Design your apartment with an Architect
— INTERIOR DESIGN
— ARCHITECT OF RECORD
— CO-OP/CONDO APPROVALS ASSISTANCE
— DOB EXPEDITING IN-HOUSE
— DOB PROGRESS AND SPECIAL INSPECTION SIGN-OFFS
— LETTER OF COMPLETION/CERTIFICATE OF OCCUPANCY ASSISTANCE
Service provided by LENKA ILIC ARCHITECTURE D.P.C.
Service provided by LENKA ILIC ARCHITECTURE D.P.C.
STRATEGIZE WITH ARCHITECT
The role of Apartment Renovation NYC is to establish a clear design and construction process on behalf of the Owner.
A successful renovation or remodel is about good design and establishing the right scope, team, documents and procedures before construction begins.
CONTENT PREPARED AND SERVICES PROVIDED BY FULL-SERVICE NYC-BASED ARCHITECTURAL PRACTICE LENKA ILIC ARCHITECTURE D.P.C.
Use the privilege of having Architect to protect your interests!
Apartment Renovation NYC assists with contractor selection and it’s an important part of our architectural services. Once the project’s scope and drawings are developed, we assist the Owner in obtaining and evaluating a list of qualified bids which allows for transparency when comparing and selecting the right contractor.
Our review considers:
Reviewing and evaluating a contractor has appropriate experience with NYC apartment renovations, co-ops, condos and projects of comparable complexity.
Whether the contractor demonstrates an understanding of the architectural documents and the work required to construct the proposed design.
We help identify exclusions, allowances, qualifications and discrepancies that may make two apparently similar construction estimates substantially different.
We review whether the proposed timeline appears consistent with the project scope and anticipated construction requirements.
Protocols between Architect and contractor are coordinated throughout the design and construction phase and follow industry standard communication procedures established for a remodel or renovation project.
Clear pricing, documentation, communication and acknowledgement of project responsibilities are important considerations when we advise the Owner on contractor selection.
Before any agreement is executed between the Owner and contractor, our Principal Architect assists the Owner with professional guidance on the contractor agreement form.
Lenka Ilic, Principal Architect, explains False ‘Design-Build’ Advertising and How It Hurts NYC Apartment Owners for City Limits.
Conversion of one-bedroom to two-bedroom apartment in Manhattan.
Save time and money
Read more on why Design-Build is false advertising of unauthorized professional services by builders and others, and how to spot false advertising.
Kitchen renovation for Manhattan Apartment
Most construction costs and problems are minimized when hiring an Architect first. Our role is to remove as much uncertainty as reasonably possible before construction begins.
We establish what is being renovated, altered, removed and constructed so the contractor is not left to interpret the Owner's program independently.
Drawings and specifications communicate the proposed renovation to contractors, consultants, building management, reviewing architects and regulatory agencies. Establishing the design against which construction can later be reviewed.
For a Manhattan co-op or condo renovation, this includes coordination with building management, co-op/condo board requirements, reviewing architects or engineers, NYC Department of Buildings requirements, and NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission filings when applicable.
Contractors vary in experience, approach, and pricing, and the Architect assists the Owner inviting prosperous bidders and comparing bids for a renovation or remodel project. It isn’t simply the lowest or highest number, but selecting a contractor whose qualifications, pricing, and approach align with the Owner’s expectations and the requirements of the design.
A defined scope allows contractors to price the same work and allows the Owner a clearer basis for selecting a contractor and entering into a construction agreement.
If you see a Builder advertise as:
This is false advertising. Builders are not authorized to advise Owners on architectural design, prepare DOB and LPC applications for approvals, nor broker Architects and engineers. Almost every NYC apartment renovation or remodel requires an Architect to prepare co-op/condo board submissions.
Construction industry has clear laws Architect is qualified to navigate and inform Owners to make decisions. Simplifying protocols and laws is dangerous.
