Category: Exterior

Time was, when you had a big construction or renovation job, you hired a general contractor, and if the job was big enough, that contractor hired subcontractors. But in recent decades, a new player has entered into the process…

Walking on the sidewalks of New York can be tough; you need to maneuver through streams of pedestrians chatting away on their cell phones, many walking right at you from the opposite direction, and you need to be focused on what’s in fr…

 There was a time when the buildings being built in New York City were largely  constructed of earthy materials—limestone, brownstone, brick, terra cotta—and glass really only figured into their design in the form of windows and  skylights…

On almost any given block in New York City, it’s easy to see how things have changed in architecture and construction over the decades. Historic buildings like the New York Public Library or Grand Central Station are noted for their ext…

 Doing a major window replacement or repair project in a building that’s home to hundreds of people isn’t easy. There are any number of scheduling and access considerations, and time  is obviously of the essence, as it’s impractical and un…

 Wayne Bellet, of Manhattan-based exterior maintenance firm Bellet Construction,  is getting a dose of his own medicine. At the time of this interview, it’s his own office that’s under construction, he explains over the racket of dueling h…

 Local Law 11 inspection is a requirement of the New York City Department of  Buildings that every owner of a building higher than six stories must retain an  architect or engineer to inspect their façades. Based on this inspection, a repo…

 In November of 2008, New York City’s Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) designated seven new properties with  landmark status—New York University’s University Village, the Guardian Life Insurance Co. annex, the Morris B.  Sanders Hou…

 Years ago, when I babysat for a young boy, I watched him create a multi-story  building out of empty cardboard boxes. The lad then ran around his proud  creation, flexing his muscles and crowing, “My house is indy-structible!” (He then pr…

 It sounds like an urban legend—something that supposedly happened to your cousin’s friend’s cousin. A little girl was at a barbecue party at a friend’s house, frolicking in the pool with friends. She swam to the drain at the  bottom of th…