Apartment Renovation

Description

Apartment renovations can significantly enhance the quality of life for residents while adhering to modern standards and regulations. Starting with lead testing and abatement, repairing or installing new plasterwork, drywall, molding, interior doors, flooring, and ceilings not only improves the aesthetic appeal but also ensures structural integrity and a healthy environment. For more comprehensive modernizations, installing new electrical panels, lighting fixtures, and ventilation fans will improve safety and energy efficiency while ensuring proper air circulation and reducing moisture buildup. Renovations must comply with ADA standards, where feasible, to accommodate residents with disabilities, incorporating features like appropriate door widths and lever handles for ease of use. Specifications should strive to be sustainable and environmentally responsible, selecting low-VOC materials to improve indoor air quality, while emphasizing the importance of durability, ease of maintenance, and overall tenant well-being. Tamper resistant receptacles (TR) are required in all rooms except bathroom and kitchen.

Baseline

Materials

Use low- or no-volatile organic compound (VOC) caulks, paints, primers, coatings, and adhesives as defined by SCAQMD Rules 1113 and 1168.
Use composite wood products that emit no formaldehyde per the requirements of California 93120 Phase 2.
Use non-vinyl, non-carpet floor coverings throughout a building.
Interior hollow core doors should typically be replaced in kind. Hinges should be replaced or stripped before reinstalling door.

Safety

Identify lead hazards and abate them according to EPA and HUD guidelines.
Install one hard-wired smoke detector CO alarm with battery backup for each sleeping zone.

Stretch

Generally NYCHA apartment renovations consist of upgrades in materials, utilities, finishes, doors, etc., that maintain the existing unit configuration. However, most buildings are more than 50 years old and room sizes and layouts are dated by current standards. In the case of gut rehab, it is possible to reconfigure the layout to allow for more open layouts, less restricted kitchen areas, wall pass-throughs, larger (if fewer) bedrooms, less corridor space, more natural light/ventilation, etc., to allow for more comfortable use and more passive green features. This might be possible in both 504 and non-504 apartments. Reconfiguration of the units if proposed should be verified with the development management and borough office.
Provide mineral wool insulation for sound deadening between apartments. [COMPMOD]

RAD Conversions

Flooring

The use of vinyl finishes (including LVT and VCT) is prohibited by the NYCHA Design Guidelines (published 2016). “Vinyl” includes both PVC (polyvinyl chloride) and any other petrochemical (petroleum-derived) vinyl. ERT, or enhanced resilient tile, is also vinyl-based. Alternatives to vinyl-based tile include bio-based tile (“BBT”), engineered wood and wood laminates, linoleum tile, ceramic and porcelain tile, and rubber tile products.
Per Enterprise Green Communities 2020 requirements, non-vinyl finishes are recommended but some vinyl products are allowable if they do not contain PVC. Other products that meet Enterprise Green Communities requirements may be reviewed by NYCHA.
For buildings with existing hardwood floors, the feasibility of preserving and refinishing existing floors should be evaluated. For developments with hardwood flooring that has been covered with vinyl tile, evaluate removing vinyl tile and refinishing hardwood floors.
Floating floor options with underlayment should be considered to improve the feel of flooring for residents and energy performance of residential units.
Request the “PACT Flooring Booklet” to learn more about flooring products used in previous projects.

Walls

All interior paints, coatings, primers and wallpaper must comply with Enterprise Green Communities requirements.
Vinyl wall bases cannot be specified in apartments. Preferred alternatives include formaldehyde-free MDF and solid wood.

Doors

Interior hollow core doors should typically be replaced with solid core wood doors with the exception of closet doors. Hinges should be replaced or stripped of paint before reinstalling. Door hardware should match throughout units.

Strategies

Optimize Performance, Operation & Maintenance of Buildings, Systems & Assets

Utilize Healthy Materials & Health-Promoting Building Systems

Ensure Accessibility & Inclusion

Prioritize Sustainable Materials, Technologies & Practices

Last Updated on May 8, 2025 at 1:35 pm

Specifications

06 10 00 – Rough Carpentry

06 20 00 – Finish Carpentry

09 22 36.10 – Furring and Lathing

09 23 00 – Plastering

09 29 10 – Gypsum Board Assemblies

09 65 00 – Resilient Flooring

09 90 00 – Painting