Miles Hartog Architect: Building and Renovating in Israel

For people who have just made Aliyah (and often for many others too) the prospect of building your own home or even "just" renovating a house or apartment in Israel can seem daunting.

Not to mention tackling something larger such as an office or institution that you want to get built here.

That isn't to say that you won't end up with what you wanted, or that you can't stay on schedule or on budget, but getting there isn't always going to be easy.

In fact, I have so many friends and neighbours who have run into problems trying to build or renovate and who approach me after the fact with questions, that I thought it would be worthwhile to share some of my experience, and to put it down "on paper".

The truth is that building and renovating in Israel isn't necessarily any more problematic than anywhere else in the world, but when it's added to the general culture shock of making Aliyah and the issues of local legislation, standards and standard practices and of course doing the whole thing in Hebrew, it can certainly seem insurmountable.

In this article I'll lay down some of the major issues that need to be dealt with. In later articles I'll go into more specifics (stay tuned to this station).

First – some ground rules. There are plenty of articles and websites out there about mortgages, purchasing property, legal issues, real estate etc. I'm an architect and a project manager and I'm going to stick to what I know.

That said, if you've found a piece of land, successfully purchased it and know more or less what kind of construction loan you can get, or alternatively if you've purchased an existing house or apartment that needs renovations, you can get down to the business of actually seeing what you can build. This is where you first need your architect (if you didn't already use him to help select the best property available for your needs).

Your architect is going to be someone you're going to be dealing with a lot over the next few months, and he'll often be the one to recommend other service providers when necessary and the one to coordinate them, especially during the design stage. With that in mind, your architect should be first and foremost someone you can trust, as well as someone you'll be able to get along with on a personal level.

Architects also have their own specialties, market niches, and outlooks on design and construction, so you need to look for someone who is going to end up giving you the house (or office or institution) that you are dreaming of. You might find an architect with a distinctive style that you like, or one that has a track record or delivering what he promises, one that specializes in sustainable design, or any other distinctive feature.

None of this is particular to building in Israel, but going back to what we said before, when you add in the culture shock and other factors of making Aliyah, choosing the right architect with whom you have a good rapport will be crucial to minimizing the hassle and maximizing on your investment.

In Israel, zoning and building volume are controlled by the applicable Town Plan or "Taba". This document has the status of law in Israel and cannot be contravened. It can be detailed to a greater or lesser degree, but it will almost always govern the basic factors of the permissible usage of the land including:

· Type of use (residential, commercial etc),

· building volume (height, number of floors, total permissible built floor area, setbacks from property lines etc),

· and various aesthetic considerations (finish of facades, type of permissible roofs, treatment of utilities, site development restrictions etc).

The "Taba" is made up of a plan (the "tasrit") showing the different zoning regulations as they apply on the map of the land, and the directives (the "takanon") that apply to the zoning. A good architect will be able to review these documents and design a building that meets these basic limitations, while maximizing the benefits that you can gain from the property. There is often some leeway and room for interpretation and creativity in how a design can live within the framework of the Taba, if your designer knows what he's doing.

This is true both for new construction and for additions to existing buildings. If you've bought an apartment with the intention of adding another floor on the roof, it's the Taba (among other things) that will determine what, if anything, is possible.

In the case that the Town Plan doesn't allow for what you want to build, there is always the possibility of having an architect request a change to the Taba at the regional level, but let's not get sidetracked on that issue right now.

OK. So now you know what you're allowed to do on your property, and you want to design a house that merges the best of that along with your requirements – your "program'. The program can be a list of rooms that you want in your house along with the optimal area or dimensions for each room. It can also be much more, including relationships between spaces in the house, architectural styles you like, special elements you want incorporated, right down to materials and colours you want to be used. You can come with a program ready, or you can work on it along with your architect.

A good architect will start you off with a questionnaire or interview, where issues of program, budget, schedule and other preferences will be discussed.

Once you've got all that done, it's time for the architect to go to work. Often (depending on the agreement between architect and client) the architect will present more than one alternative showing how the program can be met within the Town Plan and on the specific site. Once that preliminary design is agreed on, the architect can move on to the next stage.

Again, none of the above is necessarily specific to Israel or making Aliyah, but in the details the relevance will arise. What kind of construction are you used to and what kind is standard in Israel? How can you best blend the two? Israeli homes are typically built with block partitions, but you may be used to drywall. What are the benefits of each solution and which is more suited to the contractors and labor force available in the area where you're building? Israel uses aluminium almost exclusively for glazed doors and windows. What about the more thermally efficient options you may be used to overseas?

During the design phase, the architect will recommend the various consultants that are available, which are essential and which are recommended.

