Brownstone Cyclone

The Ups and Downs of Home Renovation

Brownstone Cyclone

Tag Archives: plumbing

THE INSURANCE OPTION ALL BROWNSTONE OWNERS SHOULD KNOW ABOUT

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If you never take any other advice from us!!!

–our latest post from BrickUnderground.com.

LEAKY PIPE ALERT: THE INSURANCE OPTION ALL BROWNSTONE OWNERS SHOULD KNOW ABOUT

by Angela Tiffin and Andrew Nichols | 4/16/15 – 9:59 AM

watermain-3

Longtime New Yorkers Angela Tiffin and Andrew Nichols bought their first brownstone in South Park Slope in May 2012, and have spent two years renovating—first, their own duplex apartment and, in recent months, a third-floor rental unit—much of it with their own hands. You can read more about the project at their blog, Brownstone Cyclone.

On a recent Friday night, we were enjoying a glass of wine when there was a knock at the door. Sounds like the beginning of a horror movie right? It turned out to be a representative from the NYC Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), Bureau of Water and Sewer Operations.

Water Leaks – We’ve Had a Few

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One of the most common and feared problems for homeowners is water leaks and damage.  Our latest for BrickUnderground.com tells you all about our recent experiences and what you are in for when you purchase an old house.

Stay tuned for our next post because it gets even better, or worse, depending on how you look at it.

4 COMMON BROWNSTONE LEAKS—AND HOW WE (MOSTLY) FIXED THEM

by Angela Tiffin and Andrew Nichols | 3/04/15 – 12:59 PM

Nothing says “family time” like clearing sewage-filled pipes with your loved ones.

Longtime New Yorkers Angela Tiffin and Andrew Nichols bought their first brownstone in South Park Slope in May 2012, and have spent two years renovating—first, their own duplex apartment and in recent months, a third-floor rental unit—much of it with their own hands. You can read more about the project at their blog, Brownstone Cyclone.

If this isn’t a proverb, it should be: as soon as you complete something during a renovation, something else goes wrong.  When you’re dealing with a 100-year-old brownstone, it happens more often than not. And water is particularly destructive because the damage extends both to the thing leaking, as well as its surroundings—home insurance policies have a high deductible for water-related damage for a reason.

Rental Unit Kitchen Cabinet Installation – check

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It may seem like it’s taken us forever to make progress on the rental unit, and that’s because it has.  When you only have weekends to work on it things tend to drag out. I’d say the kitchen is done but really not quite: there is a problem with the positioning for the plumbing for the dishwasher that we have to straighten out; we need to purchase and install the cabinet hardware; clean out the refrigerator and stove; install a backsplash and maybe a microwave.

We recently installed the kitchen cabinets that we mentioned in our last post and you can read about the details in our recent post for BrickUnderground.com.

A BROOKLYNITE’S STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE TO INSTALLING KITCHEN CABINETS

by Angela Tiffin and Drew Nichols | 2/11/15 – 9:59 AM

DIY kitchen cabinet installation is not that difficult (though we do recommend hooking up the sink and dishwasher, eventually)

Longtime New Yorkers Angela Tiffin and Andrew Nichols bought their first brownstone in South Park Slope in May 2012, and have spent two years renovating—first, their own duplex apartment and in recent months, a third-floor rental unit—much of it with their own hands. You can read more about the project at their blog, Brownstone Cyclone.

We recently went through the (surprisingly complicated) process ofchoosing kitchen cabinets for our brownstone—both for our owner’s duplex and a rental unit on the top floor. The next step: installing the cabinets, which we decided to tackle ourselves. Although we made a few mistakes along the way, overall it was a pretty easy job, and we regret spending the money on hiring a professional on past kitchen projects.