You'll be reducing the value of your house by vastly more than whatever you could sell these original details for. You'll also be doing a great disservice to future owners. That being said, it's your house and you can do whatever you like, but please consider the consequences.

Posted by: Bob Marvin at July 31, 2010 9:16 AM in response to Marble Mantles and Pocket Door, possibly selling

"Bob:Would the lath behind be strong enough?"

It is in my house. Also, the tin ceiling is probably attached to firring strips which, in turn, are attached to the original ceiling. If the seams on the tin ceiling panels are in a good location, you could screw your supports into those strips.

Posted by: Bob Marvin at July 29, 2010 5:12 PM in response to Securing a Vintage Shower Curtain for Claw Foot Tub

My rod, which I had installed 35 years ago, has two attachments from the rod to the wall and one to the ceiling. It's attached with wood screws screwed into the plaster AND wood lath. Drill small pilot holes first. If you hit the wood lath, you're fine; if you hit the space between slats of lath, move the fitting slightly.

My rod differs from yours in that it's D-shaped with the two ends of the D fitting into cups screwed to the wall. Yours must have a slightly different type of attachment.In any case the wood lath has provided enough support (but I don't use the rod as a grab bar or hang heavy items from it).

Posted by: Bob Marvin at July 29, 2010 12:56 PM in response to Securing a Vintage Shower Curtain for Claw Foot Tub

We had relatives offer to pay the cost of installing central air in our house when we bought it back in the '70s. We declined the offer for the reasons Kidbklyn wrote about. All of our 1899 hot air registers are located on the floor or on the wall, just above the baseboard--too low for AC, although they work fine for heat.

Posted by: Bob Marvin at July 28, 2010 7:13 PM in response to Forced Air Heat and Installation of AC

This is the same model timer I bought at Leopoldi's:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=130364567832

I don't know this eBay dealer, but it was the only listing I could find. I paid about the same price at the store. When I went to buy one a few weeks ago Lowes, Home Depot, Tarzian, and Kings County Nursery were all sold out of electronic timers. I should have tried Leopoldi's first.

Posted by: Bob Marvin at July 28, 2010 4:47 PM in response to Automatic Sprinkler Timer

I'm currently using a fairly inexpensive timer I bought a few weeks ago at Leopoldi's Hardware on 5th Ave. between 7th and 8th Streets. It's True Value's own brand (Greenthumb, or something like that) and it's much easier to set than more expensive models I've had. They have two models; one that can be set to go on several times/day and a less expensive model that waters once a day (which is what I bought). I like that it has real dials for setting, rather than a keypad.

Posted by: Bob Marvin at July 28, 2010 10:15 AM in response to Automatic Sprinkler Timer

It may or may not be OK to buy on line from AJ Madison, but I know from personal experience that their Brooklyn showroom simply does NOT work. My wife and I went there about a year and a half ago to buy a range and left after trying unsuccessfully for a half hour to get one of their many salesman to look up from their computer terminal and help us. Also, we've found that EBA's prices are considerably lower than AJ Madison's web prices I doubt that it's possible to negotiate lower prices in person at AJM since their so-called sales people will rudely ignore you. OTOH their website is a useful tool and their showroom,which is quite attractive, could be a good place to examine high end appliances [undisturbed, obviously, by sales people] that you might want to buy from other sources.

Posted by: Bob Marvin at July 27, 2010 5:16 PM in response to Buying Appliances Online

There's a row of Tudor-style houses on Rutland Road, in the PLG Historic District, and another across Flatbush on both sides of Chester Court. These houses were built in 1914--1915.

Posted by: Bob Marvin at July 26, 2010 3:43 PM in response to Building of the Day: 16 Nevins Street

I've successfully used lead anchors, drilled into the brick, to hold shelves on the party walls of my house, where the plaster is applied directly to the brick. The shelves fell on my first attempt because the anchors I used were too short and only penetrated the plaster. Longer lead anchors did the trick. If you're going to use anchors on exterior walls they'll have to be VERY long to penetrate the plaster and lath, go through the narrow air space, and penetrate the brick. I wonder if anchors like that are available?

