daveinbedstuy's Profile
- Dave
- March 2007
- March 2007
- Brooklyn
- Bedford Stuyvesant
- House
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Author's Posts
September 29, 2009
Beautiful mahogany rails?
Nope, it's been woodgrained. Not wanting to go throught the mess of stripping the bannister, I decided to take a stab at producing a mahogany woodgrain. I've done this before with antique auto moldings so had some experience.
First lay a base of a neutral brown. As an example of colors, I'll use the Benjamin Moore Virtual Fan deck names. Paint a single coat of Acorn brown. Then, with a 2" brush ( no fancy brushes or "combs") lay in some deep red similar to Tucson Red. You don't want to cover all of the base brown, just streak it. Then, on top of that lay in some streaks of deep, solid black, not in any particular pattern but just long strokes "with the grain." You should then see part red and part black. Finally, give it a nice coat of Minwax Bombay Mahogany Gloss Polyshades. This stain includes the gloss polyurethane. Usually, I don't like gloss bit for the bannister it loooks a lot better.
September 25, 2009
Free Chandeliers
I have 2 of these chandeliers. They are a bronze colored metal. Free to a good home.
Post your email & I'll respond. You can pick them up any evening or next weekend.
Facade Renovation Contractor
Adding this to the Forum so people searching will see the link from the main page. Lots of pics of the process renovationg the brownstone facade. Originally, my contractor's name wasn't posted and I want to recommend him:
http://www.brownstoner.com/brownstoner/archives/2009/08/dibs_refinishes.php#comments
Millad
ctgconstruction@gmail.com
718-669-8305
June 23, 2009
329 Adelphi Visit
First, let me say that it was a pleasure meeting the realtor, Bill Radtke, a really nice guy. This house will need a total gut job. The basement ceiling needs to be removed to determine the issues with the undulating (!) first floor. That said, this house seems really solid. It was most likely built in the 1840s or somewhere therabouts and maintains its original clapboards under the shingles. The framing is solid (likely oak) 4X5, 24" on center and filled with brick, which is why, despite the floors, the house stands plumb. It needs a new roof, all new plumbing but does have circuit breakers and a fair amount of new BX. There is nothing salvageable AT ALL on the inside except the crown moldings, which are pictured and quite interesting and a nice stair rail. The stairs are built against a curved wall and will be a beautiful feature once that wrap around rail is restored. The fireplaces have been long ago sealed up and there is one rather plain marble mantle.
The basement is full height and legally occupiable. The top floor has decent ceiling height to make a large bedroom and perhaps add a small bath. About a third of that 24' X 35" floor is usable.
So, it's really about 3,100 sq. ft. in total usable space. Carve out a utilities room in the basement from that figure.
The door and window casings outside might be slavageable but in reality should be replaced along with the windows, which are not slavageable. The porch needs to be completely rebuilt but the columns are salvageable.
The house next door which someone linked in yesterday's HOTD thread has been completely restored and is a copy of this one wrt porch & casing details. The addition on the back, though it shares the same basement is a bit funky with the second floor level lower than the main house. It was originally detached.
It'll make a beautiful house but it will require far more than $200-300,000 in renovation, ptobably $500,000.
I last did a gut reno in PA in 2000 and easily spent $300,000 on a smaller project.
The last comment I made to Bill as we were leaving was that dealing with LPC on the exterior was going to be the least of your problems. But if someone with the passion can see this as the size house that's good for them, it'll be a great project and it'ss be worth more than $1.2 MM when done correctly.
Ed: The original House of the Day post can be viewed here.
June 2, 2009
Recession At An End?
June 2 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. recession that began in December 2007 may have ended in May, said John Ryding, using the Institute for Supply Management’s factory index as a guide.
Readings greater than 41.2 on a sustained basis are usually
consistent with economic expansions, according to the Tempe, Arizona-based purchasers’ group. The CHART OF THE DAY shows
May’s reading of 42.8 surpassing the horizontal red line at the 41.2 mark. The vertical lines show the end of previous recessions and beginning of expansions.
The ISM gauge “is the greenest shoot yet in the recession-
drawing-to-a-close thesis,” Ryding, chief economist at RDQ
Economics LLC in New York, said in a note to clients yesterday.
“The ISM report is a very important indicator of the cyclical
state of the economy and it tentatively suggests that May is a
plausible candidate for the recession trough.”
