stray bongo's Profile
- Stray Bongo
- 1991-1992, 2007-present
- 2006
- Brooklyn
- Downtown Brooklyn
- Condo
- Porfolio Manager
- Male
- 40
Author's Posts
September 2, 2009
Replacing a Brick Facade
Any thoughts on what it might cost to replace the full facade on a four story brick townhouse. Don't want to just patch, point or repair, but put up a new facade. In Landmark zone if that changes anything other than time and headache factor.
Author's Comments
Not exactly direct comp for 11217, but the house I lived in in 1992 on Congress between Hicks and Henry sold in 1994-1995 IIRC for $750k. Definitely needed work. We couldn't believe our landlady got that much at the time.
Posted by: stray bongo at October 2, 2009 2:29 PM in response to Open House Picks: Six Months Later
We loved the Pacific St house when we visited a few months ago, but it still feel it is a couple 100k too high. Luckily we found something nearby. As for TRD article, it didn't really speak to the townhouse market. On the margins there may be some competition from unsold condo development, but I don't really think they directly compete for the same buyer group.
Posted by: stray bongo at October 2, 2009 1:56 PM in response to Open House Picks: Six Months Later
That video looks like it could have been right outside my window. It honestly wasn't that bad. The rumbling of the building was worse than the noise. Earplugs and an Ambien and I slept right through it.
Posted by: stray bongo at September 22, 2009 11:27 AM in response to Sleepless on Livingston
Egads, that dining room looks like Laura Ashley exploded inside it.
Posted by: stray bongo at September 10, 2009 1:57 PM in response to House of the Day: 455 Henry Street
Just in case anyone else is wondering. I spoke with an architect yesterday who thought 10k per floor was a bit light, but thought that 50k for a four story was in the ballpark.
Posted by: stray bongo at September 4, 2009 8:24 AM in response to Replacing a Brick Facade
Thanks for the LPC links, vinca. Knew it would be additional time and effort. Will be talking to some architects, but had been given a rough guide of $10k per floor and didn't know if that was a decent ballpark, understanding the usual "each job is different" disclaimer.
Posted by: stray bongo at September 2, 2009 5:06 PM in response to Replacing a Brick Facade
While high rent and lack of differentiated product offering from any number of delis around were likely contributing factors, I think that poorly trained staff and weak customer service were the primary culprits leading to poor sales. I do hope that something other than fast food can work on this stretch. Checkers opening was really disheartening.
Posted by: stray bongo at July 15, 2009 10:02 AM in response to F. Martinella Closes After Less Than Nine Months
I use Promenade frequently. Always on time and cars are in good shape.
Posted by: stray bongo at March 12, 2009 4:06 PM in response to Streetlevel: Promenade Shifts Space in Dumbo
stray bongo wrote a review about Queen on February 17, 2009 1:02 PM
I, too, was shocked at the raves I read online after moving to the neighborhood. One visit sold me, however. I have never ordered off of the regular menu, but the seasonal menu always has something that I have enjoyed. It is my go to place when the not-so-adventurous parents/in-laws are in town.
stray bongo wrote a review about Pete's Waterfront Ale House on February 13, 2009 12:47 PM
Never had a bad experience here. The burger is great, but the real star is the popcorn. I don't know what they add to it, but it is spicy and crack-tastic. Service is polite and reliable.
After hearing negative comments, I have to say I was really pleasantly surprised the 3 times I have been here-once during the holidays. In terms of presentation, it was akin to every other Target I have been to around the country (I have shopped at Target since I could walk). For as high a volume store as it is (have hear it is highest in the chain) I expected a disaster. The check out line was long once, but the other times I walked right up to an empty register and found customer service about 4000% better than any Duane Reade I have visited in my 20+years in the city.
Posted by: stray bongo at January 6, 2009 5:44 PM in response to Closing Bell: FIPS Goes Undercover
stray bongo wrote a review about Char No. 4 on December 31, 2008 9:33 AM
Was so excited to finally try Char last night. The food, especially the apps, was very good. The lamb pastrami is definitely worth a try. Great whiskey selection and I love that they do a 1 oz tasting of all the brands. The main courses (both sausages) were good but not earth shattering. My only complaint was the service. It waqs very friendly, but they had one server for the entire dining room and every step was about 10 minutes longer than it should have been. Will definitely be back in hopes that they figure out the staffing levels. Regardless, always glad to have a new options with good food in the hood.
stray bongo wrote a review about Bocca Lupo on December 16, 2008 3:47 PM
Ha. No, and as the sometime wrangler of a youngster, I do empathize (although less than I should) with parents who otherwise seem to be senstive to public situations.
stray bongo wrote a review about Bocca Lupo on December 16, 2008 2:51 PM
One of my favorites in the hood. The panini and bruschetta have been fantastic. I love the small plates and don't find them overly pricey. The wine list has been a mixed bag in my view. Have always had attentive service. Can get a bit noisy, but less an issue with the resturant itself than with thoughtless parents and undisciplined kids.
stray bongo wrote a review about Coco Roco on December 10, 2008 1:33 PM
Have eaten at Smtih St. location and the ceviche is nothing to write home about. However, the chicken is delicious and has become one of my favorite delivery meals.
