Plumbing/Electrical 101
New first time brownstone owner here. Now that we’ve dealt with the joys of purchase we now have to quickly switch to the joys of owning a 100 yr old home. Are there any classes where they teach plumbing/electrical 101? tia
New first time brownstone owner here.
Now that we’ve dealt with the joys of purchase we now have to quickly switch to the joys of owning a 100 yr old home.
Are there any classes where they teach plumbing/electrical 101?
tia
The NHS class starts Monday. (Attendance at Thursday’s orientation meeting is not required.) You could call Monday morning, see if they still have room.
Like bobjohn said, DOB permits and even it means changing an water fixture. NYC is in need of money and i’m sure they will be more then happy to issue SWO and violations.
Just wanted to add, that a lot of electrical or plumbing job supposed to be done with DOB permit. So be careful.
CUNY City Tech school in Downtown Brooklyn offers such courses, as well as Brownstone seminars periodically. Go to: http://www.citytech.cuny.edu/academics/continuinged/index.shtml and download a pdf catalog. Classes are tax deductible as well, up to $1,500 or so?
As far as books, the Black & Decker books are REALLY good. Get them here on the cheap, MUCH cheaper than Amazon: http://www.hamiltonbook.com/hamiltonbook.storefront/4aa7ae89000ec6d0271f424d36d606bb/UserTemplate/7
Depends on skills you learned as you grew up. Did you fix cars or bicycles? Are you handy? Are you confident?
As one who’s never had any apprehension about electricity, I find electrical hookups easy. But most have an extreme wariness of doing electrical work, and if you ANY doubts at all, that’s how it should be. So I’m not sure how well a self-help book will be able to teach you. A class will be better.
That said, you’ll find more fear-mongering about electricity than plumbing (“get an electrician to rewire a lamp”, for example).
Plumbing (if you stay away from gas) at least won’t kill you. You need soldering skills, again easy when you know it. And of course, plumbing may be messy and involves heavy pipes and close clearances.
The “How To” books on plumbing & electric are pretty comprehensive.
NHS of East Flatbush offers a class on a first-come, first-served basis. Orientation for Fall 2009 classes is Thursday, Sept. 10. Have no idea whether registration is still open. More info at: 718-469-4679 or:
http://www.nhsnyc.org/content/otherprog/home_maintenance.html