Posted by: Bob Marvin at July 26, 2010 2:21 PM in response to Drilling into Real Plaster Wall

IMO the PLG "Living In" article is the best of the four the Times has run over the last 30 years [even though they left out a lot, referred to Rutland STREET and didn't interview me :-) ]

Posted by: Bob Marvin at July 26, 2010 9:34 AM in response to Monday Links

Is there really anything better for soaking than a claw-foot tub?

Posted by: Bob Marvin at July 24, 2010 3:53 PM in response to Soaking Tub - Recommendations?

"How can you be sure that they won't give you a reduced rate for a few months and then hike your bill"

AFAIK that's their business plan. Guarantee trivial savings for two months and then double or triple your bill. Even if you catch on the first month that happens, they've gotten enough for their scheme to be lucrative.

Posted by: Bob Marvin at July 24, 2010 3:41 PM in response to Alternate Gas/Electric Suppliers?

Hmmm; I'm sure I included the URL, but it seems to have vanished. Here it is again:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/25/realestate/25living.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1

Posted by: Bob Marvin at July 24, 2010 3:35 PM in response to Article about PLG in the Sunday NYT RE Section

"what ever happened to just plain white ducks?"

They bred with the mallards [they're closely related, domestic ducks having been bred from mallards], creating lots of hybrids, many of which can be seen near the Audubon Center. Some look like giant mallards while others have more unusual color patterns.

Posted by: Bob Marvin at July 23, 2010 1:08 PM in response to Friday Links

It'd be great if some details could actually bed saved, after so many years of exposure to the elements.

Posted by: Bob Marvin at July 23, 2010 9:37 AM in response to Inside the Loew's Pitkin Theater

The day after tis item appeared Brownstoner showed a photograph of the building it replaced:

http://www.brownstoner.com/brownstoner/archives/2010/07/closing_bell_pa_8.php?comments=10#comments

I withdraw my faint praise for the modern building; the original was VASTLY better and IMO replacing it with this thing was an act of vandalism.

Posted by: Bob Marvin at July 22, 2010 4:39 PM in response to Modern on Prospect Place

Wow, I didn't realize that the tepid and blah, but (seemingly) OK modern building we discussed the other day had replaced anything as nice as the brownstone shown in this photograph. I withdraw my faint praise--putting up the new building was an act of vandalism! Even if only the original facade could have been saved, it's vastly better than the replacement.

Posted by: Bob Marvin at July 22, 2010 4:30 PM in response to Closing Bell: Painted Windows

Re exposed beams; I can't speak to the ones in the photograph, but, FWIW the similar-looking ones in my middle parlor are faux--not structural.

Posted by: Bob Marvin at July 22, 2010 2:04 PM in response to Walkabout: Victorian Woodwork and Paint

Unpainted woodwork, similar to MM's first and third photographs, sold us on our house. Unlike some posters here I'd find it depressing to live in rooms that are plain boxes and love how my house looks furnished even without furniture. However, this is so subjective that I'd never criticize anyone who thinks differently.

Posted by: Bob Marvin at July 22, 2010 12:46 PM in response to Walkabout: Victorian Woodwork and Paint

I grew up in an apartment building with a window over the bath tub. My mother always had a plastic set of curtains, matching the shower curtain, over that window. This looked tacky, but the water from the shower was kept off the window and it didn't rot.

Posted by: Bob Marvin at July 21, 2010 1:29 PM in response to Window in Shower - Issue!

Is there any reason why these houses wouldn't be here in a hundred years Rob? Do you know something the rest of us don't?

Posted by: Bob Marvin at July 21, 2010 10:13 AM in response to Modern on Prospect Place

Rob,

The purpose of a cornice is to protect the stone or brick front, by deflecting dripping water. Cornices are indeed functional.

