hhitchc's Profile
Author's Posts
May 5, 2008
Replacing Stair Treads
The old wood stairs in my brownstone are in solid shape but are made of carpet grade wood. Because I would like to have nice wood treads without carpet the contractor suggested refacing (?) the treads and risers with upgraded wood instead of replacing the risers and treads. I think it works like this
http://www.woodsthebest.com/Stairs/wood-stairs-treads.htm
Does anyone have experience with this and can you share the up and downsides of refacing instead of replacing? (pun intended)
Do the stairs squeak?
Is the height difference a problem?
What kind of wood did you use.
Thanks!
April 19, 2008
Chair caning
Does anyone have a recommendation/estimate for chair caning? If you have had a chair repaired, how much was it per hole? I have an estimate for 2.15 a hole which makes my repair more than 200.00 a chair. YIKES!
Thanks.
April 18, 2008
Jane's Carousel/ Idora Park's Carousel
Does anyone know if this carousel is open to the public yet? It is supposed to be in Dumbo. It was very special to my father growing up and I would love to surprise him by showing it to him next weekend.
April 3, 2008
Where can I find these?
Does anyone know where I can find stone pieces like these? They are sometimes called planters, stone troughs, garden sinks. I am looking for antiques I can look at in person but if you have someone online in the US, I would look there too. Thanks.
February 15, 2008
Seller's Question
I am selling my apartment soon. I have beautiful sconces and pendant lighting from France and Italy that I had installed in my apt. Is it ok to show my apartment with the lighting and then take it when I leave? Do buyers assume light fixtures are included/not included? Should the real estate agent tell perspective buyers that it is not included? Does that effect the selling price?
January 24, 2008
what is this?
Can anyone tell me about this? This is a light fixture that is representative of most of the sconces in my house. It has an outlet in the top part.
Was the outlet added? What era is this multiple personality fixture from? What is the hole in the middle, is that a gas line? A cable hook up? (I kid). Seriously though, a lot of my old fixtures have outlets in them and I am totally perplexed. I want to keep the fixture but the outlet is so ugly.
Can it be capped or hidden? Thought?
Thank you kindly.
Closet for sale
Looking for a buyer for this closet. The piece is in an 1890 rowhouse and original. I have seen the identical closet in identical row house unpainted and its in some very nice wood. (I did not identify which type.) It is roughly 103 inches wide.
The enameled sink has a marble surround with a crack (you can see it). Mirrors are in nice old shape.
Email me if you are interested in taking a look this coming Monday:
hhitchc@yahoo.com
January 13, 2008
Wavy Glass
I am restoring a pantry circa 1890 in my rowhouse. It has beautiful wavy glass. I am also adding new cabinetry with glass fronts.
Is it possible to use old wavy window glass from interior or exterior windows and cut it to use in new cabinetry?
I have read in the forum that people often change out their old windows for new and don't know what to do with the old windows. Unfortunately all of the windows I am changing out are cheap aluminum with new glass.
Is reuse possible?
Does anyone have experience with this or have suggestions?
December 15, 2007
new wiring
I am renovating and wanted some advice. We need to rewire the whole place (four floors). We have decided to pull off the base molding and rewire there (hoping to save the plaster walls). We plan to put all electrical outlets in the base boards. Does anyone have any experience with this? If so, what challenges did you encounter?
November 30, 2007
woodworking question - old cabinets
My rowhouse has a beautiful wood pantry with cabinets and drawers. I am restoring it but I have a problem with the drawers and am looking for advice. The drawers are primitive-in that they are a simple box shape, no lip or framing. When they are pushed in, the sides of the drawer are flush with the cabinet. My issue is that when you pull them out they sag or fall out. There is no mechanism on the sides at all to keep the from falling out of the cabinet when opened and the sides are flush with the cabinet making normal slider kits unusable.
So my question is: Is there a way to retrofit them with some other kid of sliders, even when they pull out flush to the cabinet?
Should I take the front panel of the drawers off and make new drawers with sliders?
What are my options?
Thanks in advance.
Author's Comments
wow. the code point is interesting because the contractor nor the architect have mentioned that. They told ME they could do it through the base boards. In addition, I have seen wiring pulled and snaked out without digging in the walls and pulling down plaster. Now I'm confused.
Posted by: hhitchc at December 15, 2007 11:44 PM in response to new wiring
Ok. I am wondering if the idea is to hide all the running wiring along the base board level and then just come up in places where the outlet will be. One more question. Does the electrition have to remove ALL the old wiring? And a newbie question, can the new wire be tied to the old wire and pulled through, like in the instance of a light fixture? (I have seen extensive patch jobs and minimal plaster patch jobs.)
I am just trying to arm myself with suggestions so when the contractor tells me he has to rip the 110 year old plaster walls down, I can counter.
