A house in Lefferts Manor made the short list for the next project. They decided against it because the owners wanted to use their own contractor and TOH wanted this to be a green renovation. I don't think they were looking for a gut rehab for this project.

Posted by: dt at October 28, 2008 12:14 PM in response to Which One is the TOH Brooklyn Site?

I might be intersted. Please post contact info.

Posted by: dt at October 26, 2008 10:28 AM in response to Free, 15-foot beautiful red maple tree.

I'm still holding off with our furnace. My reasoning is that I will get used to the cold and won't be so tempted to crank it when it gets really cold. Wish me luck!!!

Posted by: dt at October 23, 2008 8:36 PM in response to Streetlevel: Adjusting for the Cold Weather

I really like this house. I like the dark woodwork on the parlor floor. How do people feel about painting the woodwork in bedrooms? My own house has unpainted woodwork in my bedroom and I'd like to paint it. My other half says "no way". What are other people's feelings about this?

Posted by: dt at October 20, 2008 6:31 PM in response to House of the Day: 617 8th Avenue

I'm getting $150.00 gas bills, too. In the dead of winter my gas bill used to be $250.00 a month. What the heck is up with National grid?

Posted by: dt at October 6, 2008 5:56 PM in response to Utility Bill Comparison

shillstoner,There is a house in need of a total gut renovation asking in the 800's. Are you actually calling that a comparable to this?

Posted by: dt at October 1, 2008 8:17 AM in response to House of the Day: 208 Midwood Street

I never get bonuses, but somehow I managed to buy a house. If I remember correctly, this house has a lovely finished english basement. I think it was on the house tour. The woodwork is oak in these houses. I think it doesn't transtate well in the photos. A similar house on the same block sold a couple of months ago for 1,060.000, I think. That house had painted woodwork and a nice kitchen, but not as sleek as this one. The houses of this size in LM only go for under 1mil if they need some renovation, bonuses or not.

Posted by: dt at September 30, 2008 4:24 PM in response to House of the Day: 208 Midwood Street

I think the Maple Street house still has some detail; it's just hidden behind a lot of stuff. Once it's empty it will look better. It still needs updating, so for inspiration look at 208 Midwood, which has been renovated with great taste. These two houses are basically the same, one just has a modern reno (and a higher price tag as a result).

Posted by: dt at September 26, 2008 2:05 PM in response to Open House Picks

Yes, it means you are getting your tree. They'll put better dirt in the hole first.

Posted by: dt at September 23, 2008 8:39 PM in response to NYC Parks Dept tree planting season is here!

218 Midwood Street is a three story house. The city has it listed as 3,342 square feet. The two story houses are 1,800 square feet. The city does not include the square footage of english basements when calculating. They do, however, list the garden level square footage. This house has a side entrance that is one step down from the street, as are all garden level entrances. If you look behind the shrubs in front, you will find full height windows, not the small windows like the two story house next door. Many houses in the nabe with doctor's offices on the bottom floor have the kitchens and dining rooms on the parlor level.

Posted by: dt at September 16, 2008 8:26 PM in response to Open House Picks: Six Months Later

Shillstoner, the house you are referring to is not on Rutland Road. It is on the corner of Midwood. It is a three story house, not a two story. The garden level, which is the doctor's office, is completely unrenovated. The top floor has also not been renovated. This means the buyer would have to do the upstairs bath, possibly new wiring and plumbing, and the entire garden level. This is why the house was over priced, and this is why the house did not sell. This has nothing to do with the real estate market in PLG, or elsewhere. Please check your facts before making sweeping comments.

Posted by: dt at September 15, 2008 7:10 PM in response to Open House Picks: Six Months Later

Shillstoner, What two story houses are you talking about? I have no clue. I know of no 2 story house that has been on the market on Rutland. My point about the two story on Midwood is that a house in need of renovation closed for close to a million in LM, in this market. You made the statement that housing prices in LM are dropping because 196 Midwood sold for 90K below ask. I'm showing you another house that sold for ask, and a good price- in the same market, on the same street. If there was a two story house on Lincoln that sold for 1.15 a year ago, super. But that one house (if it really is a two story), doesn't set the entire market for the area. I personally thought 196 was asking too much for a two story. The price it sold for was solid, not a sign of decline.

Posted by: dt at September 14, 2008 12:27 AM in response to Open House Picks: Six Months Later

Actually Shillstoner, the house on Lincoln that sold for 1.15 was a three story house, I believe. And you haven't yet commented on the other house on Midwood that needs new baths and a kitchen that sold this summer for 975K. No hostility here, just facts.

Posted by: dt at September 13, 2008 12:13 PM in response to Open House Picks: Six Months Later

Shillstoner, You must know nothing. The PLG house is a two story home that sold for over a million!!! This is at, or above, a record for two story houses in the Manor. What difference does it make that the seller tried to get even more???

