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March 12, 2010
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We met with an architect a few weeks ago. He walked around the roof and we spent a fair amount of time discussing our hopes and dreams. Our biggest question was "How much is this going to cost?" We had no illusions that this was a "do it on the cheap" sort of project. Our coop would never allow it and there are serious safety concerns. Also, we've talked with the other families in the coop about who wants to help pay for what. More on that later but we wouldn't be the only ones paying for this.
He gathered some quotes and roughed out a quick breakdown of costs for our 1300 sq ft roof. This is a very quick breakdown and I'm sure everyone can bicker over how its done and how much it should really cost. We would gather bids from a number of companies so don't take these numbers as gospel. Just ask if you want more details.
February 19, 2010
What We Have
I've tried to detail what we want but I also wanted to describe what we have. Judging from the sea of silver rooftops that surround us, our roof isn't that different than our neighbors. When we first bought the place we were very excited about the prospect of a roof deck and the seller's realtor assured us that it was easy. At the time I thought to myself "If it's so easy, why are there so few roof decks up here?"
February 10, 2010
What We Want
I firmly believe that you should begin any design project by thinking about your grandest dreams and work backwards from there. Once reality begins to hit, you'll pretty quickly figure out what is essential, what would be nice, and what is a dream for another lifetime.
My dreams for a roofdeck may be a little different than most. Of course I want a place to entertain, hang out, stare at the stars, and decide the best flight path into LGA, EWK, and JFK (yes we see all three) but I also want to garden, increase the energy effeciency of the building, increase the safety of the roof and have shelter from the sun. There are also issues of access and everyone wants to be able to safely carry trays of drinks up to the roof. Finally, I'm sure it's illegal, but wouldn't a fire pit or propane heater be really nice in the fall?
February 4, 2010
Slope Roof Reno Launches!
Welcome to the Slope Roof Reno Blog! When we began looking to buy our first home we had two "must have" emenities, a fireplace and outdoor space. As we began looking, both on the UWS and in Park Slope, our "must haves" quickly moved to the "strongly want". While there were a lot of places in Park Slope with some sort of outdoor space, most of them were located in new buildings with low rates of occupancy. They were attractive, with slick finishes and often beautiful, spacious terraces but we were worried about our mortgage company financing them and wary of new construction in general.
December 29, 2009
Energy Audit
We're looking for someone to come in a tell us how to make our small coop more energy effecient. Any suggestions for services or programs?
August 26, 2009
Mortgage broker for Refi?
Does anyone know if you can use a mortgage broker to refinance?
Author's Comments
Thanks for the comments. Posts about the meeting with the architect are coming next. I'm just trying to structure the posting in a particular way that reflects the process.
Posted by: megunski at February 22, 2010 12:31 PM in response to What We Have
We have linen white walls (off white) with glossy stark white doors, baseboards, lots of trim and it makes the walls look off white. I wouldn't describe them as dirty looking but it accentuates the fact that the walls aren't stark white.
Posted by: megunski at January 20, 2010 5:02 PM in response to Off White Walls - Bright Doors?
I would look and note things like paint, household chemicals, etc and make sure they take it with them. It's a total pain to get rid of so you want to point it out.
Don't just assume that an outlet works well if there is something plugged in, they can be loose so give it a jiggle
Posted by: megunski at December 15, 2009 10:44 PM in response to Final Walk-Through
Have you thought about painting them yourself?
Perhaps call a painter who does small jobs and see if he can do it or recommend someone who can.
Posted by: megunski at November 30, 2009 5:51 PM in response to Painting Furniture
Ask the guys at J & R on 7th in Park Slope. The Kenmore Elite line was rated very highly by consumer reports and I think the more expensive one was $1400. The Kenmore has a convection oven if you like to bake too. We just bought the GE Profile and its not as powerful as the one we replaced but is still great.
We ordered ours through J & R and they had it there and delivered in a few days.
Posted by: megunski at October 20, 2009 8:09 AM in response to Help with stove/range
There are donation bins at the Lowes on 9th.
Posted by: megunski at October 9, 2009 6:14 PM in response to Clothing donations?
The old owner wanted to stay in for 3 months past closing without a firm move-out date (they were renovating their new place) so we included a clause that said they needed to pay our living expenses at our old place, my commute costs (since it meant we needed to stay in DC and I was already working in NY), our mortgage and maintainence plus $100 a day to stay in our place after closing. They decided it wasn't worth it and moved out right at the closing.
We also included a clause about hauling out all of their junk including paint and other not easy to dispose of items.
Posted by: megunski at August 26, 2009 9:33 AM in response to What to Have in the Contract?
I second J & R- they gave me a better price than Lowes and installed it and the AC I bought from them. They can also recommend one for your space, usage, and price range.
Posted by: megunski at August 5, 2009 9:12 AM in response to Washer/Dryer Installation
I usually tip the same as with a yellow cab. On my trips to the airports this week I noticed that the 777-7777 guys both added on much more in tolls than what was necessary. I normally tip 10$ on airport trips but not when they try to rip me off.