It is no more like living in a hotel than any large building in the city. While the immediate block is no great shakes, I don't think you could find a much more convenient location with regard to train access and proximity to three great neighborhoods.
Posted by: stray bongo at October 27, 2008 11:37 AM in response to Nestling In at 110 Livingston
stray bongo wrote a review about Lobo on October 17, 2008 1:01 PM
Quite possibly the worst Mexican food I have had, including Taco Bell. I will say the service was pleasant and fast.
Responses to Author's Forum Comments
Peter Wilcox
Downtown Group
212-675-9508
Posted by: alrosariojr at October 22, 2009 11:33 AM in response to Architects?
Adding to the above: get references on CURRENT jobs. Go to the sites and talk with the clients. Don't allow yourself to be fobbed off on references whose job was done a couple of years ago. This was a big mistake I made.
Posted by: zeebee_in_bklyn at October 22, 2009 12:14 PM in response to Architects?
David Cunningham at 718 208 0815
I'm working with him now on a whole-house renovation with 1-story addition. The goal is to achieve both greater sustainability and livability on a tight budget. Without David I couldn't possibly have navigated all the paperwork involved in changing the C of O from a 2- to a 3-family, not to mention sussing out the credits for reducing the carbon footprint. The job has just gone to bid. I'm very impressed with David's knowledge of sustainable renovation and attention to detail. He listens closely to what I'm trying to achieve and has added greatly to the design. And his partner Audra Manzano has been helpful beyond imagining in pulling together all the details involved in selecting tile and wood and lighting and fixtures.
I'm probably going to blog this renovation on Brownstoner once we get going. This may be helpful to others going through the same process.
Posted by: Silvermax at October 22, 2009 11:50 PM in response to Architects?
All of my numbers are based on personal experience from renovations on either my building or one of the others my family owns.
As I mentioned, $5k is for a basic kitchen with generic cabinets and appliances and no floor/plumbing/electrical/wall work to be done. I did say a kitchen can be $50k (hell, I've seen the bills for a $250k kitchen).
I renovated my kitchen of $5k. I can be done.
I was trying to throw out low end numbers, to prove that even at the lowest end $200k goes quick. Personally I would probably budget closer to $500k for a true gut of a 4,000 sqf building.
Hell, the facade could be $100k (or more) alone and I wouldn't be surprised if it needed major work too.
Posted by: christopher at November 16, 2009 3:26 PM in response to Need help
I budget jobs all the time.
Develop a detailed Scope of Work.
Provide line item numbers for everything on that Scope.
Create a subtotal.
Add 21% to cover General Conditions, Profit, and Overhead.
Include Professional fees.
Add everthing together and multiply by 1.2 to allow for a 20% contingency.
Call me if you would like help. Ed Kopel Architects, PC
Posted by: edkopel at November 16, 2009 5:17 PM in response to Need help
You can completely rewire a three story house plus basement to code for $15,000 plus $2,000 for the plastering. I just had it done by WCK, who I highly recommend. Took three weeks. The idea that you need to gut the house and re-sheetrock all the walls is completely ridiculous.
As for the plumbing, what exactly needs to be done? If it ain't leaking and ain't broke, don't fix it.
Also the floors -- do you mean they are hardwood and need to be refinished? Depending on the condition, figure $1 to $2 per square foot to refinish.
Is there a lot of junk you need to rip out? Demo and trash removal costs.
Re new kitchen, I have heard anything from $7,000 (small Ikea you install yourself) to $30,000 or $50,000 (large, granite, semi-custom cabinets) to sky is the limit.
Posted by: mopar at November 17, 2009 1:27 PM in response to Need help
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
Most of the square foot prices quoted here are for gut renovations. You may not need a gut renovation. Just because a place is old does not mean it needs to be gutted. Just because it may need a new kitchen does not mean the whole place has to be gutted. In fact, if it is old and the look of the place appeals to you, you may not want to gut it.
Depending on the skill of those you hire, gutting a place may make it end up looking like a poor quality new construction condo. Also, it's just not necessary unless the plaster all crumbles to bits when you touch it or the place is soaked in water damage from no roof for years.
If you want to completely remake a house and you want to gut something, you may want to look into buying a shell.
Posted by: mopar at November 18, 2009 10:25 AM in response to Need help
listen newbrook my name is Dan and I am a licensed contractor I have been doing this for over 20 years if you like give me a call and we can dicuss it further I can be reached at 718-919-7794 or 646-726-0475.
Posted by: superdee01 at November 18, 2009 6:57 PM in response to Need help
We recently went through the same thing in trying to figure out a budget for a brownstone redo of a similar size. There are a lot of threads covering this topic in the Forum. Based on conversations with several architects on our deal, I would say that the 150k per floor number that seems to be a standard response was in the ballpark. That assumed a third party did everything, but a couple of the firms thought that would be a very basic renovation for that price.
Posted by: stray bongo at November 16, 2009 1:31 PM in response to Need help