Posted by: dt at September 12, 2008 9:20 PM in response to Open House Picks: Six Months Later

Two smaller houses on Midwood Street (two story houses) sold recently for good prices. A renovated house sold for about 1.1 at the end of August, and a house in need of new kitchen and baths sold for 975K, I believe, sometime in August. This house is much larger, so I think it will do fine.

Posted by: dt at September 8, 2008 7:57 PM in response to House of the Day: 84 Rutland Road

We just brought our own banister back to its original state. After stripping we applied 3 coats of tung oil, then wax (butcher's wax) to protect the banister. It looks great!

Posted by: dt at September 6, 2008 11:46 PM in response to stair rail

There is no Steven Kessler at Andrews Building Corp. A Property Manager by the name of Christopher Howe is very good. 212 529-5688 X290.

Posted by: dt at August 12, 2008 9:26 PM in response to Management Companies

There is no Steven Kessler at Andrews Building Corp. A Property Manager by the name of Christopher Howe is very good. 212 529-5688 X290.

Posted by: dt at August 12, 2008 9:26 PM in response to Management Companies

Try Andrews Building Corp. 212 529-5688.

Posted by: dt at August 12, 2008 5:21 PM in response to Management Companies

I often walk around the Manor at night. It feels very residential, and quite safe. Somehow knowing who lives in the houses, and knowing that the houses are occupied by their owners, makes me feel safer than I do in areas with lots of tenants.

Posted by: dt at July 21, 2008 6:41 PM in response to what's the real deal on crime in Lefferts Manor?

I'd love to see this again when the vines have grown up and over the arbor.
Btw, walking through PLG today with everything in bloom was heavenly. The Manor is so peaceful.

Posted by: dt at May 7, 2008 9:42 PM in response to Garden of the Day: PLG Make-Over

Please give us a final tour. We need to be weaned off the house.

Posted by: dt at February 26, 2008 2:09 PM in response to Lil' back bedroom all grown up

It looks awesome!!!!

Posted by: dt at February 10, 2008 12:41 PM in response to Sometimes I give in...

OK, but the smell occurs when the washer and dryer are NOT in use. In fact, I think it may well not happen when the washer is on.

Posted by: dt at February 6, 2008 8:36 PM in response to sewer smell

Sarah Jefferys received her degree in architecture from the University of Penn. Just google her.

Posted by: dt at January 28, 2008 10:10 PM in response to Have you worked with this architect? Thoughts?

Love those lights over the island! Where are they from?

Posted by: dt at January 28, 2008 6:28 PM in response to Happy Accidents and Other Progress

By "it looks dull" I mean mine, not yours!

Posted by: dt at January 21, 2008 10:50 AM in response to I say po-ta-to, You say po-tat-o

I'm with cream, but my own are white. Did you use anything over the stain on the post and bannister? We just finished stripping and staining ours. It looks dull.

Posted by: dt at January 21, 2008 10:49 AM in response to I say po-ta-to, You say po-tat-o

We have the regular sized Duet washer and dryer. I'm not loving them. The washer twists clothes up and keeps developing mildew on the rubber seal. I also don't like not being able to easily add to a load that is already started.

Posted by: dt at January 2, 2008 7:39 PM in response to Whirlpool Duet Sport Washer/Dryer

I'm with you HomeSweetStuy!

Posted by: dt at December 15, 2007 2:34 PM in response to Reality Check

We moved to Lefferts from PS, as well. We are sooo happy to be in our own home instead of a coop. Half the kids in my child's grade have moved over here, so we do not feel isolated in any way. It's a great neighborhoody type place. I shop at Fairway, as does everybody I know in Park Slope.

Posted by: dt at November 9, 2007 8:57 AM in response to House of the Day: 49 Rutland Road

I use that corner of Rutland every evening as I come home. I've never been impressed by any additional noise there. The whole block seems pretty quiet to me. Even Flatbush isn't very noisy.

Posted by: dt at November 8, 2007 7:41 PM in response to House of the Day: 49 Rutland Road

Very pretty house. It's in the Manor, which is landmarked. The four story around the corner at 52 Midwood sold for 1.625 this past summer, so I'd expect this to do well. The nabe just got its first sushi place, so look out!

Posted by: dt at November 8, 2007 1:53 PM in response to House of the Day: 49 Rutland Road

Super nice cabinets. Are they expensive? BTW, I love soapstone.

Posted by: dt at October 5, 2007 6:59 PM in response to The kitchen continued...

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

5:26, Don't be an ass. Children get lead poisoning from many ways other than eating paint chips. The poster is aware of this, and is looking for a good company to help rid their home of harmful lead.

Posted by: dt at September 26, 2007 8:36 PM in response to Exterior lead paint removal

All real estate is local. The number of coops in NYC (which will not allow purchasers without sufficient resources to buy) will keep the mortgage crisis from hitting here as hard as elsewhere. For once I appreciate those coop boards.

