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The $10,700 Stoop

July 15, 2009 RH 6 Comments

So, our brownstone stoop was collapsing and we couldn’t put it off any longer. Yes, we are DIY maniacs, but detailed masonry is not our forte. Unfortunately, I didn’t take before shots, but that side detail was a big bulge, “fixed” by the previous owners over the years. The gate was coming away from the frame, making it mighty difficult to open.

There were a bunch of recommendations for Z. Abedin on the Brownstoner forum. That’s the guy we went with. Licensed, responsible (like he actually shows up when he says he will!) and not as pricey as some of the other brownstone guys.

Could we have gotten this for less? Absolutely. The people up the street are getting their facade done. It’s a total mess and the scaffolding looks dangerous. I’ll bet they would’ve done our stoop for less than half the price. But sorry, it looks like they don’t know what they’re doing. I feel bad for my neighbor.

Something I didn’t know….the longer the scratch coat cures before applying the brown coat, the better it will “take”. It should be a minimum of 2 weeks, but Z suggested even months. That’s fine with me, since we’re paying him in installments. The only thing is, we’re going to have a gray stoop for awhile.

More progress updates tomorrow.

Related: Holes and Wet Stoops

Williamsburg Junk

July 14, 2009 RH 1 Comment

On the days I drop The Husband off at work in Greenpoint, I head down Driggs to Bed Stuy. It’s usually about 6:30am and I have the dogs in the back so stopping isn’t an option, but there’s an entire block of vintage shops that I always say I’m going to check out.

Well, I finally did! I really went back for clothes shopping at Buffalo Exchange. Two dresses, a cardigan and a blouse for $60. Not drop dead fantastic prices, but it was better than Salvation Army pickins.

Junk on the corner of Driggs and N.9th had big old dolls in the window so I had to go inside. They have an eclectic mix of stuff taking over the cavernous space. There were antique church saints, vintage arcade games and tons of furniture and housewares.

The prices are decent for retail. It’s about what you’d expect to pay at a flea market. More than a stoop sale, but less than a store.

There’s also a CD section, which is almost as nostalgic as vinyl at this point. It’s worth the visit!

Ikea as Bad as Walmart?

July 13, 2009 RH 4 Comments

I’m a Walmart boycotter. I do realize it’s a bit hypocritical since I still shop at Target. And Ikea. Walmart just seems soooo evil!

Salon has a great review of Ellen Ruppel Shell’s book “Cheap: The High Cost of Discount Culture“. Shell depicts how we’ve totally become a disposable society. We don’t even expect craftsmanship any longer. Ikea is inexpensive because consumers take items off the shelves and assemble furniture themselves. It’s great design at affordable prices. But what about the skilled craftsperson? Has their value gone down?

Scarier still, Shell states that IKEA is the third-largest consumer of wood in the world and uses timber that comes mostly from Eastern Europe where wages are low and half of all logging is illegal.

I graduated from Ikea furniture years ago. I prefer vintage, so I have no worries about cost or the environment. But the next time I buy my 6 pack of wine glasses for 5 bucks, I might think about the little Indonesian children who made them.

Free Craig Listings

July 10, 2009 RH 2 Comments

The only thing better than a good bargain is getting something for nothing. The Craig’s free listings is one of my biggest obsessions. Word of advice: If you see something, you have to grab it immediately. There are a lot of other greedy f*ckers out there. Early bird catches the first worm. You snooze, you lose.

Here are some postings that are probably no longer available.

The Mt. Vernon piano above is in need of restoration. I always see listings for free pianos. Always.

Three doors, old and new, located in the basement of a Gowanus house.

Two sofas and two chairs in Queens Village. Plastic slipcovers included.

Blue toilet! Located in Poughkeepsie.

Wednesday Was Salvage Day

July 9, 2009 RH 4 Comments

Two of our garden apartment shutters are kaput. I thought it would be easier to pick up a salvaged set rather than repair these, but I have searched high and low and I’ve come up with zilch.

First I went to Eddie’s and Vaccaro’s. Small selections. I figured I could find them upstate at Zaborski’s. I took a trip up there yesterday. There was an entire room full of shutters, but alas, none matched. Then I tried Hoffman’s across the river and they were closed. What a waste!

