Master Plvmber,
Every winter, I seem incapable of balancing my 3 story brownstone's hot-water heating system. Gateway had every floor a nice even temperature, but despite my efforts to bleed the air from the radiators, the top floor remains freezing cold. The thermostat is on the parlor floor, and stays barely acceptable, while the garden floor is by far the warmest. Can I get all the radiators warm without cranking up the heat on the lower floors just to get the top floor bearable?
Thanks!!

Posted by: Drew at January 14, 2009 2:49 PM in response to Your Heat & The Coming Cold

I know this house. It's a brownstone. It looks like a 3-story from the outside, but has a small fourth floor which may very well have 3 bedrooms (so 6 bedrooms total is possible). The garden level is a renter, not the owner. Nice house, deck, backyard and a great location.

Posted by: Drew at January 13, 2009 8:55 PM in response to Entire Fort Greene House for Rent

Agnostic Fart:
I know you said you were kidding, but why put racist energy out there even in jest? Most homeowners in Bed Stuy are still black, so I'm pretty sure that white guilt is not the main force at work here. And for the record, white people can care about black people without being driven by guilt.

Posted by: Drew at August 27, 2008 2:40 PM in response to Bed Stuy Program for Teens and Brownstoners

9:52,
"Muscular advocacy"???? WTF????? Oh, you mean imperial war. And the rest of that list is pretty ridiculous. Cutting taxes for the rich and handing the rest of us $300 stimilates the economy? And after 8 years of a Republican president, how's our national debt looking? The Patriot Act ensures individual freedom? You're claiming Democrats have no national pride whatsoever? And when Italian Americans celebrate their ethnic heritage, does that offend you as well? Don't get me wrong, I'm not much of a fan of the Democrats either, but good God your list was laughable.

Posted by: Drew at January 9, 2008 10:32 AM in response to Brownstoner Democratic Primary Results

7:38, you took the words out of my mouth!

Posted by: Drew at January 8, 2008 9:10 PM in response to Streetlevel: Elly's Going Korean

That story on gunplay is a perfect example of terrible reporting. There are no actual facts, no statistics, nothing but a few quotes from random people. "Virtual prisons"?? Come on, this is useless trash from the pages of useless trash. Crime is still a problem, but this story serves no purpose but to reinforce a totally inaccurate portrayal of life in these neighborhoods. I walk the streets of Bed Stuy at night and don't feel particularly brave in doing so.

Posted by: Drew at December 27, 2007 11:50 AM in response to Thursday Links

This video is great. Master Plvmber, I'm hoping the pressure for a hot water boiler is supposed to be higher? (Mine's at 20 psi right now!?!) Rehab, they might not be the cheapest, but I swear by Gateway. I've payed less to other hacks who consistently let me down with quick fixes and poor workmanship. Gateway saved my house! Thanks, John.

Posted by: Drew at November 9, 2007 4:20 PM in response to Video: Anatomy of a Boiler

Thanks Master Plvmber! (Even though you emailed me detailed instructions already). Just so folks know, this is why Master Plvmber's company, Gateway Plumbing & Heating, is the best around. They actually care about helping people! The top quality workmanship doesn't hurt either.

And no I don't work for them, I am just amazed that 2 years after hiring them, Master Plvmber will still take the time to give me detailed help.

Posted by: Drew at November 7, 2007 10:30 AM in response to heat won't reach top floor

Did an adult human being actually type "fort black"??? I guess it's their right to be openly racist, but that's not even approaching clever. In gfact, that has to be the lamest racist remark I've ever read, and coming from a brownstoner post, that's saying a lot.

And what projects are casting a shadow on this place? The sparsely-inhabited, low-rise Walt Whitmans down the hill?

Posted by: Drew at November 5, 2007 6:48 PM in response to House of the Day: 193 Washington Park

No problem. And if you're still looking for a plumber, I had a GREAT experience with Gateway Plumbing. Their ad is at the top right of this page. Good luck.

