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Technical Preservation Services

Technical Preservation Services published on

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A department of The National Park Service, Technical Preservation Services has been assisting homeowners and industry people for over 30 years. They publish books, pamphlets and videos on preservation and rehabilitation of historic buildings.

And of course, there’s the website. It’s just chock full of information. They have preservation briefs on how to repair historic windows, slate roof tile, maintenance of cast iron, oh, you name it!

The site includes a guide to the Federal Historic Preservation Tax Incentives Program for income producing properties.

There’s also a fun interactive online education program which features a couple of quizzes. I love quizzes.

Introducing the Reclaimed Trash Bin Enclosure

Introducing the Reclaimed Trash Bin Enclosure published on 5 Comments on Introducing the Reclaimed Trash Bin Enclosure

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Finally, a new product for our store! We’ve been concentrating so much on our posts that it’s taking us ages to create lovely reclaimed home fixtures to sell. Which is how we’ll make money. So we can keep this blog going. Get the hint?

The siding on this prototype is made with 100% reclaimed wainscoting from an 1865 farmhouse in Poughkeepsie. The cedar framing is new material. This is the second prototype we built. The first one didn’t work out so well. We thought it would be a great idea to use discarded shipping pallets. Well, if someone knows of a way to take pallets apart EASILY, please let us know. In the meantime, we cut them down for our much smaller kitty litter box enclosures (not built yet).Continue reading Introducing the Reclaimed Trash Bin Enclosure

DIY: A Green Roof Grows In Brooklyn

DIY: A Green Roof Grows In Brooklyn published on 8 Comments on DIY: A Green Roof Grows In Brooklyn

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I found Yeshwant’s “DIY Green Roof” post on the Brownstoner forum and asked if he would be kind enough to give me some info to pass along to my ECO/DIY readers. Well, he went above and beyond my expectations! Thank you, Yeshwant!

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Here are our reasons for wanting a green roof:

We bought an 1840s Federal brick rowhouse in Red Hook three years ago. Our top floor bedroom, with an uninsulated tar flat roof over it, sizzled in the summer heat. Finding a way to cool it was the main incentive to want to green the rooftop.

I also liked that green roofs prevent rapid heating and cooling of the roof membrane and are therefore supposed to more than double its life. The growth media and plants are supposed to help insulate the roof in the winter, which we hope will warm the usually chilly upper floor.

Red Hook is a flood zone and the storm drains often fail to carry away rainwater, especially during heavy summer storms. Many homes have storm water backing up into the drains. So, the mitigation of storm water volume could only help the community.

On summer mornings, we’ve also noticed that butterflies and bees seem to like sedum flowers. As do we.

Here is the process: Continue reading DIY: A Green Roof Grows In Brooklyn

Sterling Place: Vintage Finds

Sterling Place: Vintage Finds published on 2 Comments on Sterling Place: Vintage Finds

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The NY Times featured an article on the couple behind the Sterling Place shops this weekend. The article was titled “The Ultimate Recyclers“, so they had me at “The”.

First of all, check out the pictures of this couple’s house! I damaged my keyboard from all the drool. Ms. Cromwell lets us know they haven’t changed any of the detail in the house and the craftspeople who created stuff like this no longer exist. It’s funny….Eddie said the exact same thing. Someone told him that over 30 years ago. Sad, but true.

Mr. Wilson on his introduction to collecting: “My parents were always going to auctions and buying unusual pieces. Their house just became more and more filled until they literally had boxes and boxes and boxes of stuff. They kind of lost control of the house.” I shouldn’t let my husband see this. We’ve already lost control of a number of rooms in 2 homes, the garage, driveway and basement.

Sterling Place has 2 locations, in Park Slope and Boerum Hill, as well as the online store.

Best Green Blogs

Best Green Blogs published on

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Best Green Blogs is a newish directory of bloggers dealing with issues of sustainability and green lifestyle. They feature interviews with the bloggers and news tidbits. It’s pretty addictive. I spent alittle too much time checking out all the websites I’ve never heard of and reading interviews with the peeps behind the scenes. Reclaimed Home is on there too!

