When it comes to your New York City apartment, there is no better time than now to consider an apartment renovation for your space. Whether you are renting out to a tenant, looking for a resale opportunity, or want to spruce up your primary residence, apartment renovations are usually a great investment in maintaining and enhancing your property. Even if it’s a job as simple as painting some rooms, even the littlest projects can make a big difference.
The kind of project you undertake will make a big difference whether you choose to do a project in-house or hire an apartment renovation contractor. For example, if you are doing things like painting or replacing appliances, you might be able to do these projects yourself with no problem. However, if you are thinking of something like a high-end kitchen remodel, you will want to hire a kitchen renovation contractor, who has expertise in handling electrical, plumbing, and necessary carpentry. Here are some considerations for what to expect if you are in the market for an NYC apartment remodel.
Project Budgeting
Project budgeting is never an easy task, especially for more complex projects. There are many uncertainties in regards to material costs, unexpected delays, and design revisions to missed steps in the design process. As a general rule of thumb, an apartment renovation contractor likes to price out jobs on a price per square foot basis, and make necessary adjustments as the design criteria are finalized and materials and appliances are procured.
On average a NYC apartment remodel will run you about $350 for a high-end and $500 for a luxury remodel. Again this should only take into consideration the project limits, so if there is a room you don’t plan to touch during a renovation, you can exclude those square feet in the calculation. Of course, depending on the type of appliances you procure and whether or not you do the work yourself, these costs can come down substantially.
Main Pricing Components of the Job
When it comes to pricing out the job, there are three main pricing components to consider. The first is design costs. Usually, design costs can be represented as a percentage of a total project cost. While this percentage can vary from project to project, a good rule of thumb is about 15 percent. For some larger-scale projects, the costs might be lower, while it might be higher for some quicker jobs.
Design costs not only include planning and blueprints but also consider permits and building applications that need to be filed. Keep in mind that one way to save on design costs is to utilize a design build, that can keep a contractor and designer under the same project management can potentially save on design costs and make the project run more efficiently.
Second is the cost of materials, which for most contractors is subject to market pricing and is never fixed into a contract. Material pricing can be quite volatile at times and most contractors don’t want to eat up material costs or be unethical and profit off drops in material pricing. It’s important to know upfront what the total materials of the project are so you can get a handle on these costs. Sometimes contractors may urge you to pay for materials upfront and stockpile on-site so these costs can be secure.
Finally, the third costs are labor, which is generally represented as a cost per hour. When a New York City contractor scopes out a contract, he should be able to line-item all the tasks necessary to complete the job, and how many man-hours he expects each line item to take. Depending on his staff, he may represent a cost per hour per staff member or a flat hourly rate for any man on the job. You should be able to get a sense of how many man-hours a project can take. Labor costs are generally negotiable, but you have to be careful. Sometimes to get a project cost down, a contractor might choose to skip some steps, but depending on the demand for his work in the area, he might balk at your requests or bring the costs down to guarantee work.
Customization of Renovation
When considering material costs in a renovation, this is where most of a project budget can skyrocket or be brought back to affordable levels. This is because the pricing of appliances and fixtures is subject to the quality of materials. Pre-fab cabinets for example are typically made of pine, which falls into the budget category and so a kitchen remodel can be substantially cheaper if you go for this bargain. However, you might decide you want to show off a luxury feel, meaning you would want to go after cabinets that use mahogany or maple. These strong woods are sturdy and present an elegant look, but you can expect the costs to perhaps double than using basic pine.
If you have a luxury budget, You can always hire a kitchen renovation contractor to create custom cabinetry or vanities. While this involves intensive design work and labor costs, the end result is not having to go with a standardized design whose dimensions may not match your layout. If you do decide to utilize custom woodwork or other appliances, it is strongly encouraged to use a design build so that proper expertise is in the room to make it work.
Make it your own, but make it trendy as well
Ultimately when you do an apartment renovation, you will want to make this what you envision your property to be. After all the finished product is like a masterpiece painting for the property that you own. Whether it’s your primary residence or for a tenant, it will represent the apartment in a way you feel is necessary and charming.
However always keep in mind that if you decide to sell, you will want to make sure that the apartment still works for the next owner. You will always want to ensure that the apartment has functionality, and is not over-customized with unpopular features. You will run into the risk of not being able to sell it to someone who doesn’t like these features, thus limiting your market of potential sellers, and potentially wasting your investment. Also keep in mind that as you search for tenants, these same problems may occur.
Overall, an apartment remodel should enhance or refresh the appearance of the living space. As long as you stick to reasonable yet elegant improvements, anyone who steps into your apartment will fall in love with its appearance.
