New York March NYC Meet-Up

[Calzone]

Keep the oil tank, keep the oil and get an old Mercedes-Benz, BMW, or Volvo diesel vehicle to burn it in. THOSE are future proof. As long as they get somewhat regular oil changes, they will outlive us all.
Phil Forrest

Phil,

Home heating oil is cheaper than diesel and bypasses paying taxes. An old boss did what you say, and he added some kerosene as an additive to prevent "waxing" in the winter.

The furnace is made by "Crown" and has a Mclaen gun. It also has an unusually high efficientcy of 84.3 and also provides tankless hot water.

Oddly the gas hot water heater is there and goes unused.

The owner generously sent us a spread sheet for her utility bills. Her oil bill is remarkably low. When I looked in the attic I saw that the fiberglass insulation that compresses over the decades had another layer added to restore full rafters.

The windows installed are good ones, and I suspect because the heating bills are so low that highly likely cellulose insulation was likely blown in the walls at some time.

Tom the P.E. who did the home inspection mentioned that the furnace has an unusually high efficiency rating; the fuel tank is bigger than the 300 gallon tank he has in his home; and he says if might be a 400 gallon tank. Bonus is that this 400 gallon tank is nearly full.

BTW some of the Volvo diesels were lemons. I had a friend that was gifted one. Not all diesels are good.

There seems to be a natural gas bottle neck in Westchester due to a lack of pipeline. Tom mentioned that in southern Westchester gas conversions are not possible because of a hold-up in supply. He also mentioned that this might likely be extended to northern Westchester. This might explain why an oil heating system was retained. I have to look into this.

Anyways the heating system came as a bonus surprise. It may be oil, but at least I have a good one with tankless hot water.

Another huge bonus is the 1525 square foot home (small house) has a 200 amp service, and also the two car garage has its own breaker panel.

The owner said that this 1912 house has only had 3 owners and she is the only the third owner. The clear narrow heart pine floors we covered by carpet, which she removed when she bought the house. The floors are like 1912.

The pocket doors that separate the livingroom from the dining room appear to have never been used. The look 1912 original, even the finish.

Now I have a 34 page report of many minor things like cauking, painting, and adding GFI outlets to update things. Stuff like cleaning gutters. So the list is long but pretty much minor handyman stuff.

The only ugly job is that the roof on the garage needs replacement. The bones are good. Happy-happy. Even though this Victorian is 4 bedroom and two full baths, it remains a small house.

The basement upon second viewing has a lined chimney for the oil furnace so only part of the basement will be finished, and part will be a utility room for the heating, hot water, fuel tank, washer/drier.

Having a 20x20 garage as a studio space will be a very valuable space. Christian says I can insulate the roof without getting rid of the exposed beams that lack any trusses. There is one beam that connects and straddles two opposite walls for loading, and Tom pointed out that they seemed to have "sistered" the beams to add strength.

Cal

 

[Nokton48]

Morning Cal,

In keeping with enjoying your own personal Utopia, here's what I'm diggin' this morning.

Sinar Norma Handy Lowboy 1 by Nokton48, on Flickr

This is my homemade Sinar Norma Handy on Lowboy. This will get some use.

Yesterday I cut down 8x10" Fuji HR_U XRay and loaded six in a 4x5 Graphmatic. About 7 cents per 4x5 shot.

If this works I am on to something. Keeping the highlights from blowing out is the issue. But Rodinal 1:50 in a flat bottomed tray works well.

ISO is 50 give or take so doable.

 

[Calzone]

So closing is on or before October 30th at this point.

The roof on the garage is a squat pyramid of four triangles, and because I will be adding panel insulation, new sheathing, and architectural shingles for a more durable and longer lasting roof (30-40 years) I'm figuring about $2K for a tiny 400 square foot roof.

This does not include gutters...

"Maggie" wants to replace the conventional garage doors with bi-folding ones, add a double French Door where a window exists, and the existing door facing the next door neighbor's home (my only next door neighbor) with a single French Door.

My idea of a second single French Door, adds more light than a window, and is less work than sealing off an unneeded door. In a ways I see mucho windows for a greenhouse like brightness surrounded by lush gardens.

