Plumbing Permit?
I live in a prewar Manhattan studio co-op (forgive me for trespassing in Brooklyn territory here) and I am looking to remodel my bathroom. No re-arranging, just new everything in the same positions (tile, vanity, toilet, shower body and trim, etc.), only I won’t touch the bathtub, I’ll just reglaze. My building manager told me…
I live in a prewar Manhattan studio co-op (forgive me for trespassing in Brooklyn territory here) and I am looking to remodel my bathroom. No re-arranging, just new everything in the same positions (tile, vanity, toilet, shower body and trim, etc.), only I won’t touch the bathtub, I’ll just reglaze. My building manager told me that if I remove the sink/vanity and the tile behind it, that I will also have to replace the hot and cold water lines to the riser. As such, the city requires me to get a plumbing permit, which will require a licensed plumber to draw plans and file with city. Does this make sense? If I only want to replace the lavatory and the wall tile behind it, why would I need to replace the hot and cold feeds? And even so, why would I need a plumbing permit for this? One contractor told me the plans and filing fees could run $5000!!! Does this make sense?
Usually, once you open a wall, a building is going to require you to replace the pipes back to the riser and install shutoff valves. some may even require you to replace the riser itself in your area. It is a good idea as the pipes are old and most likely once you renovate the bathroom, it will not be touched again for awhile unless one of the old pipes starts leaking…
Depends on how far to the riser and whether or not the wall is already open for access. If you are replacing the wall, and if you are re-tiling you are, then chances are most of the piping will already be exposed.
I was able to speak with the Chief of Central Plumbing at the DOB in Manhattan and he confirmed what you are all saying. The city does NOT require replacement of the h/c water lines back to the riser when replacing a sink. And even so, a permit is not required, just an OP128 “Ordinary Plumbing Work Report” by a licensed plumber to be filed by the 15th the month after the work is done. No architectural plans or plumbing diagrams or anything like that.
So, having said that, it looks like the co-op Board will insist I replace the lines to the riser. How much more will my GC charge me for this? What’s fair and/or average?
The work as described does not trigger the need for a DoB filing, even though the supply lines are being replaced back to the riser. Your plumber will need to obtain a repair slip for the work, so there is some paperwork with the city involved, but certainly not an Alteration II filing for construction. That’s overkill.
But the management agency can ask for anything they want, and it’s the policy of the larger agencies to demand that any plumbing work be accompanied by replacement of the supply lines to the riser, with new shutoffs. It’s not that they have a particular concern about your building, this just gets requested across the board. I see this even requested on relatively new buildings, which is even more absurd.
Replacing the supply lines shouldn’t be a big deal, don’t let that contractor freak you out with the $5k number.
Sorry should be:
Your building has a ‘Building Architect’.
“The requirement to replace the hot and cold risers sections that run within your unit is common in most pre-war co-ops.”
Agree. Very common for Co-op boards to require this at time of a bathroom remodel.
Your building as an ‘Building Architect’. i would address your filing concerns to the Board who can in turn ask the Architect if filing is required. A full filing shouldn’t be, but they may require a licensed plumber to file a ‘Repair Slip’ with DOB.
Your coop management office is WRONG. I live in a condo in manhattan and just did two bathrooms. The shower body was changed because I installed a single lever to replace 2 knobs. A contractor did it. The building had to shut the water in the apartment line for a few hours. If you are replacing everything in the same location there is no filing for permits ever. even in condo or coop.
Try going to the board instead. Manageent offices are lazy unhelpful misinformed people. They lie all the time.
Don’t call DOB, yet, deal with the building first. Surely you are not the first tenant to upgrade a bathroom. What you are doing is classified as “maintenance” by the DOB. the fact that the valves are being replaced doesn’t change that. As stated above the policy the building has of replacing the valves is a good one but it is also a routine part of the building’s maintenance and upkeep. Permits are required for moving and adding fixtures as this affects the sanitary load on the systems of the building (pipe sizes and capacity, etc.).
They are right if those lines are old and have no shutoff valves. it would be common sense anyway if there are no valves.