ballpark it: how much to install 5 doors?


Hi all – curious what you think it’d cost for a carpenter to install 5 interior pre-hung doors. Frames, hardware, trim, paint.

I’m thinking 4 days and $1500 plus cost of doors, hardware, etc.

Your numbers much appreciated.

Thanks!

Categories: Doors
By chuck | 04/01/2011 11:45 AM | Comment

Parlor or Garden bedrooms for lower duplex?


I searched the forum and didn’t see a lot of opinions on this (and I thought I would).

So. If you could renovate your owner’s lower duplex any way you wished, would you prefer:

a) bedrooms on garden floor, home’s main entrance through shared stoop/lobby into parlor floor (higher ceiling kitchen & living room) with deck/stairs to yard, or

b) bedrooms on parlor floor, home’s main entrance through private under-the-stoop door, with kitchen and living room at garden level opening onto patio/backyard.

I’m so torn. I feel like the parlor floor windows (and higher ceiling) deserve to be the living room.

BUT… “Going downstairs” to go to bed seems so bizarre.

Anyone care to speculate on the best combination for resale value?

(FYI – can’t turn it into a garden rental due to rent regulated tenants on top floor.)

Thanks for your thoughts!

Categories: Configuration
By chuck | 11/30/2010 3:22 PM | Comment

New Window Poll: Pella vs. Marvin?


Would you go with Pella or Marvin?

Type: Double hung, full travel
Size: 103″ x 39″
Interior: primed wood
Exterior: aluminum clad
Glass: Low e 366 w/Argon
Casing/subsill: none
Grill/SDL: none

thanks!

Categories: Windows
By chuck | 08/10/2010 12:17 PM | Comment

Looking for Square Garbage Bins


Hi all –

Any ideas/suppliers where I can find square (or rectangular) garbage bins for outside?

Home Depot & Lowes don’t carry them.

Thinking about 40 gallon size, preferably one in blue for cans/bottles.

I see them online, but online stores have exhorbitant (sp?) shipping rates.

Thanks in advance!

Categories: Maintenance
By chuck | 08/08/2010 11:09 PM | Comment

Buildings Communicating?


Hey history and architecture buffs –

The Perris 1855 map of my home shows that it was one of three adjoining brick townhouses (see image).

The “dashed” line that crosses the property boundaries is stated in the map key to mean “buildings communicating.”

Any idea what this means?

I was reading a book written in the 1930s, and it described a room that “communicated” with another room, which seemed to imply that it was a doorless doorway.

I wonder if “buildings communicating” could mean that my neighbors houses and mine had openings between them. Or, if you look at the map image another way, does it mean that there was a wooden structure off the back of my building that was open to the back of the brick.

Thanks for any insights!

Categories: History
By chuck | 07/29/2010 11:58 AM | Comment

Opinions on Green Mountain?


Before I call them, any opinions or experiences with Green Mountain Construction?

They’re listed in the directory here, but I can’t find any Forum posts on work they’ve done.

Specifically, I’m would ask them to do two gut bathroom renovations in January.

Thanks in advance!

Categories: Renovation
By chuck | 12/15/2009 12:57 PM | Comment

What have our neighbors excavated?


Our Boerum Hill neighbors are building a parlor floor deck and digging out their garden for a foundation.

Their contractor unearthed some circular, “well”-looking thing (see picture) about ten feet from their back wall, and about ten feet below current grade. They unearthed the outside of a similar circular brick wall along our shared property line (meaning there’s one under our patio as well).

Is this:
a) an ancient well,
b) a recent septic tank,
c) an old outhouse, or
d) part of George Washington’s original 18th century fortifications against the British in the Battle of Brooklyn

I have also dug up rows of vertically placed flagstones in our back yard while putting in swings. So any tips on what that could be, would also be appreciated.

It’s so cool to see what’s under the ground!

Categories: Excavation
By chuck | 07/27/2008 2:02 PM | Comment

Underpinning – how to tell a good job?


I’m buying an old brick/brownstone (circa 1899) mid-block 4-story townhouse. The place was completely gutted in the 1980s, including excavating out about 2/3 of the basement – down an extra foot or two and pouring an 18″ concrete “retaining” wall along the perimeter along with the new concrete floor.

My inspector called this little retaining wall by a nickname — a ‘knee’-something. He said that it wasn’t the best way to underpin, but that it was very common, and that it can be perfectly fine. However, there’s no way to tell if it was done properly, and he can’t guarantee that the foundation wasn’t compromised. A couple days later, over the phone, he told me that since the underpinning was done twenty years ago, any problems would have surfaced by now and that there’s nothing to worry about. (He was also impressed by the quality of the plumbing and electrical work, so he said it was a solid building.)

I went to the DOB and pulled all the records anyway. Everything looks like it was done right – permits and plans filed and approved for plumbing, mechanical ventilation, etc., over a few years – except there was no specific “underpinning” work described anywhere.

What do you think? Is this kind of underpinning common? Your experience would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Categories: Structural
By chuck | 10/04/2007 8:46 PM | Comment

$1.1M in BH – “should I buy?”


Yup, it’s another “Should I buy this brownstone?” post. But I sincerely need your opinion — and I know you love this question — so here are the details:

4-story, 3-family brick townhouse near the Atlantic-Pacific station in Boerum Hill. Top floor is rent controlled 55-year-old guy paying $160/mo. Middle floor is market 1bd paying $1900. Owner’s duplex is parlor floor (2.5 bd, 1ba), garden floor (K, LR, 1ba) and partially finished rec room in basement. 20×35 bldg on 20×100 lot. No original details, livable 80s renovation. Asking: $1.1M

Do I buy it? Please advise!

Categories: Real Estate
By chuck | 09/17/2007 9:13 PM | Comment