Samuel and Tina Newton believed their renovation plans were going to be complicated, but they wanted to renovate their apartment and make it their home. Sam works for Intel in California and commutes home to New York on weekends to be with his wife and three teenage children.
They purchased the 4-bedroom apartment on the Upper West Side for $3 million. It is on the 24th floor of a 38-story building. The apartment has a door-manned lobby and beautiful views of downtown and the Hudson River. It has its own large south facing private terrace, plus a sports club building and a beautiful roof terrace.
They had rented the apartment out for a year and had recently been living there for three months when they made the decision to renovate. I was introduced to the Newtons by a contractor I knew and with whom I have a great working relationship. This contractor had been recommended to the Newtons from friends who used him for their successful renovation. The Newtons interviewed five architects and ultimately chose me, Jeffrey Jordan, for their project because of my creativity and technical knowledge.
After negotiating our agreement, that included a fee based on a percentage of the cost of construction up to construction, and an hourly rate for the construction process, we explained to them the many layered renovation process we were beginning.
Schematic Design and Planning
The couple had a copy of the plan of their apartment which we scanned and brought into AutoCad (an architectural software program). Then we took dimensions of the rooms of their apartment to verify the scan and also noted the locations of the electrical outlets, switches, lights, smoke detectors, and everything that would be germane to the renovation. We also asked them for a copy of their building’s Alteration Agreement so we could see what the building would and would not allow us to do.
Their vision was to modernize their apartment, with new wood floors, skim-coated walls, a new air conditioning/heating system (which meant removing the heat pump/AC units from the windows in many of the rooms), gutting and renovating the kitchen and master bathroom, and adding a guest room and guest bathroom. They also had many built-in furniture pieces they wanted removed.
After creating the existing apartment plans in AutoCad, we printed out a floor plan to scale and proceeded to draw several different architectural schemes on sketch paper. It was difficult to locate the new guest bathroom because of plumbing issues and the fact the building had an alteration rule, no wet spaces (bathrooms or kitchens) over dry spaces below. Also, for the waste pipe of the guest bathroom’s toilet, we could not go into the ceiling of the apartment below. Luckily, we had floor plans of the entire building and were able to locate a bathroom waste pipe coming down through their apartment from the apartments above. If we used a rear outlet toilet, that exhausted into the wall instead of the floor, to get to the building’s waste pipe, then we would not need to go into the ceiling of the apartment below. Also, adjacent to this waste pipe on the floor below, was a kitchen so we did not need to be concerned about the “wet over dry” issue.
The sketch plans I made showed gutting the kitchen and master bathroom, removing six heat pump/AC’s from the windows, removing all the floors and possibly gutting the master bathroom. The master bathroom had a large non-working tub, a vanity with two sinks, a toilet and a steam shower, but was clumsily laid out. It was a question of money. Did they have enough to do all the work they wanted to in the apartment and renovate the master bathroom as well? Tina was for it, while Samuel was on the fence.
They decided to go ahead with the full plan and wait to see what the construction bids would come in at. We moved forward to create design development drawings that included the demolition plan, the construction plan (showing new walls and keying them into details), interior elevations of the new rooms, reflected ceiling plans (showing the heights of new ceilings), the locations of sprinklers, lights, smoke detectors, grilles, and electrical plans. The changes in the apartment layout meant the electrical layout changed with them.
At this point, I called in two air conditioning companies to give us bids on the air conditioning/heating work. After meeting with them, we decided we would use one existing condensing unit that was on their terrace, which would air condition one-half of the apartment, and install a second 4-ton unit on the terrace for the other half of the apartment.
New York City Building Department Requirements, the Expediter, the Asbestos Test and the Building’s Alteration Agreement
Our firm has done approximately 120 apartment renovations in New York City, 50 of them with Agouti Construction Consulting, expediters (T:212.941-8514). They review plans so that they comply with the NYC Building Code, The Americans with Disabilities Act Standards for Accessible Design, and the NY City Energy Conservation Code. They also produce the documents to be signed by the building’s board president or secretary, determine the NYC Building Department’s fee, and assist in determining any special inspections required by the Deptartment of Buildings during the construction.
