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About Me:
Upstate Manhattan, NY
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What I do for a living:
architect
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So I'm working on designing and drawing a project...... "an outdoor oasis" - aka - multi level deck - 3 levels on 3 different floors - seen hand sketch. The client wanted the upper 2 levels waterproof to keep the decks below them dry. I've done a lot of tricky roofs and rooftop penthouses on buildings so I'm painfully aware of battling water. I drew a sloped substrate on top of the deck joists with a roofing membrane on top of it, draining into a gutter. Sitting on top of that waterproof membrane is a low Bison pedestal system supporting the composite deck surface. The contractor - client want to use a rain catch system - Trex Rain Escape. I've never used these systems, seems like trouble to me, anyone use them? Thanks
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HotRod329 reacted to a post in a topic: Stuff you’ve found while fishing.
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sturdybeggar reacted to a post in a topic: Stuff you’ve found while fishing.
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Peace of mind
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LB reacted to a post in a topic: Vintage Long Island Fishing Photos
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Nice work Ben. Finishing touches can be tough and many clients/homeowners feel it's one of those things they like to choose themselves. I have seen more nice cabinets scarred with chunky hardware than I care to remember - I always try to do something with an integrated pull, taking those bad knob-handle decisions away from people - much cleaner looking. Now paint colors, don't get me started.
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PR reacted to a post in a topic: Crazy fishing related stories,,,,
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Your kids may be right. Most people want and need a tub at some point, young or old, soaking this or that. The next guy might make an offer on another house with a much needed tub if he has kids. You're losing something most people want, what are you gaining by having a shower only? If you do go w/ the shower, the Schluter systems are nice, but expensive.
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Heavy Hooksetter reacted to a post in a topic: Crazy fishing related stories,,,,
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I think I may have told this one somewhere before on the site. Years ago I used to walk to and fish my local pond at night - South Pond in Central Park on 59th & Central Park South. After 10pm oddly peaceful and quiet, except it's true what they say - the freaks come out at night. Once a week or so I'd see this beatink couple lead individuals on what I called the Alien-Religious rebirth Experience, putting their "guest" under a blanket in various places around the pond, mumbling some alien-religious talk. I can only imagine their Craiglist ad for this experience. One night fishing the Pond, I see a very young couple sit down nearby and put a big suitcase on a secluded bench at the waters edge. I can see them easily from my tree covered spot, but they think they are all alone. The man opens suitcase, they both look inside and hug each other as if suddenly overwhelmed by grief. After a few minutes the man then slowly closes the suitcase. I stop watching them as I feel like I'm seeing something private I shouldn't be seeing. I make a few more casts....... and minutes later hear an big splash in the water in front of the young couple, he threw the suitcase in. This is a drawing (bird eyes view) of the waters edge. I brought the drawing to the Central Park precinct, I don't know if they did anything. Out of curiosity, I had thought about casting a grappling hook to it (the water 4' deep max in the whole lake). I'm pretty sure the suitcase is still there, with something dead inside.
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Heavy Hooksetter reacted to a post in a topic: Crazy fishing related stories,,,,
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OnlyDinks reacted to a post in a topic: Crazy fishing related stories,,,,
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ReeferRob reacted to a post in a topic: Crazy fishing related stories,,,,
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Doesn't qualify as crazy - just a little startling. I was alone on a beach sitting in a chair passively chunking. You know how quiet and peaceful the beach can be at 2-3am on a warm summer night, not a person in sight and the soothing sound of the waves. All of a sudden, I'm knocked out of a Silver Bullet trance by an incredibly loud, dull "thud" that hit the sand to the left of me. I got up, and very slowly walked toward where I heard the sound......about 25' away lying in the sand motionless, was a big, fat, dead seagull.
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gellfex reacted to a post in a topic: Why is it no matter what happens to the economy or interest rates, it's never a great time to hire a contractor?
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Good contractors are often busy even during slow times. There is always some work that needs to be done no matter what (repair my bathroom, replace a rotting deck). And then, I'm still amazed at how many people have so much money, deep recessions and interest rates are of no concern (I just bought a new 50 million dollar apartment and want to do a multi million dollar renovation - new marble floors alone on that job was 300k). Home inspections - I've seen a trend of people buying quickly with no inspections, in cash - particularly during covid when city slickers sold and made their Escape from New York to the suburbs. Seems like normally cautious people will buy without an inspector, contractor, or architect doing a walkthrough. It's like the the drunk guy at the bar as it closing hitting on that woman at the end of the bar he thinks is prettier than she is, he doesn't want the lights to come on, see she's missing a few teeth, or the bartender to tell him he's the 3rd guy she took home that week, and it's only Wednesday. In NYC - the lack of inspection is even worse, people think, how many issues can an apartment have? They bring me in, after purchase of course - then I tell them the 40amp electrical service they have needs upgrading, and it turns into a 6 month process to upgrade as it's a landmarked building, needs go through Landmarks, and a conduit needs to be run up to the 10th floor on the outside (rear), new gas service, and that charming old 9"x 9" tile in the apartment is VAT (vinyl asbestos tile) - "the broker didn't tell us these things?!?!?" I guess the owner stopped doing homework after graduating from Yale law school.........welcome to New Yawk.
