Window Replacement Landmarks Violation?


My one year old has lead poisoning to the point where the city’s health department is involved. After much testing and concern, we determined that the main culprits are our windows, the outside of which are covered with flaking lead paint. We have been replacing them as we can come up with the money. We are in the process of filing for permits to change the front and back windows (and to add a deck at the same time to have access to our backyard without having to go through our kids’ room), but it’s been taking a while to get the deck drawings, etc…

In the meantime, we changed the front parlor since they were in the worst condition, flaking paint outside all over where our kids walk and play. We just received a warning letter that the windows are in violation. I assume that one of our neighbors must have told on us, which given that most know about our son’s lead poisoning, is kind of depressing.

anyway, has anybody been in this position and can offer some advice?

thanks!

Categories: Landmarks
By pitythefool | 03/30/2011 1:45 PM | Comment

Flaking Exterior Brownstone Paint


Hi all. Last night’s hailstorm loosed a lot of flaking paint from our brownstone’s exterior. My son just got an elevated lead test and we are getting in the lead inspector shortly, but I’m wondering how people have dealt with the paint on the outside of their brownstone. Our facade needs to be redone but we don’t foresee having the budget for that anytime soon. In the meantime, is the best thing to do patch and repaint? As part of our renovation, we have landmark and DOB permission for minor exterior repair, which I believe takes care of the permit part already. Thanks!

Categories: Painting
By pitythefool | 10/12/2010 11:44 AM | Comment

Brick to Brick Window Replacement?


Hi. My son just got an elevated lead test and we’re trying to figure out the best way of dealing with abatement. We think the windows are one of the biggest sources, despite encapsulation and good cleaning, since the outside moldings around the panes and the surrounding moldings are so old and too rotten to really scrape well and encapsulate. (Seems like you don’t want to loosen lead paint anyway, since that’s great more hazard.) So I tihnk we should do what I believe is called a brick to brick replacement. Any referrals for companies who do this well? We are landmarked. Thanks.

Categories: Windows
By pitythefool | 10/12/2010 11:41 AM | Comment

Yuck, Help! Leaky Toilet Base


My four month old toilet seems to have sprung a leak and water is seeping onto the floor at one side of the base. I sort of don’t want to know, but I’m guessing that this can’t be clean water, although it doesn’t stink or anything. But needless to say, we want to repair it, not least because it went on all summer while we were away, soaking the subfloor and I don’t want to end up having to replace the tiles and subfloor too. I’m having a hard time tracking down my contractor and might have to get a plumber in there to fix it. From reading on the web, it seems like it’s a broken wax seal. The bolts attaching the toilet are loose so i think it shimmied on the tile floor, causing the break. Any idea how big (i.e. expensive) a repair that is. Also, should the toilet NOT be on tiles to avoid this happening again?

Thanks for any advice!

By pitythefool | 09/20/2010 11:17 AM | Comment

Replacing Fireplace Tiles


My one-year-old has decided that his new favorite game is to pick out all the loose fireplace tiles and smash them. And his poor daddy was on the watch when 5 or 6 got destroyed. (There was hell to pay–brand new house to us…) But the tiles, I think, are original–so date back to the 1870s. Any idea where to find some replacement ones?

Thanks!

PTF

Categories: Fireplace/Mantle
By pitythefool | 06/09/2010 3:47 PM | Comment

Recs Post Reno


Hi there. We recently finished a renovation of our brownstone and I wanted to share some notes and also express my gratitude to all the advice gleaned on this forum. Our reno was medium sized, basically turning the bottom two floors of a brownstone into the owner’s duplex. It involved moving a kitchen to the rear parlor, relocating a bath and building out a new bedroom. Here are the recs:

1. Expediting of permits and Drawing of Plans for filing: Phil Ferrara 917-817-6289. Nice guy who got the permits quickly and reasonably.

