Frequently Asked Questions
It’s a big question and takes time to answer. Some things to consider in trying to figure this one out:
What is the right amount of space?
Is there enough space for now? Is there enough space for five or ten years from now? Will you be able to grow into the house? Does it offer flexibility? Would you like space for a home office?
Is the style of the house important to you?
Do you have a dream of living in a Victorian or Brownstone? Or are you mostly looking for space and the style of the home is less important?
Does the current layout work?
If not, what kind of a renovation would you consider – just touching up the finishes; fixing up the kitchen and baths but keeping room arrangements and layouts as-is; a complete gut renovation where you start fresh with almost everything?
How old is the house?
If the house is over a certain age and has never been renovated, it is probably a good idea to at least update all the plumbing and electrical. That will likely require a more significant renovation because replacing plumbing and electrical requires opening up a lot of walls, and once that is done other issues could become apparent, such as structural or water damage. So, for an old, unrenovated home you should be ready for significant work.
Will you be able to make the modifications to the space that you are hoping for?
You may want to open up a space, make some windows larger, or relocate a bathroom. These kinds of changes require removing portions of loadbearing walls or relocating plumbing lines. Is this possible? How much might it cost? Will you need permits for this? An early consultation with an architect can help you understand what is possible and what would be involved.
There are a lot of variables here, but I will try to explain my typical(ish) home gut renovation:
Schematic Design (1 week): After I am hired, we will spend some time discussing and developing the schematic design for the space. Part of this is finalizing the full scope, but most of that has already been completed during the Proposal phase. Now is when we work out the big picture items of the design – location and size of rooms, and the overall flow of the space.
Design Development (2 weeks): Once we have the schematics more or less set, I will begin to develop the agreed-upon design. This is when I will begin to bring in structural and/or mechanical engineers, if needed, to coordinate any of those aspects of the design. I will dive deeper into the spaces, locating doors, windows, fixtures, and millwork.
Permit Documents (1-3 weeks): When the design is far enough along and you feel comfortable with the direction it is going, I will begin putting the DOB set together. This provides the DOB with a detailed enough look at what we are proposing – demolition, construction, lighting plans, and plumbing plans (and structural if required); plumbing riser diagrams; and a variety of other DOB-required notes, details, diagrams, calculations, and charts.
DOB Approval (4-6 weeks): DOB will typically take about 3-4 weeks to review the Permit Documents and respond with a list of objections. I will review the objections with my expediter and come up with a plan of how to respond. Once the drawings have been amended per DOB objections, we resubmit the set. We usually obtain approval 1-2 weeks after that, but sometimes there can be a second round of objections. Once we have DOB approval, permits can be pulled, but first you need a licensed contractor (see below).
Bid Set (3-4 weeks, while we are waiting for DOB approval): After the Permit Documents are submitted to DOB, I will begin to develop them further into the Bid Set. This set has much of the same information that the Bid Set shows, but with more detail. It will show all the plans the DOB set shows, but with additional construction notes and tags, and will also show an electrical plan that shows how lighting is switched, and a finish plan that can detail how each room is to be finished. It shows detailed kitchen and bath drawings. It has additional construction details that DOB is not concerned with. It includes detailed lighting, plumbing fixture, door, and window schedules. Basically, it shows everything the contractor will need to give a sufficiently accurate bid for the complete construction scope.
Contractor Bidding and Negotiating (3-4 weeks): Once our selected group of contractors (ideally 3) have the bid set and have had a few days to briefly review, we schedule a day for individual on-site walk-throughs. This is a time when each contractor has the chance to really familiarize themselves with the job and ask any pertinent questions. Then they will take a week or two to go through every detail of the Bid Set and send out an itemized bid proposal. I will then help you compare the bids and give you my opinion on each. You make the final choice.
Permitting and finalizing start date (2 weeks): At this point we have DOB approval, and once you have selected a licensed contractor permits can be pulled any time. But it typically takes a few weeks for the contractor to be able to pin down a start date.
Construction (4-8 months): This phase is very hard to predict, and depends on the scope of work, the contractor you select, and the time of year. One tip though is that if the contractor says it will take 3 months, figure more like 6 months. Once construction is completed, or nearly completed, you can move in! The expediter and I will be working on final DOB sign off and obtaining the official Letter of Completion. Congratulations! You deserve it.
