Support beams/insulation
Hello fellow Bstoners, need your suggestions/recommendations for installing steel support beams in the cellar and insulating window frames. I live close to Nostrand Avenue and the truck vibrations are a wee bit too intense, especially between midnight and 6 a.m. Purchased the house through a non-profit organization/city lottery and the contractor chose (among other things)…
Hello fellow Bstoners, need your suggestions/recommendations for installing steel support beams in the cellar and insulating window frames.
I live close to Nostrand Avenue and the truck vibrations are a wee bit too intense, especially between midnight and 6 a.m. Purchased the house through a non-profit organization/city lottery and the contractor chose (among other things) not to install center columns in the cellar. Sometimes it feels as if we’re experiencing ripples in fault line and the earthquake is about to begin. Yes, the vibration is that intense. One earthquake on the West coast is enough. Give me snow any day. 🙂
I would like to stabilize the structure more permanently and not use lally/lolly columns. Suggestions/recommendations are appreciated.
Lastly, the window frames (all 15 of them) are … surprise surprise … NOT properly insulated. I can feel the cold air coming in from the top portion of the windows when they are properly closed and have resorted to using thermal liners behind my draperies/curtains to save on my heating bill.
Has anyone ever removed windows, re-insulate the area around the window frames, and re-install the windows? If so, whom did you use, can you give an approximation of costs, and time to complete the job? Suggestions and/or recommendations are appreciated even if you did not complete such a project.
Thanks everybody.
It was purchased through another non-profit, not PACC.
“Purchased the house through a non-profit organization/city lottery”
Is this a house that was renovated and sold by Pratt Area Community Council? (like those? http://bstoner.wpengine.com/brownstoner/archives/2007/01/steal_this_hous.html)
Since I’m not SURE of anything, I’m seeking suggestions for what the best long-term solution is for handling these issues. The windows are new and because I actually felt the air coming from around the frames as opposed to the bottom where the window actually closes, it suggests that there is insufficient insulation around the frames.
The house is 20 x 40 on a 20 x 100 lot and yes, there is evidence of cracked plaster.
Recommendations for fixing or for a company(ies) that can handle any one of these issues is appreciated.
Thanks again.
How wide is the house? Is there any sign of shifting (i.e. cracked plaster etc)?
wow this sounds like a REAL disaster! Get an engineer with PE status to look at your basement and support immediately. You should sue whoever did this work..
Ok the windows…you should remove the trim and moulding around them and get some “Great Stuff” from Home Depot and fill the area with foam to insulate them.
The lally/lolly columns you can get at Home Depot as well, but let the engineer tell you what you need.
How can you be sure adding these “support columns” will stop the vibratations?
Are you sure the windows don’t need to be replaced? Sounds like the cold air is coming from the windows, not the walls.
If it’s just a question of a draft coming through some holes, why not just fill them with caulking?
How can you be sure adding these “support columns” will stop the vibratations?
Are you sure the windows don’t need to be replaced? Sounds like the cold air is coming from the windows, not the walls.
If it’s just a question of a draft coming through some holes, why not just fill them with caulking?