vanburenproud's Profile
Author's Posts
September 27, 2009
Toto Eco Drake Local Distributor
Good Brownstoners,
Anyone purchased a Toto Eco Drake toilet locally? Where? How much?
Thanks
April 3, 2009
Bed Stuy Meadow
Hey folks,
Next Saturday about 100 volunteers are going to cast wildflower seed on every single abandoned patch of land in Bed Stuy--every lonely tree pit, vacant lot, dead zone between the fence and the sidewalk and enormous crack.
It should be really beautiful to watch that many people doing one thing to change a neighborhood. I hear that they are giving out re-usable tote bags and that there's even an afterparty.
I also hear that they need more volunteers! If you live nearby you might want to join the fun. Here's a project description:
http://www.21stcenturyplowshare.com/bed-stuy-meadow.html
To volunteer, email 21stcenturyplowshare@gmail.com
February 25, 2009
Forest Gardening
Hey so I got this amazing set of books about edible forest gardening
(in a nutshell, it's a permaculture technique, in which you mimic the organizational principles of a forest but plant food crops like fruit trees and greens and berries and such)
and am wondering if anyone else out there is doing such a thing in their yards. Anyone?
February 2, 2009
Another Refi Thread
Hey so I contacted my bank (Wells Fargo) today to ask about refinancing, and it doesn't seem like that good a deal. They wanted a point, an appraisal, new title insurance... they said closing costs would amount to like 10K, for a rate of 5.75%.
Doesn't seem like that good a deal. I live in Bed Stuy, so will definitely be trying HSBC's Community Works program.
Anyone else getting better news? If so, where?
January 8, 2009
Cork Tiles + Dog
We've been renovating for a long time on a shoestring, and are hoping to finally realize rental income on this baby and move into the owner's duplex upstairs very soon.
There is one last hurdle: flooring.
We will have a hardibacker subfloor over hydronic radiant heat (hardi is the thermal mass). In the future, when we have money again, we will be putting down a nice engineered wood floor, but it could really be awhile. We need an interim floor that is *very* inexpensive, won't need to be taken up in order to put down the real floor, and will last up to 5 years, because who knows how long this economy will suck?
Cheap 4mm cork tiles seem like the way to go. They'll stick to the hardi, are about the same thickness and material as underlayment, are supposed to be very resilient, and are only $1.49 a square foot.
I have only one doubt. One member of our family has some scritchy scratchy toenails and occasionally runs around in his bare feet, chasing balls and his tail and whatnot.
Anyone here have cork tiles (of any quality/price) and a dog? Does this work? It's supposed to be an industrial-grade material that's suitable for restaurants and hospitals and such, but I am skeptical.
November 23, 2008
Condensing Boilers: Educate Me
This is a continuation of the ongoing saga about my astoundingly high gas bills.
At this point, I have talked to three plumbers in my basement who have all said that my problem is this older, conventional boiler hooked up to a hydronic radiant heat/indirect domestic hot water system. Master Plvmber, while he hasn't been in my basement, is a thoughtful and knowledgeable professional, and has written that he thinks there's something else wrong--that an old boiler can't be *that* much less efficient.
At this point, all due respect to MP, I am ready to believe the people who have actually been in my basement and seen my setup and all say the same thing, even when I press them and ask better questions than I asked of the first guy. It looks like if I want to see the efficiency of the stuff I already bought, it looks like I have to throw down for a condensing boiler.
Who among you, aside from Denton, has a condensing boiler? Does anyone know of a good website or formula for figuring out what size boiler you need to buy? Am I indulging in wishful thinking when I assume that I can get a much smaller boiler because the whole problem seems to be that my existing boiler is too powerful? What about tankless water heaters instead? Yes, I know that this would render my indirect tank useless, but John Hlad (who is a real gem, I must say) said that tankless might be even more efficient, and that they now make models that vent up a chimney.
Tell me your stories, give me your tips. It looks like I am about to go stimulate the economy!
November 11, 2008
Sorry, Denton, Master Plvmber Still Smells A Rat
Denton, the kudos may need to get revoked. I am reposting because I want to bring this back to the level of Present Problem That Needs Solving, instead of the "Denton Was Right" post, which is about thinking that there was a solution.
Master Plvmber and CMU think that the plumber I consulted was wrong, and that the facts of the "Denton Was Right" post are muddled. Which they are. I was mostly in it to congratulate Denton.
Here's what I can clarify for MP and CMU and anyone else who knows a thing or two about boilers. If you've all got time, I would definitely like to get a sense of whether this plumber I spoke to was on the level, or in the ballpark:
ORIGINAL PROBLEM:
High gas bills in the middle of summer and beyond, with boiler firing often. High gas bills started after installing indirect H2O heater and hydronic radiant heat to the boiler that came with the house.
Boiler in Question: a weill-mccann (sp) that is, according to the plumber I met with last night, "84% efficient."
Troubleshooting steps taken so far:
*Turned down temperature to 120 for awhile, this worked to lower the bill, but didn't make showering very fun. I do like a hot shower.