2. GC Thalal Beer 646-358-6118. FOund him here. Also posted about Beer before. He did a great job, very nice guy, always here, always eager to make sure that we were happy, very reasonable, always had good taste when it came to grout colorings and how to match floorings and old moldings, etc. Very good with historic brownstones. He’s not as familiar with some higher end choices like thermostatic shower systems, etc, and needed some handholding, but it all came out great, and we’d recommend it. Lovely guy to have around as well and very sweet to my kids.

Finish Carpenter: Chris Smylie 917-723-5384. Great with high end choices and complicated tile work.

Plumbing Fixtures: Got everything from Park Slope Plumbing, dealt with Marc. Consistently beat Lowes, etc prices.

Kitchen Cabinets: Ended up going with Medallion Semi Custom from Park Slope Kitchen (connected with plumbing store). Good prices, fair customer service, very happy with cabinetry.

Doorknobs. I didn’t know I would have a guy who just did doorknobs but we reused a lot of old doors that needed knobs. Dutch is the man. Neighborhood guy (Clinton Hill) with great store of old doorknobs, rosettes, etc. Lovely man and awesome quoter of poetry and player of classical guitar to boot. 917-319- 2295.

Doors and doorknobs, Sourced the doors themselves and some knobs and rosettes from Eddy on the corner of Grand and Greene. Great prices, good selection, nice guy.

The one thing we regretted was decided to spray our shutters and some doors rather than having them painted on site. We would definitely NOT recommend spraying shutters in particular. Way expensive. They didn’t fill any of the cracks and they look like crap.

I thnk that’s it. Feel free to contact me if anyone wants further info on any of these recs. I’m at clintonhillbrooklynapt [the at sign] hot mail [dot] com. Otherwise, give em a call and tell them Bliss sent you.

PTF

Categories: General Contractors
By pitythefool | 05/25/2010 12:35 PM | Comment

Spraying Shutters?


Since we can’t afford to strip our ten pairs of bi-fold shutters, I’m looking to paint over the certain lead paint currently there. I’m thinking the easiest and perhaps best result would be having them sprayed in a spray booth somewhere. Anyone know anyone who does this?

Thanks.

PTF

Categories: Painting
By pitythefool | 04/27/2010 3:57 PM | Comment

Excellent Tile Installer?


Hi. I’m using some 19th century Victorian tiles for the area behind the stove in my kitchen. My mom collected them on various trips to Europe including her honeymoon so she and I are quite nostalgic about them, beyond them now being pretty valuable. I had to get some reproduction tiles to complete the design and they are slightly thinner than the 19th century ones. So I think they are going to be a little tricky to install. Does anyone have an excellent tile guy/gal you can recommend?

Thanks.

PTF

Categories: Tile
By pitythefool | 04/26/2010 1:52 PM | Comment

Help Installing Shaws Sink


Hi. I am looking for a cabinetmaker or finish carpenter to scribe a cabinet for a Shaws porcelain apront front sink. Apparently they are a little tricky to install since each sink is different so there is no template and you must make your own. Plus they weigh like 120 lbs so it’s not easy to hold it in place to make sure the fit is right. According to my GC, making the cutout in the cabinet would best be done in a cabinet shop, where they are set up with a router, etc. Alternately if a handyman or carpenter has installed one before, perhaps he/she can do it on site. Any recommendations? Looking for someone like Monday or Tuesday because if I have to keep washing dishes in my bathroom sink I might just lose my mind….

Thanks!

PTF

Categories: Carpentry
By pitythefool | 04/17/2010 4:56 PM | Comment

Curb Alert: Farmhouse Sink


The porcelain’s not in great shape and there aren’t any legs, but maybe for basement or backyard…looks like this:

http://www.thisoldtubandsink.com/double-basin-porcelain-over-cast-iron-sink1.html

outside 385 Grand Ave.

Categories: Architectural Salvage, Plumbing
By pitythefool | 04/15/2010 11:41 AM | Comment