UWS2's Profile

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Author's Posts

October 13, 2009

Rubber Tiles on Roof

I am considering laying rubber DuraTiles on our roof and wanted to hear if anyone had experience with the product or any tips for its use.

Thanks.

September 21, 2009

Roofer in Manhattan

Any recommendations for roofers to fix a leaking bstone flat roof on the Upper West Side?

Thanks.

June 10, 2009

Room Air Filter for Allergies

Allergist suggests a hepa air filter for kid's room, but I am dubious. Are in-room air filters worthless if the window is open? If the door of the room is open to the rest of the house (it's a little kid's room - we never close it)? We already have cental a/c with its own filter, does a separate room air filter add anything when the a/c is on?

Thanks.

June 7, 2009

name that bug!

I saw this bug in my backyard and wanted to make sure it is not the longhorned beetle that the City has raised alerts about. Anyone know what bug this is?

thanks.

May 27, 2009

termites on terrace

Just discovered loads of termites infesting the wood deck on the terrace on top of our rear extension. The deck is a wreck and needs to come down anyway. Would appreciate advice on removing the deck without exposing the interior to the termites. All debris has to go through the house.

Also, would appreciate learned recommendations of an exterminator who can inspect for any damage inside the house.

Thanks very much.

April 1, 2009

replacing skylight

We want to replace our 3 skylights when we fix up our roof. Are there any recommendations for energy-efficient skylights that do not lose enormous amounts of heat in the winter?
What we have now are the skylights shaped like little sheds with the glass panes that have chicken wire inside. Maintaining security is also a concern.

Thanks.

March 11, 2009

cold air through dryer vent

We get a lot of cold air coming in through our dryer vent. The dryer is located in our cellar, and it vents to the outside through a flexible metallic tube.
Is there a way to properly vent the dryer while also keeping out the cold?

Thanks.

March 5, 2009

Diagnosing parapet problem?

I noticed some deterioration on our parapet wall, and am trying to figure out what we need to do to fix it. In some spots, the brick face seems to have popped off.

My guess is that some water is getting into the brick around the coping stones at the top of the parapet wall. I do not see any evidence of water leakage on the interior. Any advice on how to deal with this would be much appreciated.

Thanks.

Author's Comments

Sounds to me like the biggest issue is the size of the openings on the vents (which is probably what was meant by "playing with the vents" - not cleaning them. If you have vents with smaller openings on the lower floors and bigger openings on higher floors (or just farther from the boiler), that should serve to even out the heat. The steam is essentially pulled toward the bigger escape openings. The less expensive vents out there have a fixed size opening, but there are some variable sized opening vents on the market. If you get the variable ones, you can play around with how big the openings are until you get the optimal balance.

Good luck.

Posted by: UWS2 at October 21, 2009 1:02 PM in response to Steam Heat on Top Floor

Sound advice to isolate the leak first. As a first step, try taping plastic sheeting over the tile walls in the tub area. If the leaking continues, the problem lies elsewhere (maybe inside the walls, e.g. from a pipe crack). If the leaking stops, then do the sheeting on one wall at a time to find the source.

Good luck.

Posted by: UWS2 at June 15, 2009 5:38 PM in response to Water Leak

StuyIvy - concerning the BirdWire - I don't know the cost - it was part of a bigger job and that was 10 years ago, but the BirdWire is holding strong and still doing its job. We did not use it on the window sills, but along the various ledges of the fascade. The pigeons don't seem to know the window sills are an option.

For anyone who does go with the BirdWire, one tip is to paint the metal posts the same color as the stone, then they are practically invisible (otherwise, they are a silver metal, but still much less visible than spikes).

Posted by: UWS2 at April 22, 2009 1:48 PM in response to Pigeons!

There is an alternative to the spikes called BirdWire. It involves putting little posts into ledges of your fascade and stringing nylon wire with little springs at the end. The birds cannot gain a foothold and don't sit there. I have it on my place and it works very well. The system is also a lot less visible than the spikes.

Posted by: UWS2 at April 21, 2009 5:27 PM in response to Pigeons!

The Brass Light Gallery has some nice exterior fixtures that work well on brownstones - assuming you are looking for new fixtures rather than antique ones. Here's a link:
http://www.brasslight.com/EX_5707_A13_p/ex-5707-a13.htm

Posted by: UWS2 at April 1, 2009 5:47 PM in response to does anyone know

Thanks everyone for the thoughtful and helpful comments. The wooden terrace structure on the extension roof is a wreck, so we will be looking to locate and eliminate the leakage when we get that re-done.