*Made sure the heat was off
*Listened to the boiler closely for awhile and just made sure it was firing when it was supposed to. It seems to be firing after showers and such, and not you know, at random, now that the temperature is set to a reasonable 125.
Met with a plumber last night. Here's what happened:
1. The plumber confirmed that there was no leak, but not by testing anything. He basically said that if there was a leak, we would all know because we would smell it.
2. He said that there was nothing wrong with the way the system was set up. The thermostat on the water heater is set to 125. He looked at the way everything was set up and definitively said that the problem was the boiler.
3. He said that the existing boiler was like 84% efficient, and that additionally the bottom of my boiler was "open" and pointed to the open vent area at the bottom, and that a condensing boiler would be a "closed" system that isn't always drawing cold air. He did use the terms "open" and "closed." He also talked about the basement being relatively chilly. I stated that the highest bills I've had so far were in June and July, but he kept going, explaining cold drafts, and etc.
Okay, now I am starting to feel a little dumb. But I'll keep going.
4. He said that the big difference wasn't just the 84%-95% difference, but the idea that the flame modulates. He said that hooking up an indirect tank to a non-modulating boiler is a recipe for a high gas bill, because you shouldn't be using all your BTUs to cook a little hot water.
5. He also suggested that I insulate my pipes.
There are no 40 minute showers, very few baths, our *water* bill for the last quarter was only $60. The heat hasn't been on all summer, I can't figure any other place to start thinking about it.
Obviously I am going to keep interviewing plumbers, seeing as how the trusted and knowledgable MP has given up on the good people of Bed Stuy ; )
And what I am hoping sincerely is that you guys are right, and that there is something going on that isn't a new boiler. It's not the right economic climate to buy a new boiler.
November 10, 2008
Denton Was Right!
Last week I posted a question about my high gas bills.
My DH and I hooked up our radiant heat and indirect water heater to the existing boiler, thinking that we were slowly building our Brownstone Temple of Great Efficiency.
What we got was $165 gas bills in the middle of summer.
We thought we had hooked something up wrong. We used a plumber, but he was not a boiler expert, and had never worked with radiant heat before, and was a friend. It was all very DIY and seat-of-pants.
We hung our heads in shame, figuring that there were issues with how we set it up. We thought the pumps were pumping too hard. That the flow was backwards. Or something.
The good news is that we did a good job hooking everything up.
The bad news is that we didn't do something simple and wrong. We just need a new boiler.
For all you baby-steps people who are renovating a little bit at a time like us:
Do not hook up your mad efficient new system to your inefficient boiler! Your old boiler doesn't modulate the flame, so every time your water heater is like three degrees too cold, you'll be blasting out 110,000 BTUs.
November 3, 2008
Calling MasterPlvmber!
Or anyone else who knows about indirect water heaters.
We installed radiant heat and an indirect heater to our old boiler around early spring, and ever since our gas bills have been rather high. I mean, astoundingly high.
Our heat's not even on, and we sometimes pay $178 a month for gas, and it never goes below $100.
I am assuming that something got installed wrong, and that this is causing too much boiler-firing. It's a complicated system--there are pumps and stuff... my husband knows what everything is, but I look at the whole thing and scratch my head.
The water temp is set low, around 120.
I know it's ridiculous that we've been living with this for about six months. But...
...where do we start with the troubleshooting?
October 6, 2008
Utility Bill Comparison
Instead of feeding the What on this bleak day, I figured it might be more interesting to start a discussion about utility bills. You got high bills or low bills? How do you even know until you compare stories with other people?
Right now we are one couple living in a 2-family brownstone. We're in the middle of renovations, so we are living in the garden apartment.
Our water bill seems delightfully low: $68 this quarter. But our gas bills seemed high this summer: around $150 a month for two people. I can't tell how much money I am spending on electricity, because Con Edison is ridiculous. I overpay every single month because I can't remember to phone in my meter numbers.
What are your utility bills like? How did you lower your utility bills? Anyone else think my gas bill is outrageous?
Author's Comments
Come now... it's not bad advice to point out that the OP has no symptoms except this one bug and has talked to one person who's motivated to make a sale. It's not advice at all, it's a restatement of the original post.
An online forum is not a diagnostic tool--it's more like a collective worrying device. Even the experts among us cannot see the OP, or their bug sample, and will not be able to judge whether the OP has bedbugs.
What we can do (and are all doing) is decide whether we are going to stoke or dissipate the OP's worry. My own opinion is that even if the OP has bedbugs, it's smart not to approach the problem from a position of fear.
Posted by: vanburenproud at November 16, 2009 1:22 PM in response to Bed Bug Question
I know nothing about bedbugs, but what strikes me when you tell this story is that you have no symptoms, and the exterminator has a clear motivation.
Posted by: vanburenproud at November 16, 2009 11:52 AM in response to Bed Bug Question
Kwar228: I will probably never be able to afford rebrownstoning either. I am going to take the paint off and leave it naked. A few people on my block have done this. It doesn't look too shabby, the erosion stops (my house, which hasn't been scraped yet, erodes all the time but my naked-facaded neighbors don't have a problem with erosion), and it's less expensive than painting.
