Q. We read your column faithfully, and appreciate your advice. In a past column, you recommended using a steel roof, and since our roof is crumbling shingles, we decided to get estimates, which ended up being very expensive compared with . . .
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By Monte Leeper
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9/14/18
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Q. While traveling recently, we stayed in a beautiful home with high ceilings on each floor. We want to make our ceilings taller and have high windows above our regular ones, like we saw. Is there any way to do this without . . .
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By Monte Leeper
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9/6/18
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Q. We’re thinking about putting a sunroom addition on our family room at the back of the house, and wonder if you have any pointers about them. Because they’re mostly glass, we’re wondering if tinted glass really keeps them from getting too warm, and also . . .
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By Monte Leeper
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8/30/18
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Q. At the end of our renovation, the building inspector won’t sign off because, he said, the plans don’t match construction. He said our architect must give him new plans. The plans the contractor used were . . .
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By Monte Leeper
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8/24/18
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Q. While we were stripping the sheetrock and insulation from our family room, a building inspector showed up and stopped us, saying we needed a permit before we could continue. So we applied for a permit . . .
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By Monte Leeper
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8/17/18
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them with new permit plans for my house. I don’t understand why there are no notes or anything for lighting or heating. How did these two different plans get a permit without . . .
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By Monte Leeper
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8/10/18
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Q. I do a lot of work flipping homes in Queens, and the reason I prefer to is that we get permits right away, usually in less than a week. On Long Island it takes months just to get a permit.
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By Monte Leeper
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8/2/18
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Q. I went to my building department because I want to build a deck in my backyard. They told me I could make a sketch and turn it in with papers they gave me to sign, but when I did, they rejected everything, saying . . .
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By Monte Leeper
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7/28/18
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Q. I saw an advertisement for power-washing and handyman work, and want your opinion about whether to try to restore my old deck, which hasn’t been power-washed or stained in years. Some boards have . . .
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By Monte Leeper
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7/22/18
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Q. I’ve worked in the residential construction industry for decades, and I’m formerly a licensed general contractor in a third-generation business. During this time I have learned proper construction practices through experience and education . . .
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By Monte Leeper
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7/19/18
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