How to read this. Planning-grade 2026 estimates at Union County / NYC-metro labor —
not bids. Unlike the expansion books, this is a finish-level program: no new floor area,
no roof or wall moved, no opening added. Every vision refinishes the same house — the same stucco, boards, roof
surface, windows, door, drive, patio, trim, floors, fireplace, kitchen footprint, and the three baths refit in
place — and diverges only in material and finish grade. D and E add a cladding line (brick veneer
on the ground floor for D; fieldstone veneer on the walls for E) applied to the existing wall planes — the biggest
single swing in the book. Everything visible in the renderings is here except movable furniture;
general-contractor overhead is embedded in the line pricing, with design, permits and contingency stacked
separately below. The kitchen is refinished, not replaced (Plain & Fancy cabinetry, Wolf range); the
boiler and water heater are newer and untouched.
The big swings are cladding, roof and hardscape. E's fieldstone veneer is the most expensive line in
the book; D's brick veneer is half of it; F is the cheapest exterior of all five (paint over the existing stucco).
The roof surface is deferrable in every vision if the current asphalt is sound; the drive/walk/patio lines
resurface the existing outlines and the "keep as-is" alternative is $0. Nothing here needs a variance;
the Phase 2 “pause & save” list carries the true electives.
Phase 2 — the pause-and-save list (not in the totals above)
Deferred item
A
B
D
E
F
Timing — phased schedule
Phase
Scope
A
B
D
E
F
0 · Design & ordering
Finish schedules, samples on the actual stucco and chestnut, stone/brick veneer samples (D/E), long-lead lighting and drapery.
Schedules, samples, orders
4–6 wk
4–6 wk
5–7 wk
6–8 wk
4–6 wk
1 · Exterior
Stucco/limewash/paint, boards and shutters, window frames, door, lanterns, chimney, garage doors; veneer for D/E; roof if done now. The family stays in the house.
The skin
6–9 wk
6–9 wk
9–13 wk
11–16 wk
5–8 wk
2 · Interiors
Paint/plaster/paper, trim-beam-stair refinish, floors, fireplace, lighting, kitchen refinish (refacing for F), the three baths in place, lower level, laundry.
All interior line items
8–12 wk
9–13 wk
9–13 wk
10–14 wk
10–14 wk
3 · Site
Drive/walk/patio resurfacing within the existing outlines, planting program, fence.
Hardscape & planting
3–5 wk
3–5 wk
3–5 wk
3–5 wk
3–5 wk
Realistic calendar, overlapped
5–7 mo
5–7 mo
6–8 mo
7–10 mo
5–7 mo
Where each vision lands. The house is asked at $1.599M (2,261 sf, $707/sf = 1.02×
Summit's size-matched median of $693/sf; p75 is $808/sf); the ny-house-move dossier targets a clearing price near
$1.55–1.565M. None of the five visions adds floor area, so the value case is
condition-driven: a house priced at the median, finished to the top of the band, trends toward the p75
(≈$1.83M on 2,261 sf). Be honest about the arithmetic: basis after the full program at the mid-target is
$1.555M + (A), (B),
(D), (E) or (F) —
more than the upper band returns in every case, and by the most for E. The complete vision is a
lifestyle program with partial recovery, not an arbitrage; the value-rational subset is the dossier's targeted
~$100–160k (the three baths, the systems items, paint and floors), which roughly self-funds. Within the five:
B and F are the value plays (paint and stain over stone and veneer);
A prices at the top of the paint-and-refinish tier;
D's brick veneer and E's fieldstone are the two that change the house's material —
E is the most expensive and the most transformative, and the one a buyer would most want a mason's real number on.
Sources & benchmarks (2026, Union County / northern NJ)
Stucco re-coat / limewash / smooth skin NJ $8–16/sf of wall; exterior repaint of stucco, trim and shutters: ZD Stucco NJ, This Old House
Chimney Level-2 inspection + reline; electrical service; central AC: the ny-house-move dossier's SYSTEMS block (2026-09-08).
Everything unlinked: Union County planning ranges consistent with the benchmarks above (upper-mid to luxury finish, contractor-managed), biased to the top of national ranges per the northern-NJ premium.