Contact info for Architect David Johnson
Housepoor, i realize that. I used 20% because that is on line with what some contractors will mark certain things up.
I am not sure what a gc’s liability insurance costs. Aside from that. I am wondering if these contractors consider worker’s comp a payroll expense or an insurance expense. My mom worked for an re management/owner and i will ask her how they looked at that. There is no way out of some of this and the city does not care if hic’s like me have insurance but with gc’s they require it.
justinromeu26
in Architecture 2 years and 6 months ago
2557
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2557 replies
thetinkerswagon | 9 years and 9 months ago
they can carry rabies. they will get aggressive if cornered. we have them here in queens and sometimes a pair of them walk down my alley at about 6 AM on their way home. they walk by me as if I am not there. if I saw one out during the day or if one started coming at me or taking notice of me, I would suspect it was ill and dangerous (my father, the hunter, always said that a wild animal should stay clear of people, if it does not, something is wrong and get away from it). BTW, they killed several dozen rabid raccoons in central park a few years back and their dried feces can carry the rabies (check the NYT about the girl who contracted rabies from bat feces in the Hudson Valley and died). I had one as a pet as a young teen. we had gotten it when it was a baby but it was always a bit much to handle and never really tamed. it never tried to bite me, but when it wanted to get near me if I was holding food, it would climb my legs and its claws cut and hurt – even though denims. the claws are nasty. Steve
anotherposter | 9 years and 9 months ago
A long response to try to allay your fears on various points. The short version is that there’s not much you can do and that’s okay. For the most part, raccoons will avoid humans except those who are used to being fed by someone. Even then, they aren’t likely to get too close. Far more people have raccoons frequenting their yards than realize it. We coexist with them pretty well–like rats, they do very well in cities because they can eat all kinds of stuff. They are not just in the parks, but all over. We go in our garden at night and have a dog and he has a stare that lets me know when they are there or passing through (they love trees and big shrubs, which are plentiful on our block). I can shine a light where the dog looks and see them. In the 5 years at our current spot (a park block), we’ve only had one “problem” and that was more sad than scary (sick baby). They don’t come close to our house and so far, they’ve never come in through the dog door. The squirrels and a neighbor’s indoor/outdoor cat are far more of a nuisance. None of the many kids that play in the backyards seem to have fallen ill to raccoon feces related illnesses–I think if it were easy to happen, it would happen a lot more here. Rabies among raccoons in Brooklyn is very rare, though I would suggest reading about the signs of it so you know when to actually be concerned. You CANNOT get rabies from poop; only through saliva (hence from bites, but not scratches) or contact with brain/nervous tissue. I’ve spent a lot of time in lectures and NYC DOH meetings on this topic over the years, so I’m not an armchair pro here. If you trap some, more will replace them quickly so I think it’s kind of a futile effort. With rodents you might be able to close up their routes inside, but you can’t do that outside. They do love water, so bird baths and koi ponds will assure they frequent your yard whether you realize it or not.
thetinkerswagon | 9 years and 9 months ago
you know what, I just read AnotherPoster’s response, and now think the case with the girl in the hudson valley was caused by the dust from dried bat guano. I would still be careful as there were 5 known cases of rabid raccoons in brooklyn last year. It is really a matter of educating the children what to do if they see one in the yard. if the animal does not go the other way, it is suspect. of course, people feeding them make them a bit tame. and AP is trying to allay fear: I have the pair of them pass by me when I am taking the trash out and they are no problem. and they are all over and we always had them in the ‘burbs. they will not bother anyone unless cornered. they can climb fences quite well. and AP is correct, if you remove them, five more will come in their place; they were here long before we were. I think davy crokett or one of those guys wore a ‘coon hat. to get rid of the one I had as a pet, we had to lock her cage closed and stop feeding her. a few days later she was found in a garage a few doors away knocking paints and jars off a shelf. Steve
Hardcharger | 9 years and 9 months ago
Dykes Lumber on 6th street in Gownaus saved me thousands from other showrooms, they have an upstairs showrooms. I got Marvins and my own installers (who did the measurements) They have other options. I love our Marvins, getting them refinished is worth it.
