Bonkers's Profile
Author's Posts
January 23, 2008
Verrazano Flooring?
Anyone used them? if so, what did you think? or, lookign for other recommendations for new floors/sanding and refinishing existing ones.
thanks a lot.
December 27, 2007
Replace the boiler/How much are your gas bills?
Hi, we recently purchased a two story brick townhouse. The boiler is 50 years old. It works fine heating the house and hot water, but we were somewhat stunned to burn through $700 of fuel in just 5 weeks. Granted this is the height of the heating season, but we keep the heat down near 60 degrees most of the time. A guy from the fuel company said that the boiler is just very inefficient because its so old. Here's the question: is this just how expensive it is to heat an old house during the winter, or should we convert to gas to save on our bills? That is, what are folks out there with comparably sized (18x50) attached brick houses spending on gas per month these days to heat their homes and provide hot water? Would love to know. Thanks a lot.
November 8, 2007
Brown water?
Ive been living in a 100 yr old brownstone for about a week. the water has been fine -- until tonight and its running very sligtly brown in both showers and bathtubs, even after running it for ten minutes. any idea what could cause this? this hasnt been the case before. the boiler is extremely old. no idea if that could be a possiblity, but i read somewhere that sediment in a water heater can end up in your pipes. any advice? thanks a lot
Keeping items in basement dry/palettes for sale?
I want to elevate some basement items in case our basement floods. Anyone know where I can get some palettes or other things to raise our furniture/boxes six inches or so?
cost to build stairs to backyard?
we are building a new set of stairs from our first floor down to the garden. its six steps, and we would like a small landing before you descend the stairs, perhaps 48 inches by 48 inches, maybe slightly bigger. we would like wood, but doesnt need to be beautiful. we are being quoted $2300. any idea if this is reasonable? any recommendations for carpenters whoo have done this work?
thanks a lot,
cost to install a door?
we need to replace a basement door. the door is terribly warped and frame is rotted out. we need a new steel door, not fancy, which i think can be got for under $300. a contractor is quoting us $1800 to buy the door and frame and install both. does this sound reasonable?
September 28, 2007
cellar hatches doors open in?
we have one of those Bilco-style double door hatches over the door to our basement in a limestone. However, we are building a set of stairs into our garden from the first floor that will make it impossible to open the hatch doors out. anyone have any suggestions on what to do? do they make doors that open in? going without a hatch doesnt seem like a good idea because theres no drain at the bottom of the stairs and the basement could flood when it rains. i've thought of a horizontal hatch, but that wouldn't entirely cover the doors and would still leave a gap between the door and hatch. anyone have any ideas on what to do?
many thanks.
Carpenter needed?
Hi, the rear basement door to a limestone we just bought, along with the door frame, is all rotted out and we need a new one. any recommendations for a carpenter and estimate of price for the work and a new steel door. do not need anything fancy, just something secure.
thanks a lot.
Author's Comments
There is really no reason to lock in a rate for most home equity lines of credit right now. Rates for mortgages have a relationship to the interest rates set by the Fed, but are not strictly pegged to them.
Most home equity lines, however (as opposed to mortgages) generally are directly pegged to the prime rate, which in turn is determined by the fed funds rate. So if the funds rate gets cut by the fed by half a point (as they were last week) your home equity lines' rate probably went down a half a point as well, or is about to.
Obviously, you should check the terms of your line of credit, but in general, interest rates are only going to go down or stay flat in the nearterm. They will not go up anytime soon. And when they do, you will have ample notice.
Mortgage rates could conceivably go up, because they have a life of their own, but if youve got a variable rate home equity line based on the prime rate, theres no reason to lock it in now as it is likely strictly pegged to the prime rate.
Posted by: Bonkers at September 25, 2007 3:27 PM in response to Opinions/info on whether fed rate cuts bring down mortgage rates?
vincent devito, vadco, 516-369-7189
he's a bit of a pain, as he's real a perfectionist/zealot, but thats basically what you want with work like this.
Posted by: Bonkers at September 26, 2007 4:19 PM in response to Exterior lead paint removal
gotcha, if thats all tahts needed, how much would just painting be?
Posted by: Bonkers at September 27, 2007 11:44 AM in response to plaster/paint estimate
the stairs will go over the hatch. the problems is that there isnt enough height for the hatch doors to open without banging into the stairs, which will be above them. does that make sense? if there was no hatch at all, you could just walk down the basement stairs under the wooden staircase that will be built above. but the problem with that is that water might get in.
Posted by: Bonkers at October 1, 2007 11:54 AM in response to cellar hatches doors open in?
Any chance I can talk to you about him?
Posted by: Bonkers at October 1, 2007 2:34 PM in response to Kenny's Ironworks
Great, it's houserich72 at gmail.com
Posted by: Bonkers at October 1, 2007 3:41 PM in response to Kenny's Ironworks
I have 718-855-6998
Posted by: Bonkers at October 3, 2007 1:13 PM in response to Kenny's Ironworks
That's great. Thanks a lot. Any particular brand recommendations would be very welcome.
Posted by: Bonkers at December 19, 2007 2:32 PM in response to Wireless doorbells?
Try Laurence Molloy. He's a bit of a perfectionist, but he knows what he's doing.
http://users.rcn.com/leadsafe/expert.html
Posted by: Bonkers at December 27, 2007 12:27 PM in response to Mold Inspection
Responses to Author's Forum Comments
Children play in the dirt which contains lead paint from peeling paint. The favorite activity for small children is to put their feet and hands in their mouths.
Posted by: dt at September 27, 2007 9:12 PM in response to Exterior lead paint removal
right, hence the question, do they eat paint? which the answer was apparently "yes".
Posted by: guest at September 27, 2007 10:36 PM in response to Exterior lead paint removal
sure, if there is an email address you'd like me to use, I'll email you my cell number.
Posted by: guest at October 1, 2007 3:09 PM in response to Kenny's Ironworks
Great, it's houserich72 at gmail.com
Posted by: Bonkers at October 1, 2007 3:41 PM in response to Kenny's Ironworks
try sliding doors.
Posted by: guest at October 1, 2007 4:03 PM in response to cellar hatches doors open in?
Another question, does anyone have his contact info?
Posted by: guest at October 3, 2007 11:53 AM in response to Kenny's Ironworks
I have 718-855-6998
Posted by: Bonkers at October 3, 2007 1:13 PM in response to Kenny's Ironworks
You can google wireless doorbells and get a few hits. I did that last year when I needed a wireless bell until I could find someone who would rewire the old bell for me (and I haven't found anyone willing to do it yet). There aren't that many different manufacturers around, so it shouldn't be difficult to find a unit online. Otherwise, Home Depot or Lowe's would be a good bet as previous posters suggested.
Posted by: guest at December 19, 2007 2:44 PM in response to Wireless doorbells?
i bought a wireless doorbell at Home Depot and it was terrible. The signal didn't travel more than 10 feet
Posted by: guest at December 19, 2007 3:53 PM in response to Wireless doorbells?
Check amazon too:
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw/105-3090257-3682821?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=wireless%20doorbell
Posted by: guest at December 19, 2007 4:12 PM in response to Wireless doorbells?
I'm a little confused: why does it sound high when the two other figures here are right in the same range? (one said 2.5 and another said 3k.)
Posted by: Bonkers at September 6, 2007 2:13 PM in response to How much should stairs cost?