As was stated above, there are a lot of postings on this topic in the archives. For our decent but not fancy renovation we have found the $100-150/sq ft figure to be a good rough guide.

Good luck.

Posted by: pmmtenement at November 17, 2009 2:59 PM in response to Need help

I read somewhere (bricks and brownstones maybe) that 6th Ave until 4th St is one of the longest most original stretches of "brownstone" streetscapes in NYC. Personally, I think the side streets are more quaint.

Posted by: pmmtenement at November 15, 2009 9:29 AM in response to Need recs for Park Slope tour

You could ask to have the estimated $ amount for a full replacement of the joists and the roof put in escrow. If only sistering is required the excess could revert to the seller. That way you can get covered for work required without sellers agreeing to taking down the ceiling.

Posted by: pmmtenement at November 12, 2009 6:25 PM in response to Fire damage to roof

I can't comment on the work needed, inspection, etc (but others have done a good job at that) but I can on whether on not you'll get financing.

We bought a house with extensive water damage throughout the top floor - you could see the sky from inside the top floor kitchen ceiling - and we didn't have any problems with the bank or mortgage broker. They simply asked if the building was habitable which technically it was. And the appraisal came back OK so they were fine.

Posted by: pmmtenement at November 12, 2009 6:19 PM in response to Water Damage/Mortgage Probs?

i agree. tiles lifting off the floor are the landlord's responsibility unless there is some VERY unusual and intensive use that the tenant has been subjecting the floor to (bowling?)

Posted by: pmmtenement at November 9, 2009 2:24 PM in response to Landlord Responsibilities

Fabulous building and great (if legal) configuration as someone mentioned. In a fantasy world, I would buy this with good friends and turn it into a two unit coop and rent to a good/quiet doctors office. I'd much rather have half of this home at this location than one of the smaller townhouses down by 4th Ave which would also run you ~$1.5M and not even have the income stream.

Posted by: pmmtenement at November 3, 2009 1:53 PM in response to House of the Day: 49 8th Avenue

You might look into a product called "traffic". My parents had orangey pine floors in their house and refinished them and they have retained their subsequent lighter/blonder tone for several years now.

We also used it in our home but have only had the refinished floors for less than a year.

Posted by: pmmtenement at November 1, 2009 8:57 AM in response to Urethane

3rd Nemo Tile. Also DalTile has a showroom nearby and their "wholesale/contractors only" location near Home Depot had a lot in stock and helped me.

Cannot 2nd A&K - got no help at all there.

Posted by: pmmtenement at October 28, 2009 10:17 PM in response to Tile Store?

I LOVE this house. The bay window is wonderful, the floorplan makes sense, and the block is one of the most charming I know of anywhere. And unlike some of the other posters I like the cleaner, white molding. It is not as heavy as some of the houses with TONS of original wood detail.

Posted by: pmmtenement at October 27, 2009 4:17 PM in response to House of the Day: 42 Grace Court

I have no experience with them personally but have been looking at the "modern" style steam radiators. For example: www.steamradiators.com which I believe are Runtal. Has anyone installed these or had experience with them?

We have a combo of old cast iron and awful 50s fin tubes in our house and while it isn't a priority to address since they are all behind covers, I would really like to replace them all eventually.

Posted by: pmmtenement at October 21, 2009 2:38 PM in response to Replacing Radiators

We recently put in new Marvins as part of our renovation and they definitely did not cost that much. I thought they were expensive at about $800-1000 ea for windows (depending on size) and about $300 ea for installation, but can't imagine how your uncle's could be costing $2500 ea.

Posted by: pmmtenement at October 21, 2009 2:10 PM in response to Top Energy Improvements?

I'm not a fan of how stark the interiors are but don't see that it is a huge deal to put up some molding, paint in colors that suit you and change out a couple fixtures. And the building is beautiful and the location great.