A structural engineer or at minimum a "handasai" is a legal requirement, and he designs the structural frame of the building according to the specific design of the architect. He will sign off on the permitting plans along with the architect, and he will be responsible for ensuring that the contractor builds the structure according to the legal requirements. The better the structural engineer works with your architect, the better the coordination will be, so it's always best to use an engineer recommended or at least approved by your architect.

Other engineers are not necessarily required, but will always provide a better product if their services are engaged: Plumbing, electrical, heating, landscaping, and other engineers may be recommended, depending on the nature of the project. Generally speaking, these consultants are hired individually by the client, although in some cases the architect provides an umbrella service.

Once you have an integrated design that you want to see built, you need to obtain a building permit.

If you're just doing a renovation there are three basic items that require a permit:

a) Changes to the structure of the building

b) Changes to shared infrastructure shared with other tenants (such as sewage)

c) Changes to the enclosed area and/or to the exterior of the building

If you don't need to change any of those, your renovation most likely doesn't require a permit, making for a much smoother path to getting the changes made.

For a new building, or addition, a permit is required.

The permit request is prepared by the architect and presented to the local planning authority. The request includes a summary of the areas requested, plans showing the building, the structural members, connections to infrastructure, a site plan and a location plan, elevations of the proposed facades of the building, and the solution for a shelter or protected room ("Mamad").

The request needs to include a survey of the property (dated within 6 months of the request), signatures by the architect, the structural engineer, the owners of the land and the surveyor. In some cases, the neighbours are required to sign as well.

The permit needs the approval of the local planning authority as well as the Homeland Command. Permiitng time varies greatly depending on the local planning authority. In Jerusalem you're looking at 6 months and up. In Gush Etzion 2 weeks for a single family dwelling. In most other places somewhere in between.

If there are no problems and the local authority decides to approve the plans, you pay the permit fee (which also varies depending on the location) and are granted a permit. Only then is it legal to build.

In Israel, permitting is done on a general plan of the building (drawn at a scale of 1:100), meaning there's still a lot of detail to be decided on and designed after the permit. This can be done in parallel if you're pushed for time, or delayed until the permit is given if you don't want to take the risk that the permit may not be granted exactly as requested.

The detailing includes everything from specific design of the windows and doors, to design of the flooring, tiling, kitchen and cabinetry, finishes, colour schemes, sealing and insulation, heating and cooling systems, specific landscape design etc.

This design is performed in tandem with whichever consultants have been hired, and will result in plans and specifications (and if required a Bill of Quantities) that will form the basis of the tender documents.

Unless you have a brother in law who is a contractor, you will want to go to tender, to ensure that you have a choice of contractors between whom you can negotiate. In this way you'll usually be able to bring the price down at the same time as selecting a contractor who's suited to you.

In Israel as in other places there are several ways of engaging the services of a contractor, the two basic ways being either globally ("Paoshali"), where you close on a fixed sum for a fixed design, or according to a Bill Of Quantites, where each item has a price, and more items can be added or subtracted at a later stage, with the final price dependent on what was actually built. There are of course many options in between these extremes.

The point is, in order to define clearly what the contractor needs to do and what he is going to be paid for it, as well as to help select the right contractor for your job, it is highly recommended that you use the service of a project manager or supervisor who has experience with these matters, if your architect doesn't provide this service.

There are many issues in the construction phase of a project, and there are many which are specific to Israel. I'll go into more detail in a later article, but keep in mind that it's often best to build the way that the locals build. Local designers, contractors, tradesmen and workers all know how to do their job in the local situation. Trying to build a Los Angeles house in Jerusalem isn't going to work (at least not without a lot of headache and a much larger budget). The trick is to find the perfect blend of what you want with what is done best here.

Construction schedules, interaction with clients and designers, changes in design during construction and construction budgets all have many aspects that are worth mentioning, and we'll do so in the future.

A supervisor will be on site daily to ensure that the contractor is doing what he's supposed to, the way he's supposed to – according to law, design, and contract. Unless you have an excellent contractor who comes highly recommended and who you feel you can trust, or unless the job is very small, you will need supervision.

Remember, a successful building is dependent on three points – design, construction, and supervision. If any one of these three is substandard, the results will be unforeseen at best, disastrous at worst.

Don't forget that the job of the architect, consultants, supervisor and contractor is not finished the day you move in. Often problems will only become apparent after you start living in your house. Standard Israeli construction methods making heavy use of concrete and plaster lead to buildings that settle over time and "breathe" for the first year or so. Mechanical problems such as sewage not flowing freely may only show up after actual use of the systems. For this reason it's crucial to have a run in period where the contractor is bound to fix problems that arise, and during which he doesn't receive full payment for his contract.