Keeping a Brooklyn Kitchen Kickin'

Long time no type!  As it always tends to as summer fades into fall, business for Click and Improve was a bit, well, busy over the last two months, so we weren’t able to get on here as much as we would like. Hopefully, this will be amended as the weeks go on into fall/winter (fingers crossed!).  Most of this business involved small and singular projects: gutter cleaning and replacement, roofing installation and repair, paint jobs in living rooms, bedrooms and dining rooms, and a few large home additions. We did, however, get to perform at least one desperately needed kitchen renovation in Brooklyn a few weeks ago. New cabinets were installed along with countertops; new plumbing and faucet were put in; new refrigerator with hot/cold water was purchased and installed. Pictures are occasionally blurry but we think you get the picture. (Ha! Sorry.)

A New Look in Levittown

Ever heard of Levittown, New York? For many, it’s just a hamlet located in Nassau County, somewhere between Hempstead and Farmingdale. In actuality, Levittown is, in many ways, considered a historic example of suburban planning; it is considered the first mass-produced suburb in America and is named after the father of the suburb, William Levitt. We were in this historic area recently, finishing up a massive home renovation. We completely revamped an attic and turned it into a living space, with shelves and a rather large closet. We also completely redid the stairs and living room, which got brand new walls and a paint job, as well as a brand new ceiling fan and light fixture.  We’re still finishing up some smaller projects in the home but we thought we’d give you a sneak peek at how we made this ordinary suburban home into something unique for our customers. Enjoy!

Before & After: New Walls and New Fixtures in Westbury

Westbury, a village out in Nassau County, NY, is a hell of a nice place to work during the summer months. Sure, we were working on our customer’s bathroom for most of the time, but when you got to see the light of day, coming in or leaving for the day, it’s very nearly bucolic in its way. We were out there doing a complete renovation, complete with new fixtures (upgraded sinks and faucets) and totally redoing the bathtub; in fact, we replaced the entire tub with a fantastic new open shower area, a popular item as of late. Lots of tile work and a lot of time was spent on the design as well, but overall, I think we made the most of the space. Don’t you agree?

A Big Fix-Up in the Five Boroughs

It’s been awhile since we here at Click and Improve been able to post about a big job. Part of this is simply the size of the job: renovating, remodeling and performing tasks in multiple parts of one house takes more time than a simple bathtub replacement or even putting up a brand new kitchen. The other part has largely to do with when and if the customer is comfortable sharing the work that has gone into their home. Thankfully, a Click and Improve client was so impressed with our work that she even helped out by taking some photos of the house on her own. For this space, we did bathroom remodeling in two areas of the house, put in a new staircase, a total kitchen remodel and various carpentry, electrical and plumbing work. Enjoy!

Before & After: Bringing Out the Best in a Brooklyn Kitchen

We began a job out in Brooklyn earlier last month and it was a doozy. The kitchen in the house we went to was, to be kind, in poor shape; in reality, it was corroded and moldy. Kitchen supplies were caked with rust and food remnants; the wood from the cabinets was old and splintered, some of it rotting; most appliances were barely working, if they were working at all. A month or so later, and the place looks beautiful, and we won’t take any false modesty in this case. I would detail all the big and small things we did -- cabinets, appliances, countertops, backsplash etc. -- but it was an entire overhaul and I figured I might as well allow the results to speak for themselves.

Before & After: Remodeling in Roosevelt

The summer is (pun totally intended) heating up and as it goes, this is looking to be a busy one around these parts. We’ve been working on projects all around the five boroughs, remodeling kitchens, replacing roofs and installing patios in some backyards. And then there’s this job, in Roosevelt, where we got to transform a bathroom from low end to luxury with new fixtures, retiling and some tear down. We opened up the shower to include a bar and a seat, put in a new sink, faucet and cabinet, a custom-made radiator cover, and a new toilet. The lighting is also new, giving a far more comforting ambiance, along with the new tiles. It turned out about as good as I could’ve hoped.  

