March 27, 2008

Roof Deck

Hi there,
I own a 3 family townhouse in Manhattan.
My tenant wants exclusive rights to the roof since he occupies the top floor. We have a bulkhead in the roof so the excess is very convenient. He suggests to use swift deck (www.swiftdeck.com)product to cover the roof. I have several questions:
1-Does he need to apply for permit. The roof is described in the certificate of occupancy as a recreational area.
2-What kind of assurance do I have that I will not be sued if an accident happens.
Even if I sign him that he will be held responsible for everything that happens. What assurance do I have for example if one of his friend fell of the roof. How can I be protected against 3rd side lawsuits.

Your thoughts and knowledge is appreciated

Thanks,

March 14, 2008

C of Os and roofdecks

i am looking into building a small roof deck on my coop and i am hearing all sorts of things about what i need in order to do this by the book... do i need to change the C of O in order to do this by the book? i am going to get an engineer report, file for all of the permits and what not but is this something i am overlooking? i just want to try to avoid surprises.

March 4, 2008

Permits - Backyard Deck

We'd like to build a deck in the rear yard of our brownstone. I realize DOB requires an architect to design the deck and permits must be obtained. But, what if our architect designed the deck as a series of panels, like 4' squares, that sit on a grid of concrete footings. Since the panels could be moved, would we theoretically be able to call the deck panels "furniture" and therefore not need to file for a permit from DOB. The panels would be connected so as not to be TOO easily moveable. We're thinking this would save us some time and money, albeit require more designing. Any thoughts? Could this work? The DOB requirements for decks are ridiculous.