November 14, 2009

Thorocoat by the Gallon?

Does anyone know if and where Thorocoat is sold by the gallon? I have to do some touch-up work, and don't want to buy 5 gallons of the stuff. I need gray.

Thanks...

November 12, 2009

Water Damage/Mortgage Probs?

We have an accepted offer on a house that has water damage in the rear corner of he building that runs the length of the four floors. The brick on the rear wall of our house needs to be repointed and the funnel cap thingy on top of the drainspout is missing which is also contributing to the problem. But the neighbor's rear wall is even worse, badly in need of repointing, mortar completely missing. THe listing agent has heard from various structural engineers that the difference in temperature between the two walls is creating the condensation and that unless the neighbor's wall is repointed too, the problem will persist. For this reason we are in negotiation with the sellers to fix the problem before closing.

So here are my questions:
Has anyone dealt with forcing a repair on a party wall/neighbor's property. If the owner (who is an absentee landlord in this case) is unwilling to make the fix, is there any recourse?

2. How will this visible water damage effect our ability to get financing. My understanding from our loan officer is that the bank will probably see if as a health and safety issue and balk. Has anyone run into this problem before?

November 8, 2009

Water Leak

We have a water leak, we suspect on the unattached side of our brownstone, and have consulted an engineer who said we could probably define where it was coming from by watering the side of the building for an hour with a hose. If that showed no effect we could repeat the process on the back wall and lastly again by flooding the roof. However, we are older women for whom the prospect of hanging over the edge of the roof with a garden hose for the best part of an hour is not terribly appealing. Is there anyone who would do this for us, or does anyone know of another way to test for water. We know that inside the walls are saturated. We have recently had a parapet cap installed (6-7 months ago). We have also recently had the roof patched and it was pronounced in fine shape.

October 31, 2009

Crumbling Brick

I am a renter in a beautiful duplex brownstone in Carroll Gardens. We have exposed brick walls in the kitchen, with a non-working brick fireplace. The owner has chosen not to seal the interior brick. Although this adds charm to the kitchen, I worry about the health hazards of the crumbling brick for my family. I have a 2yr old and new born. I don't mind the clean-up, but does anyone know if there is any immediate health hazards for old crumbling brick (interior) walls?

October 28, 2009

Chip in Enamel Sink

The enamel on my kitchen sink is chipped about the size of a nickel. It's a bone color. I've found two different items to repair it and I was wondering if one would be better than the other.

The first one is a nick fix and you use it like nail polish. It says you can use it on cast iron, porcelain, gel-coated fiberglass, acrylic and more. $7

The other is paste. It states its professional quality repair for sinks, tubs, ceramic tile and major applicances. $30

I've never used either one and I was wondering if someone could give some input about these.

October 6, 2009

Bluestone

I want to do a small patio on my front yard. It's about 60 Square feet. Anybody have any Bluestone left over to give away or for sale.

Or you can recommend the reasonable price retail store.

Thank you.

September 22, 2009

Pointing Brickwork

I need someone to repoint the brickwork on my extension. Does anyone know a good, reasonably-priced mason for the job?

Steve

September 14, 2009

Cement Sidewalk

Some (but not all) of the squares of our cement sidewalk have cracked and need to be repaired/replaced. Any recommendations? Also, is there any reason I can't replace just the cracked squares, rather than the entire sidewalk? Thanks.

September 3, 2009

Brick facade

I intend to strip my ugly fake-stone facade. i know the brick underneath will be damaged and much repointing will be needed - does anyone know a mason experienced with historic brick? My house is 120 years old and it may be hard to match the brick.

August 21, 2009

Slate Supplier/Fabricator?

Anyone know a good an not too expensive place to get a piece of slate cut for the hearth space in front of a fireplace?

Thanks

Forum: Masonry