A Day in the Life: James from Flash Exterminating

In Brooklyn, these days, it’s not hard to find what you need. There are shops that cater specifically to the art of meatballs and outlets designated merely for rock climbing, and this isn’t even discussing the gourmet dog treat stores and the organic liquor outpost. Still, when you hear about a winery being built on the outer terrain of Williamsburg, an eyebrow is bound to cock. But, as it turns out, that’s exactly what’s happening at The Noble Experiment, a new winery being built not all that far from borough institution Brooklyn Brewery. One of our providers, James of Flash Exterminating, is handling infestation detection, elimination and prevention in the space and was nice enough to let us tag along recently and explain what he was doing for The Noble Experiment.

Before & After: Serving It Up in St. Albans

For those who don’t know, St. Albans, Queens was a bit of an epicenter for the jazz movement and, in general, of African American music. James Brown, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Ella Fitzgerald and Fats Waller all called it home for substantial parts of their lives, and it was the birthplace of A Tribe Called Quest, arguably the best hip-hop group to ever exist.

We weren’t doing anything nearly as important out in St. Albans this past week, remodeling a kitchen and installing windows, but to the family we were working with and for, I imagine it meant quite a lot. Brand new cabinets were installed, along with those lovely granite countertops. We replaced the near-ancient oven with a brand new stovetop oven, and we added new pendant light fixtures that I'm particularly proud of. There was some major wall work and a little tiling work and we replaced all the light switches in the kitchen. The customer decided to keep her old fridge but we made a nice recessed space for it to help with the décor. Unlike most of the pictures I post, these were taken after the customer had settled into the new space. Nice, homey kitchen, don’t you agree?

Before and After: BK Bathroom

I’ve been a bit of a slacker with uploading pictures – a common sin for those who are chronically busy. I had a free moment earlier today, however, and got to put up these photos of a bathroom we are almost finished with. New tile work both on the floor and walls, plus a new backsplash, tub and shower. We also installed brand new vessel sinks, light fixtures, vanity mirrors and toilet. Very nice design overall, heavy on tans, blacks and dark and light browns. We’re doing some very minor finishing touches on the shower today but this is the essential look of the place. What does everyone think? 

Click and Improve at the Macaroni Kid Family Travel Expo

Last weekend, our boys were in midtown for the Macaroni Kid Family Travel Expo to spread the word about Click and Improve. It was a great time and we met a lot of parents who were excited by and engaged with our hassle-free approach to home improvement. The kids had fun too: we gave out pet goldfish and helped them put on Click and Improve fake tattoos. A lot of fun was had and we’re looking forward to more events in the coming weeks, including Mommapalooza next weekend. Our friends at Macaroni Kid were nice enough to send over some photos of our booth and the droves of moms and kids that stopped by. Enjoy! 

Home Visit: Bringin' It to Brooklyn

I’ve been waiting for these pictures to be uploaded and just finally got some time this morning to get them up and sort through them. We finished 98% of the work on this Brooklyn home earlier this year but have been working on some exterior wiring problems the last few weeks. Regardless, the interior work is completely finished and here’s a look at what we’ve been up to in BK.

Home Visit: Victory Lap in Baldwin, Long Island

Back in late February, I posted some shots of a house out in Nassau that we were finishing up. Well, the job is done and here is the finished project. Just as a reminder, this was a huge renovation of a dining room, kitchen and bathroom, including installation of new electrical and plumbing fixtures in all three rooms. And, for the record, the family we were working for were ecstatic with the results. I'm particularly proud of the creamsicle-orange paint job in the dining room and the tile work in the bathroom. More important is what you readers think.

Room for Ideas: Jasmine's Seuss-inspired Bedroom

Our office manager, Jasmine, has been redoing her 18-month-old son's bedroom and been giving us weekly updates on the project. Earlier this week, she was nice enough to show us the remarkable job she did, decorating the walls with characters and creations from the works of Dr. Seuss, including The Cat in the Hat, The Grinch and Green Eggs & Ham. We liked the end product so much that we decided to share the pictures here as well, giving out a little creative inspiration before Easter weekend. Isn't Shel Silverstein overdue for some wall space somewhere?