We sent the plans to Agouti. They reviewed them for compliance with the above requirements and we revised the drawings accordingly. Most importantly, we had to make one bathroom accessible by standards of the ADA and we made the new guest bathroom the accessible bathroom.
For all buildings before 1987, where the materials of the building will be disturbed, a test proving the project will not disturb asbestos is a required prerequisite to applying for a NYC building permit. Luckily, our building had been built after 1987 so we did not need an asbestos test.
The Building’s Alteration Agreement protects the building and the other owners from any mishaps that could occur during construction. It gives:
- Instructions to the contractors and requests license and insurance information for the general contractor and the licensed electricians and plumbers working on the project.
- Fees for processing the application to the management company and for paying the building’s engineer or architect to review the plans submitted to the building.
- A security deposit from the owners for any potential damages to the building (in this case it was $5,000 or 5% of the construction cost).
- A required completion date after which there are usually penalty fees levied per day.
- Specific instructions for the owner, architect and general contractor concerning building requirements. These can include specific waterproofing and sound proofing requirements for floors, bathrooms, kitchens and washer/dryer installations, replacing pipes worked on back to the building’s riser, prohibited construction methods, and days and hours when work is permitted.
Construction Documents
We proceeded to draw the project in more detail so it could be bid out to general contractors, to comply with NYC’s requirements and the building’s requirements. One of the air conditioning contractor’s bids came in almost one-half lower than their competitor ($32,000.00 rather than $61,775.00) and they were highly qualified, so the owners decided to use them. We drew in the rough duct sizes and located the new condensing unit on the terrace and the air handling units that would be providing the air to the newly conditioned spaces.
We further drew in the new ceilings with the ducts and located the lighting. We specified the new lights, the doors, and the paint finishes. They owners have doors with minimal metal frames so we decided to mimic the door frames and made an identical minimal wood base for the new wood floors.
The clients wanted smart outlets and switches that would be controlled by their Android mobile phones.
We also designed a new terrace railing system and an 8’ x 32’ retractable awning. Samuel wanted to be sheltered from the winds and the sun, and also asked for an exterior TV to watch baseball games during the summer.
The owners wanted time to select kitchen appliances, bathroom fixtures, floor and wall tiles, the wood floor and cabinets, so they decided they would provide these items to the contractor during the project. One of the incentives for doing this is that the owners did not want to pay for the contractor’s mark up in the price of these items. We specified the contractor would give the owners the quantities of the different items required and that they would also be responsible for picking up the materials at the curbside to bring them up to the apartment. The downside of this for the owners was that if there was any breakage, or if they ordered the wrong materials, they would be responsible for replacing or returning them. If the items are delivered too early or come late, this effects the schedule. In many ways, paying the contractor ten or fifteen percent more for purchasing the items relieves the owners of many headaches during the project.
Bidding the Project to General Contractors and the Building Review
The owners hired an interior designer that we had never met. She assisted Tina in selecting some of the materials, but in the end, we selected and reviewed the materials with the owners. The interior designer had a brother who was a contractor, so the owners decided they wanted her brother to bid on the construction of the project. I also knew three other contractors and we bid the construction documents that consisted of the construction drawings and specifications out to the four contractors. This process often takes two to three weeks as the contractors need to visit the apartment, often with their electrical and plumbing sub-contractors, then get bids from them and all their suppliers for materials.
While the contractors were assembling their bids, we submitted the construction documents to the building’s management company for review.
The bids came in at the following prices:
- Contractor #1: $714,700
- Contractor #2: $496,075
- Contractor #3: $473,305 (was missing many items)
- Contractor #4: refused to bid as he thought all the walls were crooked and needed to be replaced, otherwise he was not going to do the work.
The owners calculated their costs for the kitchen appliances, the flooring, the plumbing fixtures and tiles was $130,329.00.
