Small Bathroom Renovation
A friend of mine recently hired a local handyman to renovate her bathroom on the cheap. He took measurements, they went to Home Depot together to pick out furniture, tile and fixtures, and he installed them. I was surprised how good the result was and how inexpensive, compared to hiring a professional bathroom remodeler. Obviously there are a lot of plusses and minuses, but since budget is critical right now, it is tempting. Has anyone had experience doing this? Where could I look for a good selection of bathroom furniture besides Home Depot if I wanted to try and do this? I guess I’m most hesitant about my own ability to “design†it and know what the possibilities are.
Granite Counter Sources
Anyone tried E Stone, Inc.?? http://www.estoneusa.com $60 to $65 a square foot (versus $90 to $100 a sq ft from places like Acme Marble and Red Hook) all installation/measuring included… Any tricks I should be aware of? Anyone tried them? They seem reliable, quality looks the same/good as the other places…
Raising Roof on Frame House
Hi- I have a 3 story plus full basement frame house, but the 4th floor slopes to 6.5″ feet in the back. I want to raise the roof by 3 feet, but was told because it is frame I wouldn’t be allowed. Does anyone know about this sort of issue? Thanks
Appraiser Recommendations?
i’d like to ask the readers which appraisers they’ve used before in their residential purchases, whether it’s a townhouse or coop/condo in brooklyn. it’s getting to be that time and we wanted to ensure that we used the best appraisers who know about the brooklyn residential market.
Old Tin Ceiling Available
We have a tin ground floor ceiling that is a little battered, has holes and looks like to was put together from scraps. The plan is to remove it (and the sheetrock beneath it, and the lathe under it all to expose the beams and then repair the floor above, do some electrical work and then decide how to finally finish it.
Does anyone have any uses for this kind of tin ceiling (it has intact in places and has relatively good patches)? Would the salvage yards or individual homeowners have an interest?
Tax Abatements
I was curious if anyone had heard of only part of a development (all built at the same time) getting a shorter or different tax abatement. I was about to buy a unit in a 3 building complex in Brooklyn where the owner clearly knew there were 7 years remaining on the abatement and had a r.e. tax of $15/month, but I found another apt in a different building whose owner seemed unaware of an abatement and had not mentioned the r.e. taxes and said it was included in themaintenance. Any thoughts? Thanks in advance.
Or is there someplace I can look this up to verify/see the info?
As a side note I looked at 2 apts in the same building and one had the owner showing and they noted the abatement was over and another had a broker who said there was still an abatement remaining.
Sagging Ceiling
The ceiling in the front room on our third floor brownstone is noticeably sagging — we’ve determined that the joists are sagging (the plaster has not detached from the lath). Any recommendations for someone to repair the ceiling and ideas as to cost would be appreciated.
Radiator Covers
Does anyone know if radiator covers are a pro or a con in terms of efficiency? I have seen conflicting reports. Some energy advice sites say remove them during the heating season, because they interfere with air flow. But of course the companies that manufacture them say they increase efficiency, by forcing the radiator to draw cold air from the floor, not the top, and becasue they direct more of the warm air to the middle of the room, not the ceiling.
Underground Streams and Basements
I’ve heard that Garfield Place and 6th Street in Park Slope both have underground streams running from Prospect Park. Does anyone know of someone who dug out their basement on one of these streets and whether they had any problems? I’ve heard that money can solve any problem but a stream sounds potentially extreme. Any recommendations for a contractor who may have handled this issue?
Thresholds
We recently took down part of a wall between our dining room and kitchen to open everything up. After we level and tile our kitchen floor, there will be about a 6″ drop down to the hardwood floors in the dining room. The new opening leaves a 60″x 9″ gap to fill. Besides having a custom-cut granite threshold/saddle made, do I have any options?
May 21, 2012 | 02:16 PM