Essential Guidance for Renovating Your NYC Apartment

1. Essential Guidance for Renovating Your NYC Apartment

2. While renovating your New York City apartment is absolutely doable and often a fantastic way to update your home and add to its value, many fail to appreciate the timescale and costs involved, and end up having to stop midway through the project. To help prevent this from happening, and ensure that your NYC apartment renovation goes with a hitch, we’ve compiled the following short guidance: Be realistic about how long it will take If you work with an experienced and reputable renovation contractor, they will give you as accurate a timescale as they can for the completion of the project, and will be honest with you about the possibility of delays due to things that are out of their control, such as shortage of materials or gaining the relevant permits.

3. Working with a general contractor who has a complete team of in-house tradespeople can help expedite proceedings, as they have everyone on board to help complete the project on time. Think about where you will stay while work is ongoing For a major renovation, or any work that interrupts your daily schedule and makes living in the apartment difficult, you’ll need to think about moving elsewhere until the project is complete. Set funds aside for this possibility, in case you don’t have friends or relatives nearby that you can bunk up with for a few weeks or months.

4. Be prepared for the budget to change Talk in detail with your chosen general contractor about your budget and its limitations, so that both parties are clear on what can and can’t be afforded. Remember that insurance and building rules in NYC could bump the price up considerably, so always be prepared for your original budget to grow a little as you delve deeper into the minutiae of the project. Do you need work permits? Not all renovation work requires a permit, but any work that does, will have an impact on your overall timeline, so it’s important to be clear on this before work commences. If your architect has to submit plans to the DOB, it may take as long as a few months to complete the process.

5. You’ll have to abide by owner’s association rules Owners’ associations vary in their levels of strictness, but all will have rules for renovations taking place in the building, which can include when work is permitted to be carried, to where you are allowed to install a washer and dryer. Do you have friendly neighbors? As an act of common courtesy, you’ll need to inform any neighbors likely to be affected by the renovation work, and give them ample notice before work commences. Hopefully, they’ll be accommodating!

6. Always be clear on who is responsible if anything goes wrong While the majority of NYC apartment renovations pass by without a hitch, it’s imperative that you understand whose responsibility it is, should someone have an accident on the premises. Liability insurance – covers you if something goes wrong with the building – and Workers Compensation – for when someone hurts themselves while carrying out the work. Your general contractor must have liability insurance and workers compensation, otherwise you will be held responsible, as the homeowner. Check also that your homeowner’s policy has enough coverage in the event of a problem caused by a contractor.

7. To help your NYC apartment renovation go smoothly and successfully, always work with a local, licensed, insured and experienced general contractor. RZ Construction Group Inc is a fully inclusive general contractor in Astoria NY. From initial design to final clean up, our results speak for themselves. We are fully licensed, insured, and bonded to provide both commercial and residential construction services to customers in Astoria and the surrounding area. Proud to serve New York State for 25 years. No job is too small nor too big. If you are looking for apartment renovation in NYC or want to know more about our wide range of professional but affordable construction and repair services, reach out to us at (718) 938-9887.