October 2014

Well, it’s done.

After three years in the making, the boiler epic finally wrapped today. I have a brand new, Williamson 140,000 BTU steam boiler. Granted, it’s not on the epic scale of Lord of the Rings but I think it took even longer to complete it. This story began in 2011 with this tale of woe. I had big plans about extending the house renovation by getting rid of steam heating altogether and replumbing the house for hot water heat instead. It made sense to do this for several reasons. First is that hot water heat is cheaper to run. You’re not […]

Loading

Well, it’s done. Read More »

Next life, I want to be a plumber.

Back in 2011, I wrote an article about my failing Weil-McLain steam boiler entitled Got Three Estimates? Get Three More. The article concluded with my finding a plumbing company willing to rebuild my ancient autofeed mechanism for a fair price. Despite most heating contractors swearing that my 42 year-old boiler wouldn’t survive the season, it made it through 2011, 2012 and the brutal, polar vortex winter of 2013 without a burp. Two weeks ago, I relit the pilot light on boiler. The outside temps were in the 60s so I didn’t turn on the boiler. A few days later I

Loading

Next life, I want to be a plumber. Read More »

Things could be worse. You could be this guy.

Just when I thought nothing could top this Construction From Hell story there’s a new contender. The moral to both stories is be there when the contractors arrive. $680,000 home built on wrong lot in Flagler County FLAGLER COUNTY — A couple from Missouri is waiting for answers after their $680,000 dream home was built on the wrong lot in Flagler County. The home is in a gated community in the Ocean Hammock subdivision, accessible from the air or beach. According to planning and zoning papers obtained by News 13, the home belongs to Mark and Brenda Voss and was built

Loading

Things could be worse. You could be this guy. Read More »

Scroll to Top

Welcome to Brooklyn Row House

This blog is about the challenges of renovating an old (1903) Brooklyn, New York row house.

My last major renovation project was the master bedroom, most of which is about finish carpentry. You’ll find other completed home improvement projects in the Projects submenu at the top of this page.

I’m not a professional builder and don’t pretend to be. I’m just an experienced amateur raised in a family of committed DIYers. I try to closely follow local and national building codes but don’t mistake anything on this site to be professional or even accurate advice! Your mileage may and definitely will vary.

This is the third iteration of BrooklynRowHouse.com, from scratch-built to Drupal and now Wordpress. I hope you enjoy your time here.