Panel Door Sources?

Not sure what you're asking here when you say 'you want to go for...'

do you want to replace your single glazed windows with double glazed windows? if so, that would be a good thing.

as far as ideas, if you want classic quality double glazed windows, i'd suggest you call LWP Windows.

thanks, eric.

www.handymaneric.com

Posted by: HandymanEric at December 1, 2008 10:58 PM in response to Double Glazing Windows

i have to second BrooklynButler's comment.

Good and Cheap doesn't exist, especially with windows.

eric.

www.handymaneric.com

Posted by: HandymanEric at December 1, 2008 10:57 PM in response to does anybody know where to find good but cheap windows?

Not sure what you're asking here when you say 'you want to go for...'

do you want to replace your single glazed windows with double glazed windows? if so, that would be a good thing.

as far as ideas, if you want classic quality double glazed windows, i'd suggest you call LWP Windows.

thanks, eric.

www.handymaneric.com

Posted by: HandymanEric at December 1, 2008 10:48 PM in response to Double Glazing Windows

I'd suggest storm windows that are called Triple Track. we bought ours from LWP Windows. Very good company. Don't forget to tip the installers a few bucks, they do a good job.

thx, handymaneric.com

Posted by: HandymanEric at October 23, 2008 10:39 AM in response to Drafty Windows

You can look at all the graphs you like, but the prices you cite have not had an effect on what materials cost at the local supplier. Copper gutters are still expensive.

AND despite a falling economy, people still need to pay their crews and themselves a living wage, and liability & commercial insurance, rent, the phone bill . These costs have not gone down.

Keep in mind, in construction as in most things, you get what you pay for. A low ball bid will come back to haunt you later; I spent most of last week fixing the mistakes of a cheap renovation.

thx, handymaneric.com

Posted by: HandymanEric at October 23, 2008 10:28 AM in response to Renovation & Construction Costs

Who gave you the conflicting opinions? what is the condition of the chimney? See if your local Better Business Bureau has a chimney repair company on its roster.

Your local hardware store can be a great source for local service people, ask them who services chimneys in your area, and get them to inspect the flue.

CO [ carbon monoxide ] is not a fun thing to have in your house, and if there is a question of needing a liner, i'd put one in.

AND put a CO detector in your bedroom and one other area of the house.

thx, handymaneric.com

Posted by: HandymanEric at October 23, 2008 10:20 AM in response to Chimney Liner, yes or no

for your roof extension, i would suggest a rubber roof instead of the foam. at some point, you are going to have to walk on that roof, and rubber is much better, i feel.

if you can, get a roofer to do a torch down rubber roof, not everyone will do this any more as FDNY has banned this for houses with wooden roof underlayment. FDNY cites the potential for fire.

cold process rubber roofs work well. my neighbor had his installed a few years back. no problems.

thx, hanymaneric.com

Posted by: HandymanEric at October 21, 2008 9:33 AM in response to Closed Cell Foam insulation & roofing

I agree, there is a larger problem here.

Steam rises up thru the pipes and then condenses back to liquid in the radiator. The radiator is pitched ( tilted ) so this water drains back down thru the pipe that connects to the radiator.

you can buy some shims at the hardware store and tilt the side of the radiator with the vent valve. it just has to tilt slightly.

there is something larger wrong here if you are getting that much water out the vent valve.

thx, handydmaneric.com

Posted by: HandymanEric at October 21, 2008 9:27 AM in response to Radiator Steam Valves - Recommendations?

hi there,

i do electrical work. you can contact me here

eric@handymaneric.com or 718 622 4963

Posted by: HandymanEric at October 9, 2008 11:08 PM in response to Low Voltage Wiring

i had the same thing happen, neighbor blew out the wall in my living room while renovating a bathroom. the plumber was cutting the vent stack.

to soundproof, you need to completely seal the wall so that no air can travel from his side of the wall to yours. cement, plaster, structolite will do this.

i repaired our wall and have not had a problem with noise from the other side of the wall.

sound does travel thru solids as well as air, not wanting to start a whole acoustics arguement here, sealing the wall worked for me.

thx, eric. handymaneric.com

Posted by: HandymanEric at October 9, 2008 7:45 PM in response to Hole in the wall + noise issues = need yr repair advice

asbestos abatement is not cheap. you have to do it right or you endanger yourselves and the workers doing the job.

