December 9, 2007

Recommendations for help on repairing 100 yr old parquet floor

My apt in Park Slope has a 100 yr old parquet floor. It has probably been sanded numerous times, and we sanded and poly'ed when we moved in a year ago. There is one particular square that for some reason is in particularly bad shape with some of the wood slats crumbling away. Looking at it, it looks like it has been repaired at some point since one of the slats doesnt match. The pieces are approx 12 inches by 1 inch and about one eigth inch deep. Currently there are 3 other slats in that square that are falling apart and coming out. How do I repair this? Can anyone recommend someone that could fix this for me, considering it is such a small job? The problematic square is smack in middle of our dining room so it gets a lot of foot traffic, so I would like to repair it.

http://pilotyid.com/floor/brokenfloor.jpg

Please see the attached photo. The bottom photo is the entire area, with the problem square in the upper right, and the upper photo is the problem square with some of the pieces that are crumbling. Thanks in advance for your help, any advice would be appreciated. I am particularly looking for recommendations for someone that can fix this since if I try myself I would probably make it worse. Thanks!

Posted in Forum by ari11210 at 8:31 PM | Comments (5)
Categories: Floors

October 14, 2007

Looking for someone to install exterior doors in our basement

The co-op building that I am in has 2 exterior doors in the basement. They are both in pretty bad shape and let in a lot of cold air. We would like to get some estimates on what it would cost to put in new, better insulated doors. We don't need anything fancy, just something that works and is secure. Does anyone have any recommendations on someone that could come and do this work? It would probably require fixing the door frame as well. Note, these are not hatch style doors, rather regular exterior doors.
Thanks for your help, in advance,
Aaron

Posted in Forum by ari11210 at 8:32 PM | Comments (4)
Categories: Doors

October 7, 2007

Is fire escape needed on first floor?

I am on the first floor of a 4 story walk-up with 8 apts in Park Slope -- 2 per floor, and all of my windows have security bars except for the one in the back which has fire-safety bars to allow for fire safety. In the other 7 apts in my building this back window has a fire escape, even the other first floor apt, but mine doesn't have anything at this window and there is a 6+ foot drop from the window to the ground. This doesnt seem safe to me, I would feel safer if there was a fire escape or at least some kind of platform out the window. Does anyone know what the laws are regarding this? Should there be some kind of fire escape considering there is 6+ feet from the window to the ground and an infant in the apt? My building is a co-op building. Anyone have any experience in this area? thanks for your help.

Posted in Forum by ari11210 at 9:08 PM | Comments (2)
Categories: Building Code