Thanks for sharing. Trachtman and Bach have lots of connections and know what they're doing. I met with them several times although I ended up getting a good deal with Bank of America going direct about 11 months ago.

Your very good credit ratings and what sounds like a good purchase price with rental income must have helped. Banks have to make money, too. If they are not loaning money to solid candidates, they are not making money.

Good luck with your renovation. Just about 80% done here in Sunset Park.

Posted by: renomandru at November 15, 2008 9:17 AM in response to bought a house with 10% down

Thanks everyone for the feedback and advice. I will be checking out Farrow & Ball. I am not possessed with restoring to a period look or color, but am highly motivated to pick colors and textures that we will love.

Mopar, we painted some of the trim with an almost pure white and have come to believe that a cream would have been better. Only one pint of oil-based paint. Worth the experiment.

Vinca, the links were eye-openers and gave me some good ideas of what some viable options are.

Zil, the search starts with you.

Posted by: renomandru at October 15, 2008 11:37 PM in response to Paint color scheme help

Hi,

We are about to hook up Myson radiators (actually, most of them are supplied by an Austrian manufacturer). A few things:
yes, you can combine Runtal or Myson radiators with other products such as baseboard heating and other forced hot water radiators, but you have to be make sure that the system does not get constant injections of new water due to a leak so that oxygen is not constantly reintroduced. Corrosion is a concern with too much fresh oxygen.

Also, thinner wall radiators will heat space more quickly, so I suspect that you might get unpredictable results, depending on the placement of the thermostats.

The lower temperature comment is relevant for only towel warmers and radiant floor, where the temperature should be kept around 120-130F. Myson is well known for their towel warmers.

We have just thrown out all of our cast iron radiators precisely because of the space they take up, opting for two, smaller, wall-hung radiators under the windows in each larger room. We are also going with tall, wall radiators in the hallway and kitchen area to conserve on space.

Each radiator has its own thermostatic valve and the design of the radiator with a bypass valve allows us to shut off any radiator independent of the others even though they are connected in series within a zone. Took a while to figure out the details and I am telling the plumber how to build it!

We replaced the old pipe with PEX tubing and went for both hydronic radiant floor and a towel warmer on separate loops controlled by a Roth Industries shunt valve that keeps the water supplied by the burner at the lower temperature needed.

You are more than welcome to contact me about our design decisions and take a look at the solution here in Sunset Park. Contact me at andru3 at gmail com.

Posted by: renomandru at October 7, 2008 11:33 PM in response to Runtal Radiators

Plaster of paris is very difficult to work with for an amateur. Regular joint compound is easy, but not durable. It is good for skim coating on many surfaces, but for deep and wide patching, you may want to use a setting type joint compound that gets almost as hard. You will not find this everywhere, but Durabond makes it with different setting intervals (60 m, 90 min).

Another commonly used approach is to use structolite (available at home depot) as a base and then skim coat with joint compound if you don't have the plastering skills.

Structolite gets rock hard and is an excellent base for finish work, but if attaching to brick or concrete, you should prewet the base to ensure that the moisture does not draw out of the Structolite too fast.

Lastly, pay attention to the base. If it is chalky or glossy, you will want to ensure adhesion of the base or finish coat. Depending on the situation, a penetrating primer or plasterbond to ensure adhesion may be advisable.

Posted by: renomandru at October 1, 2008 11:40 PM in response to Joint compound or plaster of paris?

Hi, I have a brand-new set for our fireplace in our apartment that we never used. The log-holder/grate, screen, and poker, shovel, etc set. Moving in about 4 weeks and would like to find a good home for the set.

We are in park slope. A steal at $25. Call me at 917 319 9971. Andrew

Posted by: renomandru at April 20, 2008 12:15 AM in response to fireplace hardware source?

Hi, I have a brand-new set for our fireplace in our apartment that we never used. The log-holder/grate, screen, and poker, shovel, etc set. Moving in about 4 weeks and would like to find a good home for the set.

We are in park slope. A steal at $25. Call me at 917 319 9971. Andrew

Posted by: renomandru at April 20, 2008 12:14 AM in response to fireplace hardware source?

OP again. I'm starting to feel too picky and a bit guilty about all the distributors I've tortured. Ok, quick list of some of the cabinet lines I've actually touched:
Ikea
Thomasville
Schuler/Medallion Gold
Plain and Fancy
Rutt
Wellborn
Signature
Kraftmaid
Quaker Maid
Craftmaid
Luxor
some high-end Italian line to die for (save the caginets, forget everything else if there's a fire)
and about 5 others

See, Medallian Gold doesn't offer frameless, Quaker Maid doesn't offer sliding drawers where the drawer sides are as high as the face (so your tupperware lids don't spill out), the higher end ones just get pricey because they bake on the finish a gajillion times and build every thing from scratch including the doors. And by the way, solid wood boxes does not equal wood planks, but plywood, except in the very very high end cabinets. Plywood boxes are absolutely fine and are superior to planks due to stability, esp. when the sides and bottom plywood is 3/4" not 5/8" or 1/2" thick..