Posted by: Bob Marvin at July 21, 2010 10:07 AM in response to Modern on Prospect Place

While I don't like this house as much as the others in the photograph, it's a good example of how a modern house can be made to blend well with an historic row.

Posted by: Bob Marvin at July 21, 2010 9:51 AM in response to Modern on Prospect Place

transittillie,

The Midwood Street house whose back shows up in the photograph is not a "Fedders special"; it's a colonial revival that's part of our historic district. As I'm sure you know, most row house rears are rather plain.

Posted by: Bob Marvin at July 21, 2010 9:45 AM in response to Building of the Day: 58 Maple Street

This block of Maple St.[Maple I] is quite different from most LM blocks. It has houses ranging from simple attached colonial revival to full-fledged mansions. This handsome house is sort of in the middle.

Posted by: Bob Marvin at July 20, 2010 4:05 PM in response to Building of the Day: 58 Maple Street

I had the same experience with my first AO Smith water heater that went bad just short of 10 years--my plumber got the replacement unit. He passed away shortly after installing my current (third) AO Smith, so if that goes before the warranty is up I'd probably be out of luck.

BTW, when I bought my house it had a Serval water heater that had been installed in 1950. It had a monel metal tank and lasted until about 1980. I thought that was great, but when I had a more modern heater installed my gas bills went down so much that I realized it would have been much cheaper to replace the relic years earlier.

Posted by: Bob Marvin at July 20, 2010 9:59 AM in response to Interesting Water Heater Warranty Info

What ire said; I've been through 3 or 4 A.O. Smith water heaters, but one was free when it had the good grace to leak just before the 10 year warranty ran out, rather than right after.

Posted by: Bob Marvin at July 19, 2010 9:32 PM in response to Leaking Hot Water Tank

When I moved to Park Slope in 1970 this building was referred to as the Woolworth mansion, but I guess the connection to that family was apocryphal. It was reputed to have some of the nicest apartments in what was then a barely gentrified neighborhood. I never inquired about apartments there because the owners were also reputed to refuse to rent to Jews [and YES, there was a good deal of Antisemitism in the Slope back then--it's the only place I ever experienced it].

Posted by: Bob Marvin at July 19, 2010 4:27 PM in response to Building of the Day: 119 Eighth Avenue

FWIW the woodwork in my dressing rooms had never been painted and matched the rest of the house (although it was pine, like the rest of the top floor outside the bird's eye maple master bedroom). There also was usable closet space (shallow, but big enough for all my dress shirts and ties) with lots of drawers below. Had the rooms not been pristine I might well have done something like what going4broke wrote about.

Posted by: Bob Marvin at July 18, 2010 11:00 AM in response to Original Built-in Dressing Areas

Whether they're original depends on the age of the house. The very earliest brownstone-type row houses were built without indoor plumbing, at least on the upper floors. The dressing rooms are certainly original to my 1899 house and the only sprucing up I've done was to improve the lighting and replace the original Fuller cocks, which were a PITA to keep working, with reproduction compression faucets that look almost exactly the same but have regular, easily replaceable washers. [I actually found a source of NOS Fuller balls but, because of limited clearance, I had to remove the entire faucet every time the short-lived Fuller balls needed replacing, since there wasn't room to unscrew the top of the mechanism].

I WOULD have suffered extreme guilt pangs had I doneanything more.

Posted by: Bob Marvin at July 17, 2010 7:43 PM in response to Original Built-in Dressing Areas

Thank you Petebklyn, but I don't have anything to add to what traditionalmod already wrote except that the blocks with a single family covenant [enforced by the homeowner's association]and R2 (single family) zoning [enforced by the City] are Lincoln I & II (south side) Maple, Midwood & Rutland I & II, and Fenimore I & II (north side)

Posted by: Bob Marvin at July 16, 2010 2:39 PM in response to Single Family Zoning in Prospect Lefferts Manor

I was glad to see Kings County Nursery getting some good publicity. It's an excellent neighborhood nursery that I've used for many years.

