CHAOCblog

I like most people I know, defer and procrastinate on ‘doing the laundry’.  Maybe its the time commitment or maybe its inbred in me to have a general disdain for anything that looks, sounds (or smells!) like a chore.  But the time comes when that growing pile no longer fits in the hamper and the upcoming Saturday night event absolutely requires the favorite pair of jeans now somewhere near the middle of the hamper.   I scrounge around for quarters, block out a few hours for the morning to coffee, the NYT and … doing the laundry.

Often without fail, I get to the laundry room and at some point in the process run into a fellow resident and strike up a conversation.  Granted it isn’t the water cooler or the wishing well, but it is a place we gather and gab.  And as I’m meeting a new person, catching up with someone I haven’t seen in a while, or politely ignoring someone I would rather not see, it is the community building that allows me to find the joy of laundry.

There have been several inquiries and remarks regarding soundproofing.  One reader provided the following information “an interior designer/architect friend of mine who lives in 345 has the same problem and when he and his wife get around to renovating their apartment, he is going to add a thick layer of drywall plasterboard to the wall and behind it will be a layer of insulation. from his perspective, this will keep the noise at bay. other than renovation modifications – do what i did to abate an inconsiderate, noisy neighbor – confront them and if that does not work – call 311 and property management and report them for breaking house rules.”

After some quick online research (short of knowing anyone who has actually soundproofed their place) there seem to be two key principles:
1) noise blocking
2) noise absorbtion

A common  solution seems to be mass loaded vinyl (MLV) which is a flexible noise barrier,  applied with a silicon adhesive.  There is also “green glue” which is sandwiched between drywall.  Another alternate is vinyl barrier foam which can be stapled or nailed to the wall .  There are various weights of MLV and most soundproofing discussion threads recommend these top suppliers:
http://www.acoustiblok.com/
http://www.soundprooffoam.com/
www.greengluecompany.com

If you have any photos of a soundproofed wall in your home, please email them to the CHAOBblog.

on Waverly

Someone had made a remark about the recycling program (or lack thereof?)…. For the longest time I wasn’t seeing it out on the sidewalk and thought maybe it was all getting put in with the regular trash. However, I happened to be home on two different Wednesday afternoons, both times finding a slew of recycling ready for pickup.  Nice to know my separating efforts aren’t being wasted!

In a declining economy that is now extended to the real estate market, I’ve started to wonder “what’s going on with the value of my home?”.   Here’s what I’ve found (also some great pics of what others have done to their apartments!).  Overall, the CHAOC Sales Committee states that prices are decreasing slightly but holding in comparison to new developments in neighborhood.  Interestingly enough, CHAOC Board VP, Elaine Cooper, seems to think otherwise.  On Jan 13, 2009 she posted that Fort Greene and Clinton Hill have seen increases in prices.  Stats on trulia.com show CH neighborhood volume of sales down >50% and average home prices down 1% week over week, and almost 20% from last year!

Form your own opinion – here are some numbers:

One bedroom (1BR) places ($280-399)
- unrenovated, recent sale around $280K
- north campus 1A (studio), Sponsor asking $275K (link)
- renovated 4E, R/E asking $350K (link)
- semi-renovated 4H, R/E asking $330K (link)
- south campus 5H, Sponsor asking $355K (link)
- semi-renovated 6C, R/E asking $299K (link)
- south campus 7B, Sponsor asking $365K (link)
- south campus 7E, R/E asking $359K (link)- renovated 12A, R/E asking $390K (link)
- north campus 8E, Sponsor asking $350K (link)
- renovated 11A with great views, R/E asking $399K (link)

Two bedroom (2BR) places ($420-485)
- Update from the RC meeting stated recent sales of renovated 2BR are around $430K
- south campus 1C, R/E asking $420K (link)
- north campus 1st fl, R/E asking $450K (link)
- north campus 12c, R/E asking $455K (link)
- north campus 15F, Sponsor asking $485K (link)

I’ve provided links to the real estate agent sites that I found the listings on, however, I think you can purchase a unit through any agent.  I have heard from some recent buyers of CHAOC property that there are some agents they would highly recommend avoiding and others to seek.