Posted by: megunski at January 12, 2009 12:48 PM in response to Car service tipping
that's weird since I took the picture on monday morning.
Posted by: megunski at December 31, 2008 3:23 PM in response to Wednesday Links
I saw a guy get on a crowded F train with two tissues stuck up his nose. He let out a tremendous sneeze sending the bloody tissues to the floor. He just ignored the until the whole car made a stink and he picked them up, shoved them in his pocket and got off at the next stop.
Posted by: megunski at December 15, 2008 9:45 PM in response to Monday Blogwrap
Perhaps it belongs on this blog:
http://lovelylisting.blogspot.com/
Posted by: megunski at December 12, 2008 11:56 AM in response to Horror Show Friday
Wow- Thanks for the compliments. I shoot with a Nikon D70 or a D200. I inherited all the equipment from my father when he died this spring and just started shooting digital in early summer. I have an etsy shop- www.megunski.etsy.com - if anyone is interested and you can see all my good pics on my flickr page, just click through the picture.
Posted by: megunski at December 10, 2008 1:47 PM in response to Wednesday Links
GHB- Hopefully that won't be too soon! I did just go ice skating though!
Posted by: megunski at November 14, 2008 2:25 PM in response to Thursday Blogwrap
Brooklynista- I'm just setting up an etsy account. Email me at (megunski)
@ (gmail.com) and I can send you the information. Thanks for the interest, I'm very new to photography so its exciting to see my pics online!
Posted by: megunski at November 14, 2008 9:44 AM in response to Thursday Blogwrap
Oddly enough, I'm totally allergic to fall so I can't wait for all of these pesky leaves to be gone!
Posted by: megunski at November 13, 2008 5:36 PM in response to Thursday Blogwrap
Thanks everyone for your comments about the picture, it's hard to go wrong when the park looks so great. This is my 4th or 5th picture used in brownstoner (I just changed my screen name) and it's always fun to see my pictures on the blog!
Posted by: megunski at November 12, 2008 9:55 PM in response to Wednesday Blogwrap
Responses to Author's Forum Comments
I recently saw a 30" Bertazoni (sp?) stainless steel range for less than $2500 on the internet somewhere. Looked great. Try EBay.
Posted by: HDL at October 20, 2009 3:42 PM in response to Help with stove/range
We also ordered our appliances from J&R and can highly recommend them. We looked at PC Richards then ordered from them. We got the Pro Electrolux 30" and have to say its probably just as good as the regular but we wanted the look too. That being said we LOVE it. We also considered the GE cafe which got highly recommended on consumer reports but we found the construction a little shoddy.
Posted by: Rocketjen at October 20, 2009 3:46 PM in response to Help with stove/range
If they're hardwood, why not strip them?
Posted by: denton at November 30, 2009 6:16 PM in response to Painting Furniture
I should have clarified this.....I don't have the resources (tools or chemicals), time or space (still in a small crowded apartment with cats and kids) to do it myself, or else I would. That's why I thought if someone was aware of someone who did do this kind of thing....this is my busy time of year as a freelancer so I could pay someone to do it. Hopefully not too much, but a fair price (whatever that is).
Posted by: sogo at December 3, 2009 7:48 AM in response to Painting Furniture
I second the curtain idea.
Posted by: geekspice at March 1, 2010 1:30 PM in response to Hanging a Closet Door
At the very least you should build a frame around that opening & hang the door on it. The sheetrock currently there won't tolerate the torque of any door no matter what hardware you use.
Posted by: Arkady at March 1, 2010 1:30 PM in response to Hanging a Closet Door
That opening looks way bigger than any hollow core door available for cheap.
Posted by: IMBY at March 1, 2010 1:50 PM in response to Hanging a Closet Door
You could hang directly off the wall sans frame IF there's a stud at that point to screw into (which there probably will be as it;s part of the internal framed opening.) But a single stud won't take much load, like a real wood door. Hollow core may work it you don't slam it.
Posted by: cmu at March 1, 2010 2:25 PM in response to Hanging a Closet Door
well, i have a bi-fold door that is light weight that I want to use, not a solid door, on the actual hinge. I just don't want to put the door on a track, because I want to build a shelf over the top of the closet door-- basically lower the height of the closet and avoid having to deal with building a track. so the biggest issue seems to be that I would need to put the hinge on some kind of support? what if the wall is concrete? would that support the hinge?
Can't use the curtain rod idea, though i like it because want to sell the apartment and have everything in good condition.
Posted by: bklynblues at March 1, 2010 2:57 PM in response to Hanging a Closet Door
Concrete of course could take high loads. Use special concrete anchors or concrete screws (you'll need a high-torque screw gun). However, I'm still having difficulty seeing how you'll finish this up nicely if you think a curtain rod is not sufficiently aesthetic.
Posted by: cmu at March 1, 2010 3:04 PM in response to Hanging a Closet Door
If you're not stuck with hanging a door, you could always put up a curtain and curtain rod
Posted by: megunski at March 1, 2010 1:23 PM in response to Hanging a Closet Door