So my husband and I have consulted several people regarding the situation I am in with my gut renovation project in Park Slope. We have and are meeting several people. We set the precedence with our current contractor and gave him a warning. We shall see on what progresses. In the meantime, we are meeting with others to get various estimates just in case our problem is not solved and we need to hire someone else. I feel more empowered and hope this works out for the best. During our interview process with one contractor, we were asked to compensate him $600 for an estimate on the various phases of the project. Is he insane? I am furious that he would have the nerve to ask for money. Would you take him? Is this normal? Not to mention we researched him and two negative reviews popped, one of which said "His work is sloppy, but he has no problem taking your money for it." We would not have minded the two reviews, becuase in all reality if he has had a lot of work, then two is not so bad, but now with his request for compensation, really assures me that we do not want to work with him.

October 26, 2007

Renovation Nightmares

My husband and I bought a fixer-upper in Park Slope. We are basically gutting a small townhouse, adding an extension and adding a floor. We were very enthused about the project when we bought it, but have encountered lots of problems. The house was bought in April and now it is almost November and all that has been done is demolition.

Since this is our first fixer-upper experience. We have many questions from experienced renovators. One question is how many times does your contractor call you? Does he/she call you everytime there is a small or large problem? If so, what are the problems like typically? How often is the contractor at the site? How many projects are they working on? How involved is the contractor with the architect? Do they talk all the time? Is the architect available weekly? How many people worked at your site? How long did it take to complete a similar sized project?

We are at a loss of answers and feel helpless. If you have any experience with anything like this, please let us know. Your help and guidance is very appreciated!

October 15, 2007

Heating/AC systems

My husband and I are gutting a house and are deciding on what type of heating and ac we need. Does anyone have any input? Does anyone know about ventless?

September 24, 2007

Need Help - Soil Analysis

I need someone who can do a soil analysis for an addition. DOB needs it, TR -4 Form.

Author's Comments

My car was not in front of a driveway and it was found stripped in NJ. The cops said that this is occuring often and the thieves hire tow trucks to steal the cars. My car was paid in full.

Posted by: KarinaB at April 3, 2009 2:28 PM in response to Car Thefts on 15th Street

tow truck....woops

Posted by: KarinaB at April 3, 2009 1:27 PM in response to Car Thefts on 15th Street

tow truck

Posted by: KarinaB at April 3, 2009 1:27 PM in response to Car Thefts on 15th Street

I can't belive people's comments....really have you been following the elections or are you voting for Obama because of his ethnic background? Hillary cause she is a woman? I hope everyone has more substance and will make a decision that they feel comfortable with.

Posted by: KarinaB at January 8, 2008 10:17 AM in response to Which Way Are Readers Leaning in the Presidential Race?

Starbucks is a great company! They even give their employees who work part-time benefits.

Posted by: KarinaB at November 8, 2007 7:32 PM in response to Streetlevel: A Starbucks on Every Corner?

Oh and you can always negotiate the fee.

Posted by: KarinaB at November 5, 2007 12:41 PM in response to Any GOOD experiences with Corcoran?

An agent is good if you have limited time on your hands. Corcoran could not sell my apartment in Bay Ridge. They paid little attention to it and after the contract ran out, I spent sold it myself. I would not recommend them. I do recommend Tammy at Brenton Realty. She is the broker and a Park Sloper. Has been in the hood for year. Her number is 718-768-0100.

Posted by: KarinaB at November 5, 2007 12:40 PM in response to Any GOOD experiences with Corcoran?

We interviewed architect Richard Massa. His number is 212-367-8992(office) or 917-560-5263 (cell). He was referred to me by several people and we met with him and offered excellent suggestions. He can do all sorts of projects from Guts to Small projects. Very professional and knowledgeable. Unfortunately right now we are ties in with someone else, but if things dont work out we would use him.

Posted by: KarinaB at November 5, 2007 10:01 AM in response to Seeking Contractor Referral

I am looking for someone to treat termites in my house. Does anyone have a good recommendation?

