KCRag Forum

The only problem that I'm having with Hyde Park is finding a contractor for my house. I called a remodeling company last night and was rejected because the projects I have are too small. I've called some smaller contractors, but they are so busy--6-12 weeks--and they don't always call back for the work. It's sad-I just need a few things done to the house, but have been rejected twice from larger firms and can't find anyone organized enough to do the smaller things.
I even called companies operated by people in my neighborhood. *sigh*

I'm desperate for advice.

We had a hell of a time when we restored our house in 1997.  Even when we found an awesome contractor, they were slow and over budget and cut corners...so it is hard.  I never hear people saying how awesome their contractor is...good luck though!

lucuspukus wrote: The only problem that I'm having with Hyde Park is finding a contractor for my house. I called a remodeling company last night and was rejected because the projects I have are too small. I've called some smaller contractors, but they are so busy--6-12 weeks--and they don't always call back for the work. It's sad-I just need a few things done to the house, but have been rejected twice from larger firms and can't find anyone organized enough to do the smaller things.
I even called companies operated by people in my neighborhood. *sigh*

I'm desperate for advice.

So...let's start with what you need done!  Shoot me a pm if you wish.  I'm not a contractor, but I'm curious what you're looking to have done.

well, I guess we found a guy who will help us with our primary support beam. It needs to be entirely redone--and it's holding up the house, but starting to sag. It's going to be about 1500.

As far as the smaller projects go, we'd like to put in a new vanity in our third floor bathroom and retile the floors in both of our bathrooms.  That's probably something that we can manage to do ourselves, but there's old absetos tiles that the prior owners just tiled over instead of removing. Removing those...kinda scary, because I'm not sure what the flooring will be like under it and I've heard it's a mess to redo. Do you think that it's terrible to tile over the old 1950s absetos tile?

Another project is residing a small portion of the back of our house. contractors won't do it because it's too small of a job. It used to be an old entry door for when the HP houses were all rentals in the 50s-70s. On the interior, they just slapped up a piece of drywall.
On the exterior, it's a screen door to nowhere. Very tacky, up pretty high and we don't have a long ladder to use to get there.
It's definitely a small project.

Then some other stuff we'd like to do in the future is expand our front deck, but I'd almost want an architect to design it. We don't have a front yard because we have a garage that was built into the hill beneath our house. We could expand our front porch over the garage, but we want it to be secure, since things have a way of walking off in our neighborhood.

on a side note, we just had our car broken into on Wednesday. I know that it can happen anywhere in this city, but it was very disheartening since our car was parked in our garage. I hate ghetto thugs. Sigh.

lucuspukus wrote: well, I guess we found a guy who will help us with our primary support beam. It needs to be entirely redone--and it's holding up the house, but starting to sag. It's going to be about 1500.

Only $1500 for that?  Or am I misunderstanding something here, maybe a missing zero or something?  My parents' house in Brookside needs the same kind of work done, years of leaky plumbing took its toll and they haven't actually been able to use their master bath for the past few years for fear of doing any further damage.  I'm not sure if they ever actually brought anyone in and got an estimate but if it's really somehow only $1500 then maybe they should.  Of course then they'd also have to take care of the plumbing (which they should probably do anyway) and I have no idea how much more that adds to the cost -- maybe that's the reason they haven't done anything yet.  Or maybe it's just way more expensive to do that kind of work in their house for some reason or another, I really have no idea about home improvement, rehabbing, etc.

Yeah, it will be about 1500-1700. We just need 8 feet of redone support beam and new posts. They might pour a little new concrete too. We've only had about 2 estimates, maybe it will be different when they actually start doing it.

http://blogs.kansascity.com/crime_scene ... ts-27.html

KCPD does a warrant sweep in buildings on Armour.  not bad for a day's work. 

i'd like to say that i hope this calms down the trouble along Armour, but i am not so optimistic. 

booyah!  That is definitely some of the better news I've heard all day.  Do it every day for a month.  Talk about your low hanging fruit.

Man, I love this.
Thanks for posting it.

after two-plus months of living in hyde park, i am going to answer the question posed in the title of this thead with a resounding yes.

i am biased, but i really think that hyde park is the most beautiful urban residential area in the city, particularly central hyde park and the cleaner pockets of north hyde park.  charlotte south of armour, gleed place, harrison from armour to 44th - beautiful, dense urban architecture.  the mini-mansions of central hyde park are great, like a little central west end (stl) in kc, only more edgy.  my ramshackle corner of south hyde park feels like a leafy enclave from the pacific northwest.  also: troost rules. 

hyde park = WIN.

