bklynmamma's Profile
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April 27, 2008
Expansion Limits
We are in CG, not landmarked block. New neighbors in 4 story brick, about 20X40 on a 20X100 lot. They are planning on expanding but not being forthright about what they wish to do. We think they want to do a 3 or 4 story extension. While wishing to be fair, we want to make sure they don't exceed legal limits, thus possibly effecting our property's value and our quality of life (looking out our window at a brick wall instead of sky and trees!) How can we make sure this doesn't happen? Will the building dept. help or do we need to get a lawyer?
Author's Comments
Responses to Author's Forum Comments
Perhaps you didn't notice the renovations tab on the top left of the page.
Posted by: Bklyn Fire Alarm Guy at April 27, 2008 7:49 PM in response to Renovation blog-like post
which side of the prospect are you on?
Posted by: southslope at April 27, 2008 8:07 PM in response to Renovation blog-like post
Thanks, 7:49. Perhaps you meant the top right side of the page?
It's not as easy as you think. But thanks for thinking about it.
6:09, thanks also (this time seriously). I'm trying to get the right stuff installed. The funny thing is that we don't really watch TV and don't do cable/sat/TV. But we do want to get it right.
Posted by: denton at April 27, 2008 8:14 PM in response to Renovation blog-like post
So, you're living on the 1st flr with old kitchen while gutting the upper flr for bedrooms/baths/office. Once that's done, you'll live up there and gut the lower flr to put in new kitchen etc. Won't that leave you w/o a kitchen for a while? Seems like it'd make more sense to do the main flr first so you could use the upper rental kitchen and then camp in your new LR while the bedroom flr was done. Maybe I'm missing something.
Did you realize before you bought it that you'd have to gut everything? Did the estimates you got ahead of time (from inspector or architect or GC) match up to the current estimates or did they go up after they knew you were into the place? Find anything super cool (besides that wallpaper) behind any walls/floors?
Good luck and keep us posted.
Posted by: guest at April 27, 2008 11:50 PM in response to Renovation blog-like post
Hey 11:50...
Yes, we always knew this would be a gut.
Since we're going to install plumbing on the 2nd floor for a kitchen so as to be able to convert it back to a 2 family in the future (or a future buyer) we're also going to keep a small kitchen hooked up there for a while.
Also, the upstairs bath and kitchen were far more disgusting than the downstairs one, so that played a part in our decision.
Dumb as it may seem, we didn't really get estimates before we moved in except from the inspector, which I knew would be way off. I did an estimate based on my knowledge of materials and time. We're above that estimate, but not catastrophically so. I'll share that at a later date.
The coolest thing we found so far (besides the old lady's liquor stash in a closet along with a mink hat from Bonwit Teller, pre-demo) is at the head of the upstairs there was a 2' section of empty space that was blocked up. So we gained an extra four square feet of space! Great!
Posted by: denton at April 28, 2008 6:15 AM in response to Renovation blog-like post
wow! please please please post how you came to your estimates for renovation and how you reconciled with the actual budget.
I am debating on whether to make an offer for a house that needs renovation and my x factor is the estimated cost of the renovation. Also how did you work with an architect or you going with just a contractor. Can't wait to read your posts!
Posted by: guest at April 28, 2008 6:23 PM in response to Renovation blog-like post
Hi there denton, wow you have a pretty big project going on, if you need any plaster & painting work my husband would be happy to go by and give you an estimate. Please feel free to e-mail us willianprates68@hotmail.com
Here's a reference:
http://www.brownstoner.com/forum/archives/2008/03/recommendation_20.php#comments
Thanks, Aida
Posted by: guest at April 29, 2008 1:12 PM in response to Renovation blog-like post
re computer/cable/speaker wiring: I suggest that while the walls are open install wiring conduit with wire-pulling cord in place so you can easily install whatever new wiring without opening walls. Be sure to have your cable company involved in the cable installation--we had the bright idea of installing TV/data cable in all the likely places, but the cable was of such poor quality that it is useless. It also not installed inside conduit, so it can't be easily replaced with the right stuff.
Posted by: bklynmamma at April 27, 2008 6:09 PM in response to Renovation blog-like post