Oh, wait…it wasn’t a total waste. I did pick up the chunky balusters we’ll be using on our Beacon porch. Eight bucks apiece x 23 = $184 total. I have to strip them, but no modern day trees were harmed and I saved a good $20 apiece. Good thing, since I’ll need that money to pay the carpenter to fix the broken shutters.

Cats in Need of Loving Homes

July 8, 2009 RH

Maybee

Harpo

Kristi of Here Be Old Things is one of those animal rescue suckers. She lives in Harlem where the cat situation is out of control. Unlike myself, she actually finds people to foster and adopt the animals she finds instead of just keeping them. But alas, Kristi is up to 4 cats and doesn’t want any more.

On the Tortoise Shell:

“I have a cat in a foster home, but her foster mom feels she can’t do much more with her and wants to move her along. Mia was a deli cat and is very shy. She’s also a nice tortie and I’ve had 3 people go look at her, but she hides. I need to put her in a foster with other cats (so she can see them interact with a human) with someone who will work with her. Or, of course, find her a new home with someone patient.

I was secretly hoping her foster mom would just keep her, but it’s not to be. I can’t take her in because I have cats who in all out war. Do you know anyone up there who might want or take a cat like that? “

Grey Tabby:

“I just picked up two more this week, extremely friendly males that people must have just dumped when they had to move or something.”

Who’s in? Just click on the Here Be link to get in touch with Kristi.

Boiling Hardware

July 8, 2009 RH 11 Comments

Finally got around to stripping the 10 layers of paint off of those lovely Victorian hinges I purchased at Vaccaro’s Salvage.

The easiest, cheapest way to strip hardware is to boil it. I add some baking soda and simmer it for 30-60 minutes. Some folks cook it in a crock pot overnight with a bit of laundry detergent. Hardware. It’s what’s for dinner.

Once it’s soaked, the bulk of the paint will come off with no effort. You’ll have some cleaning up to do in crevices. Have a wire brush handy to scrub more paint off.

A few tips:

1. No, you don’t use a pot you use to cook.

2. Have tongs handy. That sh*t gets hot!

3. Ditto on gloves.

4. You’ll need some stripping tools for the pot action, then…

5. For clean up: chemical stripper, mask, chemical gloves, small pointy tool for teeny detail areas, wire brush or steel wool.

6. Clean up well. Chances are it is lead paint.

7. Soak in soapy water, then vinegar (scrub) to make it shine like new!

The Fleas are Breeding

July 7, 2009 RH 2 Comments

Every week there seems to be a new flea market popping up around town. The Brooklyn Flea has been such a success that everyone with a backyard thinks they can start one. There are a number of smaller markets that couldn’t even find enough vendors, no less shoppers. They died before they ever even got off the ground. Without the perfect location and marketing, how can they expect to survive?

Here are some newer survivors you might want to check out while they still exist….

Brooklyn Flea Market (not to be confused with the Brooklyn Flea. Way to ride that wave!)
South Slope, Sat & Sun 10-6

Williamsburg Flea Market
Sundays 12-6pm

Flea by the Sea, Coney Island
Friday-Sunday, noon-sundown

The New Flea, Nolita
Indoors, daily

Tuesday Linkorama

July 7, 2009 RH 2 Comments

Help with Solar PowerBike! Sustainable Flatbush

Newburgh (featuring Cherry!) Chronogram

Veg Awards. Vote Supervegan!

Land of Liberty. Shorehouse Chic

Sunday at Olana’s. Renovation Therapy

Recycled Hanging Gardens

July 6, 2009 RH 6 Comments

I’m cursed with a black thumb, but I can appreciate an awesome garden when I see it. What’s better than a great vertical garden? A recycled one!

The Woolly Pocket Garden Company claims that “no woolly mammoths were harmed in the making of” these pockets. In fact, the breathable planters are made from recycled plastic bottles. If you have never planted a thing in your life, the tutorials and blog on the Woolly site seem to be idiot proof. Even I can follow them. If I wasn’t too lazy to garden.

You see things growing in unattended rain gutters all the time. So why not plant what you want? That’s what Suzanne Forsling of Juneau, Alaska did. The gutters in the photo were a Home Depot purchase, but I’ll bet it’s easy enough to find discarded gutters to reuse.