Before & After: Rockin' the Rockaways - Part 2

Last week, we took a look at the basement and bedrooms of the East Rockaway house we've been working on for the last two months. Clearing out the basement was more like an archaeological dig than a gutting, and the upstairs, as evidenced by the bedrooms, was not much better. Today, we're looking at the kitchen and bathroom which were perhaps even worse than the bedrooms when we arrived.

Before & After: Rockin' the Rockaways - Part 1

It’s been awhile, but we’ve been busy! Most of our time has been spent out in East Rockaway, working on innumerable home improvements and repairs on the house you see right up there. The job is a total overhaul, from the dingy basement up to the vacant attic. We’re still a few weeks away from the whole place being entirely presentable – the basement needs more work and two rooms still need to have the wallpaper removed and a new coat of paint. Here are some of the before pictures, just to give you an idea of what we’re dealing with. I’ll post more later this week.   

Take Five: An Interview with NYC Electrician Richard Altman

We took some time to talk to Richard Altman, owner and operator of NYC institution Altman Electric and Click and Improve service provider, about his business, what goes into being an electrician these days, where the home improvement industry is heading and what advice he would give to a new generation of electricians.

DIY Decor: Make Your Own Cleaners & Air Fresheners

Get your beaten jeans, toss-away sweatpants and damaged-yet-comfy t-shirts ready! Spring cleaning is right around the corner, and that means you’ll have at least one weekend in the near future devoted to scrubbing, sweeping, picking up, dusting off and tossing out. Between trash bags and scrubbing brushes, new appliances and garden supplies, you’re spending enough, so why not concoct some easy DIY air fresheners and cleaning supplies instead of loading up your shopping cart and depleting your bank account? Here are a few tips:

House Visit: Wrapping Things Up

What a difference a few weeks can make. We're in the home stretch on the house that we were working on a few weeks ago, where we were stuck in vanity mirrors, countertops and cabinets. Well, as you can see, most of these hurdles have been cleared and we're finishing up the last few bits of work, including the countertop and faucet for the vanity, as you will see below.

Job Visit: New Shades

We went out on a paint job today and I thought it'd be good to get some practice in as I have been slacking on the photos from other sites; this will be rectified. This was a pretty generic paint job on a nice apartment in midtown, around Lexington Ave., medium-sized room with just some minor spackle work and repairs. Not a huge show-off project but it was nice to get some photos up on here and get some of our more unsung workers on camera. And check out that awesome chandelier!

A Customer Testimonial

Hey everybody! We were able to cut a clip from a set of upcoming customer testimonials we recorded earlier this month. They all came out really great and they'll all be on the site (www.clickandimprove.com), YouTube and this blog eventually but we wanted to show what we've been working on a bit. This is one of our first customers, Gladys. Enjoy!

Shower Power

We’ve been dealing with a bit of shower drama the last few days, but things to be on the right track, quite literally. We spent most of today measuring and cutting track and getting everything ready to install with ze caulk. As you can see by the pictures below, we’ve finished a great deal of the electrical work in the bathroom, including three outlets and a light switch. And yet, negotiations on what exactly we’re going to do with the vanity are still ongoing, making the choice of lighting in that particular area a bit of a sore thumb.

Home Visit: Step-by-Step in the Kitchen

As I mentioned last week, we’re working on a kitchen as well as a bathroom in the house that we’re currently working on. We’ve honestly just started the groundwork for the kitchen but I thought they were worth a look. As in the bathroom, we used mud setting underneath the tiling for the floors and have yet to finish the grouting completely. 

House Visit: My Name is Mud

We’ve been working on a house in the outer boroughs this past week, remodeling both a kitchen and bathroom from scratch. We were lucky enough to start with a blank slate and allowed to just go in and work with the homeowner on the design. The bathroom was the more urgent job in this situation, as you might expect – you can always order in, but you can’t always use your neighbor’s shower.

On Paint Jobs - Kitchen Cabinet Doors

Today’s subject comes to us thanks to my cousin’s college roommate, who just recently bought a home upstate and sent me a kind e-mail telling me about some projects he was thinking about undertaking. Being a chef, most of his major wants surround the kitchen and his first idea was to repaint his kitchen cabinet doors before putting on a set of designs; we spit-balled and decided that cooking utensils and accessories would make a great theme.