I think the important thing is to stop the cycle by stopping the addition of other things to your stone.
@Vinca: sorry, I was being vague. Anything you put on your brownstone that will stick will contain a certain amount of lime and be cementitious. All mortars are different, though, and you really don't want to use regular old portland cement. This is also true, btw, when it comes time to repoint your cellar or whatnot.
Posted by: vanburenproud at November 13, 2009 12:09 PM in response to Brownstone paint
Grandarmy,
Cement is full of lime, which will hasten erosion, leading to an expensive erode-and-repair cycle. I would rather have a naked, crappy facade for the rest of my life than participate in this cycle, not because I am a snob but because I really hate wasting money.
Posted by: vanburenproud at November 12, 2009 1:26 PM in response to Brownstone paint
Commit to communicating clearly and setting very clear expectations with your tenants, in word and deed!
Most tenant/landlord conflicts are benign communication breakdowns or mismatched assumptions. Many of the remainder are about exploiting weaknesses the landlord offers by leaving things unsaid or assuming that everyone knows how to behave as a tenant. The more you narrow the gap between what you expect and what others think you expect, the less these ordinary-type conflicts happen.
The difference in your sanity and bottom line is totally worth investing in a couple of self-help type books about improving your communication skills, even if you already think you're good with people.
Posted by: vanburenproud at November 12, 2009 1:21 PM in response to Becoming a Landlord
Seconding dibs!
The paint is not a protection, it is an actively destructive force, and I am not saying that as some snooty douche living in Fort Greene or Park Slope. I have next to no money, I live in east bed stuy, I have paint on my house too--I'm saving up to get it scraped off, and when I do, I will leave it alone no matter the condition until I can afford to get the facade handled with real brownstone, which may take ten years but whatever.
I don't really do anything else like this in my house--I am all about the cheap fix. I am not doing it this way for any reason except that I am a total tightwad.
I know that this forum tends to make everything polemical and that paint tends to protect surfaces. But seriously, the paint doesn't adhere very well to the sandstone, and so winds up creating a million places for water to collect and freeze/thaw. This hastens erosion like you would not believe.
Posted by: vanburenproud at November 11, 2009 3:55 PM in response to Brownstone paint
I don't want to be counted among the brownstoneophiles who would level moral judgment, but I am wondering why you feel it's more expensive just to remove the paint once and for all, and be done with it, particularly since you've already put $$ into rebuilding the facade.
Paint is not sinful, but it is what's degrading the facade, which means that you are perpetuating an expensive degrade-rebuild cycle that you could stop once and for all if you just remove all the paint and be done with it.
Posted by: vanburenproud at November 11, 2009 1:44 PM in response to Brownstone paint
Lifting after only 2 years of what, linoleum or similar tile, is a landlord issue. They weren't laid properly.
The only reason this would not be true is if you could see localized water damage that isn't coming from plumbing. Some water-based mastics will release if subjected to pooling water, perhaps in the form of a shattered aquarium or similar water incident.
Posted by: vanburenproud at November 11, 2009 12:21 PM in response to Landlord Responsibilities
First of all, stuff breaks, and it is your responsibility to fix it. That's what landlordin' is all about.
Leaving an angry note is a bad idea for a few reasons. It creates a division where you don't want one, and it also highlights your weakness: you don't know who did it.
I would have a chat with each tenant, state that I notice there have been little damage issues like the door, state that these petty damages are expensive and inconvenient for me, and ask a question: is there something going on here that I don't understand and can fix? Are these breakdowns a symptom of a larger problem?
Maybe the door was out of square and always had a little problem, or the doormat is too tall and kept getting jammed in the door, or whatever, mechanical problems can arise out of the stupidest little things. Maybe one tenant will rat another tenant out. Maybe you'll find out some other things about your building, like leaks the tenants thought were no big deal but that can save you $$ on your water bill if you fix.
I would take the long view and see this as an opportunity to start a dialogue about repairs in general, and how important it is for you to know if things are shoddy, leaky, tricky or about to break. If you can keep your cool and refrain from blaming people, everyone will be more likely to come to you when they see something wrong, ideally before things get expensive, because they will know that you care about the place, respect your tenants' opinions and are approachable and won't turn it into a conflict.
Posted by: vanburenproud at November 11, 2009 12:15 PM in response to Tenants Broke Entryway
Listen, the reality is that women get hazed in stereotypically male work environments, and shouldn't need tougher skin than men in similar positions but absolutely do.
As a woman who has worked on way more jobsites than offices, I have survived and thrive because I have a very dirty mouth, am not afraid of conflict and am just about impossible to offend. I also go ahead and sympathize with how weird it looks to see a tiny blonde woman lifting a 100-lb bag of cement, actively point out that I am smaller than my co-workers, and generally don't try to act like everything's normal. I am a novelty, and honestly it's easier and more honest to work with it than it is to work against it.
You can't change people, but you can behave as if you will be treated the way you want to be treated, and empathize with the fact that a lot of people in the trades have very little formal education, come from countries that are really sexist, and live in a much more gendered world than you do. This mixture of integrity and empathy is strong. It doesn't work instantly, and is more about developing relationships than negotiating the hardware store, but it works really well.