What I need to avoid is melamine/partical board construction (sorry Ikea).

I'll stop my complaining and make a decision soon and let those interested know where my agonalyis leads me. Thanks to all.

Posted by: renomandru at February 20, 2008 6:44 PM in response to Kitchen Cabinet Alternatives

OP here. Thanks for the feedback, friends.

Mrs. Limestone, I have been following your blog and the caliber kitchens you bought is what I am referring to (I think). Ikea simply does not offer the quality of materials I would expect to last 20+ years. I am not on a shoe-string budget, but figure 15K for 10 high-end cabinets plus a couple of panels should suffice. No such luck.

Hello 7:38 PM. Thanks for the link. Had stumbled into this site myself, and am intrigued, but wasn't convinced. Will give them a call. Either way, I will let you know what I decide, so check this posting over the next few weeks. By the way, I have considered at least 12 different cabinet manufacturers from multiple sources. To get the quality I want, it seems I need to pay over 2-3K a cabinet. Not talking exotic wood, extensive grain matching, hand-carved....

Sigh.

Posted by: renomandru at February 20, 2008 12:11 PM in response to Kitchen Cabinet Alternatives

Hi,
I had the exact same problem. I posted on Brownstoner and was contacted by a woman who helped me as a color consultant. She has a design background and was very helpful presenting entire palette ideas. Her name is Rebecca, and her email is rcaindc@aol.com. We are just finishing a year long renovation of an 1850s house in Chelsea. I knew the types of colors I wanted, but she really helped me put it all together, and it was not expensive!
I recommend you contact her.
Good luck.

Posted by: homey at October 16, 2008 11:25 PM in response to Paint color scheme help

Try Clare Donohue at 121studio.com. Color consultation is one of her areas of expertise. She gave me some great ideas for room colors in my brownstone.

Posted by: keep at October 17, 2008 1:10 AM in response to Paint color scheme help

COngratulations. What bank did they end up using for the mortgage?

Posted by: annieny at November 15, 2008 9:39 AM in response to bought a house with 10% down

Congrats! Its great that you managed to pull this off in this climate, and that you had the gumption to see it through. Well done and enjoy.

Posted by: wasder at November 15, 2008 10:32 AM in response to bought a house with 10% down

sounds like a real deal

that's an excellent price

job well done

there's some good Mexican food in that area -- enjoy!

Posted by: IronBalls at November 15, 2008 10:56 AM in response to bought a house with 10% down

Thanks so much for the info. Do you have to pay private mortgage insurance every month? Also, I guess one can debate endlessly what "moderate" income means in NYC, but the median is about $70,000 and I do believe you would have to have combined household income of $150,000 or so to take out a mortgage of $700,000 or so.

Posted by: mopar at November 15, 2008 11:43 AM in response to bought a house with 10% down

thanks for the comments everyone. It would be unfair for me to spill who the bank was, as that's the professional service that mortgage brokers provide. I do think 10% is a rare deal, there were only two banks she works with that would consider doing it. One of them fell through because they couldn't find PMI from a company that they are allowed to work with. The other one popped up at the last minute. It was all very down-to-the-wire and hairy.

Yes there's PMI of about $300 a month. Sucks but will hopefully be worth it in the end. Our plan is to spend what we have left (which was more about a month ago) on the renovation, re-appraise and get out of it. But this clearly won't fly if values depreciate in the short term.

Yeah I guess I don't know what moderate income is, but we make a lot less than doctors, lawyers and bankers for sure, and we spent years in school. Your number is pretty close.

Posted by: cottontop at November 15, 2008 4:30 PM in response to bought a house with 10% down

Congratulations. Sounds like a great price. Best of luck!

By total coincidence, I was on 15th street the other day. Seems quite nice to me. And my nieces go to PS124, which is a pretty good school I hear.

"My wife and I have moderate incomes, with credit in the mid-high 700's. No debt."

Similar situation to my wife and I, though I am curious about what constitutes a "moderate income". Like mopar, I think you are probably talking about $150K combined income.

Posted by: theandrewlee at November 15, 2008 4:35 PM in response to bought a house with 10% down

oopps.. I think i got that P.S. number wrong.

Posted by: theandrewlee at November 15, 2008 4:39 PM in response to bought a house with 10% down

Oops... I think that's the wrong P.S. number. I think it's 107... not 124.

Posted by: theandrewlee at November 15, 2008 4:43 PM in response to bought a house with 10% down