Vol. I  ·  No. 01 Brooklyn, New York Established MMXXIV NYC HIC Licensed Field Manual for Healthy Renovation

Brooklyn · Diagnostic-First Design-Build

Most contractors guess.
We diagnose.

Every Proteus renovation begins with a building health assessment — moisture mapping, thermal imaging, air-quality testing — and only then does our architect put pen to paper. One team carries the work from instrument to drawing to construction. We hand you data, not assumptions.

Schedule a Free Home Diagnostic → Call (516) 510-4668
  • ◊ NYC Licensed Home Improvement Contractor
  • ◊ Environmental Consulting Background
  • ◊ Architect-Led Design
Proteus-renovated kitchen in a Brooklyn townhouse: white flat-front cabinets with a graphic black-and-white tile backsplash framed by preserved period moldings
Plate 01 Clinton Hill Townhouse — Kitchen + Bath Field-recorded · post-completion · 2025

Dossier · Opening Argument

Your contractor sees the surface.
We see what's behind it.

Behind every renovation is a building telling you something. Moisture migrating through a brownstone wall. Mold growing behind new tile. Cold air bypassing insulation that was never sealed. Most contractors tile over these problems. We find them first.

Proteus Design exists because buildings have health problems that generic renovations make worse. We bring environmental science into the construction process — so your renovation solves the real issue, not just the visible one.

Section §02 · Method

Three phases. One team.
No handoffs. No guesswork.

  1. § 01

    Diagnose

    We walk your home with thermal imaging, moisture meters, and air quality sensors. We map what's working and what isn't — before a single wall is opened. This isn't an add-on. It's how we start every project.

    Instruments & Outputs

    • Thermal imaging reveals hidden moisture & heat loss
    • Moisture mapping identifies water pathways
    • Air quality baseline establishes pre-renovation conditions
    • Existing conditions documented for design
  2. § 02

    Design

    Our architect designs from your diagnostic data — not assumptions. Moisture pathways inform vapor barrier placement. Air quality readings shape ventilation strategy. Your floor plan gets better because the science tells us what the building needs.

    Drawings & Specifications

    • Architect designs from diagnostic findings
    • Materials specified for your building's actual conditions
    • DOB permitting & co-op board navigation
    • Health-conscious material selections (low-VOC, moisture-smart)
  3. § 03

    Build & Verify

    We build what we designed — and then we prove it worked. Post-construction verification confirms moisture levels, air quality, and building performance meet our standards. Every project ends with data, not just a walkthrough.

    Construction & Verification

    • Licensed NYC construction with in-house project management
    • Remediation before rebuild (moisture, mold, envelope)
    • Post-construction testing confirms improvement
    • Your home is measurably healthier when we leave

Section §03 · Casebook

You don't need a contractor.
You need a diagnosis.

Case 01

Mold & Moisture

Mold is a symptom. Moisture is the disease. We find the water source — condensation, vapor drive, bulk water intrusion — remediate properly, and rebuild so it doesn't come back. Other contractors spray and pray.

Case 02

Cold Drafts & Energy Loss

Your brownstone isn't "just old." It's losing heat through specific pathways we can see with thermal imaging. We seal the envelope where it matters and design ventilation that works with your building — not against it.

Case 03

Indoor Air Quality

Headaches, allergies, that smell you can't place. We test particulates, VOCs, humidity, and CO₂ before renovation — then specify materials and ventilation to fix it. Your home should make you healthier.

Case 04

Brownstone & Townhouse Renovation

NYC's pre-war housing stock has specific moisture, insulation, and ventilation challenges that generic contractors don't understand. We do. Every brownstone renovation starts with a building health assessment.

Case 05

Kitchen & Bath

The most moisture-critical rooms in your home. We assess existing moisture conditions, design proper ventilation and waterproofing, and build with materials that perform in humid environments. Beautiful and built to last.

Case 06

Basement Finishing & Moisture

The project most likely to fail without a diagnostic approach. We map moisture pathways, test for vapor drive, and design assemblies that manage water — not trap it. This is where our methodology matters most.

Section §04 · Plates

Diagnostic-first renovations.
Across New York.

Residential and commercial projects across Brooklyn, Manhattan, and beyond — each starting from the same question: what is this building actually telling us?

White flat-front kitchen with graphic black-and-white geometric tile backsplash inside preserved period door casings

Plate I

Townhouse · Brooklyn

Clinton Hill Townhouse

Kitchen + Family Bath

Gut kitchen and family bath inside preserved period millwork. Modern insertions designed to work with the original building fabric, not against it.

Modern handleless kitchen with terracotta-toned waterfall island and garden doors open to the backyard

Plate II

Duplex · Crown Heights, Brooklyn

Crown Heights Duplex

Garden-Level Kitchen

Handleless flat-front cabinetry, a terracotta-toned solid-surface counter that wraps up into a continuous backsplash, waterfall island, and continuous LED toe-kick lighting. Garden doors open directly to the rear yard.

Mahogany upper cabinets and blue herringbone glass tile backsplash over a black stone counter

Plate III

Apartment · Park Slope, Brooklyn

Park Slope Apartment

Full Renovation

Whole-apartment renovation. Mahogany kitchen with blue herringbone tile, marble bath, and a pale-maple circulation spine connecting the spaces.

Open-plan kitchen with oak veneer cabinetry, waterfall quartz island, and floor-to-ceiling tree view

Plate IV

High-Rise · Manhattan

West Side High-Rise

Kitchen + Master Bath

Kitchen and master bath inside a full-floor high-rise unit. Oak-veneer cabinetry, waterfall quartz island, and a marble master bath engineered around the building's envelope.

Loft dining area with gallery wall, black-painted mezzanine stair, and exposed concrete ceiling

Plate V

Loft · Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn

Carroll Gardens Loft

Full Gut Renovation

Full gut of a small-footprint loft with mezzanine. Exposed concrete ceiling, wide-plank wood floors, and a black-painted stair connecting the two levels.

Medical office circulation with dark charcoal columns, herringbone oak floor, and green marble reception counter

Plate VI

Commercial · Upper West Side, Manhattan

Upper West Side Medical Office

Commercial Build-Out

Medical office build-out with waiting, reception, and patient rooms. Charcoal columns and herringbone oak floors frame a calm clinical circulation.

Section §05 · Colophon

An environmental scientist and an architect walk onto your job site.

That's not a joke — it's how we work. Proteus Design was founded on a simple observation: contractors build without diagnosing, and environmental consultants diagnose without building. We do both.

Will brings a Master's in Sustainable Communities with a focus on environmental science, GIS, and building health diagnostics. His father brings decades of architectural practice. Together, they're one team that investigates, designs, and builds — so nothing gets lost in translation between the person who found the problem and the person who fixes it.

We're not the cheapest contractor in Brooklyn. We're the one who shows you what's actually happening inside your walls before we touch them.

Section §06 · Field Consultation

Schedule a Free Home Diagnostic.

We'll walk your space with thermal imaging, moisture meters, and air quality sensors. You'll see what's happening behind the walls — and get an honest assessment of what needs attention.

No obligation. No sales pitch. Just data.

Telephone (516) 510-4668 Correspondence william@proteus-design.com

Field Visit Request

Response within 24 hours · Brooklyn & surrounding areas