This is a tough one. Let’s say you are gut renovating two floors of a house, no exterior work, with each floor at 800 square feet. I think a good rule of thumb is around $130,000 in construction cost per floor. Of course, it’s possible to go much higher than this, based on detailing, materials, and finishes. But something relatively nice can be had for this amount. The number likely does not include fixtures, appliances, and certain finishes (tile, countertops, etc.), which the client typically furnishes, and the contractor installs.
My fee, for Full Design Services, usually works out to about 8-12% of construction costs. For a larger job the fee tends to be on the lower end, and for a smaller job it’s on the higher end. However, I do not base my fee on construction costs, I base it on how long I figure the drawings will take to complete, relative to similar jobs I have completed.
So, the Full Design Services for a gut renovation of two floors (160sf) would typically be around $25,000. This can of vary based on the exact services requested.
Additional fees to consider are:
Expediting services: $2000 for an Alteration Type 2 filing (standard interior renovation that doesn’t affect use, egress, or occupancy of the space, and therefor does not require a new Certificate of Occupancy).
$5000-$6000 for an Alteration Type 1 filing (change of use, egress, or occupancy, which requires a new Certificate of Occupancy).
Licensed Survey: $1000 for the survey. Required only if we are filing Alteration Type 1.
Structural Engineer: Varies based on scope of work. It is often around $4000-$7000 for the type of renovation described above, if we are removing load-bearing walls and/or relocating stairs. If there is no structural work in the scope, we will not work with a structural engineer.
Mechanical Engineer: Varies based on scope of work and is often not necessary for one- and two-family renovations. Work that would require a Mechanical Engineer include replacing/relocating the boiler or hot water heater; relocating the exhaust of the boiler/hot water heater; a central HVAC system or ducted split system. Fees typically range from $4000-$6000.
Interior Design: Most of my clients opt not to hire an Interior Designer and choose to handle most of this on their own, with my guidance. But if you do wish to work with an Interior Designer that would be a separate fee which you would need to inquire about.
Asbestos Inspection (ACP5): $1000 for the inspection and all lab fees. All DOB filings require an asbestos inspection prior to approval of drawings. If asbestos is found, you will need to abate as required by DOB. If none is found, we simply submit the clean ACP5 to DOB.
DOB Filing Fees: Varies based on scope of work. For a gut renovation as described above it would likely be around $1000.
Landmarks Coordination: If your home is in a Landmarks District, we will need to coordinate that with the Landmarks Preservation Committee (LPC). If there is no exterior work involved in the job, all that is required is submitting a Letter of No Effect stating as such. If there is exterior work, but it is in the rear and not visible from the street, we will need to submit a full set of drawings to LPC. But since none of the work is visible from the street, this is a fairly straight forward process, and is considered an “office-level review.” If there is work that is visible from the street, this can often require an LPC hearing, and it is very hard to predict how much work will be involved. For an office-level my fees are around $2000. For work related to an LPC hearing I bill at my hourly rate.
Construction Administration: This is at the discretion of the client, but I always recommend at least one or two site visits per month. This allows me to verify that construction is generally progressing according to the approved drawings, address any unforeseen conditions that may have arisen during demolition and construction, and gives the contractor an opportunity to clarify any questions they may have. Each site visit is $350, and additional coordination such as meeting notes or contractor-requested details is billed at $160 per hour.
Job Sign Off: Signing off the job with DOB requires the design professionals to sign off on certain technical requirements. TR1s cover life safety and include structural systems, fire safety, and indoor air quality. TR8s cover energy efficiency and include lighting, HVAC, windows, and insulation. The number of items required for each job differs, based on the scope of the job. There is no “typical” job, but often I will sign off on about 2-4 TR1 items, and 4-7 TR8 items. My fee for signing off is $300 per TR1 item, and $150 per TR8 item. There may be additional items that the structural or mechanical engineer signs off on depending of the scope. Their fees tend to be a little higher per item than mine. I have a fee of $350 per DOB inspection, and you can expect 1-2 of these to occur during construction.