Posted by: vanburenproud at November 7, 2009 9:33 AM in response to Contractors & Chauvinism
A guy on my block is convinced that street trees create an environment that's conducive to crime. I think that's pure silliness.
Posted by: vanburenproud at October 28, 2009 3:24 PM in response to Trees in Bed Stuy?
We used a guy we found on Craigslist who is GREAT, he fills his van and takes it to the dump for like $400-$500. For larger jobs he knows a guy who drives a packer. No dumpster problems.
I don't have his number now, but the guy I am thinking of I think used to be called Djeran construction. He's a particularly great person. But a lot of guys do this.
Posted by: vanburenproud at October 28, 2009 3:21 PM in response to Dumpster Details?
I know more women painters than men painters, but none here that I would recommend.
Posted by: vanburenproud at October 25, 2009 5:00 PM in response to Perfectionist Painter
If there's truly a vast expanse of good wood to lag to on either end, you can use lots of 1/2" lag bolts.
There should be enough good wood on either side anyway. Otherwise, you should be thinking in terms of replacing the joist instead of sistering to it.
Posted by: vanburenproud at October 15, 2009 7:47 AM in response to What kind of wood do we use
Depends on what you're sistering for and the bigger picture.
I replaced the plumbing wall end of a handful of joists and did quite a bit of sistering using 2x8s sandwiched and bolted together using 1/2" schedule 5 bolts. This worked because the damage was localized, there was plenty of parent material to sister to along the length of the joist, a lot of the work I was doing was creating a level surface along the length of otherwise structural joists and I was mostly working on the short side of the load-bearing beam--there wasn't much cantilever. My house is also on the narrow side.
LVL is good for things like creating arches where there were load-bearing walls and other engineering feats. Much joist work is not an engineering feat worthy of an expensive LVL beam because most joists are sitting about 16 inches away from another perfectly good joist--the load of the floor, walls, etc, is pretty well-distributed.
That said, there are a lot of times when that's not the case. If you are dealing with a particularly wide span, are replacing many joists entirely instead of sistering to an existing joist that's still mostly structurally solid, or are working to support a structurally problematic part of the house like the mortise-and-tenon floating in midair and filled with bricks in front of your fireplaces, or if you have any other reason to think that the regular old wood joists that you're replacing weren't good enough, then I would surely consider an LVL.
But honestly, having to do this kind of structural work on your house sucks, and the only upside is that at least the materials to fix it are cheap.
Posted by: vanburenproud at October 14, 2009 8:16 AM in response to What kind of wood do we use
Corrieri is local to Astoria/LIC and has great prices.
Posted by: vanburenproud at October 12, 2009 11:35 AM in response to Container/ Rubbish Carting Recs
Dogs that are barking all day and night are not getting walked by owner.
Get on either google maps or oasis, find your house and use the map to figure out the address of the house rather than relying on walking the street. Look for the way their backyard abuts yours.
Posted by: vanburenproud at October 9, 2009 7:36 AM in response to Dogs Barking...Constantly
The picture looks like it's not grouted yet. If that's true, any grout will lessen the undesired effect, and a darker grout will lessen it considerably.
Posted by: vanburenproud at October 4, 2009 8:05 AM in response to Penny Tile Disaster?
I don't think it's about reading people well as much as it's about communicating really well and setting the right expectations.
Sometimes in an effort to be nice, landlords downplay their needs. This is polite behavior and is useful in most circumstances. But when you say things like "it's okay" when your tenant is late with rent, it's not the same as saying "it's okay" when someone spills their drink on your shoulder at a crowded bar.
When you downplay or dismiss your needs with a tenant, you open yourself up to the kind of people who are always testing, and that turns into conflict. When you are clear about your needs and don't sell yourself short, you're leaving fewer opportunities for conflict.
Posted by: vanburenproud at October 3, 2009 8:44 PM in response to Advice on Finding Tenant
Good for you for avoiding a big landfill dump!
Good luck! The tub might be a good candidate for a re-enameling.
Posted by: vanburenproud at September 29, 2009 7:37 AM in response to Rehabbing '30's Tile
Test the muriatic acid in a corner before going nuts--either it does what you want or it ruins the surface.
Posted by: vanburenproud at September 27, 2009 10:11 PM in response to Rehabbing '30's Tile
Denton's right. Asbestos is not kryptonite. Anyone who works in ceramics, a foundry, some science labs or about a million other industrial/artisanal situations where you need a truly excellent insulator still comes across asbestos on a regular basis, and the chances are excellent that it's not going to kill them.
Denton's characterization of asbestos reads pretty much verbatim like any foundry/ceramics/welding textbook sidebar about asbestos risk. It's simply something you need to get regularly exposed to, like cigarettes, it needs to be friable in order to harm you, and it is still everywhere (in an industrial setting).
It's important to recognize its presence and its risks, wear a P100 mask that fits your face and keep it wet if you're going to render it friable and isolate everything (ie, triple bag it and toss your clothes). That's what you pay an "expert" to do.