What’s more, two of the most forward-looking components of
the ISM index are also flashing recovery, Ryding said. The
orders index climbed to 51.1, above the 50 breakeven level for
the first time since the month before the recession started. In
addition, the measure of supplier deliveries, a component of the
Conference Board’s index of leading economic indicators, gained
almost five points.
May 14, 2009
For All You Vegetable Growers...
I can't recommend highly enough E & R Seed Company for vegetable seeds and plants. I just received my order of tomatos & brussell sprouts and these plants are among the largest and healthiest I've ever bought. Prices are very cheap even with the boxing and shipping charges. Brussel sprouts were $1.50 each and heirloom tomato varieties $2.05...all came in 2" pots and they're all over 1' tall & very hardy.
The only problem is they have no website. You have to call & leave a message to get a catalog & place an order. They do call back fairly quickly.
E & R Seed Company
260-692-6827
I think it might be getting late to get a catalog mailed (it's huge) and still get anything shipped but maybe not. They can probably accomodate an order of plants over the phone and walk you through what they have without a catalog.
April 22, 2009
Speaking of Permits & Code...
Watching the TOH episode on the Brooklyn renovation, the electrician said that Romex was allowed for 1 & 2 family and three stories or smaller. I thought that BX was required for all work. Can anyone confirm?
Author's Comments
Ahhhhh, no wonder I like Will demps....his mother is Korean!!!! I though there was a little Asian in him. Kinda like me now that I think of it.
Posted by: daveinbedstuy at November 6, 2009 5:36 PM in response to Open Thread
no but those things are rarely disclosed
they certainly won't be disclosed before they get through Hart Scott Rodino and get the licensing agreement actually finalized.
And yes, most running backs are small
Posted by: daveinbedstuy at November 6, 2009 5:34 PM in response to Open Thread
more production milestones than sales milestones.
Posted by: daveinbedstuy at November 6, 2009 5:20 PM in response to Open Thread
ENY...the first time I ever noticed him on the field, not being a big Giants fan, when he took his helmet off, my GAYDAR went off the chart. So I went looking for his Giants pics and found his website.
I showed it to a straight friend who's a big Giants fan and his comment was "That's just wrong, very sad!"
Seems he's taken off all his Giants pics though. i wonder why????
Posted by: daveinbedstuy at November 6, 2009 5:13 PM in response to Open Thread
Gary Fencik (Chicago Bears) lost his superbowl ring to a trick he had over.
Posted by: daveinbedstuy at November 6, 2009 5:06 PM in response to Open Thread
"Looks like Tarzan, plays like Jane."
Kinda how I like them anyway.
ENY, have a look at his website and tell me he isn't gay!!!!
Posted by: daveinbedstuy at November 6, 2009 5:01 PM in response to Open Thread
I caught her running off with a $100 bill once and chased her under the bed.
Posted by: InsertSnappyNameHere at November 6, 2009 4:50 PM
I bet she found it on the nightstand from the night before.
Posted by: daveinbedstuy at November 6, 2009 4:59 PM in response to Open Thread
You need only look as far as your own homelife when your precious, spoiled kitties turn to a life of drugs.
denton's cat may be the supplier buy you, yourself are the enabler. And where do your cats get the money for these drugs??? Is Pia hooking on the streets.
denton is part to blame. where do you think he got those fancy lights for his BMW??? His HELOC???? I don't think so.
Posted by: daveinbedstuy at November 6, 2009 4:46 PM in response to Open Thread
Cats on coke is a serious and growing problem. I suspect many of you will blame the Bush years and global warming.
Posted by: daveinbedstuy at November 6, 2009 4:43 PM in response to Open Thread
You had lunch with Amzi and didn't invite me?????
Posted by: daveinbedstuy at November 6, 2009 4:30 PM in response to Open Thread
Thanks for the birthday wishes. I think next year, at 55, I'll throw another big party like the 50th.
Karaoke will be involved like the las one at Japas 38. Also, tequila.
Posted by: daveinbedstuy at November 6, 2009 4:28 PM in response to Open Thread
WOW...Will demps has the same birthday as me!!!!! He was the Giants safety and is soooooo HOT. If his website www.willdemps.com is still up he's very, very gay
Posted by: daveinbedstuy at November 6, 2009 4:21 PM in response to Open Thread
Wouldn't you be if you lived with denton?????
Posted by: daveinbedstuy at November 6, 2009 3:52 PM in response to Open Thread
denton, get him off the cocaine.
Posted by: daveinbedstuy at November 6, 2009 3:49 PM in response to Open Thread
LOL, CGar...I already "did" one of the kitchen staff. i never knew he worked there!!!!!!
