Projects › Upper Manhattan › 66 Overlook Terrace
Completed project · Upper Manhattan, New York, NY
Two rooms in a Washington Heights co-op, treated very differently. The kitchen kept its cabinets and appliances and got new counters and a full-height stone backsplash. The bathroom was taken out entirely, down to the flushometer valve that used to flush the toilet.
Job record
- Location
- Upper Manhattan, New York, NY 10040
- Building
- 66 Overlook Terrace
- Kitchen
- Counters, full-height slab backsplash and sink only
- Bathroom
- Full renovation, tub to tub
- Kept
- Kitchen cabinets and appliances, reinstalled
- Completed
- 2021
Two rooms, two decisions
The kitchen did not need rebuilding. Its cabinets were sound and its appliances were working, so the scope covers three things only: demolish the wood counters, the sink and faucet and the backsplash tile, prepare the surfaces, and install new counters with a full-height slab backsplash. The sink and faucet went back in the same position and the appliances were reinstalled.
The bathroom was the opposite. Almost nothing in it survived: the door, the curtain rod and accessories, the semi-recessed hamper, the surface-mounted mirror, the clothesline, the sconces, the floor tile and saddle, the wall tile, the pedestal sink and faucet, the toilet and its flushometer valve, the 32 by 60 inch alcove tub and its drain, the outlet and switch, the shut-off valves, the hot and cold branch lines and the tub and shower fixture.
What the crew did, in order
Replace the toilet valve, not just the toilet
The old toilet ran on a flushometer valve, the kind more common in commercial buildings and in older pre-war apartments, which flushes straight off the building supply under pressure. It was replaced with an ordinary tank toilet on the same twelve inch rough-in. That is a plumbing change rather than a fixture swap, and it is the difference between a flush you can hear through the wall and one you cannot.
Swap an alcove tub for a drop-in
The 32 by 60 inch alcove tub came out and a 30 by 60 inch drop-in tub was framed and installed in the same position. A drop-in needs a frame built around it, which is why this is listed as framing work and not simply as a fixture.
Replace the branch lines while the wall is open
New shut-off valves and new hot and cold water branch lines were run back to the risers. A pressure-balancing valve and trim went in with a fixed shower head and the option of a handshower, plus a separate tub filler.
Waterproof the floor, cement-board the tub wall
Laticrete 9235 membrane across the bathroom floor, turned six inches up the walls, then floor tile grouted, sealed and caulked with a stone saddle at the threshold. Cement board went into the tub enclosure and the walls were resurfaced where they needed it.
Tile to the ceiling, not to the tub surround
Wall tile runs to ceiling height throughout the bathroom rather than stopping above the tub. In a small windowed bathroom that removes the painted band which usually shows every year of steam.
Two cabinets, one above the other
A semi-recessed cabinet was installed with a surface-mounted cabinet flush above it, along with a toilet paper holder, a robe hook and two towel bars. A new sconce went in with its position adjusted slightly, and a GFCI duplex was spliced in near the sink with the switch and dimmer updated in place.
Finish, including the steam pipe
A new door was hung on the existing jamb, the curtain rod and brackets fitted, and the room skim-coated and painted. The scope names one more thing explicitly: sand the steam pipe. In a pre-war building that pipe is usually the last rough surface left in a finished room, and it is the detail most often skipped.
What the building required before anything started
This is a co-op, and its rules are worth reading because they are typical of what a Manhattan shareholder faces. Alterations may only begin with the written approval of the board. The managing agent reviews the scope of work first and may charge a processing fee for doing so. Where anything structural changes, whether walls, plumbing or wiring, a licensed architect or engineer must draw both the existing condition and the proposed alteration.
If the building manager decides an engineer should review the proposal, the shareholder pays for that review. Only once the manager has approved does it reach the board. And only after the board approves, and before any work begins, does the shareholder file the signed alteration agreement, the name, address, telephone number and license number of every contractor, a certificate of insurance for one million dollars naming both the corporation and the managing agent, and copies of every permit.
One rule in this building is worth knowing about generally: it states that only one work permit is issued per building at a time, so a second job requires an amendment to the first permit, and whoever files second bears the extra cost. Whether or not your building says the same thing, the lesson holds. Read the house rules before you agree a start date, because the sequence above is measured in weeks and none of it is in the contractor’s control.
