Last week we started demolition on the Lobby of 17 West 17th Street, an eight story elevator building in the heart of Union Square. The building is owned by friends of mine so in addition to the usual attention to detail, there is a personal component to factor.

The lobby is small and working conditions are tight. We are chopping away all soffits, perimeter walls (to extrerior brick)  and floor tile. A really cool design by architect Antonio di Oronzo of Bluarch Architecture is a huge motivating factor for my team .. I will attach a rendering soon to show all the original intention and to see how we do ...

A key component to a successful project is the scheduling of stages ... once demolition is completed, it is best you meet with your sub-contractors and make sure all measurements from the drawings are accurate. Often actual field measurements do not match drawing documents. It is critical that you work this through or many major headaches will develope. You do not want to start framing and roughing for plumbing and electric and then find out your walls are in the wrong locations. Communication between trades, the GC and the architect is critical . If it is rushed without the proper checks and balances you can be assured disaster is on the way ... just like the best doctors the best GC's measure twice and cut (build) once ...

Last week we kicked off our project at 16 Park Avenue, the vertical combination of two one bedroom B line apartments. To combine the units we must saw cut the concrete subfloor slab between the two apartments so a stairway can be added ... 16 Park Ave is a classic pre-war built out of concrete and plaster so the demolition and saw cut process is quite an event. 

After architect Edward Thorton signed off the appropriate floor penetration location as well as the walls, chases and soffits that were going, demolition commenced. Nothing like taking down prewar plaster walls in 96 degree heat ... very messy and precision is key ... This is basically a complete gut so proper planning is important.

Protection is one component that separates professional general contractors from van men ... not only of the apartment that you are demoing but the common areas that drive co-tenants crazy and as a result cause a ton of headaches for all involved ... hallways, elevators, lobbies must be kept immaculate or heads roll ...