Custom Home Builder in White Plains, NY

Westchester Custom Home Building Service Serving White Plains

Teardown-and-rebuild projects and new houses on White Plains lots, from Gedney Farms and the Highlands to Ridgeway and the north end. One Guardian project manager from the zoning check through the certificate of occupancy.

Building New Inside a City

Most new houses in White Plains replace old ones. The city’s residential neighborhoods were largely built out between the 1920s and the 1960s, and the vacant lots are long gone. What owners find instead are capes, ranches and small colonials on good streets, houses where renovating would mean fighting a low ceiling, an awkward plan and tired systems all at once. In that situation, taking the house down and building new can be the cleaner choice.

It’s not always the right one. A house with sound framing and a decent footprint can often be added to for less, and a second-story addition keeps the existing foundation working. We price both paths honestly before anyone commits, using the same survey and zoning numbers.

Evaluating a White Plains Lot

District and numbers. White Plains one-family districts run from R1-5 up to R1-30, with floor area ratios from about 0.55 down to 0.40 and separate caps on total coverage and main-building coverage. The district on your survey sets the size of the house you can build.
Sensitive features. Rock, steep grades, wetlands or a watercourse can pull a one-family project into site plan review. We look for them on the first visit.
Utilities. City water and sewer serve nearly every lot, so the work is about disconnects and new laterals rather than septic design.
Neighbors and access. Narrow side yards and parked cars on the street shape where the dumpster, the excavator and the deliveries go.

If the numbers don’t support the house you want, we say so early, before you pay for full architectural drawings.

From Demolition to Move-In

1. Survey and zoning

Lot survey, district, coverage and floor area, and a read on whether the Zoning Board of Appeals would be needed.

2. Design-build planning

Your architect and our team work from one budget, so the drawings match what it costs to build.

3. Asbestos and disconnects

Houses built before 1974 need an asbestos survey before demolition under New York State rules, along with utility shut-off letters.

4. Permits

Demolition and new building permits filed at 70 Church Street with the plan and site sets.

5. Construction

Foundation, framing, roof, licensed trades and finishes under one Guardian project manager.

6. Certificate of occupancy

Final inspections closed out and the warranty in writing.

What We Build in White Plains

Replacement houses

A new colonial, farmhouse or modern house on the lot of an older home.

Whole-house rebuilds

Keeping a foundation or part of the structure when it saves real money.

Larger additions

Second stories and rear additions when a rebuild isn’t needed.

Full renovations

Full home remodeling for houses worth keeping.

White Plains New Home FAQs

Can we tear down a house in White Plains and build a new one?

Yes. The City’s Department of Building issues both the demolition permit and the new building permit, and oversees removal and construction under one file. The new house has to meet current zoning for its district, so we confirm coverage, floor area and yards on the survey before you commit to a design.

Will a new single-family house need site plan approval?

Usually not. White Plains exempts one- and two-family dwellings from site plan approval unless the parcel has environmentally sensitive features, such as steep slopes, wetlands or watercourses. Those lots go through a site plan review, and we flag them during the land evaluation.

What does the Building Department want with a new-house application?

For one- and two-family homes, three sets of plans plus six additional topographic or site plans for new residential buildings. The contractor files copies of licenses and a certificate of insurance naming the City as holder and additional insured for $1,000,000. Filing is in person, weekdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., at 70 Church Street.

Do we need to worry about a septic system or well?

Rarely. Nearly all White Plains homes are on City water and sewer, so the septic and well questions that drive new construction in northern Westchester don’t usually apply. Sewer and water connections still need to be planned with the utilities as part of demolition and rebuilding.

We also build new homes in Scarsdale, Harrison and Rye.

Thinking About a Rebuild in White Plains?

Send us the address. We’ll pull the zoning numbers, walk the lot and tell you whether a new house or an addition makes more sense, with a written estimate.

Guardian Remodeling Corp · 143 Lake Shore Dr W, Carmel, NY 10512 · 914-912-0385 · Frank@guardianremodelingcorp.com