kwar228's Profile
Author's Posts
October 26, 2009
Tile Installer
Anyone have any recommendations or someone they loved other than Rob Mara who seems to have disappeared? Hopefully nothing bad happened. Someone who has installed glass tiles, and whose work I can see? Thanks!
October 20, 2009
Pics of Metal Decks?
We're going to do a (legal) metal deck on the parlor floor of our brownstone with stairs down to the garden, but am looking to see what interesting solutions people have come up with, and what design choices are out there. Anyone have pictures of their beautiful decks? Or suggestions where to look?
September 29, 2009
Ceramic Tile Over Formica
I know you're probably not supposed to do it, but I'm having counters removed tomorrow and soapstone template made, then have only a day or so to deal with formica backsplash removal before the counters are put in. Everyone says formica's really hard to take off, and i don't have the know how to remove the backsplash wall and put new drywall there. Any suggestions for the easiest way for a not-so-handy person?
August 20, 2009
Doors in Bklyn
A couple of questions: is there any difference (other than price) between plain paneled wood (pine) doors from Lowes and from Dykes? And is there anything special I need to know about buying a french door for a ground floor brownstone room leading out to the garden. It's in our bedroom and I'll look at it everyday, and I want it to look good. Any advice on what kind of wood, where I can look at doors in Bklyn. whether I should buy it online?
August 10, 2009
toubleshooting mason
Any recommendations for an experienced mason who is excellent at troubleshooting problems in brownstones? We have an interior undiagnosed leak that I've had a number of people in to fix. There's no plumbing involved, and its apparently hard to tell what's the source, although the closest exterior area is the outside stoop. Any suggestions?
December 9, 2008
what kind of person do i call
This is the front room, garden level, of a brownstone, facing the street. I've had 2 mason-type people come to look. It must be unclear what the problem is and is maybe too small a job. The theory is that there is a leak, but no one knows from where....but it has to be from front of building. Does anyone have any experience with this, or know someone with lots of brownstone experience willing to do a smaller job? Thanks!
October 4, 2008
trying to find soapstone in bklyn
Having finally decided on soapstone for kitchen counters, I'm looking for local source/installers. One brownstoner suggestion was smc stone. Went there today, they were very nice, and have only one kind of greenish soapstone (don't know the name)and I like it. Is there any reason to go to a place that specializes in soapstone--should I just trust that whatever SMC Stone has will be good quality? Is soapstone a particularly fussy material, and needs to be bought /fabricated through soapstone outlet?
September 11, 2008
soapstone
Did a soapstone kitchen counter search on this site, and it seems like the only place people have used and recommended is Texeira in NJ. Does anyone have any leads for Brooklyn--looking for material and installation.
September 2, 2008
Another Icestone counter top question
Thanks for the responses on how icestone wears. Does anyone have any experience with A&K Tile Studio on 9th St. in Bklyn. The name is given as fabricator/showroom on the Icestone website.
August 29, 2008
Icestone kitchen counters
Anyone have an Icestone kitchen counter for a year or two---trying to find out how it ages.
Author's Comments
If you're going the reproduction route you can go to home and stone on coney island ave and get them there...that way you can see them in person and tell if you think they look too reproduction-y
Posted by: kwar228 at November 10, 2009 5:09 PM in response to Brass Door Hardware Needed
Vinca, I found his contact info:
Tile
Installer:
Giada Stone Corp.
Brooklyn, NY
tel. 718-832-2840
Contact: Mauro Zanutto
I guess I'll call, although I'm afraid he'll be really expensive....unless someone else has any other suggestions.
Posted by: kwar228 at October 27, 2009 4:05 PM in response to Tile Installer
orrsuz---you can email me at kitwarren@gmail.com. thanks! look forward to seeing your deck. and homey, thanks for your photos too.
Posted by: kwar228 at October 22, 2009 7:51 PM in response to Pics of Metal Decks?
Half of the urban kids in the world have been raised in houses with radiators. Along with many of my friends we raised our kids in Park Slope homes with radiators in every room. Your kids will learn, and it's not really an issue.
Posted by: kwar228 at October 20, 2009 7:09 PM in response to Replacing Radiators
Only problem with Teixeira is that they have a minimum, so if you have a small kitchen they won't do it. We're in the middle of getting soapstone counters done by Garden State Soapstone, also in NJ. It's similar in that you go out and chose your slab. They've been enormously helpful and nice to deal with and seem to do a lot of kitchens in Bklyn.
Google them to see their website etc. Will post when it's all done.
