at what point to call contractors?
Gemby I see you don’t want to waste anyone’s time. I’m writing this for you and everyone else who will read this later. It’s great to start feeling out contractors but because you don’t have any approved plans (by the Dept of Buildings) you cannot get a comparable bid from any of them.
Architecture in New York is 30 percent design and 70 percent code compliance. The proper procedure is to hire an expediter experienced in research to compile the legal status and the skeletons in the closets and the worms in the cans behind the skeletons in the closets so they don’t come out after you have spent money. The research is given to you and your prospective architects so they can determine if what you would like to be done, can be done. Many things like open applications violations, work done without a permit, moving a kitchen, can affect the cost and time-frame of completion and sometimes make getting a CofO almost impossible. I have rescued many projects 8, 9 and 10 years after construction started, because an existing problem ate up the budget. I’m not trying to scare you, but knowledge is key. I have no idea whats in your file but I will take a free looksee for you over the phone. If you don’t need me, Fantastic! Ive been doing this 30 years and that’s happened a few times.
Also quick word to all… Hire the Expediter directly! So he or she works for YOU and keeps the Architect and Contractor in check. The Expediter is the only one who really knows whats going on with your job at the ever-changing DOB.
718 350 5157
dexpediter
in General Discussion 7 years and 11 months ago
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gemby | 8 years ago
Hi,
We are planning to start a renovation in the next six months and I’m feeling a little bit overwhelmed in figuring out where to start. For those of you who have renovated, at what point in the process did you reach out to potential contractors?
I was planning to wait until we had a really solid plan before calling contractors, because I thought getting bids wouldn’t make sense without a detailed work order so we knew we were comparing apples to apples.
But at this point I feel like it would be helpful to speak to a professional in the process of getting to that point. Getting a better understanding what scope we can afford, what scope would require an architect vs. jobs a contractor can handle on their own.
Would it be considered wasting a contractor’s time to have them come over to the house and talk even though we are not quite ready to ask for a bid? Or is that part of the process— and what they expect to do prior to getting a job? If not— are there consultants that help with this type of work?
Thanks.
resident2 | 8 years ago
Call contractors NOW!
The better ones will already be scheduled and might well not have time for you if you want to get started in six months.
They will also teach you a lot of what you really want and and what will not work, what you need and what you do not need.
The most important thing is to find a contractor that you can reasonably communicate with, and that builds what you want built. There is no point speaking or hiring contractors that claim to do everything (they do nothing right) Do not use the guy that did your Soho loft, they will be lost in Brownstone and end up costing you 100% too much, no to contractors that do store fronts & offices, restaurants etc.
Find the ones that just work on older Brownstones if that is what you have.
Yes, to get a real quote they will need a full set of construction drawings, but after talking to many contractors you will see that the one that might quote not the cheapest knows what he is talking about and is worth more etc…
With contractors it is like dating… take your time to choose the right one.
Arkady | 8 years ago
I agree w/ Res 2 but would add that you should make a detailed list of what you want done. Prioritize it – most important stuff down to least. Also break each project down into steps: e.g. don’t just say “redo bath” if you are going to have to tear down walls, re-plumb, re-wire, etc.
anotherposter | 8 years ago
What they said. I got a contractor here as soon as we moved in with a plan on one small project. That let me get a feel for working with them before we moved on to bigger things and I had him walk through the house with me to talk about what we might or could do to get his input before we had any sort of real plan. Then I checked out architects (we were going to have to go through Landmarks and DOB, so I wanted a pro from the start) and gave him a general idea of what we wanted and he worked with me to get a specific plan. And if you’ve got much going on (different trades), timelines are never going to go as expected–patience will help you survive it all.
anotherposter | 8 years ago
Just be clear with them when you call about where you are in the process and why they are coming over.
workisfun | 8 years ago
Some contractor proposals are single numbers, slightly itemized, or very detailed descriptions of what they will do (and won’t do). If you want to compare apples to apples, you’ll need relatively descriptive proposals. Also, if you have particular materials you know you will want, tell them that from the outset. Some contractors build paint, etc. into the proposal, some don’t, and some will wait til painting time to tell you it wasn’t ncluded. Etc, etc.
gemby | 8 years ago
Thanks everyone! This is all incredibly helpful.
I know some contractors give general numbers for “low” and “high” finishes, and I’d imagine without separating out labor and materials there would be a lot of room for interpretation.
We will start reaching out contractors and be honest with them about where we are in the process. In some areas we know what we want to do, but there are still a number of decisions we have not made (that’s what’s been holding us back from contacting them).
slopefarm | 8 years ago
Do you have an architect? How much do you know now about your scope of work?
gemby | 8 years ago
Hi slopefarm, no we don’t have an architect, but we’re not sure if we want to go that route. The house is a 2-family with a LNO, but no C of O or configuration on file. There are no partitions between the two units, and no kitchen on the garden where we’d like the rental to be. I believe there has been one there in the past.
We do have a decent of the scope—this will not be a gut. The electrical and heating don’t need updating. We’d add a kitchen to the garden, update the kitchen on the parlor, and update the baths. We’re keeping but refinishing most of the flooring. We’re not removing any walls, but may move a couple interior doors.
We’d like to do all of this with licensed vendors and to code. We’d also like the advice of (and be willing to pay for) an architect. But I know if permitted correctly it would be an Alt-1 , which we understand opens a can of worms and would likely increase the scope and timeline of our project. And I’m under the impression that going with an architect means going fully permitted and having them supervise the job, rather than simply paying for plans and working with a GC? Or are some of them more flexible?
We also need to replace the beam in our cellar at some point, and are considering excavating the cellar at the same time. We would never do this structural work without an engineer and permits, but we aren’t sure if we could do it as a separate project either before or after the other work. When you permit a cellar job do they make you submit plans for the rest of the house?