wall removal in NYC?

May 29, 2008 8:27 AM

how much should it cost to remove a wall in a NYC apartment?

the apartment I am moving into has a wall built by the previous tenants that i don't want.

how much should this cost to remove and do you know any contractors I could call for an estimate?

posted by nanhey to home & garden (5 comments total)

I'd ask the super. It sounds like it's just drywall with no electrical or anything in it so it should be a pretty easy job to do. This way you are building some cash goodwill with someone you will still have to deal with in the future.
posted by frieze at 8:41 AM on May 29, 2008

Many of the companies in NYC that put up walls also take them down as part of the same fee charged to install. Did the previous tenant actually build the wall by themselves, or did they hire a company to do the construction? If it was a professional job, you should contact them and see if they will remove the wall for free.
posted by dcjd at 8:54 AM on May 29, 2008

Depends on what type of wall it is, where it is, how large it is, and what the disposal situation is going to be.

If I were estimating a large job in Brooklyn, assuming fully-legal 3-man crews (eg: not a guy hired off the street), without considering labor availability or local ad hoc practices (like the ones mentioned above), I'd probably be looking at a starting price of around $2.83 per square foot, including the overhead & profit & and taking Brooklyn pricing into account (127% of national average for selective demolition).

Note that this is just selective demolition, not including repair of adjacent surfaces. Smaller jobs would cost more, due to inefficient crew use & reduction in the ability to amortize fixed costs.
posted by aramaic at 9:08 AM on May 29, 2008

Err, I apparently edited out the part where I said my $2.83 is based on wood stud framing & two sides of drywall.
posted by aramaic at 9:34 AM on May 29, 2008

Log into the Forums section of Brownstoner.com and pose the question. You'll get a better answer if you reference the variables mentioned in this thread.
posted by BrooklynCouch at 9:35 AM on May 29, 2008