We just got rid of about 40 contractor bags of concrete, tile and plaster, & six bundles of timber from a bathroom demo in Bed Stuy. $275 for curbside removal within 36 hours of calling. Ground Up Construction in Crown Heights: 718-812-7383.

Posted by: se at October 28, 2009 10:47 PM in response to Dumpster Details?

Slopenick, do you really think a new roof should cost $2000? I am getting quotes for a new roof on our brownstone (19 x 42) and so far am hearing $3200 for a torch applied rubber roof, and a little more for a modified bitumen roof that is applied with glue. According to both roofers we've spoken to, torching is illegal, but often done anyway. As I've never paid for a new roof, I have no idea there is some reason to go with the illegal approach over glue other than to save money.

Posted by: se at September 9, 2009 2:18 PM in response to Roof Inspection Results - help!

Another farmers market started in Bed Stuy last Saturday at Hattie Carthan park on Marcy and Clifton Place. It will be operating from 9-3 every Saturday through October.

Posted by: se at July 17, 2009 9:47 AM in response to Closing Bell: Bed Stuy Farmers Market Gaining Momentum

Another farmers market started in Bed Stuy last Saturday at Hattie Carthan park on Marcy and Clifton Place. It will be operating from 9-3 every Saturday through October.

Posted by: se at July 17, 2009 9:47 AM in response to Closing Bell: Bed Stuy Farmers Market Gaining Momentum

We are in Bed Stuy and also have lead in the soil. It does not need to change all of your plans for vegetable gardening as the lead is only absorbed by the leaves of plants, not by fruit and seeds. Tomatoes, beans, cucumbers, berries, peppers, etc. are all fine to raise in your soil. We had ours tested by Cornell and the contact from the extension office here in Brooklyn thought the high levels might be due to prior residents dumping coal ash from furnaces in the yard long ago. Like yours, our soil seems healthy otherwise.

A few other things I've heard and read are that lead only leaches downwards, so as long as your raised bed is 6 - 8 inches deep, deep enough for most leafy greens, radishes and onions, they will not pick up the lead.
Adding organic matter to the soil prevents plants from picking up the lead as it attaches to the organic matter instead.
Growing crops of spinach and other greens and then throwing away the crop will also help to draw the lead out of the soil. we plan to plant the whole yard with winter rye this fall.
The Cornell person suggested that the most effective way to reduce the level of lead is to add compost and mulch -- as much as possible every year and continue to test.

Posted by: se at May 1, 2009 6:54 PM in response to reality of city gardening

I went through this process myself. For the black glue I sponged lots of warm water over it to soften and loosen it up and then scraped it off with one of those four sided paint scrapers. It worked much better than sanding and is safer if it does contain asbestos,

Posted by: se at April 21, 2009 11:46 AM in response to Asbestos and Linoleum Flooring

Thanks for sharing your read of the government plans to buy mortgage backed securities and the market reaction to the news. I have been reading about this and think we'll wait a little longer.
We have a Community Works mortgage through HSBC for our 3 family house which we pursued entirely because of the subsidized rate. It is usually around .5% lower than a standard 30 year fixed rate-- it's a good deal. I recommend any first time buyers look into the program.

Posted by: se at December 29, 2008 8:33 AM in response to should we lock in a rate?

Thanks for the comments.
Adam, is there a quick answer as to why you think rates will go down more after the new year?
Honeycut, you are right; HSBC Community Works is the loan we are working with.

Posted by: se at December 23, 2008 9:06 PM in response to should we lock in a rate?

HSBC has a loan program to promote home ownership in low income neighborhoods called Community Works. It's for first time buyers and the interest rates are usually 1/3 to 1/2 point lower than standard mortgages. I'm about to close on a loan with them for a house in Bedford Stuyvesant and have had a good experience so far, though it is a bit slow.

Posted by: se at October 28, 2008 9:48 AM in response to resources for new home buyers

The black mastic beneath true linoleum is often hide glue. (Basically a super version of Lepages glue. It is water soluble.)