Zberlin, it's good to be safe but you are speaking past your area of expertise here.
Posted by: vanburenproud at September 27, 2009 4:18 PM in response to Asbestos That's Not a Ripoff?
I dunno... the OP could either be too anal/invested in being right, or they could be sensing a small power play and feeling (rightly) like they should nip it.
I would look at this in context. If everything else is fine (tenant pays on time, is good about communication in other matters, etc) then I would chalk it up to my own anality and let it go.
If there are a million little things like this, and if I've always got this nagging suspicion that the tenant is trying to withhold or game me, then I would go talk to the tenant and get the lease back, and generally start a program of behavioral modification on that tenant in which I start establishing much clearer expectations, and follow through on unmet expectations fairly and consistently.
Posted by: vanburenproud at September 25, 2009 1:27 PM in response to Tenant Refuses to Return Lease
@Biff Champion: what's so bad about a little noise in the bedroom...
I did say, a lot of comments above, that a good strategy includes apologizing for being confrontational.
I said it because the response from the dad (shutting down, demanding that the OP present the solution) sounded like he at least perceived a conflict. I obviously don't know whether there was a real conflict here. But even if the OP was totally friendly, if the dad perceived a conflict, then it makes sense to acknowledge it by apologizing.
I mean, what's more important--being right or fixing the problem?
Posted by: vanburenproud at September 8, 2009 2:08 PM in response to Running Child Upstairs
I am working with Matt diFrancesco on my house, he's great and is focused on substantive changes in energy efficiency, not bamboo and stuff:
http://www.brownstoner.com/profile/matthew%20difrancesco
Posted by: vanburenproud at September 8, 2009 7:42 AM in response to Green Builder
Any parents of a young child in the city already have enough conflict and face enough judgment, and honestly, you are adding to that pressure by framing this problem in your mind as being about their parenting skills. People are very sensitive to being judged, and will become resistant to anything you say if you are judging. This distorts the situation.
I would start being friendly with them for awhile. This alone might change their behavior. If not, when you feel like you know them and they aren't your enemy anymore, bring up the topic again in a different way--perhaps apologizing first for being confrontational last time, then stating that you understand that the boy needs to run and that you want him to be able to, and then suggesting those foam tiles (which can be picked up and put down easily) or carpet.
I would frame this by stating that you are bringing it up because you want the boy to run around whenever he wants to, because you like the boy and understand that small children need to run.
Posted by: vanburenproud at September 8, 2009 7:39 AM in response to Running Child Upstairs
It's too easy to call freelancers tax cheats when they are merely following the tax code. I certainly don't cheat. If you are truly making it, or have a wage-earning job, then you just don't understand how the tax code works in this situation and this income bracket.
To the OP: any good mortgage broker is going to understand this situation. I used Mark Maimon at Universal Mortgage, he was good about this, but he also sprang a surprise on me at the closing table, so I don't exactly recommend.
Posted by: vanburenproud at September 3, 2009 6:00 PM in response to How Can Self-Employed Refinance?
This may or may not be relevant. I am self-employed and got a mortgage in 2007 using a mortgage broker, who asked an independent accountant to verify my income. Basically, that meant providing her my 1040 and schedule C (which, like yours, states that I live darn close to the poverty line after deductions) and come up with a different number.
The number she came up with is a lot closer to reality than my 1040, less than 10% inflated if I go by my monthly budget and savings plan. But I don't know how she came up with this number, or how kosher this is now that it's not 2007 anymore.
Posted by: vanburenproud at September 2, 2009 6:39 PM in response to How Can Self-Employed Refinance?
Agreeing with the rest, I would have kept a lot more of the deposit.
Posted by: vanburenproud at August 31, 2009 5:32 PM in response to Security dep. deductions
Other people might have already said this, but keep in mind that in NY all brokers are working for the seller, not the buyer.
I was naive about this when I bought, and got pretty well f***ed.
Posted by: vanburenproud at August 31, 2009 5:28 PM in response to Brokers Useful when Buying?
I love my ikea kitchen, going on 2 years and it has held up really well. Very easy to install, we did it ourselves.
Posted by: vanburenproud at August 31, 2009 5:26 PM in response to IKEA Kitchen
Seconding "always interview pets."
Instead of taking a large pet deposit, I require that dogs have a reference from a trainer, and I always call the trainer and ask how the owner did in the class, to find out whether the dog is going to present problems.
I got a lot of shit about this the last time I mentioned the way I handle pets on this forum, but you know, it works. People who go to the trouble to train their dogs are proactive and take care of problems before they start. That's the kind of dog owner I like to work with.
Posted by: vanburenproud at August 29, 2009 7:01 AM in response to tenant has vicious dog
As a dog lover, and as someone who's owned a truly vicious dog, I have to agree with the rest of the posters here. It's not okay to own a dog that attacks people in a city, although it is a good sign that the dog did not break the person's skin. The situation is probably treatable, but you are liable.
