albemarle's Profile
- 1991
- 2008
- Brooklyn
- Victorian Flatbush
- House
- Female
Author's Posts
November 18, 2009
Beneath the Surface
Picking flaky skin off day-old sunburns is irresistible to me. Peeling off the damaged dermal layers brings an odd satisfaction. As the contractor walk-throughs continue and bids are calculated there is some excavating we can't help but do on our own.
Above is our vestibule floor. Could I have lived with this for awhile? Probably, but I couldn't help wondering if the linoleum masked something more interesting. . .
November 10, 2009
All Systems, Go — Away?
A photographer once shared this with me: "You know you're one of those people who photograph better than they look in person."
Ummmm. . .thanks?!
But this is a bit how I feel about our Albemarle house. The high ceilings, woodwork, copious natural light and expansive rooms tease the eye away from what's roiling below the surface -- outdated (and dangerous) electrics, lead and brass plumbing, walls with little to no insulation, and a terribly inefficient heating system groaning in the basement. Here's a taste of what we have now:
Electric fuse boxes courtesy of Federal Pacific:
One contractor walking through remarked, "Oh yes, the old Federal Pacific firestarters." -- and that was before he saw this:
concealed behind this...
November 6, 2009
Welcome to The Albemarle Reno Blog
My husband and I, together with our intrepid architect, have been plotting and planning since we closed on this house on Albemarle Road in Prospect Park South about three weeks ago. We are first-time home-buyers who have rented brownstone apartments in Carroll Gardens and Boerum Hill since 1992. The renovation we have in mind is extensive. It includes restoring the kitchen to its rightful place (it was shunned to a back hallway in 1959 to make room for the owner-dermatologist's suite of exam rooms). Also in that era, the ornate, oval dining room slummed as a waiting room, while the walls, baseboards and molding throughout the house served as track for stapling miles of alarm system, intercom, phone and, yes, electrical wires. If you click through below, you can get a good sense of the beautiful house we are getting--but also the range of work that lies ahead. We're looking forward to documenting the project as well as benefiting from the input of the Brownstoner community as we go along.
Author's Comments
Wow, David -- no, we had no idea about the Roosevelt visit!-- thank you so much for getting in touch -- I know we have questions, as does our architect! I'll definitely be in touch. We've met many neighbors who were patients of your grandfather and had such wonderful memories of him and of visits to see him. Thanks again.
Posted by: albemarle at November 22, 2009 10:51 PM in response to Beneath the Surface
What an amazing accomplishment, southslope -- congrats!
Posted by: albemarle at November 19, 2009 10:00 PM in response to Development Watch: Turnaround at 424 Waverly Avenue
That second pic on the google image page looks on the money, Zarathustra. The tiles we took up were very pliable without dust or cracking. As I write, professional asbestos abatement is happening in the house to prep for demolition and renovation. We are staying well the hell out of the way for that, mos’ def.
Glad folks are as excited by the pennies as we are. Thanks for the repro resource, mopar, and HDL that protection advice is well taken. We’ll have the contractor refurbish the tile after the major reno is complete and cover ‘em in the meantime. It'll be nice to re-discover them again in a few months.
Posted by: albemarle at November 18, 2009 1:30 PM in response to Beneath the Surface
Thanks for the tile source and reassurance, BHS. I like the look of the old tiles too, the flat, matte finish of them -- and will definitely opt for sealing them.
Posted by: albemarle at November 13, 2009 10:41 AM in response to All Systems, Go — Away?
An awful lot of P.F. Changs have been planting their flags in cities I've been to lately - Boston, Seattle, perhaps downtown Brooklyn is next?
Posted by: albemarle at November 11, 2009 9:58 PM in response to 'Nationally Known' Restaurants May Land in 345 Adams
Oh, P, thanks so much for the reno to reno reassurance! lalaland, if you don't mind weighing in, what did you do or not do about your systems? We had happy news yesterday that our boiler and radiators are actually working really well, so we'll stick with the steam for now and likely add radiators that use water for the kitchen, which is a from scratch operation.
Also, I'd love to get my eyeballs into see that Albemarle/Marlborough home, too!
Posted by: albemarle at November 11, 2009 10:50 AM in response to All Systems, Go — Away?
Thank you, Schultz, glad you’re enjoying it. BHS -- encouraging to read that your bathroom and plumbing story has a happy ending. I’d be interested in your source for those repro hex tiles too. I love those very flat matte finish ones from back in the day.
Zarathustra, I agree that a rewire is what we need, and that’s what we’re getting, as nk emphasizes, it’s a real priority -- and thanks too for your input on the plumbing --replacing the brass is still something we’re going back and forth on.
You make very interesting points, Yunk, though I will point out that if our purchase was truly emotionally driven, we would have leapt in 2007 at 2.595 mil instead of biding our time until 2009 at 1.6. We are lucky to have the input of professionals who are interested in updating and restoring, a tricky and expensive proposition, as you note.
Posted by: albemarle at November 10, 2009 10:40 PM in response to All Systems, Go — Away?
DIB, I think that's just a loose piece of wood we see at the back of the photo -- this section of floor is opened up so it's a good place to see a bit of plumbing.
Posted by: albemarle at November 10, 2009 2:00 PM in response to All Systems, Go — Away?
Tivo is set! Very exciting for the Flea and for Brooklyn, but something tells me we'll see a spike in huarache wait times.
Posted by: albemarle at November 10, 2009 9:10 AM in response to Martha Show Airs Today
Thanks for the great welcome, all. One of the first properties we saw in the nabe was 1423 Albemarle. I found the layout confusing and the work left to be done completely overwhelming. I think because so much had been started and halted, it was hard to see past the clutter to the potential that clearly exists in that house.
We are planning to file all permits and do all inspections. We are changing the C of O back to a single family residence from it’s current residential/commercial status. Yes, mt_molehill, this will add a lot of time and expense, but I can put my pics up for the world to see and still sleep at night.
Because of the added expense of due diligence, we are leaving the exterior renovation for another time, hopefully the not-too-distant future. My husband has it very high on his priority list. Neighborhood doyenne Mary Kay Gallagher, told me how she and the neighborhood association pleaded with the the doctor and his wife (the owers when the siding went up in the late 70’s, just prior to landmarking) not to put it on. When we do take the aluminum off, we want to make sure we’ve saved up lots of cash to address whatever’s uncovered.
Posted by: albemarle at November 9, 2009 12:48 PM in response to The Albemarle Renovation Blog Launches!
Looks great! I like the diagonal boards, and they cleaned up really well. Gives me hope for our floors.
Posted by: albemarle at November 9, 2009 11:58 AM in response to Back Parlor Sanding
Thanks everyone -- especially guywithahouse for solving the mystery of the "nippley looking thing" -- tybur6, you'll get a peek at the electrics first thing next week.
Posted by: albemarle at November 6, 2009 11:27 AM in response to Welcome to The Albemarle Reno Blog
Architerrorist -- would love the info on the neighborhood tapestry expert. Bklnite, I updated my profile today, and actually changed my user name to albemarle! A new chapter begins!
Posted by: albemarle at October 28, 2009 7:49 PM in response to Last Week's Biggest Sales
Rutherford, that site is great, and scary. We intend to replace it all, and yes 200 amps is a must. We're doing HVAC on the second and third floors, where all the bedrooms are located so we'll need the power.
Posted by: albemarle at November 22, 2009 10:57 PM in response to All Systems, Go — Away?