The second backyard, or the Back-Backyard is another 40x100 level lot with the only structure being a narrow distressed concrete walkway that leads back and across. The rear of the property is woods and public land that has a steep decline over 20 feet to a marsh/bog/wetland with drainage that passes under Route 9A.

So the phase in of this Garden Studio will include insulating the walls, and finally adding a Mitsubishi heat pump for HVAC.

The house has a 200 amp service already, and the garage has its own separate breaker panel in the garage.

When complete it will be 400 square feet with a cathedral ceiling with exposed beams. The rigid panel insulation I'll be installing on the roof is R13, but with Maggie's approval I could add another 2 inch thick panel to the interior to double the "R" value to R26. The exposed beams will still show, but will have less depth.

The 1912 Victorian has 4 bedrooms and two full baths, but it remains a small house. Queen sized beds in the largest two bedrooms are likely too big, and full sized beds are in order. Even the living room and dining room are not so big. The first floor full bath is too small for a tub and has a stand-up shower. Eventually this bathroom will get updated and simplified into a "powder room." That shower I can't see ever being used.

Interesting to note is that the porch basement (I have two basements) has the plumbing for a half-bath that has been removed. Forensics reveal the plumbing for a toilet, a sink, and an old mirror remains.

The porch basement has windows on the sides, but this long and narrow space, perhaps 7 feet by 16-18 feet, could make a good darkroom. While not a "Crazy Dan" I could do mucho photography and get my chops back. In art school decades ago I was a truely great wet printer.

BTW I have a dry basement, but there is a centralized chimney along with a furnace, hot water heater that likely will get removed (the high efficiency oil furnace provides tankless hot water), a washer/drier, and a 400 gallon oil tank. About a third of the basement will become a utility room and will not be finished.

I will likely be able to finish about 60%-65% of the 25'x30' "full-basement" to create a soundproof listening room for my 300B tube stereo, my guitars, my bass'es, my amps.

Know that I own a JUKI commercial sewing machine. It is a good one and one of the last that are built in Japan and not China. The JUKI likely will end up in the garage to be shared with Maggie.

I think all the modern furnishings that are from our 650 square foot one bedroom apartment will end up in my basement sound room. My digital printing could move from the sound room to the garden studio.

Pretty much artsey clutter of cameras, bikes, music gear and stereo will be hidden from view. Maggie discovered this style of late Victorian furniture called "Eastlake" that is "period correct" for our 1912 Victorian. A lot of OCD behavior has returned to amplify the term "Maggie" as an OCD state of mind that gets kinda crazy.

"It takes one to know one," I say. Call me "Maggie Junior."

Some brutal work lays ahead. I have some concrete to break up, so the summer of 2021 I be swinging a sledge to build out a patio between the kitchen and garage. Kinda funny how Maggie likes the look of these larger distressed concrete pavers that I can call "man-killers" or "nut-busters."

Meanwhile somehow my body has regressed to that of when I was a 16 year old when I fit into 28 inch waist jeans, and they are not skin tight with a relaxed fit. I have a 37 inch chest, but although skinny I have a manly 9 inch drop chest to waist.

How odd it is to have my weathered face with an almost all white chin beard, yet this head is on a 15-16 year old lanky body of a high school kid. I'm under 140 pounds, and I wonder how I will be on my bikes with such a high strength to weight ratio. I should be a great-great climber. Can't wait to climb "Ned's Lung" in Blue Mountain Preserve.

Welcher Avenue is the main entrance to Blue Mountain Preserve, and my house is just a few blocks away. I'm in heaven...

Also seeing real 2x10's in the basement is a sight to see.

Cal

 

[Calzone]

Morning Cal,

In keeping with enjoying your own personal Utopia, here's what I'm diggin' this morning.

Sinar Norma Handy Lowboy 1 by Nokton48, on Flickr

This is my homemade Sinar Norma Handy on Lowboy. This will get some use.

Yesterday I cut down 8x10" Fuji HR_U XRay and loaded six in a 4x5 Graphmatic. About 7 cents per 4x5 shot.

