Home renovation in New York City: where to start and whom to hire

Your home is your castle, and in New York that castle might be a one-bedroom in a pre-war co-op, a condo with a view, a floor of a brownstone or a house with a yard. If you are searching for home remodelers near you, the first useful question is not which firm. It is which kind of project you have, because in this city the kind of building decides who has to approve the work, who has to draw it and how the job is run.

We are Golden I Construction, a renovation company established in New York City in 2005. This page is the map. It sorts out the kinds of home renovation, explains how to choose a remodeler and what to ask, shows how we run a job and points to the page for each kind of work.

You have the view. Now let us turn the apartment into a home. That is how we have long put it, and it holds for a house or a brownstone as well: with your ideas and our experience, the place you have becomes the place you wanted.

Which kind of home renovation do you have?

Your home or project	What sets the rules	Read next
A co-op apartment	The board and the building’s own rules, then the city	Co-op renovation
A condo or other apartment, or two apartments being combined	The building’s rules and the Department of Buildings	Apartment renovation
A townhouse or a brownstone	The Department of Buildings and, in a historic district, the Landmarks Preservation Commission	Townhouse renovation
A detached or semi-detached house	Zoning, the Department of Buildings and, in a flood zone, the flood rules	House renovation
One room: the kitchen	Whether plumbing, gas or walls move	Kitchen renovation and the kitchen remodel timeline
One room: a bathroom	Plumbing, waterproofing and the building’s rules	Bathroom renovation and the bathroom remodel timeline
Cabinetry, closets and built-ins	Design, materials and measurement more than permits	Custom cabinets, storage and entertainment units
An office, a store or a practice	The building and the Department of Buildings	Commercial spaces renovation
You want one firm to design it and build it	How design and construction are divided	Design and build

House and home are two pages here on purpose. This one is the overview for any kind of home. The house renovation page is only about renovating a whole detached or semi-detached house. Everything we do is listed on the our services page, and who we are is on the about page.

What the city asks of any home renovation

Three rules apply whatever your home is.

• Permits. Most construction in New York City requires approval and permits from the Department of Buildings. Its own examples of work that needs none are painting, plastering, installing new cabinets, replacing plumbing fixtures, resurfacing floors and non-structural roof repair. Replacing a fixture still calls for a licensed master plumber. Where construction plans are required, a registered architect or a professional engineer must file them (DOB).
• Licenses. A person or business must have a Home Improvement Contractor license from the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection to do work that costs more than $200 on any residential building in the city. Home improvement includes remodeling and repairs. It does not include plumbing or purely electrical work, which belong to trades licensed by the Department of Buildings.
• Landmarks. The city has more than 38,000 landmark properties, most of them in historic districts. In a landmark building or a historic district, work on the exterior needs a permit from the Landmarks Preservation Commission, and so does any interior work that requires a Department of Buildings permit (LPC).

How to choose a home remodeler

The Department of Consumer and Worker Protection publishes its own advice for anyone about to hire a home improvement contractor (DCWP). It is a good checklist, and we would rather you used it on us than not at all.

1. Check the license. Always use a licensed home improvement contractor. You can check a license with the department by calling 311 or on its website. If a licensed contractor owes you money or did not complete the job, you may be eligible for repayment through the Home Improvement Contractor Trust Fund. With an unlicensed one you are not. Ours is Home Improvement Contractor license number 2019617-DCA.
2. Write down what you want done. Know the project specifics, the features you want and the limits of your budget before you speak to anyone.
3. Get written estimates from more than one licensed contractor. A contractor must give you a written estimate if you ask for one. A reasonable fee may be charged for it, but you must be told the cost before the estimate is prepared.
4. Ask for references and check the record. Call 311 and say “Business Background Check” to learn a contractor’s complaint history. The Department of Buildings also keeps a Know Your Construction Professional directory of the disciplinary records of architects, engineers, plumbers, electricians and other licensees.
5. Read the contract. You and the contractor both sign a written contract, it includes a separate Notice of Cancellation form, and you get a signed copy before work can begin. It must include the important dates, a description of the work and of the materials the contractor will provide, any negotiated schedule of payments, and all charges, guarantees and warranties.
6. Watch the money. The department’s advice is never to pay in cash or without a contract, and to pay no more than 25 percent of the total contract amount upfront. Contractors are not allowed to arrange or offer financing for a home improvement loan.
7. Get the permit disclosure. Before a contract is entered into, the contractor must give you written notice of all the permits the work requires: the type of permit, the party that will obtain it, the steps, the estimated fees and how you can verify its status.

