Renovations That Do Not Fix Existing Code Violations
If the work is filed as an Alteration Type 2 with no changes to egress, use, or occupancy, the architect or engineer of record may opt to perform the final inspection himself thus avoiding a city inspection which may result in greater scrutiny.
agdipierro
in Renovation 4 years and 1 month ago
3
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3 replies
cdix999 | 4 years and 1 month ago
Hi all,
First time homeowner who went straight for a landmarked rowhouse, built in the early 1900s. We’re about to gut renovate one of three floors. Single family home, no rental units.
The house is full of code violations. Some are probably from work that was done long ago and were compliant at the time (low number of electrical outlets), others are more likely the result of poor repairs/upgrades over time (outlets with reversed polarity), and some look like cheap renovations done more recently (no ventilation in a newer bathroom). Generally, the previous owners seem to have taken a very lax attitude to repairs and renovations, the work looks sloppy and cheap. There’s never been a DOB filing on the property, despite at least one serious renovation that added a room within the last few decades.
I’m worried about the implications of this non-compliance as we start to do renovations. We would like to renovate just one floor to start, or maybe one floor with some minor work on other floors. We want to do this work above board and up to code, and will be selecting and arc hitect and contractor who are committed to proper work. But I am worried about the implications of doing renovation work that does not correct existing code violations on other floors, even if those floors are not touched by the renovations.
We’re planning to eventually do major renovations on the whole house, but would rather proceed a floor at a time. We can afford to only do one floor right now, and we’re looking at 5-10 years to save up for the other two floors. We’d strongly prefer to at least have one nice, safe floor right now.
Thanks all, appreciate any help or insights folks have.
cate | 4 years and 1 month ago
If I may be frank, unless you got the date from the designation report, your house is probably older than 1900. Good news: If it’s like most houses in Brooklyn, it probably doesn’t need a gut renovation. If it’s not a gut, you will save money. Most of the “code violations” you mention will not have any bearing on what you want to do. It’s a good idea to file the new renovation under old code so your existing conditions will be grandfathered in. There is no requirement to rip out historic stairs, etc., because they don’t conform to 2021 building codes. Start interviewing architects, and see what they advise. It’s typically very difficult, stressful and more expensive to renovate one floor at a time, but see what the architects say. Please be aware you can update all the electrical and plumbing and mechanicals in the house without a “gut renovation.” If you want to save money while renovating here is my advice: Limit the scope. For example, if you keep the occupancy the same as it is now and do not move any wet rooms, you will save money. If you keep the floor plan the sam e, you will also save (you can knock out a small non load bearing wall without filing). Adding an addition is one of the most expensive things you can do. Opening up the back wall can also be expensive, depending on how you do it. Brownstone facade work is expensive. New, landmark approved windows are pricey. Central air can add cost (but is well worth doing now especially with an architect and when you have the walls open to update mechanicals). If you have an illegal deck or a new illegal addition on the house, those conditions may need to be remedied in the course of a new renovation. Your architect (or expediter) can guide you through these minefields.
colonialrevival | 4 years and 1 month ago
Electrical permits can be kept open and renewed for a long time. Like Cate mentioned, most of the systems work needed to bring things in to modern day can be done without “gutting” the house at all — we recently did so with a full electrical re-wire, service upgrade, re-plumbing the waste lines under the house, and new supply lines throughout. We also picked a handful of “throughout” tasks we knew we wouldn’t stomach once we had moved in: skim coating, floor sanding and refinishing, restoring 60% of the historic windows, and millwork restoration with new paint throughout.
The previous owners of our house did very little in the 53 years they owned it, and most of the work they did was garbage. That said, most of it is easily undone, if you have the budget. Like Cate said, reign in your scope and focus on what matters—especially if you already like the “bones” of the house.