Painting Stone Window Lintel and Sill


Hello. Can anyone recommend the best/proper way to paint a stone window lintel and sill on a typical brick row house? Should I use a masonry primer or can I use a regular exterior primer and paint? Thank you very much.

Categories: Painting
By reno101 | 05/27/2011 9:45 AM | Comment

Toe Kickspace Heater


Hello,

We are thinking about installing a Myson Whispa lll or Beacon/Morris kickspace hydronic (hot water) heater in our kitchen (12 x 11), as part of our renovation.

Is anyone familiar with this type of product and what are the pluses and minuses? How loud is the fan and over time does the fan become louder?

We are removing the cast iron radiator in our kitchen (to free up some wall space), but we are not interested in installing radiant floor heat.
Our plumber suggested this option, because it is installed under the base cabinet and we would be able to pick up the water line from the old radiator location.
Curious to hear your thoughts.

Thank you very much

Categories: Heating
By reno101 | 04/19/2011 2:41 PM | Comment

Shout Out for Manny Lassalle


This past Saturday we had our second floor bedroom fireplace mantle relocated to the parlor floor living room (no idea why a previous owner would remove a fireplace from that location). We ended up using Manny Lassalle from the recommendations on this website and we are so glad we did.

Manny and his crew removed the mantle, opened up the wall covering the firebox, relocated the hearth (saving all the flooring to be installed in the old hearth location), reinstalled the mantle in the new location and finished off the firebox with cement and brick.

Everything came out perfect! Manny and his crew arrived on time, protected the floor and went right to work. They were careful not to damage anything and really focused on the job that they were doing. Manny is easy to get a hold of and always returns your phone call in a timely manner. He even came by the house a couple of times to figure out the scope of work even before we made our decision to use him.

If you need any type of chimney work done, do yourself a favor and call Manny. I believe you will not be disappointed. If you need any further information please feel free to contact us.

Categories: Fireplace/Mantle
By reno101 | 03/07/2011 4:26 PM | Comment

Two Zone Hot Water Heating System


We have a typical one family brick Row House (18×45 with three floors: parlor, 2nd and 3rd with two rooms on each of the upper levels) with a hot water system. Is it better to keep the house as one zone or should we put the third floor on a separate zone? The third floor rooms will be used as a guest bedroom and the other a computer/office room and eventually a kids room. So the primary living area as of now will be the parlor and 2nd floor.

Also, do you feel that the big old cast iron radiators put out sufficient heat compared to a new baseboard cast iron radiator?

Thank you very much for all your help.

Categories: Heating
By reno101 | 02/07/2011 3:54 PM | Comment

Plaster/Brick Wall


We have a plastering question and would like your opinion on the subject (I hope I used the correct terminology).

We decided to remove the finishing plaster (top layer) off the wall going down to the cellar.

The top layer came off fairly easy in spots and the bottom layer(rendering layer) was not attached well to the brick at the bottom of the wall, so I removed it.

My question is….

Should I put a new rendering coat over the exposed brick then a new layer of finishing plaster over the entire wall?

Or Clean up the brick, seal it, keep it exposed and put a finishing coat over the exposed rendering coat (brown upper wall)?

Also do you think this is a DIY project or should I request the experience of a professional?

I never did any type of plaster work before, but I’m willing to learn.

Thank you very much for all your help.

Categories: Plaster
By reno101 | 12/13/2010 11:52 AM | Comment

Water Purification System


I am interesting in installing a whole house water filtration system (POE) into our renovation plans. It seems the more I read on the subject the more confusing it becomes. My water comes from a municipality not a well.

I would like the filters to be WQA or NSF certified, carbon filters, able to remove chlorine, VOC (volatile organic chemicals), THM (trihalomethanes), lead and kill bacteria. A large number of water filters have a list of chemicals that they claim are removed. But at how many parts per million? Enough to make a difference?

If they are WQA or NSF certified shouldn’t they test the filters to confirm the company’s claims? I am not looking for drinking water quality in a POE system and understand a point of use (POU) filter would be a better choice.

Any suggestions or websites would be greatly appreciated.

Categories: Plumbing
By reno101 | 11/19/2010 12:05 PM | Comment

Textured Plaster Walls


We recently bought a row house and all the walls are textured. We originally thought of having the walls skim coated, but after speaking to a couple of contractors we are reconsidering it. Beside the expense the contractors said that after the walls are skim coated they would be flush or very close to flush with the molding. We don’t love the look of the textured walls, but we don’t hate it either.

I’m curious to know if anyone can recommend a plaster who has done this type of textured plastering in their house?

Also do you think a DIYer would be able to handle this technique or is it too complicated for us mortals?

We are putting in new electrical sockets and switches so part of the walls will be open and have to be patched. Cracks in a couple of the walls and bad patch work from the previous owner in different locations.

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

Categories: Plaster
By reno101 | 10/12/2010 10:38 AM | Comment

Marble Fireplace Mantle


We would like to move one of our Victorian marble mantles from the second floor down to the parlor floor. Can anyone recommend a contractor who specializes in this type of work? We were thinking about trying to move it ourselves, but if we damage the mantle it may cost us more to repair than moving it.

Any thoughts will be greatly appreciated.

Categories: Fireplace/Mantle
By reno101 | 09/20/2010 8:29 PM | Comment

Bullfrog Builders


I am curious to know if anyone on this site has used Bullfrog Builders as a contractor for their renovation. If so, please share your experience.
Thank you very much.

Categories: General Contractors
By reno101 | 08/03/2010 10:00 PM | Comment

Looking for General Contractor in NJ


I know that this is a primarely Bklyn blog, but does anyone could refer a general contractor that is licensed in NJ? Preferably with experience in brownstones in Hoboken and Jersey City.
Thank you

Categories: Renovation
By reno101 | 07/05/2010 6:57 PM | Comment