On Bathtub Replacement - Prep Work

There are any number of situations that lead to people wanting to replace their bathtub. Maybe the black grime and tarnish in the grout and sealant, no matter what you scrub and rinse it with, won’t go away. Maybe you have a crack in the tub. Maybe the very sight of your bathroom makes you feel stagnant and you very simply need a change. Maybe the way you prefer to treat yourself is a deeper tub with more room to soak or some water jets. And these are just some of the more common ones I’ve heard over the years. The reasons are endless but are ultimately moot to the actual work, unless it’s an entire overhaul of the bathroom itself.

On Tile Repair

Just two days ago, I wrote about how you might go about fixing squeaks in carpeted and hardwood floors, a common, pestering and often ignored problem in the home. A friend of mine was good enough to point out that I left out a few other types of flooring, the most prominent of which being tiled floors. Damage to tiles is often done with the most minor and ignorable of actions: Erosion from constant wear, scrapes from furniture and other harsh edges, dirt rubbed and ground in, dropped items both weighty and sharp, and certain chemical cleaners. Naturally, replacing damaged tiles is something that comes up frequently, especially in kitchen floors and bathrooms. You’ll need the following items:

On Squeaks

Squeaky floorboards are one of those things that most people consider a necessary evil of homeownership. Some people think it’s a sign that the entire floor is about to give way, or that a poltergeist is secretly creeping around, or that they really need to hit the gym. In reality, this is a natural deterioration of the floorboards that have dried out after awhile and are now sliding and grinding against each other; there’s also the factor of unstable subflooring. Bare hardwood floors tend to be the main culprits but the squeaks are still perceivable in carpeted areas and tiled areas.

On Replacing Light Switches

Last week, I wrote about diagnosing flickers and it made me think about one of the simpler things homeowners can do in terms of electrical work: replacing your light switch. It’s something that shouldn’t come up too often but it is both important and a relatively easy for a novice to take on.  You’ll want to have the following items when you go about replacing the switch:

On Flickers

The first thing most people do (rightly) when they see a bulb flickering is try to replace it, or just chalk it up to bad weather or a momentary dim from a momentary glitch. Most of the time, this is all a flicker denotes but some flickers (think a three-to-four-second flicker) can become annoyances and represent a fault that requires either immediate or forthcoming repair.  Now, to be sure, we’re not talking about the expected dims that can come from CFL bulbs (the twirly, spiral energy-saving ones) connected to dimmer switches, but rather repetitive flickers that usually coincide with other electrical usage.

Consistent flickers are usually due to a poor connection in your wiring, affecting a singular part of your circuit. If an entire circuit is affected, the source of the problem will likely be in the breaker or, less frequently, the panel; the panel is a regular source for flickers on an entire circuit. But we’re talking about consecutive flickers coming from a single source. For an example, let’s say an overhead light is flickering every time you turn it on at night. The source of the problem will almost always be spotty connections coming from the light fixture, the switch box or the outlet. To help diagnose which one it is, one should mark when the flickering occurs and for how long. For instance, if it starts immediately as you flip the switch, the likely culprit is the switch box. It’ll make for an easier project, whether you’re trying to fix it yourself or you’re hiring a professional.

Though this seems like a minor issue, these problems almost always cause arcing, which can heat up connections or wires and lead to further problems either with the single fixture or the overall circuit if it goes unchecked. Smaller, fickle outages will likely be unable to be diagnosed until they erupt in an outright open. In any case, the rule of thumb here is to trust a professional electrician with these problems though, if you do go DIY, be sure to shut off electricity to the entire circuit if you’re attempting to replace or repair the wiring or connection. 

On Bathtub Leaks and Water Damage Origins

Water is a tricky substance, which is why diagnosing a leak is often such a hassle. A few entries back, I wrote about locating leaks around your bathroom sink and diagnosing what exactly caused them. What I left out is the all too familiar sign of water damage on the ceiling of the room below your bathroom. Now, sure, most of the time, this is a clear sign that there’s something wrong with your upstairs bathroom or kitchen’s plumbing but this is not 100% true. Indeed, as I mentioned earlier, water knows how to travel, and the water damage could just as well be from piping leading from your attic or roof or other second-story plumbing.

