zuffy's Profile
- 1982
- Brooklyn
- Bensonhurst
Author's Posts
April 6, 2009
Termites! Help
The last couple of weeks, I have discovered I have a bunch of dead termites dead in my basement floor. With further inspection, I noticed a hole eaten up by the termites behind the refrigator. For now, caulk the hole.
Any recommendation on who to care and what to do.
Thanks.
January 17, 2009
This cold weather is no joke
What a day to start with on my birthday. Sometimes between midnight and 2:15am, my water pipe in the garage bursted. The cap on the tee pop off. I guess due to the rust and freezing pressure.
When I shut off the water meter, I really thought I am f***ed. I thought the pipe bursted underground. That would require tearing the finish basement up. Fortunately, the damage only cost me $8 for a new elbow and a valve, semi-wet garage and a sleepless night.
Next time it gets real cold, I will just trickle some of my faucets. Not taking any more chances.
Author's Comments
He don't need a cramping tool, he need a punch down tool and CAT5e keystone jacks. All of these can be bought at www.monoprice.com for cheap.
Here is a how-to video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sHy8mtW9eak
It's very easy.
Posted by: zuffy at October 29, 2009 11:18 PM in response to Brownstone Ethernet Network
I have a medium to large fig tree when I bought the house. I need to prune it next year. It's getting too tall. I would say about 15' now.
Posted by: zuffy at September 4, 2009 11:21 PM in response to A Fig Grows in Brooklyn
The house looks awesome. I would take this over a brownstone anyday.
Posted by: zuffy at September 4, 2009 11:10 PM in response to Bay Ridge McMansion
Also, wash your filter in warm soapy water. The filter can be clogged by the dryer sheet like Bounce. You can't see it. If you run water thru the filter, water should go thru smoothly, if not, it's clogged.
Posted by: zuffy at August 17, 2009 11:20 AM in response to Help With My Dryer
DEP was mailing the bill to my old address. Took me 2 billing cycles to finally clear up the address but they still haven't fix my last name! I just gave up.
Posted by: zuffy at June 9, 2009 5:19 PM in response to water bill
Make sure all the faucets or anything that uses water are off. The water meter shoud not move period. If it is, there is a leak or you didn't shut everything off.
Posted by: zuffy at May 4, 2009 11:01 PM in response to worrisome noise from water meter
That happened to me. What I was told is that they can do it but can't take new offers. This is just a contigency plan just incase you, the buyer, back out of the deal and they might have someone else interested.
Posted by: zuffy at April 25, 2009 5:45 PM in response to Open House Post Signed Contract?
I don't live in CG but live in Bensonhurst. I was pretty pissed off last year when a few houses down from us decided to grill in their front porch. Worse of all, all of us have an awning in our porch. The smoke would travel sideway instead of up. By the time I realized the morons was grilling in the front, the smell of charcoal was got into my house already. They have a backyard, I don't understand why they didn't grill there instead.
Posted by: zuffy at April 25, 2009 5:40 PM in response to Front yard grilling etiquette
It a brick rowhouse. Since it's a finished basement, pretty much everything is covered up.
Posted by: zuffy at April 8, 2009 1:48 PM in response to Termites! Help
Since I am infested already, shouldn't I get a treatment? I would think the bait stations would be a very slow process and it will be hit and miss. Also, I don't get a barrier protection.
Posted by: zuffy at April 8, 2009 10:53 AM in response to Termites! Help
Terminix came this morning. They wanted about $1300 (including tax) to install bait stations around the property.
Scheduled an appointment with Kingsway Exterminator this sat.
Anymore recommendations? I am in the Bensonhurst area.
Posted by: zuffy at April 7, 2009 2:23 PM in response to Termites! Help
I scheduled for Terminix to come in tomorrow. If anyone know someone better, please post.
Posted by: zuffy at April 6, 2009 1:55 PM in response to Termites! Help
Why not just buy that Veranda fence from Home Depot? Much better look.
Posted by: zuffy at March 31, 2009 10:56 AM in response to question about fencing
What is the width of the bathroom door? It look very narrow.