angelbrown | 9 years and 9 months ago
I’ve had a very good experience with State Farm in Park Slope. They gave me a good price and have had excellent customer service so far. I switched from the Brownstone Agency, who sold me a USLI policy, while I was renovating and the house was vacant, and not only was it quite expensive but I repeatedly got incorrect information or they just never answered my emails. When I cancelled the policy early because we finished our renovation, I was told it would be 3-4 weeks to get my refund check and I’m now at week 7 and no one can actually tell me where the check is or when I’ll get it. So try Allie Chan at State Farm in Park Slope.
hancockone | 9 years and 9 months ago
I second the posting from anotherposter. Not to worry, we share this world with many creatures and there is room for all. Regarding rabies, any mammal can carry rabies; cats, dogs, opossums, bats, people. Racoons are not zombies. Just don’t leave pet food out or garbage available to them. They’re just hungry, not rabid. I see them in my garden occasionally, just passing through. I wave at them and wish them well.
hancockone | 9 years and 9 months ago
I am happy with the Trimline all-wood sash windows I had installed from Window We Are. They are very insulating and were about half the price of Marvin.
bknyc | 9 years and 9 months ago
Mothballs. The smell will keep them away.
vinnyboves | 9 years and 9 months ago
You could consider the use of a rat catcher, as poison outside the house can be unpredictable, as cat or even neighbours dog might wonder around and pick up part of the poison. Another alternative is to make you neighbour, trim their backyard, if it can’t be done by hand, I suggest and recommend they consider getting a weed eater, sin it is all over grown and all. I recommend you Google more about this stuffs or just check out http://www.weedeaterguides.com. Or just go do it yourself ass your hubby already wanted to with cutlass and all that. I believe she won’t care at all.
Arkady | 9 years and 9 months ago
I don’t know about permits but hiring casual labor is what I would do. I suggest that you start the fill w/ some rocks & pea grit – it’ll save using more dirt & will help w/ drainage – almost like a french drain. You might want to do it in 2 stages (set aside an extra pile of dirt for a while) to allow everything to settle which might necessitate more fill.
workisfun | 9 years and 9 months ago
25 x 25 x 5 feet?! That is A LOT to haul through the house!
cornerstore | 9 years and 8 months ago
Shame her. Take photos of the backyard and the trash. Find a photo of her and paper your neighborhood with fliers including her name, address and what she is doing. She knows what she is doing is causing problems, you’ve spoken to her, she refuses to take action…so embarrass the crap out of her all over the street and neighborhood and make sure she sees a flyer too. I had the same problem, posted flyers all over the landlords block and within a week he hired someone to clean up his rental’s backyard. This was after I contacted the city and they issued $500 worth of fines over the course of 6 months.
resident2 | 9 years and 8 months ago
Get landscape gardener to come up with some ideas. Or make a swimming or fish pool.
shahnandersen
in Architecture 9 years and 8 months ago
How did they remove the debris from the former building?
miss718 | 9 years and 8 months ago
Thanks for the commiseration. I believe she may finally (truly) be taking action because I told her my next step was to litigate. (She’s a very well educated woman who teaches at a college, who has been in the neighborhood for years. I don’t feel guilty about putting the pressure on her to get her shit together.) I think that my calling 311 a few times and telling her that I called our city council person, who I believe she may know socially, is driving the clean up party train. I’ll give it another week or so but I’m not backing down.
owner12 | 9 years and 8 months ago
they removed the debris when there was a common hallway to the backyard. since then, we renovated and enclosed the hallway ( making it part of our apt)….
daveinbedstuy | 9 years and 8 months ago
3,125 cu ft. and with a 5 gallon pail being about 0.50 cu ft, that’s 6,250 of them, unless you can run a wheel barrow through your apartment. I’d try to incorporate it into the landscaping especially if you are not having any drainage issues.
newtomehouse | 9 years and 8 months ago
We went with Pella Architect series windows and are very happy with them. We got them through our GC so can’t recommend showrooms but from my research we saved a decent amount compared to Marvins that we had also considered.
daveinbedstuy | 9 years and 8 months ago
Leakmasters