I'd like to renovate a 3 family rental property but don't know which floor is best to start on. The house was built in 1896. The electrical was recently updated prior to purchasing it in 2008. The kitchens and bathrooms are in dire need and this is the area where I am not sure if it is better to do the 3rd floor or the 1st floor first if I need to replace plumbing.
I also can't have all 3 apts vacant at the same time. The 1st floor is leaving Jan 1st 2012 but paying until end feb due to breaking her lease 3 months early (may 2012) so I have 2 free months to start on the first floor.
Of course back then, they put all the bathrooms under neath stair wells. The 2nd floor bathroom is the least attractive since it is so small and the sloped ceiling. The 1st is then next worst and the 3rd floor bathroom is the most modern/attractive since it is not under a staircase.
What are some things to consider? If I started on the first floor how do can I prepare so that when I am ready to refurbish the 2nd (and 3rd) floor bathroom(s) I can do it without ripping into the 1 st floor? The 2nd floor is not vacant.
Best Answer
I don't think there's a good answer to this because plumbing needs a full stack, from the drain in the ground, to the vent in the roof. When you move utilities from one location to another, if you haven't changed the room above, you're stuck with lines on both new and old locations in the floors you've renovated until you're done with the renovation. And if you try to move utilities without first renovating the rooms below, you either have to open the rooms up below or run connections from the new back to the old location. In the end, I fear that you're going to spend more money trying to do it one part at a time rather than saving up until later and doing it all at once.
To partially answer your question, when we are building a new home, we construct from the ground up, for structure, and it's also the source of utility lines so they go the same way. When we finish the build, we go from the top down. This way we aren't tracking dirt over finished carpeting and scratching up freshly painted walls.