If this works I am on to something. Keeping the highlights from blowing out is the issue. But Rodinal 1:50 in a flat bottomed tray works well.

ISO is 50 give or take so doable.

Dan,

That is a pretty camera.

I think recycling x-ray film is "crazy-good."

You are a clever devil for sure.

Also Rodinal in high dilutions I love for films rated 100 ISO or lower. I can manipulate a compensating effect. Mucho good.

Cal

 

[Range-rover]

Hi Cal, Sent a Message to you.

 

[MrFujicaman]

Cal, I'd leave the downstairs shower. If you're going to be doing all this destruction/rebuilding stuff, you might want that as "your" bathroom to avoid messing up the upstairs bathroom-AKA "Maggie's bathroom"

 

[Austintatious]

#51 must be your lucky number Cal. Looks like a nice home. Hope you enjoy it for many years to come.

 

[Calzone]

#51 must be your lucky number Cal. Looks like a nice home. Hope you enjoy it for many years to come.

A,

A lucky find. A long list of minor things, but strong bones. I think a great-great value.

I can understand why others don't love it: it is small; it is old; the kitchen needs improvement; and the pebble dash siding is not what one thinks of when they think a Victorian.

Two backyards, two complete building lots where I can easily build a second house, two basements (one full; the other porch-basement), and the unbelievable location and secluded yet convenient address.

A few blocks away is a main road that leads to a u-shaped strip mall with grocery, dry cleaning, CVS, a bank... So close that I don't think I would drive to go to the store.

A few blocks away is a 1500 acre preserve that is two mountains, plus Depre Park that is an additional 200 acres. Almost seems like my backyard.

A bus stop also is a few blocks from my home.

I grew up in the suburbs, and I hated it. Kinda boring (Long Island), but this home has a rural country vibe.

The vision I have for the garage, the basement, and the gardens is really exciting.

Don't tell "Maggie" but I want a mucho long lap pool, and to landscape this water feature.

The Hudson River is majestic. Also know that Peekskill has some of the best air quality in the country.

The ugly though is I live within the evacuation zone of the Indian Point nuclear power supply. From what I know it either is being decommisioned or will be decommissioned shortly.

How did I find a house with low taxes in Westchester? Not hard to find houses with 2-3 times the property taxes.

Cal

 

[jsrockit]

Cal, I think you need an 8x10” camera now...

 

[Calzone]

Cal, I think you need an 8x10” camera now...

John,

That likely will happen when I build the barn on the second lot.

If stairs becomes an issue decades out, I have the option of building that off the grid home out of SIP panels as a ranch to live on one level.

Then the Victorian can become my studio. The rooms and the light, especially around the golden hours fills the house with a wonderful glow. 24 windows, not counting the 4 windows in the basement and the stained glass window in the foyer.

The housing market in the suburbs is totally nuts. I figure the moving/churn rate in my luxury building is about 30%, and know that many of the 40 units are condo's that are owned.

Cal

 

[Calzone]

#51 must be your lucky number Cal. Looks like a nice home. Hope you enjoy it for many years to come.

A,

Actually 13 is my lucky number. The superstition comes about because 13 is a number that reveals change and changing. Most people resist change or don't like change.

Depends on how you frame it.

Pro-Mone hates my numerology. I'm a big fan of it.

I once rented an apartment from my friend's dad. He was an old hippy who happen to be really good friends with John Lennon. The street address was 30, and a 3+0=a three.

3 is a creative number. So where I lived was also the address where John Lennon stashed his mistress May Pai when Yoko Ono caught him dogging around.

This old hippy house my friend told me had all these "house-guests" that flew in from all over the world. These house guests stayed for indefinate periods of time.

The dad was a musician (singer guitarist) in a society band that played for 4 U.S. Presidents, and even the Queen of England. One story Ron told me involved going to the White House when the Vietnam War was raging when Nixon was still President.

So Ron went to the White House in torn jeans and a T-shirt, and besides that he had long hair. The Secret Service denighed him access initially, but somehow he eventually got in.

Inside the White House Is Walter Cronkite, and when he sees Ron he asks, "How did you get here?"

