Sprinkler Maintenance


We have a fire sprinkler system in the common area of our 2 family home. The developer set it up to be easily converted to a 3 family. We want to have someone come take a look because the gauge on the top floor seems to be leaking slightly and also because we were told that the caps to the recessed sprinkler heads are not supposed to be painted and we believe they were accidentally.

We also heard that we are supposed to have the system inspected MONTHLY and to keep a log for a 5 year inspection by the fire department.

We are new to all of this. Do others here with a system actually do this monthly inspection?? And can anyone recommend someone who does this and who can also check out the leak and change our sprinkler caps? I called Automatic Sprinkler, but they charge a fortune just to come take a look.

THANK YOU!

Categories: Fire
By julia77 | 04/28/2011 1:45 PM | Comment

Support Beam in Cellar


Hello, we are looking to reinforce the support beam in our cellar and are looking for advice. At first we wanted to replace the wood beam with steel so we can get rid of all the extra supporting poles and clear some space, but a few have recommended to leave the wood beam there and reinforce rather than replace. Is that the consensus?

Also, our exterior contractor who is redoing our stoop and laying new concrete in our cellar suggested that he could make the foundation holes for the new support poles and we could use our iron worker to do the steel beam. The iron guy seemed a bit wary of the electrical and plumbing pipes in the way, but then said he could do it for $3200. We weren’t thrilled with his lack of confidence. Do we need a structural engineer to take a look at this? And do we need permits if we are only reinforcing?

If anyone has done this and can share their knowledge, we’d love to hear from you. Thanks!

Categories: Foundation
By julia77 | 04/06/2011 1:25 PM | Comment

Brick and Granite Stoop


We need to completely redo tbe stoop on our brick townhouse. It is crumbling brick covered in cracked cement. 2 different exterior people recommended brick with granite steps (brick on the mirror). They tell me the granite is not shiny and will look good, but I’m skeptical. I can only picture this look on a very different style home. We don’t want to spend the money on a brownstone stoop and they insist that any other material will need a lot of repair over the years.

Anyone have a granite step stoop that they love? Thoughts? Pictures?

Thanks!

Categories: Exterior
By julia77 | 03/19/2011 4:56 PM | Comment

General Contractor for Everything?


We are buying a two-family townhouse and reconfiguring it from a double duplex to a owner’s triplex and rental garden apartment. Could you tell me if there is one general contractor who can manage the whole project including any necessary permits? The place is newly renovated, but we need the following work done:
-Transplant a kitchen from the 3rd floor to the garden in exactly the same position in the building.
-Take down simple wall on the parlor floor to turn 2 bedrooms into our living room.
-Turn a parlor floor window into a door and make either a deck or stairs leading to the garden (depending on cost).
-Add a bathtub to the bathroom on 3rd floor (currently shower only)
-Create a closet where the 3rd floor kitchen used to be.
-Install washer/dryer hook up on 4th floor.
-General interior painting

Open to recommendations and hoping to get 3 bids.

Thanks!

Categories: General Contractors
By julia77 | 11/11/2010 8:55 PM | Comment

Transplanting Kitchen


I’m surprised I haven’t found this exact question answered here already – so here goes: We are reconfiguring our brownstone from a double duplex to a owners triplex and a garden rental. We need to move the kitchen from the third floor to the garden. It is in the exact same position two floors down. Any good guesses on how much this will cost and anything important to consider?

The only thing I can imagine not transplanting well is a tiled backsplash, which is fine. Appliances, countertops, and counters should all move fairly easily, right? And plumbing, gas, and wires should be easy since it’s in the same position underneath, right?

Is this a job for a general contractor? And would they handle permits?

THANKS!

Categories: Kitchen & Bath
By julia77 | 10/18/2010 1:45 PM | Comment

Contract Deal Breaker?


We are in the process of purchasing a 2 family brownstone that has already been renovated. The seller’s attorney struck out the standard contract line item stating that the seller has to deliver a valid and subsisting C of O as a condition to close.

There is a recent C of O on file (from August 2010) that certifies the building as a 2 family. The seller’s lawyer insists that since it is public information and found online, it does not need to be included in the contract. OUR lawyer says that it’s strange they want to take it out. If it’s valid and recent, why not just keep it in the contract? Something seems fishy.

Does anyone have experience with this? From my understanding, if you plan to do a gut reno, it’s not as important to have the C of O since you will have to obtain all new permits, etc. But we are not doing major renovations – does it seem strange that they don’t want to include this in the contract? Our lawyer is advising us not to sign without this added back.

Any thoughts? THANKS!

Categories: Legal
By julia77 | 10/09/2010 11:28 PM | Comment

Reconfiguring 2 Family Brownstone


I’d like to hear from anyone who created a triplex owners unit out of the garden/parlor/third floor with a rental unit on the fourth floor.

We want to reconfigure our double duplex, but we really want the garden floor because of the easy access from the street for strollers and easy access to the garden for kids.

We’re not crazy about the idea of sharing the main staircase with our tenants, especially since our bedrooms will be on the third level. Has anyone created an internal staircase from parlor to third? Especially other than a spiral staircase? Wondering about cost, difficulty, and other issues to consider.

Thanks!!

Categories: Configuration
By julia77 | 10/01/2010 9:45 AM | Comment