Posted by: pmmtenement at October 21, 2009 1:20 PM in response to Condo of the Day: 153 Lincoln Place, #3C

We have been so happy with the Ikea cabinets that we put in the rental unit we are currently living in while the rest of our house gets renovated that I am thinking about using Ikea in our owners kitchen as well.

Never looked at KraftMaid.

Posted by: pmmtenement at October 8, 2009 10:27 AM in response to Ikea vs. KraftMaid?

I agree that this is unacceptable and you are completely justified in asking it to be redone. Penny rounds are hard to work with and you might consider switching to small hexes instead.

Posted by: pmmtenement at October 4, 2009 10:35 AM in response to Penny Tile Disaster?

I agree. Thanks.

Posted by: pmmtenement at October 1, 2009 11:21 AM in response to

when we lived in dumbo this happened to us once. there were no signs in advance but they towed 2 blocks of cars to accomodate some filming. we were only towed around the corner but it was still sort of surprising and not in a good way.

Posted by: pmmtenement at September 30, 2009 6:19 PM in response to Attn Dumbo Drivers

I agree that it looks like it was dropped in from Seattle. But I like it as far as modern condo buildings go.

Posted by: pmmtenement at September 30, 2009 3:56 PM in response to Development Watch: 170 North 5th Street

Masterbuilder's comments are pretty good. One of the facts of NYC renovation that seems to only occasionally get mentioned on brownstoner is the challenges many people have with their architects. Granted this is a limited sample, but of my 5 friends and acquaintances who have done extensive renovations in the past couple years 4 of them had significant issues with their architects -- usually issues with not being as organized or as pragmatic about building as one would hope. Get references if you use an architect (or any other tradesperson) and try to find someone you know who has had a good experience with them on a similar project.

Posted by: pmmtenement at September 28, 2009 10:45 AM in response to 1st Time Renovation Advice?

in some states it is illegal to sell used mattresses, for health reasons. i thought it was in ny.

Posted by: pmmtenement at September 26, 2009 9:14 AM in response to Recycling an Old Mattress?

6% was standard before the real estate meltdown. But I have heard (from brokers themselves) that even "name brand" brokers (Corcoran, Brown Harris) were accepting 4% a few months ago.

Posted by: pmmtenement at September 15, 2009 6:05 PM in response to Sunset Park Brownstone Broker?

Our HVAC guy is charging us $19500 for 7 units installed in 3 floors. AC only. Original bid was ~$22K in the darkest days of current construction slowdown and our GC negotiated it down for us.

Good luck.

Posted by: pmmtenement at September 11, 2009 4:24 PM in response to Split Level A/C Cost for 2 Floors

I can reiterate everything above. 9 months in I really like the Ikea cabinets we installed. Look good, work great. We went with separate granite counters and some appliances.

I did buy some other items (faucet & sink) from Ikea as well. I am less happy with the faucet and wish I had bought it elsewhere. Pretty easy to fix but just a reinforcement of the advice stated by others to buy higher end appliances, hardware, etc from one who didn't take it.

Posted by: pmmtenement at September 2, 2009 3:53 PM in response to IKEA Kitchen

i bought an american standard for a tiny bathroom because it fit the space but i really don't like it. the flush is loud and seems to last a really long time and the standard seat seems "cheap" to me.

buying totos from here on out due to the numerous recommendations i have gotten.

Posted by: pmmtenement at September 2, 2009 3:19 PM in response to Toilet recommendations

i agree. sunset park has several great chinese places.

Posted by: pmmtenement at August 23, 2009 10:14 AM in response to Best chinese restaurant in BKLN

I framed out the wall like jack spade and tomgee to meet the chimney. Except where I put the fridge and there it was nice to have more space which made me able to have a "counter depth" fridge by just having it go a little deeper towards the old wall. But I also like chmod's approach of having deeper counters.

Posted by: pmmtenement at August 17, 2009 6:18 PM in response to Shallow Stove?

