sxm's Profile
Author's Posts
May 6, 2008
Bike Tours??
I am surprised that there was no coverage of the Five Boro Bike Tour. As a site that is bike-friendly, there was no mention of it. I participated in it (first timer), and it was an unbelievable experience.
The Tour de Brooklyn is coming up on the 25th of May and I hope that Brownstoner will have coverage on it.
What do other people think?
April 25, 2008
DOB question - enlargement and Alt Type II
Hey all,
I have a question for you all. Can a job be a horizontal enlargement and an Alt Type II? I thought that any enlargement is an Alt Type I. I was looking over a neighbors job on DOB, and noticed that it is an enlargement but it is an Alt Type II. Because of the enlargement, shouldn't they also need an amended C of O?
February 11, 2008
Finding OLD dob jobs??
Hello Brownstoners,
Where can I find out past DOB jobs for a building? The jobs I am looking for are no longer listed on DOB BIS's website, but were there less than a year ago. The jobs were signed off about 10 years ago... more or less. I have seen jobs still listed which were over 20 years old. Neighbors building is about 85' on a 100' site and have to see if it is legit, and if so, how they did it.
December 28, 2007
Boiler Room Question
Fellow Brownstoners,
We have a 3-family house that currently uses a GAS boiler. At one point, there used to be a FUEL boiler in the same spot. Look at picture of old plan w/ fuel boiler. My question is, now that that room is a gas boiler, does it still need the requirements of the fuel boiler, ie 4" CMU walls and 26 ga metal for ceiling. Am I able to take those walls down and open the space up?
October 31, 2007
Sprinkler test questions
Hello all brownstoners,
We have a 3 family house which has sprinklers and they need to be tested. Can someone tell me how often these sprinklers must be tested? We are also thinking of taking that test to conduct the inspection ourselves. Has anyone taken this test or have any experience going this route?
thanks to all,
sxm
Author's Comments
So I do not need a plumber to check the sprinklers, nor do I have to take a test to check them. I just have to learn how to check them. Is this correct? A plumber once a year is fine w/ me, it's calling a plumber to check them every month that I want to avoid.
Posted by: sxm at October 31, 2007 11:38 PM in response to Sprinkler test questions
Sounds like something is wrong w/ your pitch, either the radiator pitch or your risers or something.
Maybe your old radiator is sinking into the floor and rotting your wood floor/subfloor and is now not draining excess water properly from the radiator back down the pipes which leaves water in the pipes.
When water trapped in the pipes and gets "steamed" up again, it makes the terrible noise you hear.
Posted by: sxm at November 2, 2007 12:46 PM in response to Noise-making radiators
Original Poster here: So it must be enclosed and have a 2-hr fire rated separation in some form or another plus ventilation. Is there a requirement on the boiler room size, or clearance from the boiler? If the room cannot be opened up, it would be nice to make the room smaller. Also, can I relocate the Washer and Dryer to that same room? Thanks to all.
Posted by: sxm at December 28, 2007 12:25 PM in response to Boiler Room Question
but how does the expediter know which was the most recent plan if there is no DOB job number to reference?
afaik, you pull DOB folders by job number, and not building number or lot/block
Posted by: sxm at February 11, 2008 1:47 PM in response to Finding OLD dob jobs??
premier range
lg fridge is too much for a rental
check out summit appliances for fridge
Posted by: sxm at February 12, 2008 8:43 AM in response to Appliances for small kitchen
if I give them the block/lot number, there may or may not be multiple jobs for that lot. how do the "Maury viewing girlfriends" at DOB know which job to pull.
Posted by: sxm at February 12, 2008 5:00 PM in response to Finding OLD dob jobs??
Does a horizontal enlargement into the rear yard change egress, since all rear doors were changed/moved. They also added a full bathroom. Does that matter?
Posted by: sxm at April 25, 2008 4:44 PM in response to DOB question - enlargement and Alt Type II
yes, the DOB did already approve plans as an Alt2. BUT, DOB makes mistakes everyday. BTW, this was not self-certified.
So, who is correct? the Guest or Smokychimp?
If smoky is correct, is there anyway to retroactively disapprove this job? or some action like that?
