how to make a 1 br into a 2 br?

I'm about to move into new york and I keep hearing about 2 bedroom convertibles. this is probably a dumb question, but google didn't give me an answer so... is I get a 1 br apartment, how do I convert it into a 2 br? is it making the living room into a second bedroom, in which case there's no living room? or is it like splitting a bigger apartment into 2 apartment? and how much does a wall cost? thanks in advance.

4 Comments
 

I have the same question. From what I have seen on craigslist, it seems that 2br converts are laid out in two ways. One, a large 1bdr is converted to a 2bdr by way of putting up walls to make a smaller 2nd bdr, but still having a living room. Another way would be to make the living room into a second bdr and not have a living room; in which case there would be a false wall installed. I haven't seen any listings mentioning that the tenant needs to pay for the wall. Anyone else have experience with this?

 
Best Response

from when i used to live back in NYC....

usually a 1BR converted into 2BR is a large 1BR with a big living room is split into 2 rooms by putting up a temporary wall. In other words, the living room becomes much smaller and/or non-existent and give you the space for the 2nd bedroom.

some building dont allow you to put up a wall and some are already installed and will pay for it (it depends on the management company and what their policy is). I think the wall with installation, etc. can cost anywhere from $500 to $1,500 but I may be wrong.

Hope that helps, Patrick

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I was recently quoted $800 to 'lease' the dry wall for a year. i've been warned that sound travels easily through that dry wall and you might end up with an extra room that has no ceiling light or window etc. honestly, to live decently in a convert situation you'd need a pretty large 1BR to start with. in my opinion in makes more sense to just find a real 2BR and fork out the extra $100-200 per person per month. that's what i did ultimately.

i'm moving into new york too, just signed the lease on a 2BR (with another person) 3 avenues and 1 block from work which is around midtown. be happy to share my experience with the brokers, PM me if you are interested.

 

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