Posted by: hhitchc at December 16, 2007 12:07 AM in response to new wiring
This is a great question. I think your options are totally open to whatever you like. I currently have my floors stained very dark (I think the name was dark walnut and I did two light coats so I could still see the grain.) Its an idea I got from a French country magazine.
However, I have seen lighter shades that looked attractive as well. If you have any stairs or moulding or paneling to contend with I would say do not try to match, instead go a couple of tones warmer.
I think old homes take an eclectic variation of finishes, best in warmer, natural tones.
Posted by: hhitchc at January 3, 2008 1:10 PM in response to What color floor stain did you use?
Mrs. Limestone, just send me your email and Ill send you some pics. hhitchc@nyc.rr.com
Posted by: hhitchc at January 4, 2008 10:52 AM in response to What color floor stain did you use?
And here are some pics from AT if anyone else was interested. As far as dust and scratches, I think for a while I noticed every mark, but after a month or so the finish got a little patina to it and scratching and dust was not noticeable.
Posted by: hhitchc at January 4, 2008 11:04 AM in response to What color floor stain did you use?
I hate to post on my own but I forgot to mention that it could be used by the new owner as pantry or wet sink/built in, in a living room, etc.
Posted by: hhitchc at January 24, 2008 2:21 PM in response to Closet for sale
You know, its an interesting thing buying an old house and renovating it. When looking for a little dream home I saw many houses that were cheaper but gutted and I passed. I looked for an old house with original details (for three years!) and I bought one with LOTS of details. I paid for the old details.
Now that that I have begun to work on it I realize there are some things I absolutely love and want to restore... the detailed floors, the pantry, the fireplaces, the plaster, some lighting. I actually excavated subway tiles out of a bathroom to use again in a different bathroom. "I WANT TO KEEP IT ALL!!!" I said to everyone, until their ears were sore.
Then I started to give on a few things. Like this closet. It is totally amazing but its not a useful closet by today's standards. The identical one I saw in a similar house was so beautiful but the owner had to build another closet for her hanging clothes (to do this she ripped out the study and all its original details, which I am keeping.)
All in all its a crazy experience working on an old house. When I heard what it was going to cost to restore the wood work, the paneling, the stairs, the roof, the mechanicals, the floors, the fireplaces, etc... oh my!
My fantasy is that someone will make it their project and restore and use it, like in the good ole days. :)
Posted by: hhitchc at January 25, 2008 6:18 PM in response to Closet for sale
I would like to fix them up if I can. I will look into the lamp doctor. I was curious to read the feed back and if anyone had these in their home. Thanks
Posted by: hhitchc at January 25, 2008 7:51 PM in response to what is this?
I did not write that. I swear. :)
Posted by: hhitchc at January 26, 2008 4:44 PM in response to Closet for sale
Responses to Author's Forum Comments
its worth saying 3 times, to those who even think of it. don't do structural work yourself, anyone.
worst case scenario, the building falls down, or a kookoo building inspector says it might, even though he is wrong. the city comes and knocks it down, to be on the safe side. it has happened in ny. play it safe, dude, play it safe!
Qoute, when seeking advice, think how you would advise someone else, then follow your own advice!
Posted by: brownstone89 at March 11, 2008 12:06 AM in response to blowing out rear wall in historic district.
I have a couple of planters that have been painted. They are weathered, but I don't know how old they are. And they don't have a hole for a drain. Email if you want photos. I can bring them to the flea if you like them.
infoATreclaimedhomeDOTcom
Posted by: rh at April 3, 2008 6:22 PM in response to Where can I find these?
I agree with the previous poster, those are probably hypertufa planters, a light weight alternative to stone troughs, which have become very difficult to buy and extremelly expensive. Personally, I would like the look of it as a sink, but I think it would be a royal pain to keep clean, the coarse surface would collect soap scum and be almost impossible to get off.
Posted by: guest at April 4, 2008 9:55 PM in response to Where can I find these?
Yes, it's still on display. You can't ride it yet, but it does run when the storefront where it is housed is open. I walked by recently when it was closed, and you can still see the carousel through the gate at the location. I also grew up in Youngstown and rode it as a kid -- and I've met others, like your dad, at some of the events held when the carousel was still being restored. I'm sure your dad will enjoy it because it does look amazing to see it in such pristine shape.
Posted by: guest at April 21, 2008 11:03 AM in response to Jane's Carousel/ Idora Park's Carousel
Bet you did not expect that under your tree. :)
The safest way to remedy little pesky things in house pants is a combo of rubbing alcohol and water in a spray bottle. I think its half and half, 1:1. Just hit them a few times today and then tomorrow until they are gone. Works for all sorts of spiders, aphids, ants, etc.
Posted by: hhitchc at December 4, 2007 11:05 AM in response to Christma Tree Bugs