Posted by: daveinbedstuy at November 6, 2009 3:45 PM in response to Open Thread
85%, Biff
Bitter/Beach, you agree????
Posted by: daveinbedstuy at November 6, 2009 3:44 PM in response to Open Thread
stevie, the first $200MM will be received 30 days after the agreement is signed...there are no milestones for that. The sgreement is still subject to hart-Scott-Rodino review but will be signed in the next 30-60 days. So you are wrong on that.
I never recommended AIG so not sure why that is "in my face."
Journalists have a strange way with the facts.
Posted by: daveinbedstuy at November 6, 2009 3:44 PM in response to Open Thread
I celebrated last night, CGar. Philly partner taking me out to dinner tonight at our new fancy pants, right wing republican club.
Unlike the OT, it is largely loon-free.
Posted by: daveinbedstuy at November 6, 2009 3:35 PM in response to Open Thread
stevie's a writer. writers & numbers/statistics are like oil & water.
Even when they know them they will misquote them.
Posted by: daveinbedstuy at November 6, 2009 3:33 PM in response to Open Thread
>>most people know that ARMs are very risky
oh yeah? then why did so many of them get it anyways?
Posted by: stevieb at November 6, 2009 3:09 PM
>>most people know that ARMs are very risky.
Where is the proof? Statistics? Otherwise, it is just another flippant statement.
Posted by: stevieb at November 6, 2009 3:26 PM
I called you out on the "so many" above.
Statistics??? No, I thought not.
Posted by: daveinbedstuy at November 6, 2009 3:32 PM in response to Open Thread
Switzerland is over. They caved in to the IRS and now there are hundreds of Swiss private bankers on the streets.
The money is all going to Sungapore.
Posted by: daveinbedstuy at November 6, 2009 3:27 PM in response to StreetLevel: Cafe DuCharme Opens on President
Pete, so you're a full blown paranoid schizophrenic, right? Not the garden variety, tedious borderline personality type.
Posted by: daveinbedstuy at November 6, 2009 3:21 PM in response to Open Thread
Pete...doing more research on this over the weekend....will have a full conclusion by Monday.
The stosk went up to $16 on speculation that Novartis was going to buy them and has sold off because they aren't. They would like to but the VNDA management has written some pretty tight contracts re: the royalties and any ownership.
Posted by: daveinbedstuy at November 6, 2009 3:14 PM in response to Open Thread
There you go again...."Most" doesn't mean "all." Yes, "many" got them but not "most."
And you're a writer??????????????
Posted by: daveinbedstuy at November 6, 2009 3:11 PM in response to Open Thread
VNDA, Pete. If you take the drug you probably won't buy the stock. it's already approved. The company has a $280MM market cap and will receive $450MM in payments from Novartis over the next year or two. It has fewer side effects than existing drugs but more importantly, they will be out with an injection form in about a year.
Injections assure for 30 days that schizos like yourself remain medicated and not post on the OT.
This is a risky investment nonetheless and really only worth the money you might lose if you contemplate the Vegas trip with the other PLUSAs.
Posted by: daveinbedstuy at November 6, 2009 3:10 PM in response to Open Thread
stevie, most people know that ARMs are very risky. The What may be your unsung hero but not because you didn't get an ARm. no homo
Posted by: daveinbedstuy at November 6, 2009 3:06 PM in response to Open Thread
INVESTMENT QUESTION:
To all the schizophrenics out there.... There's a new drug that's been approved by the FDA for schizophrenia, Fanapt. Have any of your doctors mentioned this yet???
How often do you actually take your meds???
Posted by: daveinbedstuy at November 6, 2009 3:00 PM in response to Open Thread
OK stevie, I remember your story now. Yes, an ARM would be financial ruin.
I think ARMs are even MORE dangerous at this point in the interest rate cycle.
Posted by: daveinbedstuy at November 6, 2009 2:55 PM in response to Open Thread
I want to publicly thank you for saving me from financial ruin. Had I listened to the perma bulls on this site, I would have bought into the real estate bubble last year and found myself and family on the streets today.
Thank you! and f*ck you, perma-bulls.
Posted by: stevieb at November 6, 2009 2:49 PM
Makes a lot of sense, stevie. My property has come off a hundred thousand or so and yet nothing has changed. I think you really don't understand home ownership.
Any of you other home owners in financial ruin because your property has lost some value?????
Posted by: daveinbedstuy at November 6, 2009 2:52 PM in response to Open Thread
m4l, you have my number...give it to him.