Here’s a really simple idea with a big “Wow, why didn’t I think of that first?” factor. Recycled tin cans! Hel-lo! Why didn’t I think of that first? Paint them any color you like. Just be sure to use rust proof paint. And maybe you don’t want to plant edibles what with the paint and all. From SleepyHappy via Craftzine.

Happy 07/04!

July 3, 2009 RH 1 Comment

So, I Fired My Husband’s Arse

July 2, 2009 RH 4 Comments

The carpenter will make it all better. Won’t he?

May I kvetch? The husband takes a week off work to deal with the house and what does he do? Monday: Goes into work. Tuesday: Does office work from home. I mean, who needs him? So, I fired him. Well, I’m keeping him around for some handy work, but he’s been demoted.

I should have done this 5 years ago. I made some calls. I’m getting it done. And then I’m going to have weekends and vacations and social time and sex like normal people.

If all of these guys show up, (They ARE contractors, after all) in Beacon we’ve got the porch guys coming to do joists and sub floor today and tomorrow, a landscaper and a cleaning crew (I demoted myself too). What’s the rush? I decided to throw a July 4th shindig. Of course, even if they did show up, they won’t be able to work with all of this rain we’re having!

In Brooklyn, we need a stoop repair (Oy, quoted $10,700!) that can’t wait too much longer. It’s getting worse by the day and the block is slated for landmarking, so we want to do it before all the hassle. This is a project that takes more skill than we have, so there will be no DIY effort here.

And finally, Bill the stair guy, whom I keep forgetting is also a very good carpenter, will do our molding. That means there’s only painting left to do. Plus a couple of other items.

So, we’ll be poor but maybe, just maybe, we’ll have our lives back.

Wednesday Linkorama

July 1, 2009 RH

Funky but chic in Williamsburg. Curbed

What’s in your vegan meal? Quarry Girl

Lost World, NYC. City Room

The “You’ve Got Mail” brownstone. Hooked on Houses

“Do The Right Thing” open thread. Brownstoner

Professional Organizer Summer Blowout Sale!

June 30, 2009 RH

My Creative Times blogger friend Eleanor is a professional organizer. Unfortunately, organizational skills aren’t contagious, so I’ve been tossing around the idea of getting her to help me out.

It turns out that Eleanor is having a summer sale, so there is no better time to do it! I may be a highly disorganized and dysfunctional procrastinator, but when it comes to a bargain, I’ve got my act together.

I asked Eleanor if she can clear the clutter from my brain instead of my desk or closets. Sure, I haven’t filed in over a year. Sure, there are clothes on the floor of my closet. But there’s a deeper root to the problem and that is ME. I’m not drowning in “things”. I just take on too much at once and I’m all over the board. I need focus and Eleanor thinks she can help.

So, I think I’m gonna do it! But you should do it first. So you can be the guinea pig and tell me what to expect!

Williamsburg Green For Rent

June 30, 2009 RH

Remember way back when I did that blog post on the first LEED Platinum building in Brooklyn and then interviewed architect Mark Helder in that silly smile-lard butt- but fabulous haircut video?

Well, fast forward to today. One unit has been sold and there are two spaces available for rent in Metropolitan Green. Here’s what I got from the email Mark sent…

Space 1

There’s one office available in the ground floor space. There is a storefront window and 2 floors, Mark plans to stay in the space as well with his green architecture company and rent out the other floor. The lighting is great with a skylight and big windows, cork floors, very high ceilings, outdoor area, lots of foot traffic on this street, etc. There is flexibility in the share, so go see the space and they can work something out. This space could also work well as a gallery. Depending on how the space is divided the rent would be somewhere from $1700-$2200 a month.

Space 2

The other unit is the amazing penthouse. This apartment is brand new, you would be the first tenant. The penthouse is a very large one bedroom duplex, 1054 sq ft, plus a 405 sq ft roof deck and 45 sq ft balcony. 1 block from the Lorimer L stop, 4 blocks from the Bedford L stop.

Bamboo floors, floor to ceiling windows, lots of light, super 360 views of Manhattan and Brooklyn. Also, because of the interior wooden staircase connecting the three floors you actually feel like you are more in a house than an apartment.

This one is $3300

A few of the green features include:
-Private solar panel array, watch your electricity meter run backwards!
-Filtered air, filtered to HEPA levels, some of the cleanest air in the city
-Radiant floor heating
-Temperature controlled by tenant, heating and cooling in central system
-Passive heating and cooling

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