Ron's reply was, "I was told to come through this certain door and to go to the extreme left, but instead I entered and went to the extreme right."

Then Ron's reply was, "I'm a musician and you should know that us musician's don't listen."

Walter Cronkite thought this was funny and tried to get it taped, but the band leader interfered and broke up that possibility.

Cal

 

[Range-rover]

John,

That likely will happen when I build the barn on the second lot.

If stairs becomes an issue decades out, I have the option of building that off the grid home out of SIP panels as a ranch to live on one level.

Then the Victorian can become my studio. The rooms and the light, especially around the golden hours fills the house with a wonderful glow. 24 windows, not counting the 4 windows in the basement and the stained glass window in the foyer.

The housing market in the suburbs is totally nuts. I figure the moving/churn rate in my luxury building is about 30%, and know that many of the 40 units are condo's that are owned.

Cal

I bet, according to the News reports everybody's leaving the city.

 

[Austintatious]

What a cool story !

I have done what you are getting ready to do Cal. My Lady and I seem to get off on change.
For over 30 years we lived in Austin Texas. Then when we got to retirement age (62) we said we're out'a here. We had a two bedroom one bath house there that the taxes on were ten grand a year.(ouch!) Did not like the over crowed city any more. So we sold it and moved to Colorado Springs.
The house we bought there had been a rent house for several years. We had some fix'n to do if you know what I mean. About the size you just bought, 4 bedroom two bath, but it's a try-level house. Very popular here in Colorado. In the four years we've been here we have painted inside and out. New gas furnace, refinished the oak floors and did a total gut and replacement of the kitchen. It's pretty comfy now, but it took some work.
It was all worth it. Have a great time on this new chapter of your life !

 

[Calzone]

I bet, according to the News reports everybody's leaving the city.

Bob,

Not everybody is leaving. There is a lot of people moving because rents have dropped. Vacancies are up, and Maggie pointed out that some living uptown can now afford for the same rent or even less a downtown apartment in say the West Village, East Village, or Chelsea.

My guess is that anyone with kids who can are leaving though. The city now has a fair amount of violent crime, shootings, and killings. The safety we once knew is certainly gone.

I would expect the homeless problems to worsen a lot. Also the mental health issues.

Our Mayor is a joke.

Anyways people who are older like me don't have the decade to wait around for things to get better or recover. IMHO a demographic change has begun of de-urbanization. Many-many people who can leave are leaving.

Maggie thinks that young people who left NYC to work remotely will eventually get bored and will eventually return to the city. This is plausible, but I would argue not likely the way it will play out for most.

The enhanced concentration of poverty and homelessness, the lack of safety, the violent crime and other things will weigh against living urban again.

For arts and culture you could commute in if you live in the burbs. The quality of life is better and higher. I don't think there is enough reward to pay for the risk. It may take a decade to recover if it ever happens, it may never get back to where it was. NYC might have peaked...

A great example is the subway. The subway is a great infrastructure that made NYC-NYC, but ridership is down and that likely leads to further deterioration and a downward spiral. Over the past 6-7 months I have not been on the subway, not once. I would rather walk or take the buss. I don't think I'm alone here, in fact more people are driving. That's how bad things are.

Then there might be wisdom for people to buy in NYC today because home and apartment prices are rather severely depressed, there is a huge glut and oversupply. Prices are down 18%. Even worse are the UBER Luxury sales where discounts are 40%-50%.

Developers are unloading properties at these large discounts to make timed payments. They will be happy to break even at this point because it is better than taking a loss.

In a ways buying in NYC is more speculative and more of a gamble.

Cal

 

[Calzone]

What a cool story !

I have done what you are getting ready to do Cal. My Lady and I seem to get off on change.
For over 30 years we lived in Austin Texas. Then when we got to retirement age (62) we said we're out'a here. We had a two bedroom one bath house there that the taxes on were ten grand a year.(ouch!) Did not like the over crowed city any more. So we sold it and moved to Colorado Springs.
The house we bought there had been a rent house for several years. We had some fix'n to do if you know what I mean. About the size you just bought, 4 bedroom two bath, but it's a try-level house. Very popular here in Colorado. In the four years we've been here we have painted inside and out. New gas furnace, refinished the oak floors and did a total gut and replacement of the kitchen. It's pretty comfy now, but it took some work.
It was all worth it. Have a great time on this new chapter of your life !