Posted by: Drew at October 15, 2007 9:51 AM in response to Cost to install sewer trap and clean out.

GT,

You asked me a question a while back in a post I made about my neighbor's waste line leaking in my basement and I forgot to reply to you, so I'm replying in your post so that you might actually see it.

I got the DEP to come look at the basement by calling 311. They arrived almost immediately and have been remarkably responsive thereafter. From the beginning, they suspected my neighbor based on the location of the leak. The first crew to arrive put dye in the neighbor's toilet and checked for it in my basement. It didn't appear. They asked me to call them back when there was more water since the puddle was rather low at that time (the water rises and falls somewhat randomly). When I called back, a senior DEP was part of the crew and he commented on how the guys usually forget that dye put in the toilet is flushed out too quickly and often doesn't make it through smaller leaks. He put it in my neighbor's sink and it showed up in my basement two minutes later. They allerted my neighbor that she had to find and fix the leak, and let me know that if she does not do so in a "reasonable amount of time," they will give her a ticket and an official order to fix it. No one was chared for the work done by the DEP.

Hope you get this info, I apologize for not reponding when you originally asked.

Posted by: Drew at October 13, 2007 4:57 PM in response to Cost to install sewer trap and clean out.

They could, but then the prices would go up. That's the point: making healthy food affordable. If you don't want to work for it, then just go somewhere else and stfu about it.

Posted by: Drew at September 27, 2007 8:23 AM in response to Streetlevel: What’s In With the Park Slope Crowd?

10:03, I hear you when you explain it like that. I certainly hope people are aware of dangerous areas within neighborhoods. And I hope wealthier newcomers do put pressure on the police because, as 12:27 points out, the police are often corrupt or indifferent about the crimes that occur in neighborhoods that have been or still are poorer with higher crime rates.

Posted by: Drew at September 14, 2007 1:38 PM in response to Friday Links

10:14,

my tackling comment was directed at 8:29's implication that the bystanders should have physically done something to stop this guy.

about the crime rates in poor versus wealthy areas, the guest at 10:52 makes my point better than I did.

10:03,

In reference to the victim, I was only going on the info in the article which made the guy out to be an innocent dad with a legitimate, legal career.

Whatever the case, I think their is a recurring smarmy attitude in the comments on this blog about the dangerousness of Clinton Hill, Bed-Stuy, etc. Crime obviously does affect certain areas and segments of the population more than others. But making sarcastic comments about the perceived lack of safety of those who choose to live in these areas doesn't seem all that productive.

Posted by: Drew at September 14, 2007 11:26 AM in response to Friday Links

What are you talking about, they absolutely snitched on the guy as they should have. His real name wasn't in the article because the witnesses probably only know him by the name Psycho, but that's plenty for the police. You think someone would have tackled the guy in Brooklyn Heights? What do you want from these folks? And I'm quite certain that more people have been caught in the crossfire in poorer neighborhoods over the last twenty years, but that number in the last ten years is undoubtedly a fraction of what it was in the previous ten. Regardless, this murder seems more like an unstable person snapped and purposely murdered an innocent person, which I believe happens (or more commonly doesn't happen) across class lines.

Posted by: Drew at September 14, 2007 9:33 AM in response to Friday Links

It's easy to say someone should tackle a guy with a gun, but unless you've personally done it, I don't think you have the right to criticize. And Clinton Hill is peaceful for the most part. Drug or gang shootings usually don't affect people who aren't part of that lifestyle. This murder is different, and scary, but random "psycho" killers could be lurking in any neighborhood. Luckily the odds of getting killed by one, in any neighborhood, are quite slim.

Posted by: Drew at September 14, 2007 8:45 AM in response to Friday Links

what's with all the obnoxious, psuedo-intellectual posts about race and class? if you really have ideas about social change, get to it and stop wasting your time on a blog about buildings.