Seriously, I think it's gorgeous. If it didn't mean moving further from our jobs, rather than closer, we'd probably consider the area for our next place.

chrizow wrote: after two-plus months of living in hyde park, i am going to answer the question posed in the title of this thead with a resounding yes.

i am biased, but i really think that hyde park is the most beautiful urban residential area in the city, particularly central hyde park and the cleaner pockets of north hyde park.  charlotte south of armour, gleed place, harrison from armour to 44th - beautiful, dense urban architecture.  the mini-mansions of central hyde park are great, like a little central west end (stl) in kc, only more edgy.  my ramshackle corner of south hyde park feels like a leafy enclave from the pacific northwest.  also: troost rules. 

hyde park = WIN.

South hyde park does resemble the neighborhood(s) surrounding hawthorne...hawthornes dna=troost.

so is anyone going on the Hyde Park Homes tour? I can't wait to see Janssen place.

  I was thinking the other day after enjoying a Portland thread on SSP that so many of the 'hoods I checked out resembled nothing if not a spit-shined S. Hyde Park/Troost.  Streetcar urbanism at its absolute finest.  Goodness I would love to see some of our dense yet spacious, leafy yet urban enclaves and commercial arteries (Troost, esp.) returned to greatness.  Armour/Troost/Central HP area was and is a mini central west end, waiting to be reborn.

Thanks for helping us toward that goal Chriz (and others), one house at a time, and don't forget to stop by the Coffee Break across from Rockhurst U. to pick up your sweet TROOST bumper sticker 

  Lucusp, can't wait for the homes tour.  What homes on Janssen Place will be open?

rxlexi wrote: don't forget to stop by the Coffee Break across from Rockhurst U. to pick up your sweet TROOST bumper sticker 

this is a good idea! 

the new crib took on a bit more of a menacing feel this weekend, as i heard my first gunshots since being in HP - the staccato refrain of a dozen rat-a-tats a few blocks away, then the predictable squealing tires.  i was standing in my front yard, taking the dog out at 11pm saturday eve.  i mentioned it to my neighbors (HP veterans) and they informed me that is pretty much par for the course.  i hope no one got "got."

one neighbor informed me that on New Year's Eve, a celebratory bullet fired skyward from some distance away came down and shattered the back windshield of his Civic Hybrid.  i find that to be a somewhat apt image for hyde park in general.

rxlexi wrote:   I was thinking the other day after enjoying a Portland thread on SSP that so many of the 'hoods I checked out resembled nothing if not a spit-shined S. Hyde Park/Troost.  Streetcar urbanism at its absolute finest.  Goodness I would love to see some of our dense yet spacious, leafy yet urban enclaves and commercial arteries (Troost, esp.) returned to greatness.  Armour/Troost/Central HP area was and is a mini central west end, waiting to be reborn.

Thanks for helping us toward that goal Chriz (and others), one house at a time, and don't forget to stop by the Coffee Break across from Rockhurst U. to pick up your sweet TROOST bumper sticker 

  Lucusp, can't wait for the homes tour.  What homes on Janssen Place will be open?

Here's all the pertinent info for the homes tour: http://www.hydeparkkc.org/index.php?opt ... &Itemid=73

The Janssen Place home is 61 Janssen Place.

I keep meaning to check out that Coffee Break place, because it's definitely in my interest to see business on Troost thrive.

http://blogs.pitch.com/plog/2008/10/up_ ... yde_pa.php

human feces flowing in the streets of hyde park!  yum!

wow, that is an awful story Chriz...but, really, the raw sewage oozing onto the street isn't as bad  for the neighbors as the cigs that they smoke, right Charlie?  God I hate slumlords.  Has anyone considered a nuisance lawsuit regarding the foul stench that lingers over neighboring properties for days?

That aside, did anyone else attend the HP homes tour this year?  I thought it was excellent, as usual, and really enjoyed a number of the houses, particularly the home at 36th and Charlotte overlooking Harrison Pkwy, filled with modern art and beautiful views.  Also, the small bungalow owned by the younger couple on Holmes was pretty sweet too, if for no other reason than the plethora of color, art and creativity that exploded within the house.  It was nice to see North, South and Central Hyde Park all represented, and there appeared to be a number of friendly neighbors intrested in rebuilding the urban core. 

I attended, and dragged my parents, in-laws, aunt, and a couple friends along.  They all loved it.  It was a real point of pride for my neighborhood.  The Janssen Place home was ridiculous 

I wasn't able to attend the tour this year because of other pressing obligations.  Hearing how great it was is like pouring salt into an open wound. 

Eh, next year, right?