BTW, there might be an uglier reason for the old "Pig Town" name once used for eastern PLG/Wingate than the pig farm explanation.

Posted by: Bob Marvin at July 16, 2010 10:15 AM in response to Friday Links

I think think the box type covers [usually wood, sometimes covered with sheet metal] are usually used on houses [like mine]that haven't had the newer hinged metal doors installed. IMO a such a cover over a metal door would be redundant.

Posted by: Bob Marvin at July 15, 2010 9:26 AM in response to Where Can I Find Cover for Hatch?

You don't even need an actual tester to find out which is the hot wire. You can use a pig tail socket with a light bulb. The wire that causes the bulb to light when you touch one lead to it and the other to the box is the hot one.

Posted by: Bob Marvin at July 8, 2010 6:11 PM in response to Help Identifying Unknown Wires in Ceiling Fan

Mopar,

It's in walking distance to all the things you mentioned except, possibly, the Islands Restaurant (which is on the far side of Eastern Pkwy and over a mile away).

Posted by: Bob Marvin at July 6, 2010 6:10 PM in response to Co-op of the Day: 40 Clarkson Avenue, #5F

FWIW Oasis Map lists the year built as 1938.

Posted by: Bob Marvin at July 6, 2010 1:44 PM in response to Co-op of the Day: 40 Clarkson Avenue, #5F

It would take a pretty cold fish to make such decisions based on cost alone, rather that more subjective factors.

Posted by: Bob Marvin at July 6, 2010 9:46 AM in response to Park Slope Versus The Burbs

"There are tons of trash baskets around and if there were more the slobs would fill them all"

Then there AREN'T enough. Sanitation's PR person likes to refer to people "abusing" litter baskets, but IMO that's just a weak rationalization for their not doing a descent job.

That's not to say there aren't assholes who just dump their trash without even attempting to put it in a receptacle, but the solution for that would be more enforcement and hefty fines (which might raise enough revenue to hire staff to empty those poor "abused" litter baskets).

Posted by: Bob Marvin at July 5, 2010 1:16 PM in response to Prospect Park Holiday Litter

IMO piggish behavior in Prospect Park is spread among all ethnic groups. There's no excuse for it, but the problem would be alleviated a lot if adequate litter baskets were available (or if the exiting baskets were emptied more often . I just got back from my morning run in the park and saw MANY overflowing litter baskets with mounds of plastic garbage bags next to them. Many people TRY to do the right thing, but it's futile when sanitation services are inadequate. Sure, people could carry their garbage out of the park, but that's hardly a practical solution for those traveling long distances, or carrying heavy grills, coolers, etc.

Posted by: Bob Marvin at July 5, 2010 11:30 AM in response to Prospect Park Holiday Litter

Probably had something to do with Federal highway $$.

Posted by: Bob Marvin at July 2, 2010 3:46 PM in response to It's Not Quite Brooklyn, But the Historic Ridgewood Theater Is Back On The Market

When I moved to Brooklyn in 1970 Ridgewood was considered to be split between Brooklyn and Queens. The only way to tell which borough you were in was by the old color-coded street signs (white letters on black for Brooklyn, blue on white for Queens) that existed before the Feds mandated City-wide uniformity. In the mid-70s the Queens part of Ridgewood got a Queens (113..) ZIP code to replace the former Brooklyn-like (112..) one--IIRC something about lowering insurance rates. At about the same time Brooklyn Ridgewood mysteriously vanished (relegated, I imagine, to Bushwick). This is ironic given the present attempt by Ridgewood to cash in on Bushwick's cachet.

Posted by: Bob Marvin at July 2, 2010 2:42 PM in response to It's Not Quite Brooklyn, But the Historic Ridgewood Theater Is Back On The Market

"Maybe they can get rid of some union officials in those footings" Or, even better, the Rat :-)

Posted by: Bob Marvin at July 2, 2010 9:54 AM in response to Concrete Poured at the Barclays Center

I should have pointed out that, while hearing gun shots was once a common occurrence in LM/PLG [and much of the rest of Brownstone Brooklyn] I have not heard them from my Midwood Street home for quite a long while. That's what angered me enough to respond so dismissively to "lee_maison's" comment[that and the return to civilization part].

