weinoo

Superstitions aside, where does the exhaust air go?

Here's an earlier version of the drawing for the side where the appliances are going (an interesting triangle, if ever there was one). Now, there's no range hood duct run, and there will be no hanging pots or pans - that side will be a shelf as well. To the left of the range are a 15" cabinet and a 24" wine fridge; the countertop above is going to be butcher block.

HC - there was (ok, were) a final straw a few months ago. That was a leak from above, which was first noticed along the tiles in our bathroom, just above the floor. I noticed the grout stating to change color. So this involved the coop coming in, demolishing part of the wet wall, and replacing one of the waste pipes from the apartment above - they have to get to it through our walls and ceiling, if necessary. The cosmetic part of the "repair" job was not exactly the highest quality. Our tub is close to 60 years old, and I figured as I move into middle age, a step in shower might be a better fit. Our kitchen floor had been coming up for years - crappy peel and sick tiles were no match for my kitchen. I could go on - but it was indeed time.

A couple of things to point out, vis-a-vis the plumbing, etc. Both the architect/design team (who live in our building) and the contractor we are using, have experience doing many apartments, for many years, in our buildings (remember, there are 4 buildings in our cooperative, with close to 1,700 apartments). In addition to NYC building codes, which must be adhered to, they're very familiar with what goes on inside the walls. Any time the wet wall is taken down (as shown above), plumbing has to be replaced before the walls are rebuilt. Regarding hot water, the riser is insulated. There is no wait for hot water (unless, as happens occasionally, the boiler is on the fritz, though we have 2 boilers for the 4 buildings, and one is sufficient to service all 4), and we're on the 15th floor. Boilers were replaced a few years ago - cost us almost $5mm I believe. Our contractor was one of 3 who bid on the project. I've seen work done by all 3 of the bidders, and like the work done by the one we chose most of all. He also included everything we discussed within the scope of the contract, whereas the other 2 conveniently forget a few things, so their bids were considerably lower. They recently completed (just 2 floors below us!) a gorgeous break-through, combining 2 2-bedroom apartments into a lovely, wide open 4-bedroom space, with expansive views. I'm actually coming in pretty close to budget; well, not the original budget, but once I learned what all the permits/inspections/coop fees/architect fees/expeditor fees and contractor would cost, the rebudgeted budget is pretty close. Where I was under-budgeted was for lighting - all the new stuff will be LED, dimmable, etc. etc., and it's expensive! Where I over budgeted was actually for cabinets; we're getting what I would call semi-custom cabinets, as I can only have 21" deep cabinets on one side (yes, due to code, grrrr); we're getting the "boxes" from a company called CabParts, in Colorado, constructed of maple. The fronts of the cabinets, the drawers, and any filler pieces will all be custom made, measured after the boxes are installed, and supplied by our contractor, as part of his fees. My big disappointment is that even though our building allows us to vent to the outside (via a window, not through any walls), it became apparent once the walls were down, that this was going to be an engineering nightmare. With a short run from our range to the window (we were going to vent out the top of the window in the bathroom), the ductwork would have required 4 90° turns, a big soffit intruding into the shower space, and other aggravating things. After which, even if installed perfectly, I figured wasn't actually going to work all that well from the reams of stuff I read about range hoods and ducting. So, we're going to have a recirculating hood that will look cool, but probably not be too effective. But it will be better than what I've had for years - nothing - and I imagine if the filters are well maintained, will reduce odor and other particulates to a certain extent. Our sublet is literally one floor up from our apartment, which allows me to check the work on a daily basis. Contractors are only allowed to work between the hours of 8 AM and 5 PM, with noisy work (i.e. demo) only allowed between 10 AM and 3 PM; they can't work on weekends; they can't work on federal holidays; they can't work on Jewish or other major religious holidays. So the work, which started on September 8th, or 7 weeks ago, has seen actual work a total of 29 days. My goal had always been to be completely finished before the end of the year; contractor and architects say 3 months, which would be the beginning of December. Here's my setup in the sublet: I also have my new Instant Pot!

My guess is it's mostly about fire protection, but I'd also venture a guess that there's a lot of pressure in some of those pipes, especially in some of the very tall buildings. We are in a different apartment that we are subletting for the duration of the project.

Yes - everything is being done to code; plumbing has passed inspection. This might interest you: Our stove, our refrigerator and our dishwasher were all purchased about 12 years ago. I was actually able to sell the stove, dishwasher, old IKEA cabinets and countertop to someone who had recently moved into the buildings, and just wanted an upgrade from the original stuff the apartment they bought came with. This saved my contractor from having to remove all that stuff...the only thing left was the fridge and sink, and the cabinets that were original to the apartment. So before they even started, it looked like this: We're also doing our (tiny) bathroom at the same time. We're putting in a walk-in shower, with a bench, in lieu of a bathtub. It will have a drop ceiling in the shower, for extra lighting.