That said, the dog might be able to be treated with medication or behavior modification. If you have a soft heart and the tenant is a good one, you might want to consider demanding that the tenant see a dog behaviorist and/or vet, and be in contact with the professional to ensure that the dog's problem is successfully treated.
But frankly, even though I love dogs, I wouldn't feel bad about not taking this extra step. Liability is liability.
Posted by: vanburenproud at August 28, 2009 5:47 PM in response to tenant has vicious dog
I think the best advice is to be really straightforward and an excellent communicator as a landlord.
*Be very clear about your expectations, both verbally and nonverbally as josereyes points out.
*Make it easy for tenants to do the right thing and difficult to do the wrong thing. For example, invoice for rent instead of just expecting it. Your needs should always be crystal clear, never unspoken.
*And remain emotionally neutral and businesslike when dustups occur. If you get shocked or upset, you'll just start contributing your own bad behavior, and that can give your tenant a reason to keep doing what you don't want.
If you do these things, you'll be fine.
Posted by: vanburenproud at August 24, 2009 11:57 AM in response to Advice for New Landlords
I've noticed bigger groups this year as well, and while I appreciate other people's rights to a hobby as much as the next person, I also worry that someone's gonna get hurt. I agree that I see more riding against traffic and other behaviors that could hurt someone than I have in previous years.
I'll bring it up at my precinct meeting, and maybe other folks will too. Following traffic laws is important for everybody.
Posted by: vanburenproud at August 17, 2009 7:20 AM in response to Motorcycle Gangs on Fulton St?
Um... what are you smoking?
Posted by: vanburenproud at August 15, 2009 6:12 PM in response to Noxious Neighbor Help
Modsquad, perhaps I'm being unclear, but I think I'm making a straightforward point about how to get what you want without creating a conflict.
Haven't you ever found an employee that's not working out a job that's better fit instead of firing them? Or offered someone a plastic bag so that they could pick up their dog shit?
There are a million ways to help people do what you want them to do instead of engage in a conflict. In this scenario, it's a good idea to try this strategy because it sucks to fight with neighbors, and because it will work better. It's easy to dislike someone who's being sensitive about your livelihood. But it's hard to dislike someone who's helping you.
Posted by: vanburenproud at August 15, 2009 3:54 PM in response to Noxious Neighbor Help
Quincy is a close to Gates, which has a lot of housing projects along its length, and can get a little rough. I would definitely spend a lot of time on the block and talk to neighbors before buying a house on Quincy, to get a sense of the crime and noise levels.
And Halsey between Malcolm X and Stuyvesant is a nice block in my experience.
But as with any home purchase, don't trust anonymous people on the internets without doing your own research. In this market I assume you have plenty of time to talk to the neighbors, take the train ride late at night, hang out on the street, walk around...
That kind of research is going to tell you what you need to know. Good luck!
Posted by: vanburenproud at August 15, 2009 3:40 PM in response to Torn Between 3 Houses
And to clarify further, my point is a rhetorical one. It's not persuasive to talk to someone who's fixing cars in their driveway for money about your comfort. It creates a very stupid conflict in his mind: you're threatening his *livelihood* because you are *uncomfortable*?
He's not uncomfortable, and he's closer to the fumes than you are. Who wouldn't respond to that with some version of "f*** you?"
In order to be persuasive, you have to figure out how to align your approach with his interests. This is about money for him. The fines are money. Getting shut down means no more money. The fact that what he's doing is illegal threatens him. You shouldn't be threatening him because he's already got troubles! You should be figuring out how to help him in a way that also gets him to stop idling cars in your driveway. You can fake help him (ie, help him "avoid a fine" by telling him that you saw the cops when you didn't) or help him for real (ie, help his wife make her business legal and/or profitable)...
...but the bottom line is that people hear you better if you are helping them.
Posted by: vanburenproud at August 14, 2009 5:59 PM in response to Noxious Neighbor Help
Hilarious pickup on my error, modsquad. Apologies... I meant CO meter.
Posted by: vanburenproud at August 14, 2009 5:37 PM in response to Noxious Neighbor Help
OMG, your neighbor won't care about your CO2 meter... framing the issue selfishly, in terms of your house, your comfort, your health is a one-way ticket to being ignored/ridiculed.
Posted by: vanburenproud at August 14, 2009 3:03 PM in response to Noxious Neighbor Help
I wouldn't do this.
You and the client are on good terms now, and probably will remain so. But renovating a house with a contractor is a stressful experience for your client, in which he/she feels out of control, and so it never goes completely smoothly. If/when things get unsteady (as things do as the stresses of renovating a home accumulate) you would be ensuring that you don't have any distance. All your eggs would be in one basket.
Camping on a jobsite is a good way to increase the potential for feeling like you aren't taking care of yourself, and might make you cranky. And working and living in the same place is a great way to increase the potential for feeling threatened, or unable to get away from a small problem that feels big in the moment.
People who hire contractors need their contractors to be steady in the face of the client's inevitable doubts and anxieties. Clients pour tens and hundreds of thousands of dollars, and time, and their own discomfort, into a project, and are usually not great at managing people or communicating their needs. Who is, really? And who renovates more than a handful of houses in a lifetime?
