Frame House. How tall are we aloud to build?
We are considering buying a frame house around Gowanus. The house has the garden floor and three more. The last one is an extended dormer. Not higher than 7 feets. I’ve heard we won’t be aloud by law to rise the roof to a full 8 or 9 feets. Is it true? Can we build…
We are considering buying a frame house around Gowanus. The house has the garden floor and three more. The last one is an extended dormer. Not higher than 7 feets. I’ve heard we won’t be aloud by law to rise the roof to a full 8 or 9 feets. Is it true? Can we build a roof deck? I have checked the online version of the Building Codes but I don’t find any references. Anybody has information about the subjetct?
This posting is a bit late, but I happen to know quite a bit about this question, as we purchased a frame house that matches your description to a tee. We also needed to raise the height to use the top floor as an artist’s studio with natural light. I did an ENORMOUS amount of research and learned a couple of things — most importantly, there are no hard and fast rules. Typically however, depending on your zoning and how far you are from the nearest avenues, you are allowed to be 30ft in the front and 40ft in the back (with a 10 foot setback). However, since it is a frame house, there are some additional concerns because today they have new regulations restricting heights of frame houses. Just to add some additional confusion, depending on your C of O/how your top floor is classified (we did not have a C of O and our top floor was listed as a master bedroom on the plans) you can probably get away with it, as we did. Our plans were approved by the DoB and we’ve raised our roof. I suggest you go talk to Scott Schnall, as he knows everything there is to know about this stuff. But bring a copy of your plans with you as he’ll need to review them before giving you any advice.
aloud? that’s not even a typo, is it?
allowed.
also, just a quick note on the url above: the model code doesn’t apply yet….i think the earliest it will be implemented is next spring… i could be wrong….
also, again, chapter five tells you height and area limitations as per fire and safety….they are always (almost) going to be bigger than zoning allows….
here’s the zoning link:
http://www.nyc.gov/html/dcp/pdf/zone/art02c03.pdf
section 23-60 deals with height, section 23-10 deals with floor area, section 23-40 deals with yards….
as lee said, you have to look at the zoning resolution….
the building code will tell you what material a roof deck can be (non-combustible) but if you are lookingfor height regulations: check the residential section (article 23) of the zoning resolution (available online at city planning) and look for height regulations. you will also need to know your zoning district (maps are also available online via city planning) to determine applicable regulations…..
raising the roof above 8′-0″ ceiling height will also increase floor area (so, as lee said, check your floor area regulations)…..
however there is some leeway on this, depending on what the certificate of occupancy of the existing house says….
Also check the NYC Zoning Resolution for allowable heights, yard requirements and FAR for your site.
Thanks. I assume according to the regulation that you can go as high of your neighboor. Is there any limitation if it’s a frame house? Any architect specialized in the area of Gowanus and Park Slope who has come across the same type of question?
Look at chapter 5
http://www.nyc.gov/html/dob/html/model/construction_code.shtml