Posted by: kwar228 at September 15, 2009 3:24 PM in response to Sopstne Kitchen Countertops
Sounds like a nightmare. Unfortunately "one bedbug in a bottle" does an infestation make, plus you have the information from previous tenants to support it. If I were you I would do whatever I could to get out of the lease, and I would also be slightly concerned about my belongings in storage. This isn't paranoia, it's just fact about the way bedbugs infestations work. Do you have any lawyer friends who could call the landlord...he's not going to want the expense of a lawsuit either. A lawyer might signal that you mean business, and even if you have to lose some amount to make this go away it might be worth it in the long run.
Good luck!
Posted by: kwar228 at August 31, 2009 7:53 PM in response to Park Slope Bedbug Disaster
just fiy the vero sells for 100$ less online:
http://home-and-garden.become.com/duravit-0454500000-vero-19-58-washbasin--compare-prices--sc816516275
Posted by: kwar228 at August 31, 2009 10:38 AM in response to Sinks for sale
The doors from Lowes and Dykes appear to be the same, sound the same. Lowes--under 100$, Dykes closer to $200. I'm more worried about the french doors. Dykes charges 750 for a Simpson fir door with insulated glass panes. I want something that looks beautiful, not cheap and suburban development-y. Don't even know where to go or what to ask for since I haven't really seen garden floor back doors a whole lot. Anybody with pictures of back doors (in a brownstone) that they love?
Posted by: kwar228 at August 21, 2009 9:29 AM in response to Doors in Bklyn
thanks. daveinbedstuy, do you know of any good mason? hard to sort out who's basically just advertising for themselves when they reply to masonry posts. I'll call vinroy barronette.
Posted by: kwar228 at August 11, 2009 12:59 PM in response to toubleshooting mason
I also live on this block of berkeley . i'm happy that someone here is paying attention to our block, but also know no one who was canvassed about whether speed bumps were a good or bad idea, and what the implications were....i think when there is a change like this there needs to be some communication with residents. this seems to have happened with just a few people's knowledge.
i assume they are going to paint something on the bumps to make them more visible, but at this point cars don't see the first bump at all, and don't slow down until the second bump, then speed up noticeably after the second bump to make the light at 8th.
Posted by: kwar228 at June 6, 2009 11:27 AM in response to Berkeley Bump Bungle?
My question is why do you think that you and your children have more of a right than adults to use a public space? i'm not affiliated with them, but the soccer players you've mentioned are a bunch of brooklyn people who get great joy out of knowing they can join in on a weekly soccer game. i have teenage children who've grown up with the parks as their playgrounds, and one of the great things about the city parks is being able to witness the coming together of diverse groups of people in these games.
Posted by: kwar228 at May 15, 2009 7:40 PM in response to Soccer Players at Cadman Plaza
do they need any special installation, or are they like any other tile? I might be interested. looking for a backsplash to go with soapstone counters.
Posted by: kwar228 at March 10, 2009 7:32 PM in response to Glass tile 50% discount
do they need any special installation, or are they like any other tile? I might be interested. looking for a backsplash to go with soapstone counters.
Posted by: kwar228 at March 10, 2009 7:32 PM in response to Glass tile 50% discount
bar toto on 6th avenue and 11th street---nice, inexpensive, liquor, and they're always nice to kids and babies. or bar tabac on smith street.
Posted by: kwar228 at January 7, 2009 6:17 PM in response to need kid frndly, restaurant
Over the years I've used Jakobsen Boiler and Chimney for all sorts of chimney and boiler problems and have found them to be great and really nice. They were originally recommended to me by John Hlad. 718-338-5338.
Posted by: kwar228 at December 16, 2008 11:05 AM in response to Honest Chimney Guy
i tried teixeira but they have a minimum square footage that they deal with, and our square footage requirement (small park slope galley kitchen) didn't meet their number---maybe 300 sq. ft. So we went out to Garden State Soapstone in NJ (recommended on this site)---we haven't had it done yet, but they seemed great, and have no minimums. You pick out the stone, they come, make a template, cut the stone, and install.
Posted by: kwar228 at December 8, 2008 10:32 AM in response to has anyone experience putting in a soapstone kitchen counter top?
After having to sweep up the thousands of acorns from the oak tree in front of our house in Pk Sope this fall I can definitively say there is no acorn shortage.
Posted by: kwar228 at November 30, 2008 7:44 PM in response to Have you seen any acorns?
This doesn't appear to be a real store--it has actually been around--minus the sign and some interior work for a year or so, and has never, let me repeat never ever once been open. There has never been any human presence other than when they seemed to be doing some work inside. Maybe they needed a fake store address for something. And, as you say, there is no phone number. Oh well. Nice dress.
Posted by: kwar228 at November 24, 2008 2:31 PM in response to Streetlevel: New Boutique in the Slope
This building is a nightmare---I know (sane) people who live in it, and there have been major structural problems from the beginning---all sorts of sub-par building, countless ongoing lawsuits. Guttman seems to be a truly immoral man.