Posted by: dt at September 25, 2007 6:59 PM in response to This Crazy Real Estate Market

People who do this cheaply are risking their building's structural integrity, not to mention the neighbor's house. It is plain dumb to do it without an engineer and permit.

Posted by: dt at September 24, 2007 4:55 PM in response to Increasing ceiling height by digging down?

Depending on what kind of car your mother was driving they may have thought SHE was the newcomer who is taking over the neighborhood.

Posted by: dt at September 23, 2007 1:51 PM in response to Gentrification means ???

What you don't seem to understand is that plumbing, ac, electric and heating are not visual elements. When we were looking for a house we turned down all the houses that were stripped of their detail, knowing that we could redo plumbing etc... , but not so easily replace detail. The value in these houses IS IN THE DETAILS.

Posted by: dt at September 23, 2007 10:59 AM in response to Selling brownstone detail pieces

I have spent the last couple of years walking my pup around this neighborhood at all hours of the day and night. Somehow I've missed out on any safety problems. Not even a snide or threatening remark. Maybe as a white female I look too tough to bother, but I doubt it (though my work heels are quite menacing).

Posted by: dt at September 18, 2007 6:44 PM in response to House of the Day: 190 Lincoln Road

It makes no sense to give an easement to protect the facade of a house that has a facade which is already protected. I wouldn't trust this to hold up, regardless of what out friend "guest" says.

Posted by: dt at September 7, 2007 6:54 PM in response to Facade Easements: Worth the Risk of Audit?

I have been driving through Crown Heights about twice a week for several months now for work, and have been awe struck by the beauty of this nabe. I had no idea such lovely houses with nice lawns were there. One thing that holds true with NYC real estate: areas with great housing stock always come back, and once they start coming back they don't stop. This area is already coming into its own again, and with good reason. This area is stunning.

Buy a house that you can afford, and you should have no fear of falling prices. If these prices fall, so will all others.

Posted by: dt at August 20, 2007 6:59 PM in response to House of the Day: 1087 Prospect Place

I insisted on an American Standard toilet for one of our bathrooms, and my husband insisted on an Eljer for our other bathroom. Height and elongated bowl came with the AS. Guess which toilet I ended up loving? The Eljer.

Posted by: dt at August 18, 2007 5:18 PM in response to Battle of the Bowls

I love this series! I'm waiting for the garden level kitchen series to come next! This is the stuff that makes this blog golden. Don't listen to the people with short attention spans above.

Posted by: dt at August 13, 2007 5:58 PM in response to Parlor Floor Kitchen #9: White-and-Black in Bed Stuy

Hi,
what is a mod-con boiler and indirect water heater?
thanks

Posted by: brooklynjennie at October 7, 2008 10:17 AM in response to Utility Bill Comparison

BJennie, a modulating condensing boiler is the most efficient boiler out there. Modulating means instead of just firing on and off it can 'modulate' the flame from high to low as needed. Indirect water heater, instead of firing via gas or electric, works with the boiler. Basically it acts as a storage tank only, and the boiler works with it to provide hot water as needed.

I'm sure these are incomplete explanations, but now you have the correct terminology so Google is your friend!

Posted by: denton at October 7, 2008 5:34 PM in response to Utility Bill Comparison

How much did your boiler cost, Denton?

I think a square footage comparison chart would be great, but there are so many variables that it might not be the best way to get at the information. Plus, you also get anecdotes about how people save water.

After reading the link above to water/sewer... it sounds like we are doing really well on the water front. This makes me feel good.

I blame my brand new toto 1.28/gal toilet. The thing could flush a brick!

Posted by: vanburenproud at October 7, 2008 8:23 PM in response to Utility Bill Comparison

I'm having all kinds of problems with National Grid since I moved in January. Crazy bills when no actual meter reading had taken place in years, bills fluctuating wildly from month to month although actual use did not change, outside meter reading double the inside meters, bizarre accounting when National Grid attempted to adjust the bills. I cannot believe the company can legally bill people if they are not doing meter readings. It boggles my mind. This is in Brooklyn.

Posted by: mopar at October 8, 2008 5:40 PM in response to Utility Bill Comparison

Our contact information is viols64466@mypacks.net

Posted by: apollo52873 at October 27, 2008 12:49 PM in response to Free, 15-foot beautiful red maple tree.

I would definitely be interested if it is still available. Could you please e-mail me at tjak1980@yahoo.com?

Thank you.

Posted by: tjak1980 at October 27, 2008 4:16 PM in response to Free, 15-foot beautiful red maple tree.

Tjak1980@yahoo.com,

Yes, the tree is still available. Please email me at viols64466@mypacks.net for further information, questions, etc.

Posted by: apollo52873 at October 28, 2008 11:13 AM in response to Free, 15-foot beautiful red maple tree.