bpeikes's Profile
- Benjamin Peikes
- Brooklyn
- Red Hook
- House
Author's Posts
November 11, 2009
Creating a condo
I just recently saw an ad for a "condo" being sold in my neighborhood. From the address, I know that it's a building that at some point was a 6 family. It's now being sold off apartment at a time. The ad states, "put in a kitchen and it's a great place to live". Now personally, it sounds like someone bought the building, couldn't finish the renovation themselves and is now trying to sell the apartments piece meal.
I'm just curious as to what you have to do to change a multi-family building to a condo? I'm surprised I don't see this more often.
July 13, 2009
Sand and finish pine floors
Looking for a company to sand and finish newly installed wide plank pine flooring. Any recommendations? Just about done installing it myself, but don't have time, nor do I trust myself to sand and finish it. Approximately 750 sq. feet in a single room.
June 22, 2009
Bringing stuff to a dump
I've got a bunch of plywood trimmings and a handful of old doors (in very bad shape), that I'd like to take to the dump myself. It doesn't make sense that I have to pay someone to haul them. Since it's from a home renovation project, I don't think I can put them outside with the trash.
I looked on nyc.gov to find out about bringing stuff to the dump myself, but can't seem to find anything.
June 17, 2009
Subfloor re-enforcement
I'm about to put down some 9 inch wide pine flooring. My subfloor, which is 3/4 inch plywood, is a little warped, and in some places there is a little flex. I'm thinking about putting down a layer of 1/2 plywood over the existing subfloor, grain in the opposite direction, before putting the flooring down. I'd glue and screw it into the joists.
I could use a flooring edger to knock down some of the existing plywood, but I like the idea of reenforcing, both for the flex, and for sound.
Any recommendations on what I might use to glue down? Does it make sense to use some sort of mastic instead in order to even out the floor?
BTW, I got the flooring from a guy in Michigan who delivered it himself. I haven't put the floor down yet or finished it, but so far it looks like it's going to be great. If anyone is interested, I'll post his url, or email it to you.
October 13, 2008
Appliance shop recommendation
Just thought that I'd mention a place I just got some appliances from. They're based in NJ, so it's up to you to pay the sales tax, but they were a pleasure to deal with.
You call them with the model numbers and they give you a quote or call you back with one.
The guy I spoke to, I think his name was David, called me back the night before the scheduled delivery and called again in the morning. Delivery was basically free, other than the $10 extra they charged for taking a stove and refrigerator up to my 3 floor walk up apartment. Similar to some of the folks who do the same thing in Brooklyn, the delivery guys showed up PC Richards truck.
Overall, they're prices were at least as good if not better than every place I called, and their follow up calls impressed me.
http://www.appliancesbuyphone.com
May 8, 2008
Bellawood and Lumber Liquidators
I'm looking at the 5" x 3/4 finished pine floors. Seems like a relatively good price for pre-finished floors. Planning on doing the installation myself. Has anyone use Bellawood products before? How about dealing with Lumber Liquidators?
I'll take any flooring recommendations as well. I'd love to use a smaller company and definitely will not order from Home Depot or Lowes, because of other problems I've had ordering anything through them.
January 7, 2008
Carpenter to fix shoddy windows?
I had a local carpenter build custom wood windows for my house. He did a shoddy job, which was never finished. I never completed payment because the work was so bad, and he clearly knows it because after several attempts to try to get him to finish, he never returns any calls, nor does he ask for the remainder of the payment. I'm looking for a carpenter to come by and give me a quote to fix the work that was done and install the final hardware. Any recommendations?
Removing rust from porcelain
I've got a couple of old fixtures which I plan on using when during my renovation, very few chips, but a couple of rust stains that seem to be pretty stubborn. What would you folks use?
September 27, 2007
Claw foot tub shower curtain rings
Any idea where to get them in NY? I asked Eastern Metal and Bruce Supply. They said Home Depot, but they seem to only have them in conjunction with the add in shower, and I'd have to order online. I'd rather go to a place where I can actually see the item.
Radiators?
Redoing all of the heating in my house. I have some old radiators, but I'm not sure if I'm going to use them. Seems like by the time I get them cleaned up, I'd be better off buying new.
In shopping around, the only brand that I have come across so far is Governale. Burnham has some beautiful new radiators, but at $1000 for the 7 section, they're out of my price range.
I went and looked at some at Demolition Depot, but I wouldn't touch them with a 10ft. pole.
I'm looking for recommendations on either new radiators, or a place to pick up some old ones which have already been cleaned up, or from a company that can get them cleaned up.
Any ideas?
Author's Comments
.80 a square foot is more than I'm willing to spend on the glue. What type of flooring mastic would you use? Do you think this would be good?
http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=10051&langId=-1&catalogId=10053&productId=100574569
Posted by: bpeikes at June 17, 2009 8:18 PM in response to Subfloor re-enforcement
Um. Mr. or Mrs. anonymous coward posting at 12:53. This is her "ex-husband" as you would like to call me. Before you go spouting your mouth...
1) If you don't like shopping there, don't
2) No one "left" anyone. We're still best friends, just not together anymore.
I suppose ranting and raving without knowing any of the details is fine when you can hide behind your computer.
As for "it's just a biz transaction", it's not easy to move a bar or liquor store. Licensing is mess in NYC right now.
Red Hook has been a place where you could work on handshakes, sure it's better to have things in writing, but one of the things that has attracted people to this neighborhood is that it's a bit of a big family.
I love the fact that the article failed to mention how when the ceiling came down, folks from the neighborhood came in and lent a hand and gave the landlord a hard time.
As for eviction proceedings, she is not planning on stiffing the landlord rent. She's been an ideal tenant and gone up and beyond to try to take care of the building, more so than the landlord ever has.