Anyone have suggestions of contractors who can fix the brick, do the roofing and build a new deck?

Thanks again.

Posted by: UWS2 at March 6, 2009 1:41 PM in response to Diagnosing parapet problem?

Agree about the BirdWire product - much more attractive than the spikes. You can paint the posts to match your stone and it is barely noticeable. Here is one links showing the product:http://www.birdbusters.com/bird_control_wire.html

BTW: I have been told that poisoning pigeons is illegal, even if rats do not get the same protection.

Posted by: UWS2 at March 5, 2009 11:19 AM in response to Pigeons taking over

Responses to Author's Forum Comments

We have similar problems on our back brick wall with a Thorocoat cover. We looked into repointing the whole thing, which would be super-expensive, or we could reapply another coat of Thorocoat, which seems stupid since, as other said above, its temporary and bad for the brick/moisture.

Anyway, we just gave up, thought we could live with it for a few years and then re-approach the problem.

Posted by: 146steven at March 6, 2009 4:43 PM in response to Diagnosing parapet problem?

Try Remains, I found them in Chelsea. They had very nice exterior lights. I would go to the actual store to see these live but here's the link to their website.

http://www.remains.com/Antique_Lighting_Collection-Exterior_Lighting-view_all.aspx

Remains
130 W. 28th St
(tween 6th & 7th Ave)

Posted by: allans at April 1, 2009 8:32 PM in response to does anyone know

My parents have been doing some remodeling recently and have found a ton of good vintage fixtures, including outdoor lights, at Olde Good Things in Chelsea, 124 West 24th between 6th and 7th. Pretty close to the place that allans suggested above; maybe worth doing some comparison shopping.

Posted by: hermanjoshua at April 2, 2009 4:35 PM in response to does anyone know

I've used this stuff with good results.http://www.nixalite.com/4thebirdsgel.aspx

Posted by: edifice rex at April 21, 2009 6:15 PM in response to Pigeons!

Peanuts soaked in really cheap bourbon spread work fairly well on a seasonal basis.

Posted by: FenFen at April 21, 2009 7:12 PM in response to Pigeons!

UWS2 - How much does the BirdWire cost per window?

Posted by: StuyIvy at April 22, 2009 11:24 AM in response to Pigeons!

In 2003 when we were having horrible pigeon problems, all I did was go to the local home depot, bought some wire mesh, cut it and then rolled it up and conformed it to the shape of the space above my stoop, and stuck it in there.

My neighbors did the same thing. No more pigeon problems.

Ok, not super attractive, but then again, no unattractive pigeon poop all over our stoop either!

Posted by: sunspot19 at April 22, 2009 12:42 PM in response to Pigeons!

Posted by: UWS2 at April 22, 2009 1:48 PM in response to Pigeons!

Warning: pigeon poop is very toxic, esp. the dried particulate matter (you can get a fungal infection of the lung that is bad-assed). If you have any contact with clean-up, you or your workers should wear respirator-type masks and use all the same precautions you would for lead abatement.

Posted by: Brenda from Flatbush at April 23, 2009 1:32 PM in response to Pigeons!

The bell tile parapet cap should be thought of as aesthetic only. It cannot hope to keep moisture out of the wall. Capillary action is just one way that moisture can get past the tiles. What matters is how the roofing membrane and metal cap flashing were installed, what has been done to them since, and how they have held up over time. A roofer needs to remove a tile here and there and inspect to answer these questions. Once the parapet has been properly waterproofed, the bell tiles can be replaced and remortared, and no fasteners that will penetrate the waterproofing should be used to do this.

This image caught my eye because of the bell tiles. I'm currently working on a new roof for an old building that has these same tiles on the parapet (and has the same moisture problems that UWS has), and I need to find a source to replace the ones that are broken. UWS, I'd be very grateful if you would be willing to go up and look for a manufacturer's stamp on your tiles. Chances are slim that their profile is exactly the same as the ones I need, but maybe the manufacturer of yours can guide me to others.

Posted by: dbd at May 31, 2009 10:08 AM in response to Diagnosing parapet problem?