On Tue, 01 Mar 2005 10:06:24 -0500, Steve Manes
wrote:

On Mon, 28 Feb 2005 12:17:18 -0500, The Real Tom Tom @
www.WorkAtHomePlans.com wrote:

When you look at the houses, they are designed such that you share
everything. These houses are old, so the common wall between
occpancies, have mixed electrical and plumbing running through it, and
I dont' think they met fire wall definiation when built in the early
1900's. So if you can imagine the construction of a block, the houses
are more like simple isolated sections of a large communial building.
A grand scale of the large cubical offices.

I can't speak for every row house in Brooklyn but my 1906 house
(www.magpie.com/house) has three layers of brick between it and my
immediate neighbors and the plumbing and electrical doesn't tranverse
it. I've worked on several other row houses and found much the same.

These old houses were, if anything, overbuilt compared to more modern
condo-type row houses.

Steve Manes
Brooklyn, NY
http://www.magpie.com/house/bbs


Well not professing to be an expert, just remembering what I see and
hear when I'm at the house. When the wall was torn down(just plaster
and surface junk, there were server drain lines visible. I asked
about them, wondering how mainy toilets there were upstairs and my
dad commented how he believes(since there were many drainlines) some
of them are from the next door neighbor. So it appears the wall would
be penitrated. As for hearing, it seems like you can hear your
neighbors conversations and activities well.

Joke is in the neighbor hood, your neighbors know how many times you
use the rest room, better than you do.

But I have to admit, there are somethings about the house that seem
over-enginered. One being the columns and supports, and foundation
walls.

Steve, I have a question, I've always wondered this, and this lends to
my belief it's all common construction between the houses lending to
the idea is't more a place of assembly of smaller unit, are the
attic(roof areas) seperated? I mean as a kid, I remember seening a
block of row houses burnt down because the fire traveled between the
drop floor ceiling and under the roof. Fire was obvious it started in
one house, and then as the fire fighters fought it, you could see fire
erupt in the ajacent homes, like a domino effect.

later,

tom