Posted by: zuffy at March 13, 2009 4:46 PM in response to Getting to the basement
If you don't plan to flip and can afford it, I would buy now. Why continue to pay rent when that can help toward the mortgage?
I don't understand why so many are treating a house as an investment when it should really be about shelter.
Posted by: zuffy at March 3, 2009 2:40 PM in response to To buy now or not to buy now?
Not to sound like an ass but MP, why a free estimate in this situation? Is it because this is consider a big project?
Posted by: zuffy at February 18, 2009 2:30 PM in response to Boilers 1 vs 4 separate boilers
I have the Honeywell Vision Pro 8000. Not sure about your but old Honeywell thermostat and the current one, I can set the CPH. The manual said to set to 1 CPH for steam. Mine is set to 2. I feel this gives me a more comfort control.
Posted by: zuffy at February 14, 2009 8:32 PM in response to Programmable Thermostat....
Moving the electric meter outside is not cheap. It will cost you a few thousands.
Posted by: zuffy at February 9, 2009 11:35 AM in response to Meter Readings- Con Ed, DEP, NG
Maybe it's his buddy that did the install.
Posted by: zuffy at January 31, 2009 11:29 PM in response to Burnham IN 8 shutting down
This is a good site about water heaters
www.waterheaterrescue.com
Posted by: zuffy at January 31, 2009 11:22 PM in response to Heater Al. Anode: health problem
You can refi via the CommunityWorks. I did it for my conforming loan.
Posted by: zuffy at January 21, 2009 3:43 PM in response to Refinancing question
Great, 1 day I get the rebate and then the next day I get a property tax increase bill. An extra $188.
Posted by: zuffy at December 31, 2008 10:44 AM in response to Who got their $400 rebate check?
First thing I would do is take many pics before the neighbor does any alteration.
Posted by: zuffy at December 20, 2008 9:47 AM in response to Damage to roof
For month of Nov, mine is $204 for a 1700sq ft semi-attached brick rowhouse. Covering up the drafty windows and basement door with plastic really helped. The house feels warmer than last year with a lower thermostat setting!
I program the thermostat to:
weekday 6am @ 68, 9am @ 55, 6:30pm @ 68, 12am @ 67
weekend 7am @ 68, 12pm @ 55, 6pm @ 68, 12am @ 68
Sometimes, I would bum it up to 69 if it's not warm enough.
Posted by: zuffy at December 18, 2008 2:56 PM in response to Yikes..Could this Heating Bill be Right?
Honeywell digital thermostat by default are set to 6 cph. If you have a steam system, change it to 1cph.
Posted by: zuffy at December 10, 2008 4:47 PM in response to Frequent Boiler Cycling
Normally, they should be out by the closing date since on the dat of the closing, you should have a final walk-thru to confirm the house is fine.
You should call the utility companies now and tell them when you're want to start the meter, normally on closing date.
Posted by: zuffy at December 5, 2008 5:35 PM in response to hand off from old owner to new owner
Master Plvmber,
In my master bedroom radiator, I get a loud bang everytime after the boiler stop firing. The radiator is pitched correctly, air vent is replaced, valve is fully open, boiler have been drain. Any idea what else I can check?
Posted by: zuffy at November 19, 2008 2:51 PM in response to It's heating season for real. Is your boiler ready?
I bought the Channel Master 3010 antenna for my house in Bensonhurst. It's UHF/VHF/FM. Not too big for an outdoor antenna. I believe ABC is going back to VHF after 2/2009 so your UHF only antenna will not get ABC. You can confirm it at www.antennaweb.org. I get 85-100% signal for all the major networks.
Posted by: zuffy at October 30, 2008 5:15 PM in response to Broadcast HDTV in Brooklyn
Correction. Looking at my water bill online. Last quarter was $128 @ 194gal a day and the quarter before is $167 @ 262gal a day.
Posted by: zuffy at September 18, 2008 3:38 PM in response to Water/Sewer Bill. What is yours?
Giovanna, that is extremely low for a family of 4 on the water bill. I have 4 adults in the household, laundry every week and my last bill was $175. I think we used approx. 190gal a day from what I can remember on the bill.
Posted by: zuffy at September 18, 2008 3:14 PM in response to Water/Sewer Bill. What is yours?