A,

I love the west. Mountains, desert, and open places with great geography.

Maggie is a crazy woman fashion blogger, but Covid-19 came at a great time to change her mind about retiring in an urban city. She was thinking of living in Philly Center City which is kinda like living in a bubble.

Today Philly is not doing so well as is NYC.

I'm a simple guy and I don't need a lot to be mucho happy.

Calvin-August

 

[Prest_400]

@Nokton Nice LF kit! I keep saying that I won't go LF unless I found some really cheap kit, or something like a press camera so I can play by handholding it as if it were the 40s. Keep saying it's a lifestyle thing, and with full time work and heavy commute, I have to focus my shooting and darkroom work. Winter season approaches, so back to the darkroom then.

I would expect the homeless problems to worsen a lot. Also the mental health issues.

Our Mayor is a joke.

Anyways people who are older like me don't have the decade to wait around for things to get better or recover. IMHO a demographic change has begun of de-urbanization. Many-many people who can leave are leaving.

Maggie thinks that young people who left NYC to work remotely will eventually get bored and will eventually return to the city. This is plausible, but I would argue not likely the way it will play out for most.

The enhanced concentration of poverty and homelessness, the lack of safety, the violent crime and other things will weigh against living urban again.

For arts and culture you could commute in if you live in the burbs. The quality of life is better and higher. I don't think there is enough reward to pay for the risk. It may take a decade to recover if it ever happens, it may never get back to where it was. NYC might have peaked...

Cal

The Fintech I work in did a good WFH policy and they are retracting it by mandating a 1 day work in the office (again, we are the Scandinavian country that seems to have dealt with the pandemic). Funnily they bragged about how the cloud structure et al allowed them to adapt quickly and it was quite good to work remotely.


I hope for a more modern future where work is flexible geographically, as I've come from a non-city background and in some way despise the need to "move in" together with the costs and some lifestyle changes. Perhaps the countryside background in me.


BTW Cal congrats about the house. An office coffee topic today was about the value (and house size vs $ spent) on living in outer towns compared to the city. Of course, as a service oriented servant, city living is more convenient for distance to work and other things in close range.


Maggie's perspective on remote workers being bored is interesting. Here, an hour away of the city and $350K means the difference between small apartment (100 sqft) or house with nice forest garden and bubble bath pool. As a 20 year old and no capital, it was quite interesting how my coworker talked about the progression from apartment to house, with the sales in between.
2008 generation here so real state has something scary in it. Our origin countries (south EU, US) are getting hit hard and people are very affected not only health wise, but a lot mentally through the toll of economic collapse.

 

[Phil_F_NM]

I don't know about buying property in NYC, but for rentals, prices haven't dropped at all, maybe even they have went up. Friends of ours in Brooklyn decided to move only a few blocks away to a new building, top floor of a 6 story, and they aren't saving anything foot-per-foot. Perhaps the building owners are getting squeezed and taking it out on the folks who can pay, especially when moving in to a new place, when they can set the rent as high as they want. The states and the whole nation are going to have to get something to keep people subsisting or else there is going to be far more violence and rioting. I can only hope we remain safe here. I have seen with my own two eyes what people will do in order to feed their children. Hopefully congress gets their act together and realize that the whole nation needs to go to a guaranteed subsistence income. Folks out there will scream "socialism" but the alternative, at its worst, is wide scale revolt, then the dissolution of our government. If they don't pass a budget and there is a shutdown October 1, the clock will be ticking before the SHTF. Hopefully you close on that house and get moved before October, Cal.
Phil Forrest

 

[Calzone]

@Nokton Nice LF kit! I keep saying that I won't go LF unless I found some really cheap kit, or something like a press camera so I can play by handholding it as if it were the 40s. Keep saying it's a lifestyle thing, and with full time work and heavy commute, I have to focus my shooting and darkroom work. Winter season approaches, so back to the darkroom then.