I haven't personally used them but there was a similar post here a couple months ago about someone having a bad experience.

I got great service from Nemo tile in Manhattan and from the DalTile showroom nearby. And the DalTile place by Home Depot agreed to serve me even though I think they are officially "only to the trade".

Good luck,
Suzanna

Posted by: pmmtenement at August 10, 2009 2:59 PM in response to A&K Tile?

Our Park Slope "Brownstone" is clearly an old tenement.

When my husband's grandparents came to visit (Jewish, both grew up on the UWS) his grandmother said, "I just can't believe that you guys worked 1/2 your life to buy the same place that my parents worked so hard to get out of."

It is pretty funny.

Posted by: pmmtenement at August 4, 2009 12:49 PM in response to Walkabout with Montrose: Tenement Living

All the advice above about price estimating is totally on point.

I am 2 floors down on a near gut in Park Slope and running at ~$175K so far (including all appliance, fixture, material, permit, architect, engineer, expediter, etc fees). Of that contractor & subcontractors has accounted for ~$130K.

What I don't agree with is all the statements warning of how horrible the experience is. Yes there will be frustrations and compromises (mine have mainly been related to permit delays and navigating the expeditor/architect to get them through).

But overall it has been fun and rewarding even though we live with a lot of dust. There is something wonderful about seeing a space that was previously so neglected and run down come back to life. And within the confines of your rough space and budget, you get to pick how you want to have it. It's great to live in a space that is custom-made for your tastes and needs.

My advice would be to find people you trust (especially the contractor) and let them do their jobs, stay pragmatic, and remember almost anything at the "surface design/taste" level can be redone down the road if you end up hating it.

If you do go down this path - good luck.

Posted by: pmmtenement at July 31, 2009 4:39 PM in response to Gut Reno Estimate?

We did a couple of improvements in our last rental. It was rent stabilized and we staying there for 12 yrs. In retrospect, if we had known we would stay there so long, I would have done more things.

For the things we did do, we shared the idea with the landlord before proceeding and made sure he agreed. We offered to allow him to select or interview contractors (which he chose not to). And for the largest item we agreed that in exchange for us paying for the improvement he would not increase the rent at the next lease renewal.

Good luck.

Posted by: pmmtenement at July 20, 2009 11:20 AM in response to Comestic Renos on a Rental?

are you really replacing a bathtub with a walk in shower without moving any plumbing?

Posted by: pmmtenement at June 30, 2009 4:02 AM in response to Bathroom renovation questions

I don't think a misunderstanding between the agent and the landlord can be characterized as illegal. Too bad about the closets. But storing items in a standard townhouse size hallway is a fire hazard. Just because the space was "for your use" doesn't mean you are allowed to use it for storage.

Question is - what do you want to do now, given that these spaces are not available for storage? Do you want to be let out of the lease? A rent reduction? Figure out what you want and focus your time on negotiating for it.

Posted by: pmmtenement at June 26, 2009 1:40 PM in response to Real estate agent/misrep?

$1400 one year ago; $950 6 years ago. $5000 is definitely steep.

Posted by: pmmtenement at June 19, 2009 3:09 PM in response to Is Lawyer Fee Reasonable?

is there a special reason you LOVE this house? if not, i would say to keep looking.
if what you are looking at is a standard 3 story limestone/brownstone, something similar with less problems should be available or come available soon.

Posted by: pmmtenement at June 15, 2009 2:29 PM in response to Do we walk? Need estimates?

agree with you dib.
but i read the original question and assumed this would be the backsplash, not that it would be above one.

Posted by: pmmtenement at June 12, 2009 1:02 PM in response to Can you tile over dry wall

totally agree with dt - sour grapes is right.

Posted by: pmmtenement at June 12, 2009 1:00 PM in response to 1094 Park Place

you can . . . but it isn't advisable. tile over sheet rock is not water proof or even close. A backsplash should be (thus the word "splash") but many people don't bother.

if you do tile over sheet rock just don't expect it to last very long. maybe 5-8 years.

