plants poisonous to dogs?


Hello,

Are there any weeds or other indigenous (to Brooklyn) plants that are poisonous for dogs?

Our dog recently got very sick and we are trying to determine what he might have gotten into. We don’t use poisons in the house or herbicides in the back yard where he hangs out. We have been here for 5 years and haven’t planted anything new in at least 3. He is a small house dog and doesn’t often go on the street or in the park.

Thanks!

Categories: Garden
By dougj99 | 06/25/2009 2:02 PM | Comment

Sewer repair questions


Hi All, I don’t know how to bump up a post, so I am starting a new topic. A bunch of you have helped me out with my basement water questions (thanks again!), and now we know it’s a broken sewer line, based on a dye test.

We have had 3 estimates, all in the $10K-$12K range.

1. Is it still worth running a video camera in to see how far in the break is? We really need to keep costs down, and they’ve implied it could be a lot cheaper if they don’t need to go all the way out under the street.

2. One place said we will have to change the trap inside the house as well, which would involve cutting into the foundation. Do we?

3. Is there any good reason to replace the water main at the same time, if it’s not broken? This was also mentioned.

4. Anybody have any experiences with United Plumbing? They seemed cool, but I haven’t seen them mentioned a lot here.

Thanks for any info. What a headache.

Categories: Plumbers
By dougj99 | 06/04/2009 4:39 PM | Comment

Rent our house?


Hello

We are hoping to rent our house for the week we are going away in August. Has anyone had any experience doing this? Are there website that can help out with this (especially in terms of screening potential renters)?

Thanks for any advice.

Categories: Listings
By dougj99 | 06/03/2009 2:28 PM | Comment

DEP strategies?


Howdy.

I am trying to get the DEP to come do a leak test on our basement. I submitted the form about a week ago and have heard nothing since. Calling several times a day at all different times yields a constant busy signal. Is there a way to get through? How long does one usually have to wait before they respond and/or come to do the testing?

Thanks!

Categories: Plumbing
By dougj99 | 05/28/2009 1:04 PM | Comment

multiple toilet clogs


Hello

We have 3 toilets (on 3 different floors) and they all seem to be clogging more often. Lately I need to plunge them every couple of days. Will snaking them be enough or is this indicative of something more serious? Why might they all be doing this at the same time?

Thanks!

Categories: Plumbing
By dougj99 | 05/26/2009 10:41 AM | Comment

basement water despite pumps


hello,

We are in the South Slope. Our basement has 3 sump pumps which were installed 6 years ago when we bought the house. Up until now we have had occasional minor flooding after heavy rains or when one of the pumps isn’t working. For the past month or so we have had water coming in every day. The flooding is consistent with what happens when the pumps aren’t working. Problem is, all the pumps are working, and the water level in the sumps is well below the floor level in the basement. It is turning into more than just an annoyance as we have to mop it up every day, and presumably would make a pretty bad flood if left alone for several days. Also, the water is coming in towards the front of the house- we have party walls- and not from the back where the garden is.

Anyone have any ideas how to troubleshoot this? Can the water table change this drastically? Do we need even more pumps?

Thanks for any advice.

Categories: Waterproofing
By dougj99 | 05/10/2009 2:57 PM | Comment

Soundproofing finished basement


Hello

We are the proverbial “loud neighbors with teenaged drummer” and we need to sound proof our finished basement.
The walls are the original masonry foundation covered, on one side, with a layer of sheetrock, and on the other with mirrors (all our gym equipment is down there too). There are pipes sticking out in a couple of places, and there are several sliding door closetsincluding the access closet for the electric meter. The ceiling is dropped sheetrock.

Basically seems like a soundproofing nightmare. Is there a way to do this without a) spending a million bucks and b) not ruining the look of the room?

Thanks!

By dougj99 | 12/17/2008 7:31 AM | Comment

Help with oven vent


Hello

I have cold air coming into the kitchen through the oven vents- what type of contractor would I call to help with this and can anybody recommend one?

Thanks!

Categories: Kitchen & Bath
By dougj99 | 12/08/2008 4:43 PM | Comment

oven/stove vent air leaks


Hello,

We have cold air coming in through our oven and through the stove vent (which is part of an installed microwave unit)

Has anybody had this issue and how is it solved? I can see the duct above the microwave in a cabinet and I figure it can’t be too hard to install a valve up there, but what about the oven? And how do you set this up so it isn’t totally inconvenient for cooking?

Thanks in advance for any advice.

Categories: Heating
By dougj99 | 03/02/2008 9:07 PM | Comment

steam heat akimbo


hello

we have a 16′ wide frame house, 3 stories + bsmt. Steam heating with metal radiators. The main problem we have is vastly unbalanced heating. the ground floor has a kitchen extension out into the back yard, and only two heaters, one at each end. This is also where the thermostat is located. Each of the upstairs rooms (3br 2bath , 1 den) have their own heaters and they are pretty small rooms. Because the ground floor is essentially one big room, heated by 2 heaters, it is usually pretty cold in the winter, and we have had to supplement with an electric heater.

the heaters in the upstairs rooms work fairly well, with varying consistency. Unfortunately, to set the thermostat such that it is comfortable on the ground floor, the rest of the rooms become a steambath. Added to that is a home office on the top floor, which is full of computers and is plenty comfortable in the winter without any heat at all. The heat is off in the house all day, but when everyone gets home they turn it up to be comfortable and the heater in the office just bakes. The knob on the heater is stuck.

I have tried bleeding the heaters on the ground floor, but even when they are cranking, the heat in the house is very uneven.

We are considering perhaps getting a third heater on the ground floor, or possibly separating the heating zones per floor or per room…I have read that this is super expensive though. Is there a way to easily remove a heater from the network (ie the one in the office) in such a way that it is not permanent? Are there any other ways to even out the system? We are just not sure what the ideal solution to this problem would ultimately be.

I guess the last question is, is there a good steam heat expert out there that anyone can recommend?

Thanks!

Categories: Heating
By dougj99 | 12/11/2007 1:54 PM | Comment