$10k is not an unreasonable number. I had to remove asbestos from my basement, and it was around that same number.

thx, eric. www.handymaneric.com

Posted by: HandymanEric at October 9, 2008 5:19 PM in response to Asbestos Roof Tile Removal

when i bought it, i had chipmunks living in the kitchen ceiling of my house upstate. it did not smell great.

i tore out the sheetrock ceiling and painted the joists with Kilz Oil Based Stain Killer Primer ( not the latex kind, it wont work )

this sealed everything into the joists, and we no longer had the smell.

i realize you have a larger problem here, but this might help others as well.

thx, eric. www.handymaneric.com

Posted by: HandymanEric at October 9, 2008 5:16 PM in response to new Victorian stinks of cat pee and poo...maybe mold too??

I believe in keeping it simple:

If you call Keyspan - National Grid, they will guide you thru the process of converting from oil to gas,

they are the gas company, after all... (718)643-4050

eric. handymaneric.com

Posted by: HandymanEric at October 9, 2008 5:10 PM in response to rec's for oil to gas conversion (plumber?)

You can sand the floors and put down a new layer of Poly.

oil based poly lasts longer than water based, do not cheap out on the quality of the poly .

seal off the rooms that need to be sanded, the dust will get everywhere; and hire this job out, it is a thankless job to do.

thx, eric. www.handymaneric.com

Posted by: HandymanEric at October 8, 2008 12:03 AM in response to Restaining Floors

to clarify my answer and address " cmu "

"Why use concrete and then put in a drainpipe to our overloaded sewers?"

not all drains are attached to the sewer main, i try and drain water to the back of a bldg lot, ideally to an area used as a garden.

" If you let it drain naturally through sand, you won't need a pipe at all. "

each project is unique, if the bldg is already getting water in the basement from the backyard during heavy rains { not an unusual thing in Park Slope } you need to remedy that when installing a patio. There are some great comments above on how one can go about doing this.

Lucky you that your patio works and your basement is dry, enjoy your latte.

Posted by: HandymanEric at October 3, 2008 10:20 PM in response to Patio - Cement or not?

I would strongly suggest not drilling any holes in your building, be it brick or stone. Any hole you drill invites water and damage to the facade. If you have holes in the front of the building, i suggest getting them filled in.

The best thing i've found to hang decorations is a hot glue gun. its great for tacking up xmas lights, etc. it will not work for heavy wreaths, etc.

you can get some lightweight hanger hooks at the hardware store and hot glue them to the stone or brick.

if you want to hang something heavier you may be able to use strong fishing line ( avail at hardware store, near the picture hanging hardware ) that is attached to a window frame.

thx, eric. handymaneric.com

Posted by: HandymanEric at October 3, 2008 10:04 PM in response to How to affix holiday decorations to limestone?

i do work in Park Slope and nearby.

You can see some of my work here: www.handymaneric.com

718 622 5234

Posted by: HandymanEric at October 2, 2008 10:00 PM in response to Looking for a "Handyman"

Rust Oleum makes a product that makes rust inert. You apply it and then you can paint it.

I believe they may have a primer out now that has this product mixed in. Check their website.

thx, eric. handymaneric.com

Posted by: HandymanEric at October 2, 2008 12:34 PM in response to Cast Iron Radiator Finishing Advice

If you don't want to use concrete, the bluestone can be set on top of gravel- sand - traprock dust. you will have to dig down 8" to get a good base layer, and then the bluestone is set on top of this.

if drainage is an issue, you may be able to put in perforated pipe in the gravel layer to ties to a drain.

the plus of concrete is you can pitch the patio away from the building and into a drain.

thx, eric. handymaneric.com

Posted by: HandymanEric at October 2, 2008 12:30 PM in response to Patio - Cement or not?

Hollis Fitch at Prospect Tree has removed several trees for myself and my neighbors. He's a good guy. (718) 871-1354

Posted by: HandymanEric at September 23, 2008 7:07 PM in response to Tree Removal Recommendation

You can use rigid polystyrene foam insulation. Both Lowes and Home Depot sell it. it comes in 2 ft x 8 ft lengths.

Is the hatch made of wood or metal.

if its wood, you can screw the insulation to the inside of the hatch, use drywall screws with fender washers.

If its metal, you can use Liquid Nails.

You can also use spray foam to fill in cracks between the styrene and the hatch. AND you can put a foam insulating strip along the edge of the hatch, that will make a big difference.

Its the leaking around the hatch that will cause you to lose most of the heat, not the loss thru the wall of the hatch.

thx, HandymanEric

Posted by: HandymanEric at September 23, 2008 7:04 PM in response to Insulating roof hatch?