The client-contractor relationship is already somewhat volatile. Why add to that volatility and put yourself at a disadvantage?
Posted by: vanburenproud at August 14, 2009 11:53 AM in response to Any barter experiences?
Call OSHA.
Posted by: vanburenproud at August 14, 2009 11:34 AM in response to Smoking in the Workplace
Idling vehicles are illegal because they are a serious health issue. City kids get asthma because of idling cars. Prioritizing the needs of the many over the needs of the few, Rob, is what city living is all about.
The last thing you want to do is frame it as an issue of your personal discomfort. That strategy makes people like Rob make decisions and statements that work against the good of everyone, because they've been personally irritated by what they feel is your personal tenderness.
The most effective thing to do is impersonally lean on the law and law enforcement, and tell idling drivers in a "hey buddy trying to help you out" kind of way that the police have been giving out a lot of tickets for idling on this street lately. They know how expensive a ticket is, and will thank you for telling them to turn off their engine.
Surely there's a similar strategy you can use with your neighbor.
Posted by: vanburenproud at August 14, 2009 11:32 AM in response to Noxious Neighbor Help
While I generally don't agree with anything *rob* has to say, I think there are arguments for paying it.
First, fight the ticket, like everyone else has suggested.
Second, look at your lease and highlight any language about fines, etc.
If the tenants are good people and you want to keep them, and if there's clear language in your lease, have a little sit-down followed by a letter that restates the chat. Say that you got a fine, and that you want to take this opportunity to refresh everyone's memory about the lease. Make it clear that the fine is their responsibility, but offer this one time to split the fine because it's easy to understand that the tenant wouldn't understand how expensive it is to put the trash out early.
Ideally, everyone will feel relieved, and you will have the opportunity to look like a nice person that your tenant wouldn't want to screw later. I think that's valuable--I would pay $150 for that once in a long, productive tenancy.
If they aren't particularly good tenants, then cut the part about paying half.
If there is no language about the fine, it's time to make some. Sit down and have a chat followed by a letter, and use it as an opportunity to make the new Trash Policy (and/or Fine Policy) clear. Explain that you got a fine, and that you have to pay it because you didn't make the policy clear, but that in the future, if there are any fines because of the tenants' garbage, they are responsible, and it will be taken out of their security deposit if it's not resolved.
Again, I would focus on being fair-to-big about the whole thing, so that in the future the tenant has not just the policy, but the social pressure of knowing that you shouldered a fine for them.
Posted by: vanburenproud at August 11, 2009 7:37 PM in response to Ticket for Trash - Who Pays?
The stuff in front looks like lambsquarter, which is actually delicious sauteed. Like spinach, but much more intense. Spinach plus.
Posted by: vanburenproud at August 9, 2009 8:16 PM in response to Weed Identification
If you dig, you might find all your pavers. That's what happened to us.
Posted by: vanburenproud at August 7, 2009 5:12 PM in response to Making a Patio
Bed Stuy is a great neighborhood, but it's got its hard-to-love parts. Quincy is close to Gates, which is a tough street, it's got a concentration of housing projects along it.
Chances are good that your block is fine crime- and quality of lifewise, but you never know. Have you walked around a lot at all hours of the day and night? Taken your future train commute late at night? Talked to your potential neighbors? If you haven't, then I would do that before proceeding, although you already "have a contract out" on it, so hopefully you've done this step.
Welcome to the neighborhood!
Posted by: vanburenproud at August 7, 2009 5:10 PM in response to Any Thoughts on 341 Quincy
Okay, maybe just a few trillion years. Peelaway is a great set of products, in my experience they are really gentle. That is a good thing, but gentle = slow. I really like nontoxic. But if I was working outside and if it's a lot of layers of paint, I might consider a more toxic product that will get things moving faster:
http://www.rockmiracle.com/product_listing_temp.html
Posted by: vanburenproud at August 6, 2009 12:58 PM in response to Stripping Stoop Paint
Responses to Author's Forum Comments
after months of using a professional exterminator, someone I know finally used a product like Results and her bedbugs are finally gone. Results contains diatomaceous earth (silica dioxide) which is non-toxic. It does not poison the bedbugs. Instead, it causes their exoskeletons to break down (I think it takes about a week). Results also contains a poison which works much faster. If you are worried about children or pets, you might want to use straight diatomaceous earth. The only danger is if you breathe too much of it in -- it's a fine powder. You have to place it in all the cracks of your floorboards, baseboards, electrical outlets, etc. wherever the bedbugs might be hiding. You should place it around the bed posts, if that is how the bugs crawl into your bed. Once they come into contact with the powder, it will kill them.
Posted by: CHM at November 16, 2009 7:14 PM in response to Bed Bug Question
I recommend Liberty Pest Control... Speak to Juan or Greg. They have handled an 8 Family bldg in Park Slope for me and have done a superb job, make sure they send you Dominick, he seems to be the best of the exterminators working for them. The Fogging and spreading of what they call "The Dust" into the walls every few feet did the trick...