I've started a few topics about various renovation related subjects (here and here), but figured I'd put the overall project in its own. Pix often tell the story even better... It helps to have these. Well, you need to have these if you expect to get anything done in your coop. Then stuff can start... And then start getting rebuilt. A little better electrical system. New pipes have to be done in the walls. This Started on September 8th. They've had approximately 25 days on which work was done. Proceeding along nicely, I'd say.

You certainly won't find a better motor/base in a new Cuisinart...perhaps you can just find a replacement bowl? I replaced a 40-year old Cuisinart because the bowl became touchy (wouldn't close properly, leaked a little), and I can't believe the cheapo feel of the new one compared to the old one.

I use this almost daily - from oatmeal, to grits, to polenta - it's a great pan. Falk Culinair - 20 cm - approx. 2 qts. I also have a smaller one, older than 2 years, that sees tons of use.

I caved with that deal. Anyone want or need a Fagor Duo - 6 qt. model?

I would perhaps focus on the "bar" and/or wine program. Most of your profit is gonna be made here anyway.

As I mentioned previously, induction was out of the question for us, as the electrical requirement cannot be met.

See, here's where I beg to differ. I think the CSO, as a consumer product, offered up something new. The Breville didn't, as we've had toaster ovens for a long time. Food Savers have also been around for a long time. and is a chamber vac really a consumer product? Induction ranges, Insta Pot, and Thermomix, are all in the running for sure. Since I own not a single one of those, I can't vote!

Have at it. The Cuisinart Steam Oven? Sous Vide Supreme? Searzall? Anova? iPhone? Which is the greatest? And why? Or what do you have that you absolutely wouldn't want to live without? Me - I think the CSO is pretty damn great for so many things, that I wouldn't want to live without it.

A couple of cool points you make here, Norm. But the one that I catch onto immediately is about technology. As I said before, Ioved the Bosch range I had; really worked well for me for 10+ years...my main gripe with the new prosumer class is the 5 burners...and the technology. Because, in my mind, if anything's gonna break or go bad, it's a circuit board that's surrounded by high heat and moisture. That said, I think a range is a pretty personal choice, so you go with what you like.

Don't forget Bryant Park, Madison Square Park, the High Line (covered with flowers), Hudson River Greenway, Union Square Park, etc. etc. As a matter of fact, Significant Eater and I took a rather long walk this past Saturday; we stopped and sat for a while in Jefferson Market Garden. Place was swarming with bees gathering.

I have trouble replacing batteries in a remote control.

Nice product!

For years, and years, and years, I've cooked in an NYC apartment with no vent hood. Fortunately, my kitchens have always had windows - but they're far from the same thing as a proper hood. Even the hood we're getting for our new range isn't the best or the most recommended; but I figure it's better than what I've had for decades! As far as "make-up air" goes, I think that's really an issue in newer homes with much better insulation than in the past. Or whatever code might be. By the way, I learned a lot about hoods from a few places on the web: http://www.kitchenhoods.ca/shop/ http://www.imperialhoods.com/Official_Site http://www.futurofuturo.com/common-installation-mistakes-faq There's a lot more, for sure.

In the midst (well, the beginning) of a full gut kitchen renovation, I have done a fair amount of research on appliances. One of the kicks I got out of researching ranges is how much attention is paid to burner BTUs. From salespeople to literature, how high can they go?! Certainly it's interesting that not as much attention is paid to ventilation, which is a huge thing in my book. If you're cooking with 4 18,000 BTU burners cranked up all the way, you better be venting some major CFMs, don't you think? As one who cooks a fair amount at home, I often wonder - who the hell needs all these BTUs for home cooking? Sure, sure, I get it - to wok cook properly, crank it up to 80K. But do it outside. For me, I gotta think 15K BTU burners are plenty. And now that I found out I can do some interesting things in our NYC apartment vis-a-vis ventilation, I'm thrilled.

The sinks in this apartment building/complex are all porcelain coated cast iron - as are the bath tubs. Must weigh a ton, and to remove them, I believe my contractors will use a sledgehammer to break them into more tossable pieces. It does have a built-in drain board, which I hope to replicate in one way or another on my new countertop - gonna try to have drain groves cut into it.

He might've been a scummy Met, but he was a tough baseball player!

Understatement of the decade. Though I was always tired of the old one as well.

I've budgeted for it to be a nightmare.

Yes, the toggle! Many of the faucets I looked at don't lock in the spray mode, and I really wanted one that did. I also like the laminar flow, which in non-aerated. One of the cons I'd read about concerning the high faucet is that they splash. The deep sink, plus the theory that the spout is directly over the drain, should contain that. Faucet prices are indeed insane and are nowhere close to what I budgeted for. When you add up the kitchen sink, the bathroom lavatory (more expensive than the kitchen sink), and the shower "system" (more expensive than either), it's crazy. But other things (wine cooler, fridge, d/w) are actually less expensive than what I budgeted for, so I don't feel too bad. The real cost is actually the contractor! But I know their work, and it's super quality. They do lots of apartments in our buildings, and I've seen 2 recent projects that came out beautifully.