Pre-Fab Put on Roof?
I’m wondering if it’s been done in NYC, and if not, would it be legal to put a pre-fab home (like a Rocio Romero LV) on top of a roof and duplex into the top floor apartment. This of course assumes that the air rights exist and the roof can support the weight etc.
I’m wondering if it’s been done in NYC, and if not, would it be legal to put a pre-fab home (like a Rocio Romero LV) on top of a roof and duplex into the top floor apartment. This of course assumes that the air rights exist and the roof can support the weight etc.
seems like a lot of headache for a mediocre result, with almost no savings in the end
I’ve spent a lot of time researching this over the past few years. jcarch does a pretty good job of summing up the major obstacles. By far, the biggest to overcome is the combustible issue. Anything over two-stories will need to be metal framed. The only ones around who do that are Top Penthouse and Capsys. Capsys is the one in the Navy Yard, but they don’t touch anything under 20,000 sf, and TP starts around $400/sf for their lower end units! I even tried convincing other standard modular home builders to do metal framing. I called every single fabricator from here to Indiana. Almost got one, but he backed out in the end.
As for the width, The maximum truckable is just under 16 feet, so doing a simple box is out for most sites. We had a few schemes that turned the module sideways, and stacked a few deep like legos. They actually worked well, but we couldn’t beat the whole combustibility issue.
As for cost, there are lots of issues to be done on site, so it nets out very close to site built, but the savings is the time. Theoretically the work could start in the factory the same time the foundation is being dug, and would be complete in a matter of weeks. Add a week to truck it from western PA, a couple of days to crane it in place, then a month or so to do the on-site finishes, and you could have a house in a matter of a few months. That’s where the savings are.
It’s extremely appetizing, but so is cold fusion, and in very much the same way.
If someone can figure out how to do it cheaply, there’s gold in them thar hills!
There are some pre-fabs being done in the city but is not the norm and not a lot. Offhand , there is also a company in the Brooklyn Navy Yard (if they are still there) and there are some additional requirements which you have to check if it is ok
I would think not. Too many regulations that the pre-fab company cannot even begin to deal with. You would need drawings to file with DOB, zoning, fire etc.
The problem you’re going to run into is that the new floor on your brownstone/townhouse will have to be non-combustible. Many pre-fab companies are aimed at suburban/rural locales, and use combustible construction.
Next up will be the need for your addition to match the width of your brownstone (with a little space to meet earthquake code). Building code won’t let you have a two foot strip of empty space if the pre-fab is 24″ narrower than your building. If the pre-fab company doesn’t make a module that matches your house width, it’s a problem.
Third problem may be getting the addition or modules to your address. If you live on a nice wide street this may not be an issue.
Fourth problem is where are the stairs for access. This is likely not a standard component, in a standard location.
Edifice rex’s recommendation of Top Penthouse may be useful…they’re used to working in NYC. You could also call Resolution 4 Architecture (www.re4a.com). They do lots of pre-fab, and are located in NYC, but a quick look at their site shows that all the pre-fab work seems to be houses.
Good Luck.
I’ve looked into this a few times…and even if you can overcome these issues, my experience was that this was a very custom job, not a true standardized pre-fab, so costs were higher than building on site.
These guys have done a few.
http://www.toppenthouse.com/index.htm
I saw their first one about 5 years ago and it looked ok, not great but ok. I don’t know what the budget was and their work has probably improved. There are not many in NYC with this experience.