Too often, an Owner spends weeks or months developing expectations with a contractor around a proposed layout, scope, budget, or schedule before the design has been reviewed by an Architect for code compliance and feasibility. When our Apartment Renovation NYC becomes involved afterward, correcting those assumptions creates confusion as Owners have been led to understand the project differently. The technical complexity of the renovation is rarely the problem. The difficulty begins when expectations are established before the architectural design process has properly defined what can actually be designed, approved, and built .
Problems can include:
Bathroom remodel for Manhattan Apartment
The Architect and contractor have different responsibilities.
The Architect is retained by the Owner to design, document and help administer the project in the Owner's interest.
For a NYC apartment renovation or remodel, our goal is to establish a controlled process in which the design is defined, contractors understand what they are pricing, responsibilities are established and construction can be evaluated against professional architectural documents.
That doesn’t eliminate every unforeseen condition associated with renovation. It does, however, give the Owner an experienced professional responsible for helping navigate those conditions.
Minimize Risk. Start With the Architect.
Before selecting a contractor or signing a construction agreement, speak with our architectural office about your proposed apartment renovation.
It is an imperative to engage Architect first and before Builder is retained. For simple reasons such as inaccurate construction cost estimates, week Owner/Builder contract, unregulated construction phase, unforeseen change orders, uncompensated delays.
An Architect establishes expectations on a project before an Owner enters into a construction agreement which is one of the main ways Apartment Renovation NYC minimizes risk.
The costliest mistake an Owner can make is to sign a contract with a Builder without an Architect's oversight. It is hard to break any contract, especially after paying deposit to Builder.
Use your privilege of having an Architect on a project and start your renovation in a controlled and transparent manner. An Architect assists with selecting your Builder based on qualifications. Backtracking mistakes is costly, time consuming, stressful and risky.
Heavy marketing on Builders' end, often falsely advertised, has distorted the industry. Owners ultimately bear the cost of this sad phenomenon.
Be wary of Builders that advertise as design-build and one-stop shop!
Custom millwork for closet remodel for a Manhattan Apartment
A Manhattan co-op remodel or condo renovation involving multiple parties, approvals, and technical requirements calls for an Architect-led process.
Our involvement doesn’t end once drawings are stamped and approved, we are not rubber stamp architects!
Construction administration is the continuity of the architectural drawings and work being performed on the apartment. The Apartment Renovation NYC team has a “hands on” approach, where we review and inspect work being installed by a contractor, review contractor's submittals for approval, answer questions related to design, review proposed change orders by a contractor against contract documents, inform the Owner of the progress and advise on contractors applications for payments, and finally provide closing documentation and sign-offs.
Read more about Construction Administration.
Construction phase without an Architect’s involvement is not the industry standard.
Before contractor pricing or construction begins, the Architect establishes the design, scope, documentation, and professional framework for the renovation. The following issues become especially important when that sequence is reversed.
Cost estimates provided by builders without Architect 's drawings are not true cost estimates. Builders price a job and must build per Architect's drawings.
In attempt to gain clients, Builders tend to offer services they are not authorized to offer and solely fall under Architect's responsibility. Ironically, Builders with loud advertisement “we do it all” – falsely advertise and mislead the public often successfully. It is our impression that the innocence of Owners undergoing NYC apartment renovation for first time is abused by Builders whether intentionally or unintentionally, yet consequences may be severe.
Design-build became “buzzword” in NYC apartment renovations industry, especially within the Builders that do not understand its meaning and legal implications or simply do not mind going against the law.
Design-build inherently means one contract for both design and construction with Owner, however this project delivery method is only allowed for specifically approved and most times government-based projects, and definitely not applicable on NYC apartment renovations. There must be two contracts at place for each apartment renovation project, which defaults the idea of design-build approach and makes it false advertisement. See NYSED guidelines for more.
Over time pattern of various irregularities infiltrated this niche of construction industry due to:
UNINFORMED OWNERS + AGGRESSIVE FALSE BUILDER'S ADVERTISEMENT + COMPLICIT ARCHITECTS
If you're curious, this is NYC's Department of Consumer and Worker Protection's DCWP Wall of Shame listing reported Home Improvement Contractors who operate without a license.
Our Principal Architect at the apartment renovation site visit in Lower Manhattan.