Moving Pipes
My wife and i are considering buying the apt next door to our coop (prewar) and combiming the two apartments. there are, unfortunately, three pipes (risers, i believe they are called) running from floor to ceiling in one of the walls that we would like taken down. We’d like to move the pipes and have…
My wife and i are considering buying the apt next door to our coop (prewar) and combiming the two apartments. there are, unfortunately, three pipes (risers, i believe they are called) running from floor to ceiling in one of the walls that we would like taken down. We’d like to move the pipes and have been told wildly different things about how hard/expensive it would be to have them moved. (understand that we’ll need building approval. Putting aside getting the building to approve moving the risers, any thoughts on how difficult/expensive this is (we’d ideally like to move them about 4 to 5 feet)? thanks for all your help.
I think you really have to find out if they are risers.
If they are indeed risers, try to find out what kind of riser. Waste lines are typically the largest and most difficult to shift (horizontal shifts in waste lies are good places for crap to get caught). If they are water supply lines it can be a lot easier. Gas is a pain because of the testing and DOB – and you open yourself up to being liable for any gas leaks in the entire building. Electrical riser depend on how your panel is wired and how your neighbor’s panels are wired, you could pull new feeders above and below. Steam – I’ve never done, so I can’t say.
Also make sure they are still in use, many old buildings have had enough upgrades that they will have abandoned risers.
In the event that they are risers and your coop board is crazy enough to let you relocate them – you will have to build up a platform floor and a dropped ceiling to conceal them. The work has to happen in your space, as I seriously doubt your downstairs neighbor is going to let you come in and run the shift across his/her ceiling.
If the riser is a waste line you will have a 6″ step at this platform you will need to build over the pipe off-set. Water supply lines could be concealed in certain pre-war construction type slabs.
My recommendation is as above, a good architect would have a good solution to avoid needing to move these – maybe even by completely reconfiguring the adjacent spaces – so that you don’t need such a large opening. Your money and energy are better spent on other things.
Drew Stuart
Incorporated Architecture & Design
http://www.incorporatedny.com/
Any architect could (and apparently just did) tell you this will be nearly impossible. Also there are new new nyc bar co-op guidelines to take into consideration. Apparently in the boom people did crazy stuff on the down low / bait and switch and now there is some backlash.
Moving these pipes could get into 5 figures for cost. While you could find cheaper plumber/millwright crew to do this, it’s worth paying top dollar, especially if you don’t have strong working knowledge around this. Also, being a rather old building, something will go wrong during the demo that will extend the job.
But because it’s pre-war, putting in new lines may be something that’s in the not so distant future. I can’t say because I don’t know what its condition is, but something to think about
No way a board will allow it to be moved. To do so would require at least getting into the apt below to allow for the change in direction below your floor. Not going to happen, unless you have a lot of money to burn. We design around such things all of the time.
If you need help with the mortgage I have a program that will allow you to buy the unit next door and give you one loan against both units. It would be treated as a refinance. It’s a cool program.
adahill@wcslending.com
Also, a good architect will be able to design around them.
What Alex and BH says, no board would take a chance to cut various services to the whole building for a day while this was done, with the potential for longer outages of something were to go wrong. Like Alex says, box ’em up and make them part of the design, maybe do a closet there, or something.
Most coop Boards would not (for very good reasons) permit risers to be moved.
If you are anywhere other than the top or perhaps bottom floors it will be very difficult and very costly. In most all cases it will be impossible. You might be able to move the water risers tight to the drain (and vent) and box them in a way that works with your design. This is reason #583 I tell people to always buy the top floor when planning any serious work.