The bathroom
The sink stands on chrome legs with a black stone top, replacing a pedestal. Behind it the wall tile is a grey-veined large format, carried to the ceiling. The tub sits where the old one did, framed as a drop-in, behind a curtain rather than a glass enclosure.
Materials and finishes
Kitchen
| Element | Specification |
|---|---|
| Scope | Counters, full-height slab backsplash and sink only |
| Removed | Wood counters, sink and faucet, backsplash tile |
| Backsplash | Full-height slab, matched to the counter |
| Sink and faucet | Reinstalled in the existing position |
| Cabinets and appliances | Original, retained and reinstalled |
Bathroom fixtures
| Element | Specification |
|---|---|
| Tub | Drop-in, 30 x 60 in, framed into the position of a 32 x 60 in alcove tub |
| Toilet | Tank toilet on the existing 12 in rough-in, replacing a flushometer-valve unit |
| Sink | Console sink on legs, replacing a pedestal, in the same position |
| Shower | Pressure-balancing valve and trim, fixed head, with provision for a handshower |
| Tub filler | New, separate from the shower valve |
| Shut-off valves | New, with hot and cold branch lines run to the risers |
Bathroom construction
| Element | Specification |
|---|---|
| Floor waterproofing | Laticrete 9235, turned 6 in up the walls |
| Floor tile | Grouted, sealed and caulked, with a stone saddle |
| Wall tile | Run to ceiling height throughout the room |
| Tub enclosure | Cement board, with walls resurfaced where required |
| Steam pipe | Sanded before painting |
| Finish | Skim-coated and painted |
Bathroom fittings
| Element | Specification |
|---|---|
| Cabinets | Semi-recessed cabinet with a surface-mounted cabinet flush above |
| Accessories | Toilet paper holder, robe hook and two towel bars |
| Sconce | New, with its position adjusted slightly |
| Electrical | GFCI duplex spliced in near the sink; switch and dimmer updated in place |
| Door | New door hung on the existing jamb; existing lockset protected |
The result
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Questions this project answers
My co-op board wants insurance certificates and paperwork. Who actually handles that?
The contractor supplies the insurance; the shareholder submits the package. This building sets it out in writing and it is a fair model for what to expect. The managing agent reviews the scope of work first and may charge a processing fee. If anything structural is changing, a licensed architect or engineer has to draw both the existing condition and the proposal. The building manager then passes it to the board. Only after board approval, and before any work starts, does the shareholder file the signed alteration agreement, the name, address, telephone and license number of every contractor, a certificate of insurance for one million dollars naming both the corporation and the managing agent, and copies of the permits. Ask your contractor for the certificate early; it is the item that most often holds up a start date.
Do I have to replace my kitchen cabinets to get a new kitchen?
No, and this job is the argument for not doing it. The scope here covers three things: demolish the wood counters, the sink and faucet and the backsplash tile; prepare the surfaces; install new counters with a full-height slab backsplash and put the sink and faucet back in the same place. The cabinets and every appliance stayed and were reinstalled. If your cabinet boxes are sound and the layout works, counters and backsplash carry most of the visual change for a small fraction of a full renovation.
What is a flushometer toilet and should I replace it?
A flushometer runs straight off the building water supply under pressure, with no tank, and is common in older New York apartment buildings and in commercial washrooms. This bathroom had one and it was replaced with an ordinary tank toilet on the same twelve inch rough-in. The change is worth understanding before you price it: it is a plumbing alteration rather than a fixture swap, because the supply arrangement is different. What you get is a quieter flush, a far wider choice of fixtures, and no reliance on building pressure.
Should I tile my bathroom to the ceiling or stop partway up?
This one went to the ceiling throughout the room, not merely around the tub. In a small bathroom that is usually the better call: it removes the painted band above the tile, which is the surface that shows steam damage first, and it makes the room read taller. It costs more in tile and in labor, and it is far cheaper to do now than to extend later, because the existing tile edge can rarely be matched.
What are change orders, and how do I avoid being overcharged by my contractor?
A change order is a written amendment to what was agreed. The defence is a scope specific enough that little is left to amend, and this one is unusually exact: it names the old tub as 32 by 60 inches and the new one as 30 by 60, names the toilet rough-in as twelve inches, and says the sconce position may need adjusting slightly. It even specifies sanding the steam pipe. When a scope is written to that level, the things that could turn into extras have mostly been thought about and priced already.