They decided to go with Contractor #2. After some negotiation he reduced his bid to $468,056 plus the owner’s costs of $130,329, totaling $598,395. However, the owners wanted to reduce the total cost to $450,000. We had the task of reducing the costs by $148,385.The final price of the contractor ended up being $540,041. ($409,712. + $130,329 for the owner’s materials).
Meanwhile, five days after we submitted the drawings to the building for review, the building engineer responded with a 17-page email with comments on the drawings. We responded a week later with a point-by-point response to the comments after which the engineer had only one comment, to provide engineering details for the new terrace railings and the awning. Since the owners wanted to move ahead quickly and also reduce the price, we removed the proposed railings and awnings from the project and it was approved by the building. This allowed the building’s board president to sign the documents provided by the expediter so we could begin the NYC building permit process.
The building permit process took seven weeks. It included having the building’s president sign the permit documents (he was in Maine), getting the approval from the building department after their review, and waiting for the selected contractor to get the permit.
The Construction Process
When the building permit is received, the contractor obtains a set of official perforated drawings that represent the permit and these must be at the apartment renovation site at all times for inspectors that come to examine the project. These include plumbing, electrical, and special inspectors.
For each weekly site visit, we issue a site visit report detailing the decisions made during the meeting. This serves as a reference for all involved and assists in keeping track of changes made. Changes result from hidden discoveries and changes requested by the owner or the contractor.
Demolition and Changes
The construction process began with a meeting between the owners, the contractor and us. The contractor proceeded with demolishing the walls and ceilings indicated on the drawings. We discovered right away that the door we had planned between the guest room and the guest bath was filled with water pipes, gas pipes and vent pipes, and the contractor told us we could not get into the bathroom from the guest room, instead we would have to enter through the hall. The owners were not happy with this and pushed us to find a solution. We met with the job superintendent and the plumber and we found that if we moved two vent pipes and a gas pipe, a 24” wide door with a step up, then a step down into the bathroom could be accommodated. The owners were concerned that one of the grandmothers could not step up, then step down in the guest bath, so we decided to raise the entire floor of the guest bath so there was just a step up. However, this also meant that this bathroom could no longer be the handicapped accessible bathroom. For accessibility, the door has to be 34” wide with clearances to reach the door knob and there can be no step up into the bathroom.
Further, we found sprinkler pipes going across the ceiling of the front entry and we wanted a clean ceiling free of soffits. After talking to the plumber, we decided to run the sprinkler pipe in the front entry through the ceiling of an adjacent bathroom and bedroom.
Also, the plumbing vent for the kitchen sink on the island came across from the wall (previously hidden in cabinets), so we first thought we could not have a kitchen island. We decided in this case to have a column carry the vent pipe from the top of the island to the dropped ceiling in the kitchen, to run to the wall, and kept the island.
We had designed a light fixture for the halls that used aluminum extrusions with an LED linear light and the cost came in at $11,000, whereas the allowance in the contractor’s estimate was for $2,000, so we had to find an alternate lighting solution.
The owners also decided to renovate the steam shower in the master bath that was not included in the original project. The owners also replaced two pantries in the hall for the kitchen that were previously going to remain.
Note, that none of these changes were foreseen in the drawings and a change order from the contractor would be issued for the additional costs involved. Also, further along in the project when we were confident there were no more changes, we would need to file an amendment to the building permit to show the changes.
The owners originally wanted kitchen cabinets from a German company, as their cabinet faces were in a beautiful glass. We learned that the kitchen company was in bankruptcy proceedings, so the cabinets were going to be made by the contractor’s cabinetmaker instead. The cabinetmaker found several glass-faced cabinet doors which we reviewed and selected one. This selection increased the cabinet’s price. The cabinetmaker showed us his shop drawings (drawings that they will build the cabinets from) and he had made changes, such as adding bi-fold doors, where we did not want them. We gave him our comments and he left to revise his drawings.
The owners came back from vacation and decided they would need to rent an apartment for several months. They had wanted at least two bedrooms and two bathrooms available, and they would live there during construction.
