Down to the studs and back — demolition, DOB permits, board approvals, and a complete rebuild of systems and interiors, managed by one accountable firm from filing to final walkthrough.
A gut renovation takes the interior of a residence down to the structure. Electrical, plumbing, and mechanical systems are rebuilt before any finish goes in. In New York, the hardest part comes before demolition: alteration agreements, board packages, Department of Buildings filings, and the sequencing that keeps building management cooperative.
Grandeur Hills Group runs gut renovations as complete design-build engagements. The architects who draw the plan, the team that files it, and the builders who execute it report to one project lead. Approvals, demolition, rough-in, and finish run on one schedule.
A to-the-studs scope touches every system in the home and every rule in the building. All of it is managed inside one engagement.
Full interior demolition down to structure, with building-approved protection, rubbish logistics, and the dust and noise control that keeps neighbors and management on side.
Department of Buildings filings, licensed trades, expediting, and the inspections and sign-offs a to-the-studs scope triggers — handled for you from first filing to closeout.
Board packages, alteration agreements, insurance certificates, and engineer reviews prepared and shepherded through approval before demolition day is ever booked.
All-new electrical, plumbing, and HVAC behind entirely new walls, floors, kitchens, and baths — a residence rebuilt from the structure out, not patched.
In most places a gut renovation is a construction project. In New York it is also an approvals process. The building's alteration agreement and board approval come first. Wet-over-dry rules and house rules limit the new layout. Work hours and service-elevator windows set the schedule. The Department of Buildings inspects what the board approved.
We have run that sequence in pre-war co-ops, condos, and Brooklyn townhouses. We plan the approvals as carefully as the construction, because in NYC the approvals set the timeline.
Gut projects go wrong at handoffs: between the architect and the expeditor, the board and the contractor, the demolition crew and the trades that follow. We own the whole sequence — discovery, design, approvals, build, and delivery — under one project manager, with a private client portal and itemized pricing so you always know what is happening on site.
The rebuild is done by long-standing, vetted trades working to one quality standard: protected lobbies, respected work hours, and inspections passed the first time.
A gut scope in a co-op is the most closely reviewed work a building sees. The alteration agreement usually caps the length of construction, sets weekday work hours, and requires the building's engineer to review the structural, plumbing, and electrical drawings. Some buildings allow demolition only in summer. Wet-over-dry rules decide whether a kitchen or a bathroom can move.
Condo boards review the same package, and the managing agent controls elevator booking and deliveries. Downtown lofts often carry older certificates of occupancy and fire-separation conditions that the Department of Buildings reviews once the whole interior is opened up.
A gut renovation of a whole townhouse involves the party walls, the roof, and usually the cellar. In historic districts such as Park Slope, Brooklyn Heights, and Carroll Gardens, the Landmarks Preservation Commission reviews facade, window, and rooftop changes. Structural work, rear extensions, and any change to the number of units need Department of Buildings filings and often a zoning review.
Detached and semi-detached houses in Queens and the Bronx need permits but no board, which shortens the approvals stage. Hamptons houses are governed by the village or town building department and, where design review applies, an architectural review board. Westchester and Long Island projects follow their local building departments.
We discuss the scope, the building, and the timing that matters to you. On site we look at the structure, the risers, and the existing conditions, and we read the alteration agreement, because in New York the building's rules set the schedule before any design does.
Architects and engineers draw the new plan and the new systems. The team prices every line, from demolition and rubbish removal to fixtures. You approve the drawings and the itemized proposal before the package goes to the building or the Department of Buildings.
The board package, alteration agreement, insurance, and engineer review come first. Then we file with the Department of Buildings, arrange the licensed plumbing and electrical permits, and book the building's work windows. Demolition is not scheduled until every approval is in hand.
Protection goes up in the lobby, the elevator, and the corridors. The interior comes down to structure, and new plumbing, electrical, and HVAC are roughed in and inspected before the walls are closed. Progress and inspections are logged in the client portal.
Walls, floors, millwork, stone, and fixtures are installed in sequence. We complete the final inspections, close out the Department of Buildings permits, give the building its sign-off documents, and walk the finished home with you before handover.
A phase-by-phase walk through a full gut renovation in New York — approvals, procurement, demolition, rough-in, finishes, closeout — and where the months really go.
Read Guide
What landmark status means for a townhouse renovation in New York: which work the Landmarks Preservation Commission reviews, which it does not, staff permits versus public hearings, and how LPC and DOB approvals fit together.
Read Guide
How renovation approval really works in NYC co-ops and condos — alteration agreements, board review, DOB permits, timelines, and what drives the cost.
Read GuideEvery project starts with a conversation. Tell us what you're imagining — we'll tell you how we'd build it. Proudly serving New York City since 2019.
