House Extension
I AM CURRENTLY LOOKING TO EXTEND THE BACK OF MY HOUSE (1ST AND 2ND FLOORS) – HAS ANYONE DONE EXTENSIONS BEFORE? IF SO IS THERE A CHECKLIST OUT THERE WITH ALL THE STEPS TO TAKE. ALSO WHERE CAN I GET A COPY OF MY PROPERTY SURVEY? THANKS
I AM CURRENTLY LOOKING TO EXTEND THE BACK OF MY HOUSE (1ST AND 2ND FLOORS) – HAS ANYONE DONE EXTENSIONS BEFORE? IF SO IS THERE A CHECKLIST OUT THERE WITH ALL THE STEPS TO TAKE. ALSO WHERE CAN I GET A COPY OF MY PROPERTY SURVEY? THANKS
I would be happy to come by and give a free consultation to discuss project scope, zoning, budget with you. Prospect Architecture focuses not only on quality design but building sustainably and with energy savings in mind.
Jeremy Shannon, AIA, LEED AP, BPI Envelope Specialist
Principal Architect
Prospect Architecture, PC
718-783-0348
Brendan,
Do you have a website or contact info? I am in Bay Ridge and I also want to build an extension into my backyard. My house is 18×50 and so is my yard. I want to build a second floor terrace and have the underneath enclosed for a mudroom/storage area. The neighbors have a second floor deck but have left the underneath open, so I assume I there won’t be an issue building into my yard.
I thought I could start by getting estimates from construction companies but after reading this thread it seems I should talk to an archetect first – is that correct?
Premadas
HVAC systems Dept of Buildings code issue that may be the most restrictive limit of all of these issues. To ensure that habitable rooms have sunlight, the DoB has rules determining the ratio of window area to floor area of a floor. http://estore.silversheet.net/HVAC systems
There are four different issues that limit extending your building into your backyard (I’m assuming you’re not on a corner lot, that’s its own thing). Three are zoning and one is building code.
On the zoning issues, first of all you can’t exceed the allowed building bulk for your zone. The “floor area ratio” (abbreviated to FAR) determines how much habitable floor area a building is allowed to have, for instance an FAR of 2 allows you to build the whole lot to 2 stories or half a lot to 4 stories. The FAR is determined by your zoning district.
As is your rear yard setback. You can only build so far to your rear property line, and in many circumstances this limit is 30′ for residential.
The third zoning issue is lot coverage, as a percentage of building versus open space on the lot.
Finally, there is a Dept of Buildings code issue that may be the most restrictive limit of all of these issues. To ensure that habitable rooms have sunlight, the DoB has rules determining the ratio of window area to floor area of a floor. By adding size to the floor of a building, you’re effectively decreasing sunlight to the middle of the building, and making these areas less “habitable” by that definition.
Those are the regulatory issues you’d be bumping up against. By adding bulk and more rooms you’d be changing the C of O of the building, a process which is one of the more involved types of filings.
So what I’m saying is that it’s a long path, but certainly worth it if you can create more value out of your building. People put up with this process because the returns on value are high, or the improvements in using the house makes sense. Hopefully that makes the headache worth it.
If you are in a historic district, you will also have to have the local community board and LPC review the plans. I believe that rear yard extentions have been the subject of past forum threads, so you might want to look at those too.
Get a survey if you don’t already have one.
There are code issues; ie. size of backyard, interior rooms getting air and ventilation, etc.
FAR issues – do you have enough to add onto your house.
An architect can do a zoning analysis and determine if you can add and how much.
If you’re diligent and can read a cryptic language, the NYC building code and zoning are available on line.
Getting an architect is the place to start. You really can’t proceed until you know whether you can build at all, how far back you can go, etc. Since you are going up 2 stories, you can’t just go the prefab route. You will need it designed and filed, and you will need the architect’s specs to get reasonably accurate bids from contractors.
And troll, you need to go throught the above to answer your question.
How much does such a project cost?
Boro Land Surveying on court street can prepare a property survey. I don’t have their number, but they are listed.
There is no checklist that I am aware of – I would suggest calling an architect, me or Delson Sherman, or Robinson Grisaru or Michael Ingui or any number of architects in brooklyn. they will ask you a number of questions along the lines of what it is for ie kitchen, bedroom etc. what is the orientation of the property, and what is the current size of the back yard.
From those questions they should be able to tell you the basic parameters of the process.
Regards
BRC