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Many people just don't know that even simple additions often need to be drawn by someone who can file - stamp them, not some fly by night interior desecrator who doesn't know a collar tie from a collar bone. Sometimes when a client hires an unqualified person to do something, it's a sign of things to come, sometimes, they just are not aware of what they need. Of course then some architect who never swung a 22 oz framing hammer will get involved and spec a 3 1/2" x 14" LVL for a simple ridge beam, PSL posts everywhere, spec everything on the first 20 pages of the Simpson Strong Tie catalog and double the framing costs.
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JParanee reacted to a post in a topic: Dark Matter Skinner Surf Rods
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Joe - good points on things made around the world. It's nice to buy "locally", but Made in the USA is not always sign of quality unfortunately. I'm old enough to remember driving the low point of American design and manufacturing when my father worked for Chrysler- Mopar in the mid 80's and had a "high end" K-Car, one of the worst made things I have ever seen. Sorry - a bit off topic.
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That's a very nice thing to do, congratulations. I've been to Costa Rica many times with family, girlfriend, and solo trips. Depends on what she wants to do most, a few suggestions. Mountains - north of San Jose - Monteverde - the Cloud Forest, Arenal - Volcano area. Many options for cloud forest, animal, coffee, birdwatching, zip lining walks, tours and more. With family I stayed at The Monteverde Lodge and Arenal Observatory Lodge, and a day visit to the Tabacon Hot Springs. Beaches Pacific, Caribbean- hard to get to from the mountains, and not so many beachside hotels - resorts as we know them in the US. If you want "quiet" off the beaten track, I like the harder to get to beaches on the Pacific southern Nicoya Peninsula - Malpais and Santa Theresa, small bungalow low-high end type places to stay there, no "resorts". A 4 hour± drive (you don't want to do yourself) North of Santa Teresa is "larger beach town" that some people like, or not, Tamarindo, aka Tamagringo, more options, and a 1.5 hour ± drive to Liberia airport, In Playa Grande just above Tamarindo sea turtles return, nest......get toured. Manuel Antonio National Park - Quepos area - south of San Jose Mountains, beach, jungle - the condensed version of above in a smaller area. Have fun morning surf - Santa Teresa beach
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I'd second the fluke chase close in. You might not have to pray as much if you fish w/ bait - some bunker and a few bait rigs. You could also try the bay side docks at night.
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WTS or WTT - Ocean Master rod 12'
Sloatsburg Pete replied to Sloatsburg Pete's topic in General Buy/Sell/Trade Forum
Hi Blue - sorry - just saw this - yes the 12' Ocean Master is still for sale - just too much to ship as one section is over 6'6"+, I'm in upper Manhattan, will be in Ocean Grove, NJ for several days mid August. Pete G -
Yes, "enjoy it", once. I'm sure I've told my jumbo ray story here before - 20 years ago chunking at the jersey shore with clams - 11' Lamiglas GSB and Penn 705z slam down into the sand and quickly pulled into the surf, literally dove into the wash and pulled it out.......1/2 hr later - a ray that was bas big as an old car hood - appx 5' across, high sticked it when he got near the sand and snapped that Lami in 1/2. Still by far the biggest thing I have caught.
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Recovering architect and former framing carpenter weighing in, late as it is. I studied architecture at Pratt 80's but gained invaluable, practical knowledge working on a framing crew summers and winters (you know, back when we nailed down plywood deck sheets by hand). So I have an unusual combo of conceptual and practical skills, which should be the norm, not unusual. Today architecture schools have moved even further away from reality so most graduates are skilled at designing conceptual buildings with parametric algorithmic computational design, but don't know a sill plate from a dinner plate or have any practical knowledge. Any drawn project should start with a very accurate set of drawings, plans, sections, and any type of 3D is helpful. I find 1 3D sketch easily read, is more valuable than plan, elevation, section drawings. Architects often get lost in drawing and forget clearly showing how something goes together is the whole point of our drawings. Don't get me started on drawings that only have a number code call out and make you look at a legend for each note. VIF (verify in field) and its sibling TBD (to be determined), to be used ....another architect favorite.....as required. Nice to have people like Ben out there to help turn some of these ideas into reality.
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Here are a few - Escape from New York - while in New York photos. It's not all Superfund site fishing, and at the right time, you can find some surprisingly quiet spots in middle of the mayhem. Once in a while I'll send someone a pic like these and they'll ask if I'm upstate or outside the city, no, Midtown I'll say. Million dollar view (x 50), of a few of my fishing holes - from 57th street looking north (not my place)