The Fintech I work in did a good WFH policy and they are retracting it by mandating a 1 day work in the office (again, we are the Scandinavian country that seems to have dealt with the pandemic). Funnily they bragged about how the cloud structure et al allowed them to adapt quickly and it was quite good to work remotely.


I hope for a more modern future where work is flexible geographically, as I've come from a non-city background and in some way despise the need to "move in" together with the costs and some lifestyle changes. Perhaps the countryside background in me.


BTW Cal congrats about the house. An office coffee topic today was about the value (and house size vs $ spent) on living in outer towns compared to the city. Of course, as a service oriented servant, city living is more convenient for distance to work and other things in close range.


Maggie's perspective on remote workers being bored is interesting. Here, an hour away of the city and $350K means the difference between small apartment (100 sqft) or house with nice forest garden and bubble bath pool. As a 20 year old and no capital, it was quite interesting how my coworker talked about the progression from apartment to house, with the sales in between.
2008 generation here so real state has something scary in it. Our origin countries (south EU, US) are getting hit hard and people are very affected not only health wise, but a lot mentally through the toll of economic collapse.

Jorde,

The road to having capitol requires planning, saving, and some sacrifice.

Cheap-cheap-cheap. First thing to learn is don't waste money, don't spend it twice, and buy the good stuff that has legs and a future decades from now.

Back in 2007 I bought these five-nine Canadian Maple Leafs. Maggie saw no value and over the years hounded me to sell them. So soon I might to redo the kitchen and perhaps start on the garage with an insulated roof.

I expect pretty much for one of those 1 ounce coins to pay for the roof on the garage (about $2K).

Point is when I bought the Maple Leafs I used them to store value. This is what saving is. They are worth about double what I paid for them I figure. Understand there is a rather steep premium over spot gold prices.

Anyways living like a rat in a cage for a decade allows me to be able to afford this kinda perfect house for me. Living in a one bedroom apartment with a fashion blogger and all he clothing is not easy, especially if you are a hoarder yourself and a fine art printer who has a printer he calls a Jersey Barrier and likes to print big.

"A" has it right: keep it simple and humble. Keep it easy and sustainable.

My advice to you is "suffer." LOL.

Cal

 

[Calzone]

I don't know about buying property in NYC, but for rentals, prices haven't dropped at all, maybe even they have went up. Friends of ours in Brooklyn decided to move only a few blocks away to a new building, top floor of a 6 story, and they aren't saving anything foot-per-foot. Perhaps the building owners are getting squeezed and taking it out on the folks who can pay, especially when moving in to a new place, when they can set the rent as high as they want. The states and the whole nation are going to have to get something to keep people subsisting or else there is going to be far more violence and rioting. I can only hope we remain safe here. I have seen with my own two eyes what people will do in order to feed their children. Hopefully congress gets their act together and realize that the whole nation needs to go to a guaranteed subsistence income. Folks out there will scream "socialism" but the alternative, at its worst, is wide scale revolt, then the dissolution of our government. If they don't pass a budget and there is a shutdown October 1, the clock will be ticking before the SHTF. Hopefully you close on that house and get moved before October, Cal.
Phil Forrest

Phil,

For less rent or the same I could get a one bedroom downtown in the West Village, East Village, or Chelsea. These are areas I normally would be priced out of.

I agree with you that hungry children make parents mad to the point that the SHTF. Arab Spring was cause by inflation that we exported that made hungry children and made failed governments topple.

Hunger is really bad, and crazy stuff happens. This is a failure of both government and society, especially when it gets to the level of hungry children.

Unfortunately that is currently the world we live in.

Maggie's daughter was a NYC teacher in the South Bronx. On snow days when schools are closed the school's principal would ask for volanteers to come to open the school. About half the kids lived in homeless shelters, and if school didn't open the kids might not eat that day.

This was a few years ago. Bozo the Mayor of NYC has done little to help this situation, and with Covid it is even worse. Today Maggie's daughter is an assistant principal in Yonkers.

Augie

 

[MrFujicaman]

Bozo would HAVE to be smarter than DeBlasio!