Stucco Coat on a Frame/Brick Building


I’m looking for advice / rec’s on the following:

I have a 3 story townhouse, corner lot, that has brick partition side walls and frame facade and rear walls. Currently the house has vinyl siding all over. I would like to remove the siding and stucco the 2 exposed walls: side and front. Overall the sq. footage of the work is roughly 600-700 sqft.

Would this be super costly? I saw other buildings on the block do a similar thing, but their masons are not available for quotes. Any thoughts on likely cost for a simple stucco job (no brownstoning, cornices, or fancy lentil work)? Any rec’s? I scoured the forum, but found only a pittance of related recommendations.

Categories: Masonry
By Sputnik13 | 09/14/2010 10:45 AM | Comment

G.C. recommendation


I’m trying to get more business for my G.C., who did most of the work in my house. He is an honest and responsible guy, and he is very capable of doing any kind of project, from large to small. He finished the work in my house a while ago, and we still maintain a good relationship. I would use him in the future, if I had to. Give him a call:
His name is Beer, 646-358-6118. You can say you were referred “from the web”, as he likes to call it, by Yury.

By Sputnik13 | 09/25/2009 10:28 AM | Comment

No C of O


I am shopping around for a rehab 2 family property, and I came across a candidate. The first weird thing is that the building does NOT have C of O on the NYC Buildings website. It seems it never had one. (It was built in the 1890′s) Is this possible? Is this common? What are the implications?

Categories: C of O
By Sputnik13 | 08/26/2009 3:00 PM | Comment

Neighboring building is rotting


The building adjacent to mine is clearly exhibiting signs of decay: the siding is slowly peeling and falling onto my property, there is a giant hole near the ground where the siding had rotted away and wooden beams inside the house are clearly decomposing. This is also a probable rat entrance into their house. The building is a 4 story co-op with 6-8 units, I think. They cannot see the wall which I described, since it only faces my property, and they cannot access it unless they go through my house.
So my questing is: Am I required to alert them to the fact that their building is is need of urgent repair?
Also, I’d like to have them repair this wall because it is becoming quite an eye sore. Can I legally press them to take care of it?

Categories: Legal
By Sputnik13 | 04/20/2009 12:22 PM | Comment

Contractor recommendation: Beer


I need to drop a plug for my contractor: Thahal Beer. He’s been working on my 3 family house for a while now, almost finished with everything. He’s done pretty much a bit of everything for me: demolition, structural work, water, gas and heating plumbing, framing, drywall, compound work, some electrical work, I could go on! I would recommend him for any of the above, but I feel he is especially good at plumbing, drywall and compound, and flooring / kitchens. As far as I can tell, he’ll take on any project. He’s a friendly and honest guy, if you contact him, tell him that you were referred by Yury.

Beer’s phone is 646 358 6118

My # is 914 806 5006 if you want to get a more in-depth reference.

Categories: General Contractors
By Sputnik13 | 04/06/2009 3:11 PM | Comment

Water pressure: booster needed


This is likely a question for Master Plumber. We are experencing water pressure problems in our 2 family house. We have a roughly 3/4 inch water pipe entering from the street. There is a valve right before the water meter. When we hook up a water pressure gauge, it reads 45 psi. When we run a bathtub on the 1st floor, water pressure falls to 20 psi, and absolutely NO water gets to the 2nd floor. I am very confident that the plumbing inside the house is in good order, as it was recently finished with 1 inch pipes, splitting to 3/4 inch, then 1/2 inch new pipes. We tested also the rate of flow out of the tap right before the water meter: about 8 gallons per minute.
We are pretty certain that we need a pressure booster sytem, as I do not want to have to deal with the city and have them in my business. So the question is: what type of a system would be appropriate? What is the most energy-efficient solution? It also should be on the quiet side.

By Sputnik13 | 02/08/2009 6:47 PM | Comment

Scrap Metal?


I’ve got a yard full of metal studs, one old stove, one old steel bathtub, one old water heater, some copper and iron pipes. Does anyone know of a scrap metal service that can pick up all of this? I know I can find eager takers for the copper and even for the iron pipes, but I really need to get rid of the steel scrap. I’d rather not send it to the landfill. Any leads / ideas?

Categories: Renovation
By Sputnik13 | 01/05/2009 11:20 AM | Comment

Stained Glass to-order


Anyone know of a place / studio which makes custom stained glass window panels? I need a place that can do 2-3 small window panels (30in x 25in, approx) each with a different custom design.

Categories: Windows
By Sputnik13 | 11/14/2008 1:10 PM | Comment

Another plug for Beer


I feel obliged to give another plug for my contractor, Beer, of Beer Construction. He’s been working on my place for several months now, currently installing radiators and re-configuring the steam heating system. He also has impressed me with drywall work, structural work, roofing, stairs, and he is a plumbing genius. I don’t plan to use him for much finishing work, but he proclaims that he is a wiz at that too.
Also, I must say that he has stuck to his initial estimates, which were reasonable and better than some others, and he has earned my respect in many ways.
Give him a call, make him happy! 646-358-6118 is his number.
You can also contact me at 914-806-5006 for a more in-depth reference.

By Sputnik13 | 11/03/2008 12:56 PM | Comment

Follow up on Contractor recommendation


In July I posted a recommendation for a contractor by the name of Beer (646-358-6118) ( http://www.brownstoner.com/forum/archives/2008/06/contractor_reco_18.php )

Here’s an update and a plug: The work has been progressing smoothly, and I’ve booked Beer to hang the drywall on 3 levels, put new rubber on the roof, and install a new hot water heater. What is unusual about Beer is that he is not only willing to do extra work, but he shows me the right way to do my part of the job: compound, electrical, etc. Very few contractors would be willing to share their knowledge, much less to teach their skills to their client.
Now that I know him better, I must say the man is not without a few quirks, but overall I feel he was the absolute right contractor for my needs. What I like most is that he takes ownership in his work.
So feel free to give him a call. If you like, you can mention that Yury sent you his way. I know others on here did work with Beer, any updates?

Categories: Renovation
By Sputnik13 | 09/17/2008 3:55 PM | Comment