Thanks!

Posted by: KarinaB at November 5, 2007 8:40 AM in response to Any GOOD experiences with Corcoran?

For one thing the project has just begun, so the fact that the contractor asked for money, assures me I do not want to use him. Others are giving me estimates for free, why should I pay one person?

Posted by: KarinaB at October 30, 2007 7:19 PM in response to Renovation Nightmares - Part II

No designs. He is not going to be chosen.

Posted by: KarinaB at October 30, 2007 4:17 PM in response to Renovation Nightmares - Part II

This is TRUE

Posted by: KarinaB at October 30, 2007 1:57 PM in response to Renovation Nightmares - Part II

It is basically yours, so long as the bank approves.

Posted by: KarinaB at October 30, 2007 11:54 AM in response to Contract Signed Means...

Good I am glad, she is going where she belongs. Manhattan is for the Movie Stars and Brooklyn is for the intellectuals.

Posted by: KarinaB at October 29, 2007 12:18 PM in response to Michelle Williams Wants Out of Brooklyn

In response to your questions and more clarity on the problem....our contractor and architect, to put it simply, hate eachother. They have both requesting the firing of eachother. The architect is not very available, but in his defense the contractor has never called him for anything and requires us to make any calls requiring teh architect. The engineer we paid, we have yet to see him. Recommended by our architect. We have paid him $10,000 to expedite plans, but have yet to meet him. The contractor has involved us in every decision he needs to make. For example, there is a concrete wall on the side of the yard and needs to be taken down in order to extend the home. The contractor has called us to figure out how to tear that down. Should he not know how to do this? Additionally, we have asked him to put a tarp on our roof, since there is no roof and he has refused to do this because he can not figure out how to put a tarp down and funnel the water out of it. The contractor is in various sites and does go by the house, but is working on a couple of projects at a time. His crew at this time seems to be split up on the project. My house is sitting there with no roof and no progress because of some neighbor issues that we are working through. We are paying over $600k and feel like we are overpaying since the contractor is rarely on the project and has us involved with little decisions. I agree we should be involved in the project, but we both have full-time jobs and thought the contractor would be the person managing the project. We expected to visit weekly.

Thank you all for your responses, please continue to respond. My email is Karinab311@yahoo.com

Posted by: KarinaB at October 26, 2007 11:40 AM in response to Renovation Nightmares

I would sell it. YOu can get beautiful fixtures for cheap at seagulllighting outlet.

Posted by: KarinaB at October 15, 2007 9:46 AM in response to Light Fixture: Trash or Treasure?

Looks like Lavendar

Posted by: KarinaB at September 24, 2007 5:51 PM in response to Paint Color on the Sweeney Building in Dumbo?

Responses to Author's Forum Comments

tow truck....woops

Posted by: KarinaB at April 3, 2009 1:27 PM in response to Car Thefts on 15th Street

was your car in front of a driveway?
or perhaps some cars are being towed b/c they are being re-possesed?

Posted by: gemini10 at April 3, 2009 1:57 PM in response to Car Thefts on 15th Street

My car was not in front of a driveway and it was found stripped in NJ. The cops said that this is occuring often and the thieves hire tow trucks to steal the cars. My car was paid in full.

Posted by: KarinaB at April 3, 2009 2:28 PM in response to Car Thefts on 15th Street

oh - that's horrible Karina - am sorry
wow - that's a really bad scam they have
i haven't seen them - but thanks for the tip and will be on the look out

Posted by: gemini10 at April 3, 2009 4:54 PM in response to Car Thefts on 15th Street

You can hire a tow truck to go steel a car for you? Wow let me know if there is someone I can hire to go rob a bank for me I sure could use the cash.

Posted by: hannible at April 4, 2009 9:38 PM in response to Car Thefts on 15th Street

The tow truck may have been working with the sheriff's office towing scofflaws.

Posted by: Chaka at April 4, 2009 10:05 PM in response to Car Thefts on 15th Street