Some cool sites I found:

Eco Home Guy
Ecorazzi
Green As A Thistle
Green Brooklyn
True Green Confessions

Affordable NYC: Bushwick

Affordable NYC: Bushwick published on 2 Comments on Affordable NYC: Bushwick

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Bushwick was among the possibilities when we decided to return to Brooklyn. We explored a bit, but realized we’re too old for that hipster meshugas. We wanted the lovely brownstone on a quiet tree lined street (Yes, I know there are brownstones in Bushwick). But being that I was once a hipster myself (albeit over 20 years ago in the East Village), I get it.Continue reading Affordable NYC: Bushwick

Bed Stuy House Tour

Bed Stuy House Tour published on

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The 29th Annual Bed Stuy House Tour is taking place this Saturday, October 20th. Brownstoners of Bedford-Stuyvesant, the group behind the tour, has been doing this since the 70’s, when NYC had “bad neighborhoods” and Bed Stuy was near the top of the list.

29 years ago, the BBS’s goal was to keep folks from leaving by educating them on home ownership and creating a strong community. These days, they want to spread the message that it’s not an impossible dream to own a home in the rediscovered area.

The day kicks off with a 9am home buyers workshop. The tour begins at 11am at 832 Marcy and tickets are $20. Visit website for more info on where to buy advanced tickets.

NY Daily News
Bed Stuy Blog

Brooklyn Blogade

Brooklyn Blogade published on

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This months Brooklyn Blogade is being hosted by The Luna Park Gazette in Bay Ridge (Yeah, Luna Park is Coney Island). If you’re a Brooklyn blogger or even just obsessed with reading blogs, you should come!

From Rob’s site:

The Where: Omonia Cafe, 7612 Third Avenue, Brooklyn, NY. For about 8 bucks you get a delicious pastry and a damn good cup of coffee.

The When: 1 p.m. to about 4 p.m.

The Why: Meet, greet, mingle, schmooze, kibbutz, and sound off about your blog or anything else that might be bugging you.

Brooklyn Vegetarian Week

Brooklyn Vegetarian Week published on

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Sunday, October 21 through Saturday, October 27: Participating Brooklyn vegetarian restaurants are offering discounts.

The event is being sponsored by Brooklyn Goes Veg, a one woman show. That woman is Melissa D. Haile, director of the Black Vegetarian Society of New York.

BGV has a list of participating restaurants. Among them, Red Bamboo in Fort Greeen and 4 Course Vegan in Williamsburg.

Buying A Second Home Before Your First

Buying A Second Home Before Your First published on 3 Comments on Buying A Second Home Before Your First

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Since this site is dedicated to “affordable” real estate, you may be wondering “WTF? We can’t afford a first home. Why are they showing this weekend crap?” Well, that’s just it. If you’re stuck renting in the boroughs because the real estate train passed you by, at least you may be able to own something.

This advice is not for those of you paying $5000 for 1 BR apartments. It’s for those of you lucky enough to have a rent stabilized apartment or adventurous enough to be paying low rents in fringe neighborhoods.

Second homes are best for people who don’t get to travel anymore. Having less vacation time, kids and various responsibilities puts a damper on that 3 week trip to India. So, it’s good to have a place to go at the drop of a hat.Continue reading Buying A Second Home Before Your First

EcoPod Recycling Bin

EcoPod Recycling Bin published on 3 Comments on EcoPod Recycling Bin

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I’m not trying to justify spending $324 on a trash bin (although I’ll be swallowing those words soon when I report about the Reclaimed Home trash bin enclosure), but I’ve gotta admit, this does seem cool.

I saw it on AT Green yesterday. I’ve never counted how many cans and bottles I can get into my bin, not even when my dog gets into them and I have to put them back one by one. I’m sure it’s nowhere near the crushed 50-60 containers that the Ecopod holds.

People Powered Machines has some great products. Hint to husband: I might be willing to deal with the compost heap if you bought me a RolyPig.

Weekender: Ellenville, NY

Weekender: Ellenville, NY published on 2 Comments on Weekender: Ellenville, NY

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We spent weekends near Ellenville when I was young. My childhood memories of the area are pretty crummy. It’s been run down for so many years, it’s depressing. But then again, I kind of like that. Because when you’ve hit rock bottom, there’s no where to go but up. So, I find Ellenville fascinating and inspiring. And it certainly seems as if it’s on the upswing!Continue reading Weekender: Ellenville, NY

Illy Push Button House

Illy Push Button House published on 2 Comments on Illy Push Button House

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A reader (who happens to work for Illy Coffee) sent us this tip after reading about the shipping container homes.

Although we’ve seen the Push Button House online, we didn’t realize that we’ll get to see it in our own backyard come November. It will be set up as a cafe in Columbus Circle from November 28-December 29. It is meant to show Illy’s commitment to sustainability, from coffee production to development and environment.

Coolhunter
Treehugger

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