Crown Heights Reno

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March 28, 2007

thank you & buried treasures!!!!!!

the collector in me wishes that i could have sifted through the basement demolition debris to see what was uncovered, especially after finding this bottle (AW BELLS PHARMACY 357 FULTON ST) half buried in the dirt.
what really puzzles me is the large number of shells that are down there...

AND

a huge thanks to all those who have taken the time to share their experiences and suggestions on the previous posts,
it is extremely helpful on many levels and we thank you.

the one big question that has been looming from the beginning is the heating /cooling system:
we currently have forced air and a 50 year old monster of a furnace (with no humidifier & only minimal filtration) & who knows what's lurking in the duct work, but it does heat the house.

we are struggling with:
keeping forced air and adding an a/c system to it, yes the cooling part will be undersized, but we are not "cold" freaks and really only use a/c during the dog days of summer
or
converting to radiant heat and installing a separate a/c system

i know this topic has been discussed elsewhere but if anyone wants to weigh in here with general thoughts on the benefits/drawbacks of
combined forced air heat/cooling
vs
radiation and a separate a/c system
it would be greatly appreciated

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Comments

Back before the Gowanus was a sewer it had some of the largest oysters known to mankind. About the shells... I remember reading about a team of amateur archeologists who dig in Brooklyn's back yards. They said that the shells were often used as a kind of "toilet paper"

Posted by: Anonymous at March 29, 2007 5:22 PM

Those look like clam shells to me, not oyster. The bottle is obviously old, but the shells and the spoon look to be much more recent.

Our garden was loaded with oyster shells, evidently leftover from the days when oysters were a staple of the NY diet.

Posted by: Anonymous at March 29, 2007 6:05 PM

How cool! The shells are a mystery! I can weigh in as a top floor tenant re: forced air. Dry as a bone. Sounds travel through them just like two tin cans and a string. The worst? Cooking smells. My apartment stinks like a restaurant three times a day, my landlords cook all the time, being work at home types. It's really gross. I can't wait until the heat is off for good and I can seal those vents for the summer. Being a one family, you may not be bothered by most of this, but for gods sake, vent your stove! xxxx, s

Posted by: sje at March 30, 2007 5:32 PM

Cool finds!

We had a big dig in our first house and found a bunch of old bottles (broken) which was commonly used as filler but no shells. So I wonder if its a neighborhood specific kind of thing. Maybe the workmen had clams for lunch?

We are wrestling with the heating/cooling system decisions as well. I think we are going to go with hot water heat and central a/c in the end. Two different systems which Im sure will add to the cost but I'd rather do that than have a single system that does neither job well. But you are farther along than us so who knows what will will happen. I'll be following along with your reno closely to see if we can glean any pearls of wisdom on the matter.

Posted by: Mrs. Limestoner at April 2, 2007 9:31 AM