Also, being a rice queen, I really need more info..American born??? Thai?? japanese??? Chinese???
Posted by: daveinbedstuy at November 6, 2009 2:42 PM in response to Open Thread
Make sure they fully removed the knock out plug where it connects to the disposal/drain.
Posted by: daveinbedstuy at November 6, 2009 2:38 PM in response to Clogged (New) Dishwasher?
There's alot of douchebaggery happening outside now.
Posted by: dirty_hipster at November 6, 2009 2:33 PM
Examples??? This is NYC. There's always a lot of douchebaggery.
Posted by: daveinbedstuy at November 6, 2009 2:36 PM in response to Open Thread
Christine Quinn will probably make a decent mayor.
Posted by: daveinbedstuy at November 6, 2009 11:48 AM in response to Open Thread
Broke...the packaging reminds me of the packaging for the new brand of rye, called ri
Posted by: daveinbedstuy at November 6, 2009 11:47 AM in response to Open Thread
rob..
1. Only Ed Koch was gay. Giuliani lived with a gay couple on the corner of 57th & 1st for awhile when he couldn't get the misses out of Gracy mansion
2. If you are having disturbing side effects, call your doctor.
Posted by: daveinbedstuy at November 6, 2009 11:43 AM in response to Open Thread
I think Mexicali and Mezcal are two different places, the former on Court & the latter on Atlantic. Are they related???
Posted by: daveinbedstuy at November 6, 2009 11:37 AM in response to Open Thread
Broke...does your friend cover Philadelphia too??
He should approach Tequilas, Xochitl, Distrito and El Vez among others. Those 4 are all pretty high end places
Posted by: daveinbedstuy at November 6, 2009 11:35 AM in response to Open Thread
The gov't isn't "giving" trillions first of all. Many billions will actually be paid back except maybe for Fannie & freddie but those were already government backed comapnies and it's the governments own fault they weren't keeping tabs on the management.
For a writer you really need to get more of your facts straight, stevie. But most journalists never do.
Posted by: daveinbedstuy at November 6, 2009 11:23 AM in response to Open Thread
Anybody have any idea what "dram shop" insurance costs nowadays????
Posted by: daveinbedstuy at November 6, 2009 11:08 AM in response to Fulton Sports Bar Signage Revealed
Snapy, I know a black lesbian that has a Ducati.
Posted by: daveinbedstuy at November 6, 2009 11:04 AM in response to Open Thread
Maly is right about the gasoline taxes in Europe.
Posted by: daveinbedstuy at November 6, 2009 10:56 AM in response to New Kosciuszko Bridge Won't Come Cheap
I didn't answer the door because I was upstairs with the Mexican bf.
Posted by: daveinbedstuy at November 6, 2009 10:53 AM in response to Open Thread
tybur6...you're from Boston?? I thought I detected that accent.
Posted by: daveinbedstuy at November 6, 2009 10:51 AM in response to Open Thread
If you want strip clubs go to Canada, or better yet, Bangkok.
Posted by: daveinbedstuy at November 6, 2009 10:47 AM in response to Open Thread
Federal or State, Taxpayer money is taxpayer money, antidope.
Posted by: daveinbedstuy at November 6, 2009 10:45 AM in response to Friday Links
Snappy, a friend once told me that I was as subtle as a brick in the face.
Posted by: daveinbedstuy at November 6, 2009 10:43 AM in response to Open Thread
Chance You Can Believe In
Posted by: daveinbedstuy at November 6, 2009 10:43 AM in response to Fulton Sports Bar Signage Revealed
I hate Vegas. And the gay bars are about as nice as the ones in Reading, PA.
Posted by: daveinbedstuy at November 6, 2009 10:40 AM in response to Open Thread
Cohibas are fine. Last time I had one was Mexico City, November 7, 2007 on my birthday.
Posted by: daveinbedstuy at November 6, 2009 10:39 AM in response to Open Thread
Responses to Author's Forum Comments
this is the sort of thing you should seek some political help from. Contact your congress(wo)man's constituent affairs office and point out that it's a common issue for people in brownstone brooklyn.
Posted by: slick at November 6, 2009 9:08 PM in response to Easement Audit Nightmare
stevie...do you know what their current burn rate is, the amount of cash on the balance sheet and the size of the tax loss carryforwards???
Look at those numbers before making an analytical numbers based judgement on "squandering" the $200MM
Posted by: daveinbedstuy at November 6, 2009 5:43 PM in response to Open Thread