Renovation Question
Hi, I recently bought an apartment in a coop building. The sponsor owns and is renovating the apt above mine. They want to move the kitchen in that apartment and have asked to access the pipes through my ceiling. They say it will take two days maximum and a few hours at minimum. I’m wondering…
Hi, I recently bought an apartment in a coop building. The sponsor owns and is renovating the apt above mine. They want to move the kitchen in that apartment and have asked to access the pipes through my ceiling. They say it will take two days maximum and a few hours at minimum. I’m wondering if I should let them do this and also what compensation I should ask for. I’ve never been in a situation like this before so any help would be appreciated.
Thanks.
You definitely want an attorney to draw up your contract for you! And you need some compensation to cover the attorneys fees you will spend, if nothing else.
As long as the owners file the paper work with the proper authorities for safety and approval the board will agree to it.
More than likely they will take a returnable security deposit from the owners in case of possible damage.
if the
I’m 12:48, you might also want to ask for money be put in escrew to cover any damage.
Are you sure they want to MOVE the kitchen? Generally co-op boards do not allow moving a kitchen to a different location. They tend not to appove a wet location (kitchen / bathroom) over a dry location. If that is what they want to do, I would object to this. You don’t want a kitchen over your bedroom or living area, etc. Leaks can happen and your screwed.
If they are moving things around in the kitchen, that is acceptable. Co-op board will approve that. Why can’t they access the plumbing from the floor? Probalby moving the sink / dishwasher over too much and they’re not allowed to chop the floor (Co-op boards generally do not allow chopping of building structure).
You can refuse to allow them to have access from your ceiling. But why be a jerk. Because if you wanted to renovate and needed to do the same, wouldn’t you want your neighbor to allow you.
So, cover your bases.
– Draw up a contract.
– Take photos, before, during and after
– Document all work
– Ask that your ceiling be repaired to a plumb and smooth finish and entire ceiling in area painted.
– Also, make sure to include that they are to have area returned to you dust free.
– The board should already require this. But there needs to be a waterproof layer under the finished floor.
– If any damage occurs to your unit because of this renovation, they are responsible for repain.
You might want an attorney to look at this contract.
This is a biggie.
Take photos before they do the work and take photos when they are done.
in the photos I suggest you have a newspaper with the date of the work and another newspaer when the job is done.
This is your verification of a start date and a finish date.
if anything goes crazy, you have the photo of the original condition with the date blown up and also for the completion.
I think you should tell them they can do it for free if they add sound attenuation insulation below the entire kitchen floor and add sound attenuation board below their new finish floor in the kitchen as well as waterproofing. That will be more valuable than any $$ they give you. You don’t want to hear that crack heads high heels every day tromping around above your head…on their echoy stone floor.
Get everything in writing just like the above posters say. The only few things I would add is: make sure that the person doing the renovation work have insurance and that it covers YOUR apartment while they work there and a hold harmless provision should any worker get injured while in your premises.
Also add into your agreement the right to ask for a monetary amount to be put in an escrow account for your benefit in case the work takes a turn for the worse, will take much longer to finish or is more labor intensive than they or you thought or if the contractor runs off. Take some before pictures of the area they will be working in.
First thing I would check on is whether they have board approval for the work. I suppose if the sponsor still owns a whole bunch of units in the building, then he probably still controls the board anyway, but I would imagine there still should be an approval process that involves ensuring that the contractors are licensed and insured.
The next caution I would mention is based on the assumption that your building is one of typical fairly modern construction where generally the ceiling finish (plaster, Kadex, or whatever) is applied directly to the bottom of the concrete floor slab and you have dropped ceilings only in limited areas, typically kitchen, bathroom and maybe the foyer. If they’re moving the kitchen to a location where there is, below the plumbing locations, no dropped ceiling in your apartment, then they’ll have to install additional dropped ceiling areas to hide the piping. If they do this in only a portion of any of your rooms it could look really awkward and if they do it over the whole room it will reduce your floor-to-ceiling height. I would definitely want to make sure what the situation is in this regard and, if necessary, have some input into the revised ceiling configuration and/or the permanent effects of such changes on the desirability and value of your apartment.
You need to make sure that, in the areas where they are getting into your existing ceilings, there is a clear understanding that the ceiling should be reinstated so as to be indistinguishable from its current condition (no uneven patching of holes etc., a paint job over its entire surface, not just the patched areas).
Maybe I’m crazy, but if it were me, I would request – in writing – a month’s free maintenance, as well as a written GUARANTEE that the work will take no longer than originally estimated, AND that the sponsor will pay for your apt. to be cleaned when the work is finished.
You have them over a barrel with this one: they need you, and you don’t need them. Don’t be nice: they wouldn’t be nice for you, I’m sure….