Posted by: pmmtenement at June 12, 2009 12:51 PM in response to Can you tile over dry wall

congrats. glad it worked out.

Posted by: pmmtenement at June 9, 2009 5:00 PM in response to Removing a SWO

aluminum clad wood is definitely better than solid aluminum.

generally best quality is considered marvins or pellas (although there has been recent traffic about trimlines being good).

our contractor installed ours so can't recommend a window company.

Posted by: pmmtenement at June 9, 2009 4:50 PM in response to window company recommendations?

I walk by here on the way to the subway regularly and agree with the comment that it is an interesting mix - not prime park slope brownstone but an combo of old and new, residential and other. And it is super convenient.

Posted by: pmmtenement at June 9, 2009 4:42 PM in response to 8th St between 4th and 5th aves

I was on the fence about this whole project from the get go and wasn't a huge fan of the gehry design but this thing is UGLY. And now I am against - both because it is ugly and because of the "bait and switch". I hope it never gets built.

Posted by: pmmtenement at June 9, 2009 12:58 PM in response to Ouroussoff, Tell Us How You Really Feel

We had a good experience with All State. On time, did everything efficiently, no damage and came in on budget.

Posted by: pmmtenement at May 29, 2009 12:55 PM in response to Mover recs?

an exterminator can come kill them.

in my experience they come back the following year anyway so if you are going to go that route be prepared to exterminate every year.

iris's recommendation to paint the old wood is probably the best approach.

Posted by: pmmtenement at May 28, 2009 12:24 PM in response to Carpenter Bee in my back yard

Also, I would say 10-15 years is short for a roof. It entirely depends on the roof materials. A standard shingle roof is 25-30 yrs (for example).

Posted by: pmmtenement at May 18, 2009 4:40 PM in response to Boiler and Roof

My boiler is ~40 years old and needs to be replaced. I got a quote last fall of 4K. And when we replaced the boiler at our weekend place a few years ago it was $3K.

The boiler is no doubt very inefficient. But judging from what I pay in gas bills and what others with similar sized houses have said on this site they pay, my house overall is relatively efficient. Keep in mind that heating efficiency has a lot to do with the overall state of your property - windows, insulation, roof, weatherstripping, etc

Posted by: pmmtenement at May 18, 2009 4:38 PM in response to Boiler and Roof

thank you for your posts. your garden is really coming together.

Posted by: pmmtenement at May 18, 2009 12:48 PM in response to Veggie Garden Time!

We are about 1/3rd through a near gut (new electrical, gas, ac, windows, mostly new plumbing, etc) and so far it is running us about $160/sq ft. Mostly not high end appliances and finishes but not low either -- middle I guess.

And we really like our contractor - not fancy but very reliable and trust-worthy and his crew is hard working. I don't rely on him for the "specialty items" but very that is very limited so far.

Posted by: pmmtenement at May 17, 2009 7:39 PM in response to Estimating Renovation Costs

what are the dimensions of the tub. we are planning on going down a similar path and restore one in our house but if we can buy a complete one instead, would do so.

Posted by: pmmtenement at April 30, 2009 5:46 PM in response to CLAW FOOT CAST IRON TUB 4 SALE!

minmin - i totally agree. i was reading the description and kind of puzzled by highlighting the shelves so early. and then i saw them and thought - yuck! they look awful. Sagging, a weird shelve that is open and useless below. it's like a bad dormroom experiment.

Posted by: pmmtenement at April 24, 2009 10:37 AM in response to Condo of the Day: 70 Washington Street, #4S

Most of Dumbo is zoned for ps 8 (in fact I think all of except the projects) which is considered good. But I have to imagine that anyone plunking down $3M+ would likely be planning on private school.

Posted by: pmmtenement at April 22, 2009 2:04 PM in response to Condo of the Day: One Main Street, #9B

I vote for testing too. You might be positively surprised.

