Do you think of shifting to a more spacious place but still don’t want to leave your house? Have you thought of expanding your place, but find no room to expand? Not to worry, as expanding your place without moving out is possible in Manhattan.
People usually combine apartments when the size of their family increases. Sometimes, they have to create a workspace or a home office. Buying a three-bedroom apartment in NYC can prove expensive. You combine two adjacent single bedroom apartments. You can get space in the hallway between the apartments and voila, you have the space to add another bedroom. You get a three-bedroom apartment without stumping up hundreds of thousands of dollars.
You must know that all buildings do not allow you to combine apartments. In fact, you will find this option more practical in condos as compared to other apartment buildings. If your building owner allows you to combine apartments, they might restrict your construction work. You must take your building owner into confidence before combining apartments. You can buy apartments where combining is permissible. You might see people asking their estate agents for apartments in NYC that are ideal for combining.
Horizontal combining is easier than vertical. There’s one non-structural wall to break to combine apartments. Vertical combining can be tough. However, structural consideration can make it difficult for you to combine apartment in certain buildings. Also, aligning the wires and plumbing lines embedded in floors can be a challenge if you opt for vertical combining.
Before you begin, you need to talk to an architect. You need to discuss the space and layout for existing apartments and the combined one as well. Your architect will advise you better about how your layout should be.
You are combining two apartments, so you get two kitchens. You can decide which one to keep. You can’t keep both as NYC construction codes don’t permit more than one kitchen in an apartment. If you are building the bedroom in place of the existing kitchen, you would need to change the plumbing layout. As a New Yorker, it’s better to keep dry-over-dry and wet-over-wet places intact.
If you want a bathroom to replace the kitchen, you have to alter the plumbing configurations or add completely new plumbing lines. This depends upon the construction of the existing kitchen and the building’s plumbing layout. You must be careful as changing the plumbing lines must not disturb the plumbing layout of other apartments.
The floors and ceilings of some apartment may not align with each other. The levels of ceiling and floors of apartments must be consistent enough to combine. You need to be aware of little fixtures you might need for aligning door frames and window casements.
Contact us for combining your apartments in NYC. We will give you better insight into combining your apartments and cater to all your requirements. Our plumbing experts have the experience and expertise to tackle the trickiest of plumbing lines. We are here to work through all the inconsistencies between the apartments to provide you the apartment of your dream.
Call today for a consultation: 646-455-3321