New renovation startup

Yea, this looks very interesting.

I wonder whether they redo the plumbing or just replace the fixtures and tiles for 15k. It would be shame not to redo the plumbing, which needs city permits, when you open the walls. Wondering what Primer has to say about what they are including in $15k. Naturally no one is expecting 12x24 high quality floor to ceiling marble tiles for that price.

Most likely doesn't include any major Plumbing changes. But I love this idea, I think the lower to mid range renovation projects are the target. the vanity in the bathroom looks like something we ordered from Wayfair, 1/3 the price of Restoration hardware with the same look and pretty good quality.

Be interesting to see what they can do with kitchens. Perfect for the owner looking to swap out an old kitchen with a new, without too many design tweaks.

There is indeed a market for people who want a refresh in the bathroom fixtures and tiles for a reasonable price and a menu of predesigned options. Glad this option exists.

Especially good in a market where you can't even get a call back from a lot of contractors for a project less than $150,000.

Judging from their sample photos I don't see any real need for change or any valid improvement. I'm guessing they're counting on board decisions regarding plumbing upgrades since that is usually the responsibility of the building.

300 Mercer,

I almost posted right away but thought better of it. It does sound great and the people involved seem to have good backgrounds. I can't wait to hear what people think after they use them. They talk about 3 weeks from start to completion as well as permits. Most, almost all buildings in Manhattan require us to at least change the plumbing lines back to the riser when doing any tile work so I have no idea how they can do it for 15k and within 3 weeks. I can appreciate what they are trying to do but I have to see it to believe it. They did raise I think 4.5 million so maybe they think they can do a lot of marketing and make money with volume. To put it in perspective, we used to take on projects that just consisted of bathrooms and found there just wasn't enough money in it and we were charging 25k not including any of the finishes so I am not really sure what the 15k includes

Primer, I completely agree. I do not think they are redoing the plumbing or moving any fixtures or changing bathtub to a shower. Basically they are changing fixtures and putting new tiles which may not require filing with DOB (this may be all some people need and it is great option for them). I would think they have to redo the walls and waterproofing if they remove old tiles. Do you think they can do that in 3 weeks?

Response,

If it is in a typical apt in Manhattan I do not believe they would be done in 3 weeks. In theory, if they are leaving the tub maybe if there are not any problems it is possible but not for higher end work

I think it depends on how you define "in 3 weeks": I don't think they are talking about within 3 weeks of when the customer hits "enter" on their computer (although I doubt they will do anything to disabuse customers of the notion that this is the case), I think it's within 3 weeks of whenever they want to say the project has somehow "officially started."

30 years,

I am talking about 3 weeks from the demo. Hard to say without knowing the scope but a typical full gut renovation of a Manhattan bathroom takes about 4-6 weeks

Either way I think this is a welcome addition to New York City. For those with studios or one bedrooms without a big budget, this could be an ideal way to polish your place up a bit. They actually lay out different time frames for some of the different footprints as well as pricing.

12 months later... is the jury still out?

I'm so curious!

They changed the average time to 4 weeks on their website. I am sure the cost went up as well.

If the time increased than so does their costs. I am sure they raised their prices.

They raised capital very aggressively so I'm sure they're trying to get positive unit economics, which is of course going to result in longer times and higher prices. Met with them recently--sounds like their issue is on getting high quality teams to deliver, and have more demand than they can serve. Still, I'd probably use them if I didn't have a 1-bath and need to move out to renovate it ...

Did this firm go out of business or still around?

I know I started this thread, put the link doesn't work and quite frankly I can't remember the name of the company! But I think this was them;

https://www.blockrenovation.com/

Thanks Keith!

I agree the sample projects look more "different" than "better", but if a different look is what owner wants, bully for them.

Prices and timelines are indeed higher than the figures y'all were bandying about 2 years ago, though not dramatically so.

Bold of them to list their roster of contractors front & center, assuming readers won't just cut out the middleman?