Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I just bought a house in Garden City about 5 yrs ago and my wife and I are considering converting a 3rd floor attic to livable square feet. Before we hire a design firm to help bring it to construction, I was wondering about the Garden City Village and Nassau County inspection process.
Ive been told by neighbors that if we convert the attic the Village will not only eventually come to inspect the attic conversion but also ask to inspect the entire house. This might be problematic as we have a basement with some ceiling millwork beams at 6'3" instead of 6'4" which I believe is code.
My question is, if I start the attic project are they going to inspect the entire house and have me rip up the basement ceiling as well as a bathroom that was down there when we bought the house?
If you are just finishing it off then just do it.
If the plans are to dormer and blow it out then you should maybe go legit.
But yeah, going through the village can be a can of worms.
Problem with 3rd floor living space is a 2nd mode of egress. I would visit the village and generally inquire about attic space.
They can ask to inspect other areas but you can say no. I installed sheets to "control dust" during construction. Inspector could only see what he need to see and not a square inch more.
Yes, it is true, BTDT with Village of GC. And the inspector there is Jekyll and Hyde - for real. If he shows up in a good mood when something needs inspected, you're good. If he shows up doom and gloom, you're sunk. He will make your contractor re-do anything to his fancy. Pick a contractor who does a lot of work in GC and ask him what he thinks of Handy Andy. My GC got along with him great. That answer is half your battle. You don't want someone who knocks heads with him all the time. Someone who says "eh, he's a pain, but you can work with him" is the guy you want to hire.
As Karl said, if you're just doing it without moving exterior walls I would not pull a permit. Just do make sure you have an egress window. That's not a big deal, we have one in our finished attic space.
But yeah, he will check out your whole house including basement. And they don't like bathrooms in basements. Good luck.
You'll have to bring it up to code. I have no idea what that entails or how yours was done.
There's good reason for this. My sister's neighbor had a bathroom basement that wasn't up to code and they had a massive sewer backup because of the way it was done.
We had neighbors in GC that had a tree come down due to a big storm. It was a village owned tree and it ripped up the sewer line again causing a backup in to the residents' basement. Normally the village would be on the hook for damages since it was their tree but they declined to pay since the bathroom in the basement was unpermitted.
Also - permits are expensive in GC. They use a certain formula and even though your contractor will have to prove they have liability insurance, it will include a sort of "deposit" in case of damages (i.e. my neighbor's contractor damaged the sidewalk during her renovation and they withhold that money until everything is fixed....my permit was over $5000, you'll get most of that money back with the CO).
GC does not technically require a permit if you are keeping the renovation within the current walls. If you're bumping anything out you will need one. If you can get away with out it, do it. But like I said get the egress window. It's just a larger window that a firefighter with his equipment can fit through.
If they see a basement bathroom, and force you to bring it up to code, do they also reassess the value of the home causing tax to increase (if that bathroom wasn't listed)?
If they see a basement bathroom, and force you to bring it up to code, do they also reassess the value of the home causing tax to increase (if that bathroom wasn't listed)?
Of course...that's the whole point. You didn't think it was about safety did you?
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