Questions worth asking any remodeler, us included

• Have you worked in a building like mine: a pre-war co-op, a condo tower, a brownstone, a house?
• Who will be on the job every day, and whom do I call?
• Who draws the plans and files them, and who pulls the permits?
• Which trades are your own people, and which are licensed plumbers and electricians you bring in?
• What is in the estimate, and what is not?
• How are changes priced, and who approves them?
• What will my building or my neighbors need from us before you start?
• Can I see finished work and read what past clients say?

Our own answers are on this site. Repeat assignments represent approximately 60 percent of our annual work, with a high proportion of gut renovations. Our testimonials are signed by the clients, architects and designers who wrote them, the galleries show finished rooms, and our cabinet showroom can be seen by appointment. Size is not the test, either. One of our clients hired us for two closets:

How we work

We are more than a contractor. As a design and build firm we have built our reputation on being detail-oriented, and we take care of all aspects of a home renovation under a single management, including but not limited to:

• Accurate and firm estimates
• Brownstone, townhouse and co-op gut renovations
• Combining apartments or floors
• Condo kitchen and bath remodeling
• Fine cabinetry, built-ins and custom furniture
• Entertainment and audio-video rooms
• Landmark co-op and condo renovations
• Complete plumbing, electric and HVAC, with the plumbing and electrical work done by licensed trades under our management
• In-house design services
• All work under single management

The course of a home renovation of any size runs in the same order.

1. The initial meeting. We discuss pricing, demolition, design and scheduling, as well as a time frame for your project.
2. Logistics. We work with all project team members to define the logistical requirements of the construction process, such as areas for deliveries, the placement of barricades if they are required and the hours of operation.
3. Demolition. First the old material and fixtures in your home have to be removed: existing cabinets and counters come out, plaster is stripped from walls and ceilings, walls and ceilings are de-nailed and the finish floor is removed. All remaining debris is swept and vacuumed to limit the spread of dust during construction.
4. Rough-in. Structural, plumbing and electrical work.
5. Carpentry. Sheetrock, tile, molding and plastering, and the installation of cabinetry and other materials.
6. Finishing and closeout. One of the most critical stages of the process is the commissioning and closeout of the project with the final details.

The carpentry and finishing for a home renovation include wallboard plastering, taping and sanding; interior trim; waterproofing and coating flooring; the installation of cabinets and appliances; templating for countertops; priming, painting and special finishes; the installation of granite and other stonework; connecting and finishing plumbing and electric; backsplash tile installation and sealing; and the final cleanup and walk-through.

Reporting and cost control

During the renovation we provide up-to-date information on the changes that have occurred, set against the plan of action drawn up at the start. Everything is in an itemized report for you to see, including any change orders that you approve.

What to have ready for the first conversation

• What kind of home it is, and whether you own it as a co-op, a condo or a house.
• A list of the work you want done, room by room.
• Pictures of rooms you like. They say more than adjectives do.
• Your budget and its limits.
• Whether you will live there during the work.
• For an apartment, the building’s rules for alterations, which the managing agent can send you.

See the work, the showroom and where we work

Photographs are sorted by room in the kitchen gallery, the bathroom gallery, the office gallery and the general gallery. Cabinet door samples and finishes can be seen in our showroom by appointment, which the custom cabinets page explains. We are based primarily in Manhattan, and the service areas page lists the neighborhoods we cover. Answers to common questions are on the FAQs page.

Questions people ask