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December 21, 2007
is a permit necessary?
We own a 3 fam brownstone and want to put in a dividing wall in one of the floor through apartments. We intend to use the small room as an office. There will be no plumbing or electrical work done. We will also need to put in a new door. Do we need to get a permit for this kind of work?
Comments
why bother? you own the house, who is going to know?
Posted by: guest at December 21, 2007 9:11 PM
You might not need a permit if you are not moving plumbing pipes or adding tons of electrical power.
Double check just in case.
Try department of buildings websitefor more info.
Posted by: Ysabelle at December 21, 2007 9:30 PM
Hi there,
For the wall and door that you describe, you do not need a permit. There is nothing structural, no electric and no plumbing, therefore, you should be fine. One thing you may want to consider, however, is making sure your contractor ties in the wall properly to the floor joists and the ceiling. It's minor but depending on the size of the wall, you want to make sure it is properly anchored and studded. Overall, however, no permit is necessary.
Posted by: guest at December 22, 2007 1:35 AM
No need for a permit for such a simple job.
Posted by: Rick at December 22, 2007 6:41 AM
You are all wrong. If this were a 2-family brownstone, the requirements may be different. 3-family homes fall under multiple dwelling laws and have the same requirements as every apartment building in New York.
I assume you are changing a room to make either an internal office or you are changing a room to make two rooms at the end which will each have a different window. You are changing egress patterns thus the "life safety" of your home is changing (i.e. the travel distance changes, the access to legal light and air changes). You most definitely need to file this. It may seem ridiculous and frivolous, but you do. It's a very simple task. I would go to an expediter that can also provide you a simple drawing.
The requirement to file has nothing to do with whether it is a "simple" job or not.
However, those are the legalities, in reality, 9:11 is correct also. It's your home. Who will ever know?
Posted by: guest at December 22, 2007 7:57 AM
Okay, yes, I'm sure the DOB would like you to file everything you do to your own house. In reality, very few people do. People J walk all the time in this city too.
Posted by: Rick at December 22, 2007 9:35 AM
When someone dies in a fire in your apartment you'll wish you had filed this with the DoB...
Rick, I think that you are even a contractor (or some trade), I can't believe you're giving that kind of advice. Shameful.
Posted by: guest at December 22, 2007 6:21 PM
I think all that Rick is saying is that it is best to file but not many people do on a job like adding a wall.
Posted by: guest at December 23, 2007 9:15 AM
NO.
Posted by: guest at December 24, 2007 1:58 PM
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