michellefk's Profile
Author's Posts
July 22, 2009
Fresh Air to Boiler Room
I have a boiler room in a 3 family house that is enclosed by 2 hour walls and ceiling. Currently there is a window leading from one wall to a adjacent crawl space that vents to the outside. I know that I need to duct the air intake through the crawl space and of course submit to DOB. Do I need a 90 minute fire damper? Can I get away with an old memo from Dec. 21, 1977 that says a 1 hour duct is ok? The house is to be renovated so DOB will be involved one way or another. We are submitting under 1968 code.
June 11, 2009
Guardrail for stair landing
We are redoing a stair landing and wanted to know if a guardrail is required by code? The landing is less than 30" above the finished Residential Code we do not need a guardrail, but NYC's code does not mention any exceptions to having a guardrail.
January 13, 2009
contractor recommendation
We are buying a brownstone!
I need a contractor recommendation preferably by a homeowner.
I am a registered architect but am new to NYC and need to get accurate prices for my renovation.
The 3 family house is in need of some work but is habitable. We will convert to a 2 family.
Author's Comments
Piggybacking on the question - is a path from the street to the front door required in a front yard? If so what are the minimum dimensions? I looked at Zoning and can't find any minmium paving requirements.
Posted by: michellefk at May 26, 2009 12:53 PM in response to pavement removal along sidewalk
Hi all- I bought the 11th street property. It is a bit of a disaster! However, it's got great bones and much potential. I will be renovating it shortly and hope to share my experience with the Brownstoner community. I am an architect and am doing the project myself- I'm sure it will be an adventure.
Posted by: michellefk at May 14, 2009 7:47 PM in response to Brooklyn Sales: Under a Million
Do you have Shane's contact info? I am in need of an affordable contractor. You can also email me offline.
Posted by: michellefk at April 7, 2009 4:04 PM in response to The End is Nigh
How much is a "tight" budget? Is it possible to do this kind of project for under 300,000?
Posted by: michellefk at November 27, 2008 11:40 AM in response to Brooklyn Modern #2: Gut Renovated in Boerum Hill
Responses to Author's Forum Comments
Thanks SenatorSt, understood. But since discussion is revolving around areaways and yards, just wanted to add links relative to thread, to zoning, and to future initiatives under PlaNYC.
Posted by: vinca at May 26, 2009 1:09 PM in response to pavement removal along sidewalk
This is an existing property so all that matters is where the legal property line is. If the owners find that the areaway, or what was once an areaway, is still within their private property line then I advise them to put up an ironwork railing ASAP. Re-claim it as private. If you have the proof that its your property, I would not go to the DOT, I would just do it.
If it is no longer part of the property (many blocks had the property lines pushed back to the facade by the city in anticipation of street wideneing) then you will need to apply to DOT for any work.
Posted by: sam at May 26, 2009 1:43 PM in response to pavement removal along sidewalk
I have a related question. The owner before me planted a tree in a small garden plot in our "areaway". I don't think he realized how big the tree would get. It is 2-3 stories high. The tree is breaking up the concrete in the areaway and the sidewalk. We want to keep the tree and to keep the sidewalk safe (and avoid fines). So we are also trying to figure out if we can claim some of the sidewalk to give the tree a bigger pit. Right now, it is all behind a fence. We did get a notice from the city that we should try to keep the tree (part of PlaNYC, I think) and fix the sidewalk. Any leads on a contractor who would do this? The one time I had a tree guy look at it, his only advice was to get rid of the tree. OP: don't plant a tree!
Posted by: bkyn05 at May 26, 2009 2:08 PM in response to pavement removal along sidewalk
We did this in our front yard without a permit and had no problems. Of course that doesn't mean what we did was technically correct. As a practical matter, the jackhammering took less than an hour and our neighbors seem to view the planted area as a vast improvement over the former concrete paving, so I don't know how it would have become a problem unless a DOB inspector happened to drive by while the work was being done. But your neighbors might be different.
Posted by: supersleuth at May 26, 2009 2:22 PM in response to pavement removal along sidewalk
Bkyn05: The link below will answer some of your questions and also has contact information. We have a flowering tree in our areaway which we'd never give up; it was selected knowing that it's mature size would be appropriate to its location: http://www.nycgovparks.org/sub_permits_and_applications/images_and_pdfs/TREE_WORK_PERMIT_application.pdf
You'll also find useful links/information here: http://www.bbg.org/exp/bigtrees/info/
Posted by: vinca at May 26, 2009 2:33 PM in response to pavement removal along sidewalk
Thanks everyone. All helpful info. This area is inside our property line according to the most recent survey. It's not fenced in yet, but we're putting up a fence at our property line as well. Anyway, thanks for weighing in.
Posted by: sammsf at May 26, 2009 4:01 PM in response to pavement removal along sidewalk
vinca: thank you!
Posted by: bkyn05 at May 26, 2009 4:42 PM in response to pavement removal along sidewalk
Yes, I agree that serious harm could be had from falling off the landing. I am planning on putting in a guardrail, but wanted to see what, if any options I had in regards to 36" min. height, etc.
At this point I'm going with the strictest interpretation of the code.
Posted by: michellefk at June 12, 2009 5:36 PM in response to Guardrail for stair landing