Mover Recommendation


Thanks to a recommendation on this board we just used Reggie (Man with a Van) to move a very heavy appliance within Brooklyn. Reggie and his brother were on time, friendly, and professional. They charged me a reasonable flat rate. Highly recommend him. (917)414-0225.

Categories: Movers
By squaredrive | 02/07/2010 12:12 PM | Comment

2 Men and a Van


Hi- I’m trying to move a heavy appliance from point A in Park Slope to point B in Prospect Heights. Involves 2 flights of stairs on the front end, 1 on the back. Prefer not to get a moving company as they typically have time minimums. Anyone have a good rec? Prefer not to hire someone blindly from craigslist. Thx.

Categories: Movers
By squaredrive | 02/05/2010 3:05 PM | Comment

Appliance and Kitchen Disposal


Getting ready to embark on a reno of a small coop kitchen. Will involve disposal of laminate counter & sink, small wall of cabinets, and dishwasher and oven. They are all in terrible shape and unfortunately can’t be donated.

According to my reading of the dept of sanitation website, we can dispose of these items curbside, as long as we don’t exceed 5 or 6 large items. So it may take 2 trash days. For some reason i still feel uneasy about it and I’m looking for confirmation based on experience, is it really ok to dispose of appliances and cabs curbside? thanks!

Categories: Renovation
By squaredrive | 02/03/2010 11:05 PM | Comment

1BR renovation advice


I live in a 1BR prewar coop. The bedroom is fairly generous (14′x18′) and has 3 windows. We’re weighing whether or not to divide the room based on our needs. There are basically 3 options:

1. Leave as-is, and use furniture/shelves to divide the space.

2. Put up a real partition to create a 14′x10’6″ bedroom with a 14′ x 7′ office/nursery/den opening off of this space with french doors.

3. Make 2 rooms with separate entrances – possible but more expense and will take up some BR space.

What would you do? How do you think these options affect resale? Thoughts appreciated!

By squaredrive | 04/12/2009 4:21 PM | Comment

insomnia


We are first time owners of a small apt in a Prewar Coop building. We love our apt, but have discovered that the noise from the apartments above and below is mind-boggling. We don’t expect silence by any means, but the floors are crazy leaky.

The specific difficulty of this situation is that the TV in the downstairs apt is on 24/7. It is loud enough that we can aften hear what channel they are watching.

I have asked twice (nicely) for the TVs to be lowered. There has been some improvement, but we still wake up to a subtle drone of TV noise at 4 am almost daily, despite running fans to cover the noise.

We’re going to talk to them again, but thinking ahead, what are the options between earplugs and selling to hearing-impaired friends? Do coop boards have jurisdiction over these kinds of things? Or are we just at the neighbor’s mercy here?

Categories: Quality of Life
By squaredrive | 11/01/2008 1:05 AM | Comment

No Honking Signs / Fines?


Do “No Honking” signs exist in Brooklyn (as they do in Manhattan) on residential streets? Is it possible to lobby the city for these succesfully? Any experiences?

By squaredrive | 10/07/2008 1:46 PM | Comment

Typical Square Footage Calcs


What is the conventional means of calculating square footage for real estate purposes? Include exterior walls or exclude or something in between? Include interior walls or exclude? Is there a standard?

By squaredrive | 07/31/2008 4:12 PM | Comment

Oil-based poly, how bad?


We are moving into a coop within a couple of weeks, and the floors are in serious need of refinishing. I see that the oil v. water poly debate has been well covered here. After talking to friends and contractors, the consensus seems to be that oil lasts longer and is less expensive.

We are trying hard to be good neighbors and sensitive to those around us, especially being new to the building. My question is this – how much will the odor of the oil-poly affect our neighbors, and how long will it last? (Prewar apt building.) I realize this is difficult to answer – but first hand anecdotes or knowledge is appreciated. Thanks.

Categories: Floors
By squaredrive | 07/29/2008 6:49 PM | Comment