What on/off knob? For single pipe, high pressure steam?

Posted by: SenatorStreet at October 21, 2008 10:00 AM in response to Radiator Steam Valves - Recommendations?

There is no high pressure steam in a Brooklyn residence. That's the stuff in the street that Con Ed makes.

The problem isn't necessarily pressure related. There are also things like clogged return lines that cause this.

Posted by: Master Plvmber at October 21, 2008 10:35 AM in response to Radiator Steam Valves - Recommendations?

Thanks, all. Keep the comments coming, please.

I will try the shim idea. Failures happen at random, but all-too-brief intervals. Once a valve fails, it stays failed. So there is some triggering event.

Leaks have been drop by drop, but a whole day of drops can make quite a puddle. I've resorted to keeping a two-liter soda bottle with the top cut off wedged under one of them. The other is too close to the wall to get to. Third, so far, has held up.

(By on/off valve, I mean the valve that shuts off the radiator altogether. This, as I indicated, is not the problem.)

Posted by: jcoifman at October 21, 2008 11:29 AM in response to Radiator Steam Valves - Recommendations?

I don't get some landlords - do they want to burn money? To me getting the heating system operating efficiently and at exactly the right temperature is a no brainer for saving a good 25 - 30% on the fuel bill. I guess they're all pennywise and pound foolish.

Posted by: bohuma at October 21, 2008 12:53 PM in response to Radiator Steam Valves - Recommendations?

How big is the building that you live in ?
Can you talk to the landlord and help him troubleshoot the problem?

The problem is definitely not in the valve.
It is most likely due to a clogged / incorrectly "pitched" water return line.

Steam turns to water as it cools and is supposed to return to the boiler via a relatively thin pipe that usually branches off the main "riser" somewhere in the basement.
The "riser" is the vertical pipe that your radiator is connected to.
Find where that return pipe is.
Knock on it lightly with something metal (like a key) to check if there is water in it. There should not be any water in there once the steam pipes are no longer too hot to touch.
Find the place where the water is accumulating (the ringing noise from the knocking on the pipe will be very different where there is water in the line). Most likely there is either a clog somewhere between there and the boiler or the pipe is slanted (pitched) away from the boiler some place past there.

Posted by: Gosha at October 21, 2008 3:47 PM in response to Radiator Steam Valves - Recommendations?

Can you tell me who sandblasted the rad's?
I have a few that need to be done.
thank's
Rich.

Posted by: richierich at October 22, 2008 1:43 AM in response to Cast Iron Radiator Finishing Advice

Thanks, Gosha.

It's a 4-unit brownstone. I can actually get at the boiler myself if necessary, but would much prefer not to.

Posted by: jcoifman at October 22, 2008 10:45 AM in response to Radiator Steam Valves - Recommendations?

We've noticed this too. Our big-ticket trades (plumber, carpenter, electrician) are holding the line on costs. We have seen some flexibility in the smaller trades - we had a flooring quote by a small company come down even after we added scope to the job (assume they need the work) and are expecting the (one-man operation) finish carpenter and tiler to be more flexible too as the number of their jobs dries up.

Posted by: zeebee_in_bklyn at October 23, 2008 11:12 AM in response to Renovation & Construction Costs

Handyman Eric:

Thnaks for the info but I'm not talking about trying to get a low-ball bid or not paying a living wage. I'm taking about GC's that jacked up their prices during the boom times (my project would have cost 20% less a few years ago, inflation adjusted) and have yet to bring them back to earth. Maybe your experience buying copper gutters is the reason renovation prices haven't come down yet but a few more months of recession and falling commodities prices have to eventually show up in construction materials costs! Then the GC decision will be: do I pass along those savings to potential clients and get to work or do I sit on my butt like a $3MM-Ask Fixer-Upper Park Slope Townhouse waiting for the "market to turn".

Posted by: Mr Joist at October 23, 2008 11:33 AM in response to Renovation & Construction Costs

Contracting business is slow right now due to the poor economy.
The problem is the companies are charging the same if not higher prices for the same work because they have less clients.
Why should the client make up the deficit. These guys are going to lose more money because of their atittude and the bad economy.
In other words they have poor math and people skills.
Who knows how the work will turn out under those circumstances.

Pricing jobs is not their strong point.

Posted by: Ysabelle at October 23, 2008 12:38 PM in response to Renovation & Construction Costs