I repeat - that black stuff may very well be water soluble. Sanding is pointless because it's hard as iron after 60 - 80 years underfoot.

If you actually have linoleum, it's probably from the 1920's thru the 1940's. Chances are it doesn't have asbestos in it. Linoleum is made with linseed oil, sawdust, pigments and sometimes a jute fiber backing. Linseed oil (ie flaxseed oil) is edible although there isn't much salvage linoleum I'd be willing to put in my mouth. (Although with all the hemp in there I might be willing to smoke it...)

To remove mastic:

You need a pan of super hot water. In a small out of sight area and try slopping quite a bit of water on the spot (use a car sponge to rapidly saturate it). Let it stand for only a couple of minutes then take a scraper and try scraping it up. It will move and dissolve if it's hide glue.

If this IS hide glue, you have to work very fast and dry out the wooden sub flooring as you saturate,then scrape. I used a blow dryer and later a heat gun. You don't want to have your wood "potato chip" after you scrape the stuff off.

I did this to a stairway and a hallway and although the hardwood underneath did deform a little, after a year or two the minor warping disappeared.

The tar or contact cement style glue used with vinyl (a la hancockone's excellent post above) probably needs oil based solvents to remove.

Posted by: Stonergut at April 22, 2009 8:43 PM in response to Asbestos and Linoleum Flooring

This is a whole new wrinkle, throws a wrench into my apocalypse gardening plans.

Posted by: mopar at May 2, 2009 12:58 AM in response to reality of city gardening

hi,
thanks for the comments. i appreciate the suggestions, se! i will try adding lots of compost and mulch and retesting in the years to come. that makes sense that lead leaches downward, but i hadn't thought about it. i had our soil tested at the brooklyn college, environmental sciences analytical center, and they break down the lead levels indifferent ranges. there is middle range which they say is safe to plant most vegetables, but not leafy greens. our lead level is well beyond the higher range, in which they suggest no vegetable planting at all. :(

Posted by: lc at May 2, 2009 6:41 AM in response to reality of city gardening

Thanks everyone for the helpful comments! We are starting the work on Monday, and we are going to go with the spray-bottle, double-bag approach for the small part of the flooring that will be removed, and we are going to put the new flooring on top of the old on the stairs. Thanks again!

Posted by: maribrooklyn at May 2, 2009 11:09 AM in response to Asbestos and Linoleum Flooring

In addition, there are specific things you can plant (and then discard!!) that take up more lead than other crops. Certain types of mustard greens and sunflowers I think... here's a link:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phytoremediation

Posted by: vanburenproud at May 2, 2009 5:23 PM in response to reality of city gardening

"It might have come from leaded gasoline--a lot of lead got into the atmosphere from car exhausts before it was banned."
That's Crazy talk!

Posted by: modsquad at May 2, 2009 7:29 PM in response to reality of city gardening

No it's not.

Lead is a really heavy particulate, but a particulate it is.

Lead particles in leaded-gas car exhaust fell relatively quickly upon leaving a tailpipe, landed on the ground, and became lead particles in the soil. What is so crazy about that notion?

Posted by: vanburenproud at May 3, 2009 12:11 PM in response to reality of city gardening

How did you go about testing the soil? I've seen test kits @ home depot for PH and such but not lead. -Would love to check out our soil as we've heard there was quite a bit of "stuff" back there for years.

Posted by: egut at May 3, 2009 4:28 PM in response to reality of city gardening

Lead from gas exhaust was a definite threat for many years. Community gardens near roads were not allowed to grow edibles (or were enjoined from eating them.)

Posted by: Arkady at May 4, 2009 3:28 PM in response to reality of city gardening

Leaded gasoline is hugely responsible for lead in the soil. Here's a pretty good write up about it: http://www.damninteresting.com/?p=932

Posted by: gracias at May 4, 2009 3:44 PM in response to reality of city gardening