Revising the Proposed Air Conditioning/Heating System
The owners decided that the ducted air conditioning system we had chosen was going to drop the ceilings too low. Also, they wanted each bedroom to have its own climate control as each occupant had different heating and cooling requirements. We met with the air conditioning sub-contractor and he recommended we switch to a ductless system. This system uses a condensing unit on the terrace as before, from which two condensate pipes go to air handling units serving each room. Each room can be individually climate controlled with its own unit. These units can often be seen in hotel rooms, but in our case, we were able to hide the air handling units in dropped ceilings, with only grilles showing. The price for the air conditioning and heating increased from $32,000 to $56,000.
We spent considerable time locating the units in each room, their supply and return grilles, and their access panels for future servicing. The electrician was scheduled to wire them, but then the air sub said that would void their warranty, so for an additional cost the air sub wired the units.
During the changes in the construction, we issued sketch drawings showing the changes we decided upon.
Mid-Way through Construction
The owners did not like the fact that the wine refrigerator for the kitchen was part of the guest room, so we created a small hall open to the kitchen that made the guest room a little smaller. We also decided to embed the television and its sound bar into the wall of the dining area in the kitchen.
During the construction, the contractor issued three additional work orders:
- Original Contract Price: $409,712
- Work Order #1: revised contract price: + $50,100 = $459,981
- Work Order #2: revised contract price: $476,225
- Work Order #3: +$12,650 = $488,875
In the master bathroom, we had foreseen two rows of down lights in the ceiling, down lights over the sink vanity, and small up lights in the platform for the freestanding tub.
There were existing down lights, but it turned out they were cast in the slab, so we decided to drop the ceiling in the master bath to accommodate the down light pattern designed.
The owners were getting disturbed by the length of time the project was taking, despite the fact that the continuous changes were slowing the project down. They made a final date at which they were moving in, when two bedrooms and two bathrooms would be completed.
Special Inspections
When we filed the project with the NY City Building Department, it was under Directive 14 of the City of New York’s administrative Code which means that the registered architect becomes the building inspector on behalf of the building deptartment to assure the project is built as it was filed. For this reason, we modified the official building department submittal to show the changed mechanical systems (air conditioning and heating) and the plan changes, including making a different bathroom a handicapped accessible bathroom.
The revised drawings and specifications were submitted to the building deptartment via the expediter, were approved, and as the project progressed the following inspections were carried out:
- a plumbing rough-in inspection and final plumbing inspection. (City inspector)
- an electrical rough-in inspection and final electrical inspection (City inspector)
- Energy Code: Lighting in dwelling units inspection (by Architect)
- Lighting controls (by Architect)
- Fire resistant penetrations and joints (Special Inspector)
- Post installed anchors (Special Inspector)
- Mechanical systems (Special Inspector)
- Air sealing and insulation (visual inspection) (Special Inspector)
- Fenestration U-factor & product rating (by Architect)
- Sprinkler systems (Special Inspector)
- Final Inspection (by the Architect)
Special Inspectors are licensed by the City of New York for specific construction inspections.
JJ Architecture PC is licensed to carry out these Class 3 Special Inspections: Exterior Insulation and Finish Systems (EIFS), Mechanical Systems, Structural Stability (Existing Buildings), Fire Resistant Penetrations and Joints, and Post-Installed Anchors. In addition to these Special Inspections, as registered architects we normally carry out Energy Code: Lighting in dwelling units, Lighting Controls and the project’s Final Inspection. The owner engages a Special Inspector to carry out those Special Inspections not provided by the architect.
Stay Tuned for Part Two: Completion
The project is nearing completion now and should be complete within a month and a half. I will update you with a complete blog and photos of the project when it is completed.
Located in the Greater New York area, Jeffrey Jordan Architecture specializes in the design of high-end projects such as luxury apartment and townhouse renovations, schools, churches, temples and offices. Additionally, we serve as project managers and facilitate the administrative aspects of projects, ensuring a smooth process.