On Hometown Winters and Draft Detection

For the record, I am not a native New Yorker. By technical definition, my hometown is Washington DC, where I spent most of my days as an infant before my family moved to Albany, which is, for all intents and purposes, the place I consider home. As NYC seemingly finally settles into the more unbearable stretch of winter (it was in the mid-to-high 40s a week or two ago), my Albany upbringing has kicked into high gear and I find myself warm enough with a good winter coat and beanie. This comes from some 15 winters of serious blizzards, frequent below-zero days and bundles of slush-drenched boots, caps, mittens and socks. It’s still cold here in NYC but in all my years, I’ve never had to brace for winter the way one hunkers down for the initial months of a new year upstate.

On Sink Leaks and the Odd Habits of the Modern Canine

My best leak detector used to be Bishop, my golden Labrador who passed away four years ago. Every canine has its quirks, its oddities and its habits and Bishop was no different in this regard. He wasn’t much for biting at flies or starting epic, saga-like fights with cats but he had an odd habit of lapping up any puddles he could find which, as you might imagine, led to some rather disgusting situations. Most of the time, however, Bishop was just fine licking up spilled water, soda or juice, and was around for long enough for me to feel assured that this was not necessarily a dangerous occurrence.

On Camping and Space Heaters

I come from a big camping family and, as such, I am a big fan of fire building and bonfires; I learned the former while in the cub scouts. Throughout my high school and college years, an annual weeklong camping trip in the summer was a staple for my mother and a great portion of my extended family, whether it was at Sacandaga, Schroon Lake, Brookwood Park or Eagle Point. Canoeing was my largest outdoor interest as a teen and most of the week in the woods was spent in the water, so much so that my parents eventually purchased a canoe from a neighbor.  And when the day on the water was done, there was always the family gathering around the campfire, where I not only had my first beer but also had my first kiss (a friend of my cousin).

On Christmas Lights and Roof Leaks

We’re pragmatists in our house, for better or worse. More times than not its for the better, as this tends to lead to a lot less bickering than I have engaged in in my day, but I saw the other side of the coin the other day when I was ordered, and I use that word specifically, to take down our Christmas lights. I can only be thankful that this weekend saw an unseasonable warm streak for January, which didn’t much help for all the struggling and pulling I did on a silver ladder older than my grandmother. The next day, I could have very well appeared in an Advil television advertisement.

On Hot Water Heaters and Gustav the Plumber

Today, at the office, my post yesterday brought up a few questions about a related subject: hot water tanks. The funny thing is that as compared to boilers, which are prone to more damage and problems, hot water tanks are relatively simple in terms of diagnosing problems and fixing the entire mechanism. One of my first jobs as an apprentice, in fact, was installing a new hot water heater with Gustav, one of those old-school Greek NYC plumbers that fill the stereotypical “crank” role so well that you’re forced to love them.

On Heating Problems and the Lesser Concerns of the American College Student

Talking recently with the daughter of a family friend, who just moved out to Long Island to attend Adelphi, I found myself wrapped up in a conversation about cheap winter living. For her, this meant loading up on a variety of Ramen packets, cutting down on showers, and spending as much time as possible at her boyfriend’s house in Astoria. For certain, these are all scrappy, if ultimately small-scale ways to live one’s winter on the cheap but for most of the people I know, including a great deal of NYC handymen and other service providers, the way of living cheap in winter is locating the essentials and knowing they are all budgeted.

On Hangovers and the Perils of Unlicensed Contracting

First things first: Happy New Year! How did you ring in 2012? Me? Well, I spent the night with my girlfriend at a friend’s small party in Astoria and unwisely took not only a magnum of champagne but a great deal of a bottle of Dewar’s to task. My payment for such foolishness came in the form of day-long hangover gleefully watched over by my better half, who was all too happy to dole out the told-you-sos as we made our way through the first season of Boardwalk Empire.