Posted by: Bob Marvin at July 2, 2010 9:39 AM in response to Purchase Price of Condo

Lee Maison's ill-informed nonsense is hardly worth commenting on. I wonder if her Lefferts Manor friends are anywhere near as "stuck" as she is in the new construction condo she foolishly bought without doing proper research?

Posted by: Bob Marvin at July 1, 2010 3:49 PM in response to Purchase Price of Condo

I know it's apples and oranges, but you could get a very nice limestone across the park in Lefferts Manor for that price.

Posted by: Bob Marvin at July 1, 2010 1:15 PM in response to Purchase Price of Condo

Wouldn't a protest outside of Lubavitcher headquarters on Eastern Parkway have been more effective?

Posted by: Bob Marvin at July 1, 2010 10:19 AM in response to Bikini Backlash Against Hasidic Blockage of Vodka Ads in Crown Heights...

I've lived in Brooklyn considerably longer than the first letter writer has been alive but, having grown up in Queens, I guess I don't make her cut. Do I mind? Nah! Screw her! [Is that enough of a Brooklyn attitude? :-) ]

Posted by: Bob Marvin at June 29, 2010 5:33 PM in response to Old-Timers Complain About Newcomers' Lack of Brooklyn Cred...

I'm big on DIY, but IMO it's NOT a great idea to make a hole in your roof and waterproof it yourself--too many potential problems.

When I had the same work done in my top floor bathroom I had an electrician install and wire the fan and a roofer install a mushroom vent on the roof. The vent the roofer installed was considerably higher than the ones installed years earlier to vent the insulation--that might just be a coincidence, I'm not sure.

I had wanted the roofer to install the vent a day or so before the electrician came, but he was nice enough to insist on being there at the same time as the electrician, to avoid any possible problem.

Based on past experience with leaking in the vents for the insulation, I ran a bead of silicon caulking on the seam of the new mushroom vent (even though the roofer said it wasn't needed). That 5 minutes of work was my only DIY contribution to this job

Posted by: Bob Marvin at June 26, 2010 10:48 AM in response to Vent Bathroom Exhaust Fan to Roof

A few points:

§ FWIW the car wash and "booze" warehouse are in adjacent,but separate buildings.

§ Rental space on an upper floor (IF it's available and we could raise the $$) could probably accommodate a performance/gallery space without interfering with Phat Albert (where, I confess, I sometimes shop).

§ In any case, a permanent home for PLG Arts is a long-term goal, not something likely in the very short term.

Posted by: Bob Marvin at June 24, 2010 4:41 PM in response to Building of the Day: 495 Flatbush Avenue

This is the same model timer I bought at Leopoldi's:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=130364567832

I don't know this eBay dealer, but it was the only listing I could find. I paid about the same price at the store. When I went to buy one a few weeks ago Lowes, Home Depot, Tarzian, and Kings County Nursery were all sold out of electronic timers. I should have tried Leopoldi's first.

Posted by: Bob Marvin at July 28, 2010 4:47 PM in response to Automatic Sprinkler Timer

The OP said nothing about whether they live in a brownstone and where the registers are positioned.

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at July 29, 2010 8:02 AM in response to Forced Air Heat and Installation of AC

Even assuming that it is a brownstone with floor vents, it can be done as long as the duct sizes can and the velocity of the air flow is high enough to accommodate the room sizes. The return vent must be placed up high though.

It's optimal to have them on the ceiling but if the heat and ac are using the same duct work they're most likely on the floor.

Posted by: NYGuy7 at July 29, 2010 8:52 AM in response to Forced Air Heat and Installation of AC

I'm considering the same thing. I know AC ducts are best up high but my parents have a 1923 house with floor hot air vents, installed central AC, and it works just fine.