We had a rediculous number of different OLD lineleum in the house we are renovating and had them all tested. Of the 20+ different linoleum tiles, ALL pre-1970, only 2 had any asbestos at all and only 1 of those at levels that would require careful removal.

Posted by: pmmtenement at April 21, 2009 3:57 PM in response to Asbestos and Linoleum Flooring

How/where does one obtain a fire report?

We recently purchased a 3-family townhouse in Crown Heights. During renovation work, the electrician took down part of the ceiling in the basement to reveal the aftermath of what looked like a serious fire.

Fortunately, the damage was repaired (sistered joists) but we're still curious when the fire happened and any other details about it.

Posted by: eastbloc at November 13, 2009 10:03 AM in response to Fire damage to roof

For a small search fee, I'm sure your attorney could obtain the fire report for you. Anyhow, we've decided to pull out of this house. The Seller's aren't showing willingness to investigate the fire damage and they're not being particularly cooperative. We don't need to be dealing with shady Sellers and to be honest, the house is nice but it's not that great. Thankyou to everyone for your replies, your help has been invaluable.

Posted by: cmcrossland at November 13, 2009 11:58 AM in response to Fire damage to roof

Richard Perri came do help us with water leaks on our unattached side and we found him very helpful. I wouldn't hesitate to reccommend him for an inspection. BTW we also used Scott Schnall. Seemed okay, but a little slow although that could have been our intermediary.

Posted by: printsmaniac at November 13, 2009 6:21 PM in response to Water Damage/Mortgage Probs?

Good luck if you do purchase the house give me a call I could repair the plaster walls in the house I do great skim coat work and love to work with plaster. Some painters will reapir however in a few months you have yellowing and mold so when you close call me at Gabriela Painting 718-331-3889 or email me at gabipaintinginc@aol.com best prices in brooklyn

Posted by: max senises at November 14, 2009 10:43 AM in response to Water Damage/Mortgage Probs?

I'd walk around the side streets in the North Slope near the park. President, Carroll, Montgomery, etc. Some of the grandest and most interesting architecture in the Slope. And then Third St., toward the park entrance with the mountain lions.

Posted by: ilovebrooklyn at November 15, 2009 9:41 AM in response to Need recs for Park Slope tour

Yeah, 3rd btw 8th and PPW is my favorite.

Posted by: denton at November 15, 2009 9:55 AM in response to Need recs for Park Slope tour

On a block for block basis, the North Slope is definitely a beautiful and compact area for a walking tour of Park Slope. The Brooklyn Historical Society's got this brochure (though parts, like the mention of Henington Press, are outdated): http://brooklynhistory.org/publications/download/BHSParkSlopeGuideTours.pdf
If your walk extends late enough in the day, you'll enjoy the advantage of early nightfall and be able to peak at interiors too. A really great site with photos and other information about Park Slope is: http://www.nyc-architecture.com/PS/PS.htm

Posted by: vinca at November 15, 2009 10:02 AM in response to Need recs for Park Slope tour

Square bounded by Carroll Street, seventh avenue, first street and prospect park. Polhemus/Fiske places. President between 8th and the park. Woodhull mansion and ethical culture society on ppw between 1st and 2nd. Agree with third street and montauk club as well. Maybe the Litchfield villa in the park too.

Posted by: SJ at November 15, 2009 11:23 AM in response to Need recs for Park Slope tour

Make sure she wears steel tipped boots on your walking tour. Those Bugaboos and Double Mountain Buggy Urban Strollers can take a toe just like that.

Posted by: IMBY at November 15, 2009 11:53 AM in response to Need recs for Park Slope tour

If you eat at the Montaulk Club, leave lots of time (not great service), and don't arrive too hungry (not great food). The place does look good though! (Does your mother know your Brownstoner name?)

Posted by: Susan Elkins at November 15, 2009 12:38 PM in response to Need recs for Park Slope tour