Also missing from the original post was this "When you come in and I'm dazed, bitchy beyond normal, on the phone like a lunatic, please don't take it personally. Everything I've worked so hard for is hanging in the gallows.", don't forget we're talking about people's lives and dreams here. She puts it all out there, which is more than most folks are willing to do.
Posted by: bpeikes at May 29, 2008 2:05 PM in response to LeNell's Days Are Numbered
I'm not complaining about the recommendation. I appreciate it. I just wanted to know if I was missing something.
I'll have to ask LL about the plank lengths. It does make a difference and I will probably stop by iFloors at least to check them out. The more recommendations the better.
As for leveling, do you think I'll have any problems installing over a plywood subfloor? As far as I can tell it's very level. I don't know what kind of tolerances wood flooring can take.
As an aside, I was considering just nail down, but maybe glue and nail. I was looking at some "green glue" which is supposed to help with sound proofing, but it's pretty expensive and don't know if it's worth it and if it will work with plank flooring.
Posted by: bpeikes at May 10, 2008 10:32 PM in response to Bellawood and Lumber Liquidators
I would guess that it's a problem with the printer or the computer, not the electrical. The fact that it popped the breaker, is more likely due to problems with the printer or computer shorting somehow.
I'd guess it's unlikely that you plugged in the printer exactly at the same time that there was a power surge in the line. It sounds like the USB shorted something in the computer or printer.
Contact the manufacturer of the printer and computer.
Posted by: bpeikes at May 10, 2008 6:10 PM in response to Why did our USB port explode? - Anxiety about wiring
Just checked iFloor, their prices compared to Lumber Liquidators is horrible. For wide pine flooring, there's nothing even close to Lumber Liquidators prices, especially for the wide plank. LL has 5" finished pine, 3/4" for $3 and change a square foot. Am I missing something?
Posted by: bpeikes at May 9, 2008 7:31 PM in response to Bellawood and Lumber Liquidators
Floor leveling? It's a gut renovation with 3/4 ply subfloor. What amount of leveling is required?
Posted by: bpeikes at May 9, 2008 7:26 PM in response to Bellawood and Lumber Liquidators
Depends on where you are. Also what people call a facecord really varies. I use Urban Arborists in Red Hook, Brooklyn. The wood is ok, their prices are good, and they are near me.
I did consider splitting a full cord with someone. Mahopac lumber has great prices, but I'd need a couple of people to split it with.
Posted by: bpeikes at September 24, 2007 3:06 PM in response to Firewood: where to get it?
Responses to Author's Forum Comments
FOLLOW UP: We returned the scanner and bought one from a different company. My husband again had sparks appear when he tried to hook it up to his imac, but I used it 4-5 times with my laptop without incident. Then last week I was using my laptop (Lenovo, running on battery, with my HP printer attached through USB). I plugged another USB cord from the (new) scanner into my USB port on the laptop, and heard a loud popping sound. This time the laptop was dead, as was the transformer brick on my printer. The laptop's motherboard needed to be replaced and I was lucky (again) that the thing was still on warrantee and that I was able to find a place that fixed it back to normal very quickly (Lincoln Business Machines near Lincoln Center). The circuit did not trip this time.
Yesterday we had an electrician evaluate our apt. He couldn't see anything in our wiring that would explain our USB power surges problem and basically said these events with different scanners and different computers must each have been a freak accident (!)
But one thing he noticed and questioned was that the devices involved (all except my laptop) have 3 pronged plugs on the end of their transformer cords. He thought this was strange, and a new trend he hadn't noticed before, so he wondered if this could have something to do with it.
On Google I found some articles about the 3-prong transformer cords leading to excessive electrical noise that is particularly a problem for audio recording. They say the problem is that the devices are attached to each other by cords (like USB) but if 2 or more of the devices have 3-prong transformer electrical cords they are also connecting to each other through the grounding wire. The suggestion in these articles was to attach only 1 3-pronged device to the computer at a time, and if you have to use another one, use an adapter to cover its grounding pin.
Has anyone else heard of or experienced a related problem? Given this new information, any ideas what is causing such powerful surges through our USB ports? Do you think the 3-prong transformer cords could have something to do with it? Thanks in advance for any ideas you have.
Posted by: kiddo at September 13, 2008 9:58 AM in response to Why did our USB port explode? - Anxiety about wiring
Liquid Nails will adhere tighter to the plys tahn the plywood holds itself together,
Why don't you fix the subfloor? Half inch plywood isn't going to fix the condition that damaged the existing, so why use duct tape?
30 years of doing this have taught me it's always easier to do it right, than try to patch over.
Pine floring sounds nice, how thick? DOn't count on the finish floor to give strength the way oak would.
Posted by: brucef at June 18, 2009 11:47 PM in response to Subfloor re-enforcement
im looking to redo my floor with wide plank pine
what is the url?
royl123 at yahoo dot com
Posted by: 11211 at June 19, 2009 6:30 PM in response to Subfloor re-enforcement
If you give the sanitation guys a schmear you can put it all out at once. Just talk to them first to make sure you're all on the same page.
Posted by: rh at June 23, 2009 6:07 AM in response to Bringing stuff to a dump
forget the schmear.. there are random stings organized by the dob to generate 1500- 5000 fines for illegal dumping...
Posted by: eman1234 at June 23, 2009 9:59 PM in response to Bringing stuff to a dump
Interesting. I'll try it. I was hoping to take it to the dump myself instead of putting it out 6 pieces at a time, twice per week.
I'm surprised that the public dumps are closed. I currently do have a work permit pulled, but the debris is from work that I'm doing myself, (i.e. flooring and finishing), plus some stuff that was in the basement and backyard already.
Posted by: bpeikes at June 22, 2009 9:44 PM in response to Bringing stuff to a dump