Posted by: Drew at September 10, 2007 6:03 PM in response to Soaking Up Some Salvage at the Fest

And Amy is not only a real person, but the type of person who stands in the hot sun all day selling baked goods to raise $1000 for a PTA at a predominantly black school.

Posted by: Drew at September 10, 2007 11:57 AM in response to Soaking Up Some Salvage at the Fest

This is nowhere near the AY. Clinton Ave is nice even on the other side of Myrtle. I get the price given the building is 90 feet deep. The facade is horrible, but that's a lot of square feet.

Posted by: Drew at August 30, 2007 2:53 PM in response to House of the Day: 148 Clinton Avenue

I love victorian houses, and in reality they are more unique than row houses since they all differ in size and shape so greatly. But since brownstones like the ones here in Brooklyn aren't as ubiquitous throughout the country, they do possess their own unique charm.

Posted by: Drew at August 30, 2007 8:52 AM in response to House of the Day: 500 Marlborough Road

taq482, I might be wrong, but I don't think I am. There are victorian homes in cities, towns and rural areas throughout the country. Boston, Philly and DC have very few brownstones. Where else are they?

I find it hard to believe that Ditmas Park has the largest collection of victorian homes in the country. Do you mean the highest concentration within a certain small area? I was just in Westerly, Rhode Island, and I couldn't count all the victorian houses there were so many.

Posted by: Drew at August 29, 2007 9:55 PM in response to House of the Day: 500 Marlborough Road

Brownstones may not have been unique in the 19th century, but they're unique now. And there is a relatively small number of them whenn compared to the number of freestanding victorian homes in cities and towns throughout the country.

Posted by: Drew at August 29, 2007 6:59 PM in response to House of the Day: 500 Marlborough Road

My home never warms up enough to be comfortable
I live in a three story house with 9ft ceilings, I have a water heating system, it does not heat the house the higher temperature only reaches 60 in the first floor and in the second is just dead cold! I was told that this system was installed with the cold water going in where the hot water is supposed to go in and that I need a new heating system because the one I have is damaged and that is the reason why it doesn't work properly. ( is about ten years old) Then a friend suggested to drain the system and bleed the radiators which I never done it in the last five or six years...I was told that it was not necessary by the same person that want to replace the existing heating system...
Please help me Master Plvmber

Posted by: vicky at November 12, 2008 12:17 PM in response to heat won't reach top floor

Yaakovdoe,
Unfortunately, spreading ourselves too thin in the past proved counter-productive.

If I could find two more mechanics who knew what they were doing and weren't candidates for rehab, I'd widen my circle to include Victorian Flatbush in a heartbeat.

Posted by: Master Plvmber at January 14, 2009 2:50 PM in response to Your Heat & The Coming Cold

Drew,
I'll bet you can. I'm mot sure who you are or what kind of system you've got, but get in touch and I'll give you an idea of what can be done.

http://www.GatewayPlumbing.com

Posted by: Master Plvmber at January 14, 2009 3:04 PM in response to Your Heat & The Coming Cold

M.P. I worked 15 years supervising repairs for management companies in the city. I have seen some pretty good plumbers in my day, steam fitter types who deserved to be in charge of the smart end of the tape measure, yet almost all had some kind of substance abuse problems. Does the profession drive one to self medicate, or vice versa?

Posted by: IMBY at January 14, 2009 4:28 PM in response to Your Heat & The Coming Cold

IMBY, you should see the résumés I get.

That's such a conversation for another place and time.

Definitely food for thought, though.

Posted by: Master Plvmber at January 14, 2009 7:14 PM in response to Your Heat & The Coming Cold

Here is a link to the videos yaakovdoe mentioned:

http://www.brownstoner.com/brownstoner/archives/2007/11/video_reignitin.php

Posted by: Master Plvmber at January 18, 2009 7:14 PM in response to Your Heat & The Coming Cold