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It sounds crazy but it might just work…

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Because of hurricane Sandy, we are behind schedule about a week and a half, due mainly to transportation issues for the crew.  Although demolition was almost complete, they were not able to haul away the debris yet because alternate side parking rules were suspended and it was too difficult to get a dumpster right in front of the house.

Our second bit of disappointing news was that our contractor quoted us a price to rebuild our neighbor’s shed that we have to tear down.  A whopping 13K to replace a 50 year old box!  While we want the lady’s shed to be replaced a little better than it was, we do not want to provide her with a state of the art solarium.  What pains us most is that it mainly houses old cleaning supplies and the like.  

Nevertheless, the crew started the excavation for the extension in the back.  At the end of last week we  attended a status meeting at the site with our architect, structural engineer and foreman.  As we have mentioned before, if you are planning on major structural work to your home you will need to hire a structural engineer.  His or her price tag will be high and you will think, oh man.  Well last week our engineer (along with our architect) earned his paycheck.

During the meeting we all took a close look at the shed wall abutting our property and determined that instead of demolishing her entire shed we could simply incorporate the wall into our extension. The plan was for our extension to use CMU blocks (concrete masonry unit) with an EIFS (external finishing insulation system) with a stucco coating. Under this new plan we’ll continue to use CMU blocks and EIFS but in the areas of the wall abutting her wall (top photo, right side) we’ll leave out the stucco and apply a metal flashing over the top of her wall to water proof it.

We will have to give up about 2 inches of space in our bedroom (sadly from our closet) but we will have saved the cost of the new shed and when it’s complete we won’t be able to tell the difference.  Like most things with renovation–it is a wait and see game.  They will go forward with this new plan until or unless some unknown factor prevents it.  In the renovation game, it’s the best laid schemes o’ mice an’ men.

Hurricane Sandy

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Of course there is a hurricane at the exact moment that the demolition crew has completely opened up the back of the house!

Since the house is not in a flood zone, we weren’t worried about the coastal surges but we were very concerned about excessive rain and wind.

The crew had put a tarp over the debris in the back yard and the openings to the back of the house were boarded up but there were lots of gaps.  The four foot pit test (a giant hole leading into our basement) was our main concern but there was so much debris on top we thought it would block most of the rain.  We added an additional tarp to direct the rain away from the house.

The day after the storm we headed over to have a look.  The tarp had blown off of the debris but the house was dry and the basement had a few damp areas but otherwise unscathed.

We feel very fortunate.   Our apartment is on the edge of Zone A and we had no damage and did not lose power.  So we are going to count our blessings today–and save the renovation gripes for another day.

Know what the DOB thinks before you buy your brownstone

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A reader recently wrote me to ask if we had any advice before the buy their own money pit… ahh I mean brownstone.  The email was a great reminder that while we discussed in a few past articles details about the Alt 1 vs Alt 2 we never specifically gave advice on how to avoid our expensive experience (aka fiasco).

Tip: As part of your contract make sure the stipulate that the seller must provide either a Certificate of Occupancy (CofO) or Letter of no Objection.

Here’s generally how the issue works out. Historically, most old building didn’t have C of O because they were built back before the DOB issued them. The DOB only asks you to get one when you do a major renovation. Such as conversion from 1 to 2 family or an extension, which affects the building egress. If you’re building doesn’t have anything (like ours, Yeah!) then the DOB records probably show the house as a 1 family even if it’s been used as a 2 family for 60 years. Our home has 2 power meters, 2 gas meters, tax records and more yet the the DOB considers it a 1 family.

As a result we had to file what’s known as an Alteration type 1. Essentially despite all our evidence the DOB is forcing us to legally convert the building from a 1 family to a 2. What’s the difference?  The Alt 1 carries higher filing fees, more costly inspections and in some cases we have to do additional renovation work to comply with building codes. For example, to comply with fire rating codes to the tenant’s staircase we have to install sheetrock to the hallway and add a metal door for the tenant apartment. Depending on the home of course there could be more work. An expeditor can help you get the details if needed.

The alternative is a Letter of No Objection. This is sort of a compromise where the DOB agrees that while there’s no C of O they will legally agree to allow you to continue to use the building as is. If you qualify for this you can file what’s called a Alteration type 2. This is the filing type for a renovation on a home with a C of O where the renovation doesn’t change egress or occupancy. This is less expensive because you don’t have as many inspections or extra work to comply with codes. You want this if you can get it.

Looking back we should have forced the sellers to obtain the Letter of No Objection for the building before we closed. They filed for one before the closing but we were so eager to get started that we went ahead and closed before we heard back from the DOB. As a compromise they put some money in escrow to pay for some Alt 1 expenses if the letter wasn’t approved at the closing.  Just to give an example, the expeditor fees are doubled with an Alt 1/C of O.

Of course it wasn’t approved and all their motivation disappeared after the closing. We thought about pursuing it further but it could have taken months to work out the letter with the DOB and with our new mortgage kicking in we decided to avoid the delay risk and go for the C of O. It was a trade off of unknown time vs known expenses and time is money when you’re paying 2 mortgages.

Had we had stuck it out and forced them to get the letter we could have waited out the months just fine. Expensive lesson to learn but one I share with you here for free.