nycapt's Profile
Author's Posts
July 24, 2008
Custom Bookcase Builder?
We would like to put in a large built-in bookcase in our living room. Does anyone have any recommendations for someone to build and install it in Manhattan? Thanks!
July 9, 2008
American Walnut Floors
We are doing a gut reno of our apartment and are trying to decide what kind of hardwood to use for our floors. Our favorite aesthetically is American walnut but we have heard from two different floor people that it is too soft to use for an entire apartment (including high traffic areas). The other contenders are maple (without stain) or stained white oak. Has anyone used American walnut that would share their experience?
May 19, 2008
A/V Recommendation?
We are renovating our apartment and our architect suggested hiring an A/V consultant to help with the TVs and related audio. We got proposals from his two contacts and they feel like highway robbery. Does anyone have any recommendations? Thanks!
May 16, 2008
Is skim coating necessary?
We just got bids back on from several contractors from our reno and one (of many) numbers that stuck out was the estimate for painting. The contractors said it's because of the skim coating specified by our architect. Is skim coating something we should definitely do? If so, any idea what a reasonable range would be to skim coat and paint about 2300 sq. ft. of new walls? Thanks!
October 8, 2007
Architect Recommendation for Apartment Combo
We are considering seriously buying the apartment next door to ours and combining the two apartments. Does anyone have a recommendation for a middle-of-the road architect who has experience with apartment combinations in Manhattan? Thanks!!
Author's Comments
We have the LG in stainless steel and have been very happy with it. The only down side that we have found so far (have had it about five months) is that the alarm to let you know when the door is open is on a very short timer and we have not yet figured out how to disable it (the manual has been of no help). Otherwise, it looks great and has been pretty roomy so far.
Posted by: nycapt at October 9, 2007 10:37 AM in response to LG vs Samsung refridgerator smackdown
3:34 - You made a good point. My 2300 sq. ft. number was of floor area and not of wall space, which I don't have calculated. Your estimates are very helpful, though, and it sounds like skim coating and painting should cost no more than $2/sf. Makes me think that I would have to have an awful lot of wall space to justify the numbers in the bids!
Posted by: nycapt at May 16, 2008 4:25 PM in response to Is skim coating necessary?
Thanks so much for all of the replies! It sounds like for new walls skim coating is not generally necessary unless we want to go to a much higher level of quality of finished product. We're meeting again with the architect this week to discuss a gameplan for the construction and you can be sure skim coating will be discussed.
Posted by: nycapt at May 19, 2008 9:56 AM in response to Is skim coating necessary?
Thanks for the insight, 10:58. Anyone else?
Posted by: nycapt at May 19, 2008 11:34 AM in response to A/V Recommendation?
We were working with a mortgage broker too who left his firm (Manhattan Mortgage) to go directly to a bank in the middle of our process. He got us a much better rate and a better overall deal directly through the bank and said that the market has shifted to where the banks are giving direct clients better deals than the brokers. Who knows if that's true but it doesn't hurt to call a few banks to get their rates on the type of loan you need.
Posted by: nycapt at July 10, 2008 9:41 AM in response to Mortgage Brokers
Another good place for all types of tile is Nemo Tile. Not the best service but good selection and display of various options.
Posted by: nycapt at July 24, 2008 7:14 PM in response to Sources for bath reno supplies?
Responses to Author's Forum Comments
If you know where the TV, amp, etc. will be and where you want the speakers it boggles my mind that you need a consultant to define the route of the wiring and cabling.
Posted by: johnife at May 19, 2008 1:14 PM in response to A/V Recommendation?
Glad you said that, 12:54. How hard is it to plug in some cables? Some have more money than sense.
Posted by: guest at May 19, 2008 3:24 PM in response to A/V Recommendation?
Agree with johnife.
If you know where you want to position each piece of equipment (look at home theater websites like sound and vision magazine, and avsforums.com) all you really need are the wires run for speaker wire, electric (say you mount a TV on the wall), and all the connections between the TV and the boxes (cable, DVD, receiver), etc. Map it out clearly.
If your mounting a tv to the wall, be sure to reinforce the wall if it is just plain sheetrock.
Also, you can use the above references to help you find good equipment, or just go to a specialty store (high end) or big box retailer (BB, CC, PcRichards) and test them yourself.
Most electricians and general contractorss can run the wiring through the walls (if your walls are open now, even better).
Or, you can spend an arm and a leg.
Posted by: guest at May 19, 2008 3:27 PM in response to A/V Recommendation?
People always think everything costs too much except of course the work they do, which doesn't cost enough.
Posted by: guest at May 19, 2008 6:16 PM in response to A/V Recommendation?
6:16,
On most posts concerning the costs of home improvements done by others than the owner I would tend to agree, but in this case I think the responses are questioning the need for engaging an A/V consultant at all, not whether the fee is too high. Note that it's the architect who recommended getting a consultant; it wasn't the OP's idea. Probably the architect has some buddy to whom he wants to direct some work.
Posted by: johnife at May 19, 2008 7:04 PM in response to A/V Recommendation?
more importantly, technology in the wireless area is changing so quickly that you may not need all that wiring in three years. we had our house wired for ethernet cables which are now totally useless.
Posted by: Cobblekrill at May 20, 2008 1:37 PM in response to A/V Recommendation?
10:58 here again.
Post up a diagram of the room and im sure we can figure it out for free on the forum!
Posted by: guest at May 20, 2008 2:20 PM in response to A/V Recommendation?
If you're an audio/videophile, you'll want a Consultant. A consultant does more than recommend where to put the wires. They recommend and specify high-end equipment, servers for your ipod music, sophisticated remote controls, wiring diagrams, home automation, lighting and shade controls, etc. The price is high because it's a very unique service and the equipment is very sophisticated. Some homeowners have multiple homes and there is the ability to link each homes server with automatic updates, etc.
If you're not an audiophile and don't care about all the stuff I mentioned above, then your architect can do a simple home network/data wiring diagram for your electrician to follow. I actually did this myself in my home. I ran all the speaker and CATV cable myself. We don't have sophisticated equipment though.
Posted by: spanishfish at May 24, 2008 10:30 AM in response to A/V Recommendation?
We just went through something similar as does anyone else trying to get loan. Until you lock in the rate, it is subject to move. In this case, the index rate that your mortgage lender uses for the loan package he/she is offering you has gone up son the rate you are being offered is going up. It's as simple as that. You can try to game the system by betting rates will come down, but if you get a rate you like it's best to lock it in then. Unitl you close, you can always switch to another lender. We did.
Posted by: bkbrewin at July 10, 2008 11:21 AM in response to Mortgage Brokers
I think that going to the bank directly works well if you're a straightforward package.
If you have a complicated earnings situation (ie freelance), then a mortgage broker is more than worth it.
Posted by: guest at July 10, 2008 11:54 AM in response to Mortgage Brokers
Thanks so much for all of the recommendations so far! Anyone else work with an architect that they loved?
Posted by: nycapt at October 9, 2007 10:34 AM in response to Architect Recommendation for Apartment Combo