Varivalve for single pipe steam

Thanks for the feedback. I think I'll buy a 10 pack and change the valve on every radiator in the house.

Posted by: fexleycb at April 24, 2008 4:02 PM in response to Varivalve for single pipe steam

The price I paid for my house doesn't show up on line because I did a mortgage assignment. Saved a bundle on mortgage origination taxes also. You may want to look into it. Don't know if its possible with coops though.

Posted by: fexleycb at April 30, 2008 4:24 PM in response to Posting on Property Shark

Oops - I see you already closed. Too late for a mortgage assignment.

Posted by: fexleycb at April 30, 2008 4:25 PM in response to Posting on Property Shark

Wasn't this featured in Domino Magazine?

Posted by: fexleycb at May 9, 2008 10:49 AM in response to Garden of the Day: Another Greenwood Heights Goodie

If I were looking for a home in that price range I'd buy a whole house in Ridgewood (Queens.) The May 11th NY Times Real Estate section profiled a couple who did just that - though strangely there was no mention of it here on Brownstoner.

Posted by: fexleycb at May 30, 2008 10:16 AM in response to You Have $140K Down, Where Do You Buy?

Right on 4:06. I agree with everything you said.

As far as I can tell, the success of PS 8 is partially due to the fact that the school was under subscribed when the new principal came on board - which meant there was an opportunity to hire a lot of young energetic new teachers. It would have been much more difficult to turn the school around if it was already operating at capacity.

Posted by: fexleycb at June 18, 2008 4:36 PM in response to Chancellor Joel Klein Discusses Brooklyn Schools

I had new flooring installed right over the old sub-floor on my entire parlor floor and its just fine - no creaking, dipping, sagging, buckling or anything. Totally solid. The contractor did put that red paper over the old sub floor first though - maybe thats what makes it so solid. I had actually suggested that maybe the thing to do was to replace the old sub floor and the contractor looked at me like I was crazy. Totally unnecessary he told me - and he was right.

Now on the other hand - on my garden level the old sub floor did have to be ripped out because the joists were all sagging and twisted. Some had to be replaced. Some had to be re-cemented into their pockets and some had to be shimmed. Then a new plywood sub-floor was installed - totally level. So as far as I can tell - it really depends on the shape the joists are in.

Posted by: fexleycb at June 18, 2008 5:13 PM in response to Replacing subfloors necessary?

If the subfloor was in that bad a shape, believe me, you'd know it. Here, I put 5/8" underlayment down over the old subfloor but I was doing 11" herringbone and that needs a very flat and stable surface for a nailing base.

Posted by: Steve at June 18, 2008 6:26 PM in response to Replacing subfloors necessary?

I've never been lucky enough to have a subfloor in decent enough condition to keep as is. The joists are usually sagging and need to be leveled. What I've done in cases where the subfloor looks good but uneven is take it up carefully, put down plywood and use the subfloor as flooring. Probably pricey option for a contractor to do.

Posted by: rh at June 18, 2008 9:38 PM in response to Replacing subfloors necessary?

If your joists are not level and you need to re-level the floor ... you need to rip up subfloor and start fresh.

Posted by: guest at June 19, 2008 4:10 PM in response to Replacing subfloors necessary?

Get a few opinions.

If every single contractor mentions that the subfloor will need to be addressed in some way, then you probably have a problem that you're not seeing. If not, well, then see Jimmy Legs' alternative.

You're looking for sponginess and un-flatness. Three specific things you can look for:

1. Get the heaviest person you know to walk around and really watch the floor where (s)he walks. If there is give, then you have a problem.

2. If you can see the joists from the basement, then go and look at them. You won't be able to tell if they are twisted, but you will be able to see things like repairs other people have done (attempted?), and you will be able to check for things like termite and water damage.

3. Get a six or eight-foot straight, flat thing and check the flatness of the floor in many directions.

Posted by: vanburenproud at June 20, 2008 2:44 PM in response to Replacing subfloors necessary?

Op here,

Do I need to remove old floors that are on top of subfloors? Or can I just put new floors on top of them with underlayment if all is pretty sturdy?

Thanks again,
BedStuy Owner

Posted by: feelyng at June 20, 2008 7:23 PM in response to Replacing subfloors necessary?

Depends on what the old flooring is and what you want.

It's better to leave old linoleum, for example, where it is because it's harmless lying there, but when you tear it up you create an Asbestos Abatement problem.

But if the old floor isn't flat or has water or termite damage, for example, it's better to remove it.

Keep in mind that you lose height if you put floors right on top of floors. Doorways are affected, doors might need to be trimmed.

On the parlor floor, this might not matter. If your garden floor is already kind of close, it might be better to dig down and find the bottom, and build up from there.

I had many layers of old floor because there was a ton of water and termite damage. The solution for many years seemed to be fill the sagging part with something like cement or newspaper (?) and then lay down a whole new floor.

I have to warn you that this created an illusion of solid floors that really weren't solid. The minute you started really looking, it was obvious that it all had to come out, down to the joists, and almost all new subfloor needed to be put in.

Not that this is going to be your fate--but that's why I would not dismiss your contractor out of hand.

Posted by: vanburenproud at June 20, 2008 8:26 PM in response to Replacing subfloors necessary?

You could always take up a section of the floor down to the subfloor first to see what you have. I did that and it was like geology-- cretaceous, jurassic, mesozoic, etc. Subfloor is just usually plywood, so it isn't necessarily the most expensive thing to replace. Of course, if you're living there ..... Also, it's true, in these formally "poor" neighborhoods, people didn't remove floors, just covered them up, so you can potentially gain a lot of height. I think a little exploration is called for.

Posted by: guest at June 20, 2008 9:15 PM in response to Replacing subfloors necessary?

This is Op. I will definitely get to the bottom of the floors step by step to see if I need to remove it all or just sections.

Thanks for everyone's helpful comments.

Faye

Posted by: feelyng at June 21, 2008 3:18 PM in response to Replacing subfloors necessary?

Vanburenproud; there's no asbestos in linoleum.

Posted by: guest at June 23, 2008 2:34 PM in response to Replacing subfloors necessary?