Posted by: hancockone at July 29, 2010 12:12 PM in response to Forced Air Heat and Installation of AC

I found a place (probably a catalog) that sold additional attachment bars. I attached two extra ones from the ring to the side wall. They clamp on to the ring and have a flang that screwes to the wall. It really made the whole thing a lot sturdier. The downside is that you can't push back the curtain on the wall side, but that's never been a problem. This was quite a few years ago and I have no idea where I got them, but I bet if you looked around on the Net for places that specialize on vintage plumbing stuff you could probably find something similar.

Posted by: cyrka66 at July 29, 2010 1:46 PM in response to Securing a Vintage Shower Curtain for Claw Foot Tub

can you tell me where you go the shower part? I have an old tub, but need new hardware and I can't get the shower for less than $800 which seems like a lot.

Posted by: Ringo at July 29, 2010 2:07 PM in response to Securing a Vintage Shower Curtain for Claw Foot Tub

I have been using http://www.irrigationdirect.com/ for my timed watering needs. They have a variety or hoses and spry nozzles that you'd need.

Posted by: Bombsquad at July 29, 2010 2:15 PM in response to Automatic Sprinkler Timer

Ringo, check vintagetub and bathsfromthepast.

Springhouse makes a very inexpensive one for $150, and Vintage Tub's house brand Randolph Morris is about $425. Baths from the Past also offers one for $400 or so.

Randolph Morris is solid brass, Springhouse is imported (prob from China) and has quite a bit of plastic. We ordered one of each. We needed a narrow ring and had to order pipe riser extenders because our baths are so small with high ceilings. Maybe in a few years we'll spring for Strom. Have their faucets and love them.

Vintage Tub's customer service is exceptional. They can answer any question, and our order arrived the next day (it was supposed to arrive in a week).

Haven't installed them yet. Our installer said something about using one of those bolt thingies (forget the name) in plaster. He said they're removable. He also recommends extra supports for Springhouse because it's flimsy, but he's had one for five years and no problems.

Posted by: mopar at July 29, 2010 2:50 PM in response to Securing a Vintage Shower Curtain for Claw Foot Tub

Alfano Plumbing in Queens also carries Springhouse, but it's a special order item.

Posted by: mopar at July 29, 2010 2:50 PM in response to Securing a Vintage Shower Curtain for Claw Foot Tub

Thanks you two. I am doing the revamp to two tubs, both with slightly different specs...

This particular tub has its faucet side close to the wall. Walls are sheetrock. Ceiling is tin... This is the one I am a bit concerned about if I can't screw the horizontal support into the stud (arrow 1 in my picture). Bob:Would the lath behind be strong enough?

But, to cyrka66's comment: I could add one or two more attachment pieces (horizontal or even to the ceiling, come to think of it.

I currently have two shower curtains in place and like that they provide the best water containment...one is facing the wall, the other is the one I open/close when entering the tub. I think I can live with the shower curtain against the wall not being able to be pushed to one side completely.

Adding another one or two horizontal support to the wall means:
-I can try to find one or two studs to screw them into
-I just attach the shower curtain around the extra clamps on the shower rod.
-I guess I could also add another vertical support piece and clamp that onto the rod, positioned as close to the shower head pipe, so it is centered.

RE: the other tub, the faucet is not too close to a wall, so that part of the shower rod will have a vertical support clamped to the rod and centered where the shower head pipe is located. Then I plan on attaching a horizontal support piece to the rod section that faces the wall. I also thought that I could also clamp another vertical support onto the shower head's pipe - to stabilize the shower head, but the more I think about it, that might actually be overkill since the shower head and it's riser pipe should be strong enough to stand upright on its own, right? Also not the prettiest solution...

Btw: The extra attachment pieces are available - I ordered one from Park Slope Plumbing supply along with all shower faucets/rods, etc.

Thanks again!

Posted by: BisonMan at July 29, 2010 3:00 PM in response to Securing a Vintage Shower Curtain for Claw Foot Tub