Posted by: kwar228 at November 10, 2008 8:44 PM in response to Condo of the Day: 50 Bridge Street
thanks to all. M. Teixeira has a 30sq. ft. minimum, so that rules out all of us with smaller kitchens. Brooklynista---are you guessing that SMC doesn't have real soapstone, or do you know if for a fact? It did have a name, i just can't remember it. I'd already called garden state---they seemed good--it just seems a far drive from bklyn. i guess i should go anyway.
Posted by: kwar228 at October 5, 2008 9:41 AM in response to trying to find soapstone in bklyn
thanks brooklynista! two years later are you still happy with your soapstone?
Posted by: kwar228 at September 12, 2008 7:11 AM in response to soapstone
thanks---i've been hearing mainly positive things about wear. Anyone have any experience with A&K Tile Studio in Brooklyn---they're a fabricator/showroom suggested on the icestone site.
Posted by: kwar228 at September 2, 2008 9:17 AM in response to Icestone kitchen counters
OP---what did you end up going with in terms of closet design and system? I'm trying to figure out what to do right now--and to figure out what's reasonable to spend on a closet. After all, it's a closet, not a living room.
Posted by: kwar228 at August 29, 2008 2:37 PM in response to Closet Demo & Doors & Organization
Responses to Author's Forum Comments
You're throwing away money replacing them. They are far superior to crappy baseboard heaters, which don't offer any radiant heat, only convection.
Posted by: Master Plvmber at October 20, 2009 7:13 PM in response to Replacing Radiators
steam or hot water?...if steam, you will not get anywhere near the btus required out of cast iron baseboard...if you that worried about the burn issue (which i think is overblown), get some radiator covers made..
Posted by: eman1234 at October 20, 2009 7:14 PM in response to Replacing Radiators
Will you also get rid of your stove because one of the kids might get burned? And hot-water faucets? And stairs? And the car? And all plastic bags? Instead of trying to protect your kids from all danger, teach them how to manage it. Let have them touch the radiator very quickly when it's hot and say the words "hot!" and "ouch!" Once or twice and they'll learn how not to get burned. Then you apply the same lesson to the stove and the faucets and any other "hot" things that might potentially hurt them.
Posted by: Silvermax at October 20, 2009 7:46 PM in response to Replacing Radiators
If they are hot water (one pipe going in and one pipe going out) rather than steam (one pipe going in, you can turn down the temperature of the water on the boiler. the radiators will need to stay on longer, but will be warm rather than hot. It will actually lower your heating bills. it is comparable to turning down the temperature on your water heater, which you should also do.
Covers will work too--if they are steam that is the best solution.
Posted by: ElvisPresley at October 20, 2009 9:15 PM in response to Replacing Radiators
Okay don't kill me, geez it's just radiators, and i already acknowledged that I may be throwing away money. Okay so i will keep em. They work perfectly fine and keep the house very work. Like they say, why fix something that aint broken. Thanks.
Posted by: Attention2detail at October 20, 2009 10:19 PM in response to Replacing Radiators
well definitely a valid concern, othercomments not withstanding.
but the best thing is to get covers made, it's an expense but a smaller one.
Posted by: argentina at October 20, 2009 11:17 PM in response to Replacing Radiators
I am glad people still like and use those bulky radiators. If properly maintained, they can last a very long time. Some radiator casting designs I have seen are beautiful. Form and function is a lost art.
Posted by: Aodrafting at October 21, 2009 12:26 AM in response to Replacing Radiators
Our radiators are never that hot to the touch - hot water system. Do you have steam?
Posted by: mshook at October 21, 2009 9:14 AM in response to Replacing Radiators
I remember as a kid liking to sit on the radiators - maybe with a blanket underneath (of course ours were not the huge victorian one...maybe from 1920 and squareish). lots of kids..steam radiator...I don't think ever so hot would get burned.
Posted by: Petebklyn at October 21, 2009 11:01 AM in response to Replacing Radiators
I empathize with your concerns. I have a daughter and a hot water system. Hot water is not as hot as steam. Locate the units carefully and consider using radiator covers. Ed Kopel Architects.
Posted by: edkopel at October 21, 2009 11:12 AM in response to Replacing Radiators
I'm in a similar position--our brownstone was painted about ten years ago, and now is in dire need of something--paint peeling, some crumbling detail etc. We'll NEVER be able to afford to "re-brownstone"....our cheapest quote has been about $40, 000 . So what do we do instead other than paint again...around $5000. (and yes, I know you could say that we shouldn't own it if we can't maintain it, but we've been here a loooong time).
Posted by: kwar228 at November 12, 2009 5:31 PM in response to Brownstone paint