wnyc.org / 93.9fm / am 820

I own a house in the Pelham Bay section of the Bronx. A couple of months ago, water started backing up into the downstairs apt. bathtub when the washing machine was being used upstairs. I called my plumber, who told me I needed a rooter man. He snaked the pipe, but told me it didn't look good, and he thought I had a collapsed pipe. I got a couple of estimates. They told me they were sure the sewer pipe was Orangeburg pipe, which I then googled. The estimates for replacing it ranged from $11,000-$15,000. I then visited the buildings dept. in the Bronx to try to get info. on my sewer pipe, but to no avail. But the chief plumber for the Bronx, Danny, told me that I was only responsible for the pipe up to my property line, and after that it's the city's responsibility. He told me to call the DEP. The DEP told me that if I have a problem with my pipe I should call Roto Rooter! Meanwhile, the tenant in the downstairs apt. is disabled, and I absolutely could not risk leaving him without water. So I went with the lowest estimate. These guys told me that technically the city is responsible (the collapsed pipe was in the street), but that I could wait forever for them to reimburse me. And that I'd have to spend the day in Lefrak City. I still owe them $5000. Does the city bear any responsibility? Whey couldn't I get a straight answer from anybody? Orangeburg pipe was apparently used all over that area of the Bronx. I listen to you all the time, and I'm kicking myself that I didn't ask you first. It's been a very overwhelming spring. Thanks!

I had a leak in an upstairs bathroom that damaged sheetrock and caused a drip downstairs. I want to hire a contractor to replace the sheetrock. I have three different firms in mind. The main concern I have is does the whole ceiling need to be replaced? Does the insulation need to be replaced as well? If there is mold/mildew damage does the ceiling need to be aired out first? Before I hire the contractor I want to be able to know some possible overages and extra workthat may need to be involved. Thanks for your help.

Padma in Bkln should talk to the landlord about the hot water. if that does nothing, call 311 and report it to HPD (housing preservation development, agency of NYC). HPD will ask if the landlord has been notified, take the complaint, send an inspector. if you're not home, they'll leave a note to call and schedule. protect your rights. good luck.

I am moving to a 1950s-era split level house that has an encapsulated crawl space--it is completely covered with white plastic. According to the manufacturer, this makes it a great storage space. Do you recommend using this as a storage space? Will the materials be compressed and damaged by having heavy objects on them for long periods of time?

Thanks so much.

Regarding the efficiency of a refrigerator - my mother-in-law always said that a full refrigerator was more efficient because as food became cold it helped maintain the cold in the fridge. She often had jars of water in the fridge if it wasn't full. Do you think there is any validity to this practice?

1976 GE 15.6 Cu.Ft. fridge in my basement that came with the house: $0.

Energy used by this 1976 fridge: 1848 KwH/year.

2009 Kenmore 18.2 Cu.Ft. fridge: $527.
Energy used by this fridge: 407 KwH/year.

Savings from buying new fridge: $245/year.

Ability to get all this from 20 minutes on google: priceless.

Small bathroom needs to be refreshed, tiles and caulking cleaned, bathtub reglazed. Can any of this be done w/o using a professional? Are there any products or techniques you would recommend?

Off topic, but as you mentioned the popularity of the name Leonard, this is a great site for looking up the historical trends of names. Here's a link to the "Leonard" page with a graph showing the (downward) trend.
http://www.babynamewizard.com/namipedia/boy/leonard

cultipacker

Quiz answer:

Scarifier

what's the lifespan of a 90 gallon water heater?mine is from 1992 and i think it needs replacing to avoid a leak.its installed in a 3 family attached-brick home. Also are there more efficient water heaters available on the market?what efficiency am i looking for?any advice would be appreciated.
thank you

How do you remove mold spots from the interior of a wood window frame? We run a humidifier which seems to be the cause, but is there a way to prevent it--other than lowering the humidity?

YOu might want to add something about cleaning gutters. Where I live-under large oak trees, it's too early to clean gutters. When the oak flowers fall they make a huge mess and fill the gutters-so end of May works here!

I live in a 5 story apartment and never seem to have hot water.
Is there anything I can do about this in my unti, - besides trying to get my rarely seen super to adjust the settings on the main water heater?

Two cents worth regarding lead in ceramics.

Lead is an excellent 'flux' which causes glazes to melt at lower temperatures. Lead also produces unique and vivid colors as well as enhancing the luster of glazes, like lead crystal has more sparkle than regular glassware.

In vintage ceramics - pottery, tile, etc - the color to avoid is yellow. Yellow is produced by either lead or uranium, but uranium glazes are rare.

greetings,

in my old NYC apartment, my old bathroom sink is porcelain, connected to the wall, w/separate hot & cold faucets and that "waste" knob in the middle on the back-splash. all around the overflow drain slots is corrosion/rust.

can i renovate this my self? like scrape away the rust and... coat with... something? i love my old sink and my landlord would sooner replace it with something cheap and ugly than restore it.

(i always do whatever work i can that my apartment needs because the landlord's workers do terrible work.)

thanks very much.
-blanca, washington heights.

How to limit the huge mosquito infestation every summer in Brooklyn, besides making sure there is no standing water??? Ruining my whole backyard experience.

I'm finishing a walk up attic. There are true 2x6 roof rafters. After I include space for a eave-to-ridge ventilation channel, I have between 4.5 and 5 inches of space for insulation. It seems like rockwool batting would get me the most r-factor in that space, but I can't seem to find it for sale. When I search online, I see that it's widely available in Canada but not the US. What's up with that? Any suggestions?

I remodeled my bathroom two years ago. Recently, it just dawn on me that the contractor only had grouted without putting caulking around the bathtub and the wall around it. We asked our architect and he said caulking is not always necessary. Is this true? If not, is it two late to put in caulking now?

How do I go about getting rid of black mold in my home?

Thanks guys - I will follow your suggestions - I like the idea of removing the sills rather than trying to manage removing the paint

PS to #3 - I live in a commercial Loft - and so the building will probably not take care of this for me

Apropos of your previous guest - We have lead paint on our window sills in two rooms - I need to get rid of it as we have a baby now - not sure what is the best/safest way to do this. Can you please advise?

Every spring, starting in late March, my basement is infested with some tiny moth-like insects that appear on the ground. They are either dead or crawl around in a lathargic state. There are no openings in the basement besides, so it is baffling as to how they enter the basement. They don't fly around, just crawl. Could they be hybernating in the wood?

Thanks.

GUYS-
AM REPLACING MY ASPHALT TILE ROOF ON MY SINGLE FAMILY HOME, PERSONAL RESIDENCE IN FLUSHING. WILL HAVE TO REPLACE PLYWOOD, ETC -- THE WORKS! CAN THIS BE DONE IN A "GREEN" WAY?
THANKS!
LYDIA