Many apartment buildings with terracotta details are beautiful to look at, but with beauty comes expense if the material needs repair. Dane Barnes P.E, partner at Joseph K. Blum, was hired to do a façade inspection at a prominent Fifth Avenue co-op and found multiple cracks on the terracotta cornice. Small cracks often signify dangerous conditions underneath. “When we see these kinds of conditions our heart sinks because we know we’re going to have to give bad news to the board.” In this episode of Problem Solved, Habitat editor Paula Chin interviews Dane Barnes to learn how the bad news was delivered, what materials were proposed for the fix, how the project passed all the regulatory hurdles, the project cost and the final outcome.

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Some people own multi-million-dollar apartments, others on a more modest scale, but doing laundry in a communal laundry room is one activity that levels the playing field. That makes the choice of a laundry room vendor crucial to providing a space that meets the needs of the community while at the same time a much-needed revenue source. In this episode Habitat Magazine's Carol Ott speaks to Automatic Industries president Denise Savino about user-friendly solutions for diverse demographics, laundry room legalities, technology, different types of laundry room contracts and the timing sequence of searching for a new vendor or negotiating with your current one.

Thanks for listening. Subscribe to this podcast for more stories on how New York co-ops and condos have solved a myriad of problems. Brought to you by Habitat Magazine, the "bible" that hundreds of board directors turn to every day!

Around 1500 buildings in New York City use Con Ed steam for heating and cooling, and many are considering moving to electricity to reduce their carbon emissions. If your building has a distribution system that uses the same pipes for heating and cooling, like the Beekman Hill co-op discussed in this episode, there are steps to take and timing issues to consider. Habitat Magazine's Carol Ott speaks to Controlled Combustion president Michael Bendjouya about what those are.

Thanks for listening. Subscribe to this podcast for more stories on how New York co-ops and condos have solved a myriad of problems. Brought to you by Habitat Magazine, the "bible" that hundreds of board directors turn to every day!