We went thru 5 other exterminators over 2 years before liberty fixed the issue...
Liberty Pest Control
8220 17th Ave
Brooklyn, NY 11214-2116
(718) 837-9030
www.libertypestnyc.com
Posted by: alrosariojr at November 16, 2009 9:05 PM in response to Bed Bug Question
oneasternparkway --
Have the bedbugs been entirely eradicated from your building? I can see that you have had a great deal of personal experience with this.
Posted by: prezanon at November 16, 2009 11:48 PM in response to Bed Bug Question
Just as a follow up. I'm having Killer Queen come on Saturday to check the place. I searched my bed yesterday and couch, and all nearby furniture and nothing. The bed is spotless as is the couch. Asked the babysitter and she scoured her apartment last night and found nothing. Killer Queen mentioned it might be the cleaning person, which seems the most likely culprit as she goes into different houses each day (and the bug appeared the day after she cleaned). I'll keep you posted as to what he finds. (Crossing my fingers)
Posted by: Brooklynitetobe at November 17, 2009 9:41 AM in response to Bed Bug Question
you made the right call, especially picking John.
you can tell him Chris from EasternParkway recomended him.
I've spoken to him a length several times on the phone about my problem and he strikes me as extremeley knowledegable and honest, which is a rare combination in the field....
good luck, let me know how it goes.....
Posted by: oneasternparkway at November 17, 2009 9:57 AM in response to Bed Bug Question
oneeasternparkway has some good advice, but I had a very different experience with Bell Environmental. A few months ago, our son was getting bites but we didn't see any bugs, so I contacted Bell. After researching the alternatives and keeping in mind our toddler, we were attracted to their freezing treatment. Their beagle Roscoe sniffed out where the bugs were hiding in the outlets and cable jacks next to my son's crib. The preparation was intense and it wasn't fun to live through it but it worked! Bell did a 2 phase treatment a couple of weeks apart and was really thorough. They used dry ice on all of our furniture, and left a residual called Mother Earth in the walls. I was really pleased, and told my neighbors about the issues because I wanted them to also take care of any bugs that they may have because I don't want to get them back. Since treatment we've been bite free, but I'm taking a lot of care to make sure that I don't have this problem at home again! Good luck.
Posted by: prospectparkker at November 17, 2009 10:21 AM in response to Bed Bug Question
oneeasternparkway has some good advice, but I had a very different experience with Bell Environmental. A few months ago, our son was getting bites but we didn't see any bugs, so I contacted Bell. After researching the alternatives and keeping in mind our toddler, we were attracted to their freezing treatment. Their beagle Roscoe sniffed out where the bugs were hiding in the outlets and cable jacks next to my son's crib. The preparation was intense and it wasn't fun to live through it but it worked! Bell did a 2 phase treatment a couple of weeks apart and was really thorough. They used dry ice on all of our furniture, and left a residual called Mother Earth in the walls. I was really pleased, and told my neighbors about the issues because I wanted them to also take care of any bugs that they may have because I don't want to get them back. Since treatment we've been bite free, but I'm taking a lot of care to make sure that I don't have this problem at home again! Good luck.
Posted by: prospectparkker at November 17, 2009 10:21 AM in response to Bed Bug Question
Everyone has been on point with the advice. A trained pest control operator has only a 40% success rate in determining whether bedbugs are present in a residence. A bedbug sniffing dog is 94-96% accurate. Finding one bug is reason enough to have an inspection by a PCO or sniffing dog.
I like the idea of the babysitter shaking herself off before entering but in reality, she could not shake herself violently enough to rid the bedbugs. The bedbug's exoskeleton attaches like velcro to fabrics.
Heat is the key. Get everything that can be put into a dryer, into the dryer. 20 minutes at high heat to kill bedbugs.
Best of luck.
Posted by: DoctorBedBug at November 17, 2009 4:21 PM in response to Bed Bug Question
Modsquad's suggestion is a good start. Also, see this text in the NYC Administrative Code concerning violations of the zoning resolution in residential districts: http://bit.ly/38nAaY
And these links concerning NYC’s padlock enforcement unit:
http://www.nyc.gov/html/dob/html/violations/padlockfaq.shtml
http://www.nyc.gov/html/dob/html/violations/padlock.shtml
http://www.nyc.gov/html/dob/downloads/pdf/padlock.pdf
Posted by: vinca at November 19, 2009 9:07 AM in response to Illegal Business Next Door
Have you talked to them and asked them about installing some soundproofing?
Posted by: bessie2 at November 19, 2009 10:18 AM in response to Illegal Business Next Door
I've dealt with a similar issue before. It's not about hush money, it's about the fact that the police can do very little.
The police can deal with the symptom: too much noise.
To pull the weed out by the root, you have to get the business to move elsewhere. Best done by busting the entire business. Calling the DOB is a good idea.
Be really nice to everyone, be persistent and keep a log of your calls. This does work. It didn't work for me because I lived in an M1/R6 building. But it works if you live in a residential neighborhood.
Posted by: vanburenproud at November 19, 2009 8:38 AM in response to Illegal Business Next Door