someone who did just this on a four square-type house, but it wasn't an original type. It's a newer house built in the 60s. Same basic square style though, had the kitchen and dining room on one side, large living room other side, central stairs, 4 bedrooms upstairs. I just saw it nearly finished, and it looks good. But there wasn't any old woodwork, etc. to preserve. They took out the hallway wall as well as the one dividing the kitchen and dining room, so there are now basically just two big rooms on the main floor, on either side of the stairwell. They didn't make the flooring all the same in the new larger kitchen, though. There's an island roughly where the wall used to be, and they kept the transition to the wood floor that was in the dining room.

I think it works great for that house, but with a typical older four square there may be additional considerations for why you might not want to do this. Personally I have no use for a formal dining room, so that is my bias as well. But if there is original woodwork, built-ins, that kind of thing, that might sway me more towards keeping that wall. It also depends upon how long you intend to stay in that house. If you see this house as somewhat temporary, that may be something that would make you consider keeping the wall as well. But, if it's done well, that really shouldn't matter upon sale either. The trends seem to be more and more away from needing a formal dining area.

[robrobrob]

Take the wall down. We just did this in a our 1960 suburban colonial. Our kitchen was small and barely eat in. Our nice sized dining room was a wasted space. Took the wall down and now our house feels completely different. Wasn't a big deal. Flooring is the big problem because hardwoods are often not under walls. When a wall is taken down you have to feather in the hardwood or come up with something else. We chose tile in the kitchen because we didn't have hardwood there. It was quicker and cheaper to install tile. Kept the hardwood in the dining room and feathered in some wood to patch the area where. So, my advice is to think floors first because that can bust your budget.

[BrianTH]

We owned a Foursquare and have known many other owners of Foursquares, and in fact the people right next to us did such a kitchen/dining-room wall removal, whereas we thought about it briefly but decided against it.

It is definitely possible and our neighbors were happy with the results, but they went with a more modern renovation throughout their home. We were going with a more traditional approach and ended up liking our more formal dining room for dinner parties and such. Ultimately, then, it is really mostly a matter of taste--although that assumes you have it tastefully done (I've seen some "modernizing" renovations in Foursquares that still make me shudder).

[DomerJen]

thanks for all the thoughts. it doesn't have any original detailing on the wall to preserve (just a chimney to remove that vents the hot water heater. Doh! Should be a fun take-down.

I'd consider expanding to the exterior, but we're trying to preserve as much yard space as possible - and an add-on would be significantly more $$$.

The kitchen is 12x14 and the dining room is 14x12. There are pocket doors from the dining room to the living room that I can't wait to restore (they are currently painted shut) and use.

[robrobrob]

Originally Posted by DomerJen

(just a chimney to remove that vents the hot water heater. Doh! Should be a fun take-down.

The cost to take a chimney down may make your decision easy. May be more involved than taking a sledge hammer to a wall.

[DomerJen]

Originally Posted by robrobrob

The cost to take a chimney down may make your decision easy. May be more involved than taking a sledge hammer to a wall.

it sounds labor intensive, but not particularly difficult. I've heard about $2k to hire it out. It has an added bonus that it'll clear the way on the 2nd floor for my new master bathroom. We have *big* plans for this thing! And it's not a fireplace chimney - so there isn't any character lost in it.

I am a little tentative to find out how much it'll cost to patch the slate roof, though!

[greg42]

Slate roof, oh yeah, that's gonna be $$$$. Plus, you're going to have generally ongoing maintenance I think with slate although it does overall last a long time.