July 27, 2008

What have our neighbors excavated?

Our Boerum Hill neighbors are building a parlor floor deck and digging out their garden for a foundation.

Their contractor unearthed some circular, "well"-looking thing (see picture) about ten feet from their back wall, and about ten feet below current grade. They unearthed the outside of a similar circular brick wall along our shared property line (meaning there's one under our patio as well).

Is this:
a) an ancient well,
b) a recent septic tank,
c) an old outhouse, or
d) part of George Washington's original 18th century fortifications against the British in the Battle of Brooklyn

I have also dug up rows of vertically placed flagstones in our back yard while putting in swings. So any tips on what that could be, would also be appreciated.

It's so cool to see what's under the ground!

June 19, 2008

Conch Shells

While renovating our garage, we found a box of large conch shells in ashes. Does anyone know if this was used for a specific purpose or just a shell collector? Our house is from around 1840-50s. Thanks

May 21, 2008

Rubbish Removal

We have several bags of dirt from work on our back yard...but no matter how light we make the bags the weekly garbage pick-ups continue to refuse to take...

Its not enough to rent a bin (probably 10 bags around 50-60 pounds each), can anyone recommend a pick-up service or drop off location in Brooklyn?

Thanks!

March 23, 2008

Con ed running a new line from street

After identifying a "bad lead" as the source of electrical issues in our 2 family brownstone on a landmarked block, Con Ed has decided to run new service to our building as they could not snake a new line from the street nor could they do so originating from the house to the street.
I anticipate this will mean excavation. Anyone have experience with this scenario? I am worried about the Bluestone sidewalk and what kind of track record the utility has with landmarked blocks and what rights I may have in dictating the scope and manner of excavation.

November 23, 2007

Rear retaining wall damage from tree

Our read yard has a lot line retaining wall which has been damaged by our neighbor's large tree root system. The wall is cement and over the years, the roots have pushed the cement wall into our yard (it's buckling).

There are a few issues here:

1) the neighbors claim that they have no responsibility for the damage

2) the cement wall is impinging onto our property and will need to be back-filled, the wall removed and re-poured with re-bar

3) they won't let anyone onto their property to inspect, even though the wall is on our side of the lot line

Who in the city can we turn to get resolution to both the lot line wall and how we can fix the damage without having to sue them.

November 17, 2007

what's this thing in wall of brownstone?

This was covered by a piece of wood and a patch of concrete on the interior brick wall of our brownstone apt. It appears to be made of a thin metal, with a curved interior, and slots leading above and below. It is nearly a foot high,
about a foot off the floor, and 3 feet from the fireplace.

Any idea what it was for? In case this matters, it's on the third floor of a Brooklyn brownstone built in the 1870's.

Thanks!

September 10, 2007

Wine Cellar

We own our Brownstone and are thinking about digging a small wine cellar in the basement area - maybe 6X6. Just enough room to get down with a ladder, bring a case up with a pulley. Anyone have any suggestions on who to use, dangers of doing this etc. Building is 65 feet long so I can't imagine if we do it off the walls there would be any foundational issues.
thanks for replying

May 12, 2007

more basement water than usual

Hello When we bought our house 4 years ago, we had the basement excavated. Because there was a lot of water we had 3 sump pumps installed. These pumps have been working fine, and if we do get water it is usually because one of the pumps is jammed or not working. For the past couple of months we have started getting some water all the time, even though all 3 pumps have been functioning properly. More importantly, the level of water in the 3 sump holes is consistently well below the level of the floor. Anyone have any ideas where this excess water might be coming from and how it is getting past the sump pump gauntlet? Thanks in advance!

May 7, 2007

Seeking lean, mean contractor

Just got plans approved for a big basement job in my Windsor Terrace frame house. That was "easy". Now for the hard part: finding a cost-conscious contractor. The job involves digging out 18 inches of dirt and rock, laying new floor slab, complete build out of space to become a nice, rentable "garden apartment." Recommendations are welcome. Email me! gatoflix@yahoo.com

May 3, 2007

Garden: HELP!

we have a huge garden (on a 131 foot lot), but too much of it is paved over. we're considering different things--brick, bluestone, staining the concrete of pulling it up--but unsure as to which is best, and what the comparative costs are. any advice?
and does anyone know of a good company who would do this kind of work for a reasonable fee?
thank you.

feel free to post to brownstoner, or email me directly at: susie.linfield@nyu.edu

Forum: Excavation