Posted by: sxm at April 29, 2008 3:52 PM in response to DOB question - enlargement and Alt Type II
The 5 Boro Tour caused an inconvenience for one day in Sunday driving. The inconvenience is a good thing since no cars were allowed on those routes and over 30,000 people participated in the tour which offset the tons of pollution put out by the cars and trucks a day.
Posted by: sxm at May 7, 2008 8:15 AM in response to Bike Tours??
Responses to Author's Forum Comments
I second the frigidaire appliances from P.C. Richards for a rental.
Posted by: faithful at February 12, 2008 1:14 PM in response to Appliances for small kitchen
i've bought avanti stainless several times in the 24" and have been happy so far (some are 5 years old now). They're cute and not too expensive, though the "stainless" in the avanti fridge is a bit cheesy as it's more of a textured-grey gloss
Posted by: guest at February 12, 2008 4:13 PM in response to Appliances for small kitchen
Who has the time to spend all day at the DoB only to get the incorrect plans? Hire an expediter.
Posted by: guest at February 12, 2008 4:46 PM in response to Finding OLD dob jobs??
if I give them the block/lot number, there may or may not be multiple jobs for that lot. how do the "Maury viewing girlfriends" at DOB know which job to pull.
Posted by: sxm at February 12, 2008 5:00 PM in response to Finding OLD dob jobs??
Thanks everyone for your suggestions! I stopped by PC Richards yesterday and took a look at some of the suggestions. The LG24" is nice, but expensive for a rental -- and the total square footage is actually smaller than others. I saw a Summit fridge -- and it's energy star approved, but the overall storage is not well laid out. I may go for a GE fridge, which has great storage for the size.
In terms of the range, Premier's appears to be the nicest (actually, Viking was the nicest, but I don't even have a Viking). I'm probably going for the one with sealed burners. As someone who has rented for so long, I know how much of a pain it is to have to clean spills from unsealed burners.
The LG microwave over the range also looks nice.
I'm not a fan of the stainless finishes for the smaller appliances -- they look cheap, so will go for white.
Thanks again everyone!
Posted by: luvtocook at February 13, 2008 10:09 AM in response to Appliances for small kitchen
Does anyone know if any of refrigerators have quiet motors? I live in a studio and my current fridge is so loud!!
Posted by: thegraduate at February 13, 2008 11:39 AM in response to Appliances for small kitchen
I've been seraching for similar fridge--found that the small LG fridge was great price ($800) but the freezer is the same size as the refrigerator, so you can't store much unless you're a frozen juice concentrate fan or something.
The summit 24" fridge is much more expensive ($1500) you can get it from PC Richards, but it seems like the best buy, it's energystar rated, etc.
Posted by: guest at February 16, 2008 7:46 AM in response to Appliances for small kitchen
I have an steam/gas system,I have tried every thing possible and I still cannot get rid of the banging,water noise,and the latest after replacing a feed pipe with copper I now get marbles sound that sounds like marbles going up and down the copper pipe.
I have pitched all radiators,I have replace all my valves to valuable type and adjusted them according to floor level that it is on.
Am I overlooking anything? Please HELP.
Posted by: guest at February 18, 2008 11:11 AM in response to Noise-making radiators
I'm assuming this is a 1 family.
No...doesn't change egress.
Posted by: guest at April 25, 2008 5:00 PM in response to DOB question - enlargement and Alt Type II
1:56's statement is not correct -- an Alt 1 is also required for any addition of bulk to a building. This includes adding height or adding square footage in plan.
Something to the DoB website doesn't square up if it's saying this is an Alt 2.
Posted by: Smokychimp at April 25, 2008 11:12 PM in response to DOB question - enlargement and Alt Type II
Beams can rest on the exterior walls if the walls can bear the weight. It all depends on your walls. An engineer can definitely tell you. Who knows, your buildings walls might be reaching its limit at 3 stories. Regarding your knocked out wall, that was -probably- not even a load-bearing wall, as your beams would be running the width of your house, which I will assume is about 17' and all loads on that floor should be transfered to the exterior walls.
Posted by: sxm at October 31, 2007 12:20 PM in response to Does it cost more to add a top floor or an extension?