South Stuy Blog: November 2007
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November 25, 2007
The Devil is in the details
As reported in my last post--we have had some set backs. It also didn't help much that our handyman disappeared to San Diego to try and cash in on the contracting bonanza resulting from the wildfires.
But as a result-- T and I have done even more of the work ourselves and thus, have saved even more cashola (which is a good thing because we don't have much left). In short order: we built and installed the Ikea cabinets, added the kitchen island support post that we built from two stair posts (to bring some of the house detail into the apt), installed, sanded and polyed the butcher block counters and painted the sideboard,
We also installed the shower conversion kit for the clawfoot tub, recoated the tub with epoxy/porcelain paint, did a lot of sanding, did a lot of patching, installed new locks, completed the closet, and planed the doors.
Once it was finished *and we sat back with a couple beers to admire the work, we noticed one last detail we'd missed before: the sunset views from the apt's bay windows.
**Note-if this entry makes any of this sound easy or as if we worked efficiently or happily-I apologize for the deceit--this work was a result of working every evening from 7-until midnight and every weekend from 11 a.m. until we could no longer be trusted with hammers, chemicals, or drills. This is what it looked like before:
http://www.brownstoner.com/mte/mt-tb.cgi/2644
http://www.brownstoner.com/mte/mt-tb.cgi/2644
November 5, 2007
Tales of Woe
Just thought I'd share some of the fun times we have been having. As you know, we have been working on apartment number 2. I haven't posted a lot about it because we hit a couple of detours and have been in damage control mode.
First, we were working on the bathroom--trying to get the plumbing hooked up and reinstalling the refurbished sink. The vanity was your typical press-wood model with phony wood grain veneer (what is that stuff--contact paper of some kind?) and we wanted to get rid of it but couldn't find a reasonably priced 18-in vanity on short notice, so we decided to work with what he had. (Question: why are the NYC Home Depots and Loews full of HUUUUUGE vanities and bathroom sinks, but have barely anything for small bathrooms? Where are all these huge NYC bathrooms that people are outfitting from these stores?) T added new support pieces, completely rebuilt the base, and added trim; I put on a new door handle, and painted it; and were both shocked at how new and different it looked after we thoroughly cleaned the sink and added a new faucet (all in matching nickel). Once it was done, we were ready to finish the bathroom, the last piece before being finished with the apt. T and our handyman were doing clean-up before installing the vanity and sink when the handyman's foot went through the floor where the vanity was supposed to go and a large portion of the floor gave out and fell through to the parlor below. Won't be finishing the apt today, T told me on the phone after it happened. As you can imagine--i was just thrilled.
The photo shows some of the debris that hit the floor below--the hole wasn't big enough for the vanity (or the handyman) to fall through, but at least we now know why there was a bunch of newspaper from the early 1980s stuffed in the ceiling on the parlor floor.
Since the floor was now open, we made sure the pipes and their connections were solid and then closed up the hole and thought we were out of the woods, and we were--for about 3 days. Once again thinking we were on our last day of work before showing the apt, T was working from home (yes, we have real jobs) while our handyman did some detail work in the space. Sitting at our desk, T was typing to the pleasant sounds of a waterfall when he realized we don't have a waterfall in our home and jumped up wondering where the hell the noise was coming from. Our cat had noticed the sound too and was staring at the source: the dumbwaiter a few feet from the desk. Opening the door, T saw water pouring down the drain pipe that goes from the basement to the fourth floor kitchen of our one occupied rental. Running from dumbwaiter opening to opening, T located a 4-ft long crack in the pipe between the third and fourth floors. Since the previous owner hadn't rented any space for more than 3 yrs, no one knew the pipe had cracked. There hadn't been any leaks when we were checking the house because rust, corrosion, and other drainpipe goo had kept the crack from leaking, but our new tenants' use of the sink had washed away the nastiness. Hoping we wouldn't have to call a plumber to replace the drainpipe, T and our handyman tried epoxy and eletrical tape--$40 worth of epoxy, $20 worth of tape, and 4 hours of standing in the dumbwaiter shaft with hands coated in quick-driving epoxy paste and cramped fingers from wrapping more than four feet of pipe with tape, the leak seemed as bad as ever. So we called the plumber, who came out on a Sat about a week later and replaced the entire length of drain from the basement to the top. The photo shows some of the corrosion on the inside of the pipes that were pulled out.
We're still waiting for the bill, so haven't yet freaked out over the cost.But with at least the plumbing problems fixed, we hope we can finally finish the last details of the second apt.....................stay tuned