Responses to Author's Forum Comments
Vinca -
Thanks for the link - it sounds like we should call DEP and they are responsible for any repair (our meter is sheltered and no new construction or anything). By the way, I noticed the same sound from a fire hydrant up the street - could there be a problem with the pipes or something? It sounds kind of like rushing water, but nothing in my house is on - the meter is toward the front of the house, under a crawlspace accessed from inside.
Posted by: WTbound at May 5, 2009 11:55 AM in response to worrisome noise from water meter
WTbound: On the occasions that I find myself with plumbing issues that are outside my skillset, I tend to next call my plumber for input, advice, and a visit if necessary. That's what I'd recommend to you: call your plumber, see whether it's a situation he can handle, and/or follow his advice on how to handle.
Posted by: vinca at May 5, 2009 5:41 PM in response to worrisome noise from water meter
If the buyer signs the contract, but the seller sits on it then takes another offer, didn't the buyer just lose money ? (attorney fee, mortgage application fee)
Is there a way to recover these fees ? It seems the buyer is vulnerable.
Posted by: Sam C at June 19, 2009 11:46 PM in response to Open House Post Signed Contract?
Vent : )
You can first try all the easy vent stuff, within the dryer, then between the dryer and the wall. Us personally, it wasn't enough so our Brownstone had a vent cleaner come in and do all the vents from the wall to the outdoors, which were unfortunately not accessible to the vacuums at hand, and vvrroooooosshhhhh, towels suddenly dried in ten minutes : )
Posted by: jland at August 20, 2009 11:09 AM in response to Help With My Dryer
My folks used tar paper and plastic over that. Our tree was huge and produced the most amazing figs.
Posted by: HmmWhichNeighborhood at September 5, 2009 7:14 PM in response to A Fig Grows in Brooklyn
Zuffy is right, although with many manufacturers of jacks and patch panels the insulation displacement caps alone will suffice without the need for a punch-down tool.
Leviton, Amp, Hubbel, Seimon, and many other reputable manufacturers of jacks and patch panels are readily available at suppliers like Lendy's Electric or over the Internet. The jacks and caps for cable terminations are color-coded, so that a handy person can easily do it. $5-10 materials per termination at each end would cover it.
And $1400 for simply terminating these cables is CRAZY. If they have to still cut boxes into the walls for a flush jack, then that might be another hour per location, but still, it sounds your contractor is taking you for a ride.
I used to manage large-scale cabling projects (2000+ drops), so feel free to contact me for free advice. andru3 at gmail.com
Posted by: renomandru at October 30, 2009 1:20 AM in response to Brownstone Ethernet Network
Bid to at least 3 contractors so that you can get a real idea about price. Ask the contractors how many man-days the work will require. Ed Kopel Architects, PC
Posted by: edkopel at October 30, 2009 9:30 AM in response to Brownstone Ethernet Network
These guys are just talking about terminating the cabling. Maybe what you are talking about is actually making the network functional, adding routers and stuff?
You may not like his politics but you'll love his knowledge... our very own IronBalls... he set mine up after the cabling was done, had no problem opening up the exterior phone boxes. He instructed my electrician on what to do, since he had no clue.
Posted by: denton at October 30, 2009 11:54 AM in response to Brownstone Ethernet Network
Thanks everybody.
Renomandru-I might have to ask your advice
Denton- I think you hit the nail on the head. These electricians really don't understand this stuff, nor do they have the experience. I had to explain to them how it all works. I have been tempted to do it myself except for the fact that they may have screwed up the wiring on my bottom level (its a long story).
Denton-Is Ironballs available for hire?
Posted by: Juno106 at October 30, 2009 4:36 PM in response to Brownstone Ethernet Network
"Denton-Is Ironballs available for hire?"
Yeah, I hired him. I'll see if I can find an email and ask him to check this thread.
Posted by: denton at October 30, 2009 5:39 PM in response to Brownstone Ethernet Network
I can't justify paying about $1200 for a 16'. My canopy that is 10' x 10' with screen is only $150.
Posted by: zuffy at November 13, 2009 5:08 PM in response to Sunsetter Awning Sale