Installation SuppliesAttach Cover BracketsPut Foam in WindowsillLift AC Unit CorrectlyBalance AC Unit in WindowPlug-In AC Unit Sign Up for Our Free NewslettersAs of Friday, it's officially fall. The box in your window that brought much-needed coolness during the summer is now preventing you from breathing that lovely autumn air (and will soon freeze your face off). Let's take it out. This is nothing revolutionary, but every year around this time, I start getting calls from friends who ask me to help them remove their window air-conditioners. I don't know why I became the go-to guy for this (strong like bull?), but it's probably because I've done it a bunch of times and I haven't killed anybody yet. I am by no means a professional HVAC guy, but this is the technique I've used for years to keep me, my A/C unit, and my neighbors safe.DISCLAIMER: These things are heavy and could very literally kill someone. Many of them weigh well over fifty pounds, and they feel even heavier because they are big and awkward.

Whenever possible, ask a friend/spouse/neighbor to help you do this. Don't be macho about this, especially if you have a history of back/knee/shoulder/anything injuries. If you don't have anyone to help you, consider calling in a professional HVAC person. All of the steps I show here work better with two people. If you have absolutely no other choice other than to do it alone and you are physically capable of doing it safely, then this guide shows you how. Prep: If possible, wait until it hasn't rained for a few days. These suckers can fill up with water, which makes things a lot messier. You'll need a screwgun, or at very least a screwdriver and a strong wrist. You'll also want some gloves, long sleeves, and boots to protect your toes.Step 1: Turn off the power. Duh.Step 2: Unplug the unit from the wall. Step 3: Remove the front panel if you can. It may pop off at a critical moment when you're trying to move the A/C and get in the way. Just set it aside for now.Step 4: Lay a grungy towel out on the floor where you plan on placing the A/C once removed.

Even if it hasn't rained in days it's entirely possible that there is some nasty water in there, just waiting to slosh out. ac unit replacement priceDo yourself and your floors a favor and sacrifice a towel or two.how much is a cheap ac unit Step 5: Pull the cord to the floor and step on it firmly to take the slack out. cost to replace a home ac unitDo not take your foot off that cord. Now, if the A/C falls, standing on the cord is not going to help anything. However, if it starts to teeter, this may help it tip past the point of no return. I can't emphasize enough, though, that this isn't to be depended on. It's just to give a little bit of extra support.Step 6: Look out the window below you and check that there is nobody down there. If you have downstairs neighbors, warn them ahead of time so nobody walk out.

If you have a friend who can stand down there and keep passersby away, all the better. Whatever you do, do not skip this step. If you drop this thing on a kid, it will kill him or her, and you will be convicted of manslaughter. Step 7: Unscrew the screw(s) on one side of the window frame. Do not do both yet, and do not attempt to raise the window. Step 8: Shove the unit over toward the side that is still screwed in. If it has an accordioning side (on the unscrewed side), fold that into the unit. There should now be a gap big enough to get your hand through.Step 9: Reach your hand though the gap on the side and grab onto the A/C in a very stable place. If you can reach all the way to the back of the unit and hold on there, all the better. You need a place you can grab so you can stop it from tipping. Once you have a good grip, hold on for dear life and do not let go. Seriously.Step 10: With that one hand still in place and never moving for any reason, use your other hand to unscrew the screw(s) on the other side.

Once you've done that it's just your hand and the window holding this thing up, and the window is no longer reliable. Step 11: The is the most critical part. Holding on to the back of the A/C with your hand that's on the other side of the window, flex that arm to give it some extra pull/lift. With your free hand, open the window. The A/C will want to drop (as you can see in the video). Use that one arm for all it's worth, and as soon as the window is open grab on with your free hand and move slide the A/C back into your house until it's well balanced on the sill. Still, do not let go with that hand!Step 12: Readjust your feet (you can stop standing on that cord now), bend from you knees, and move the A/C unit onto the awaiting towel. Remove any additional hardware, and close your window. You're now nice and draft-free for the fall.We searched the whole of the internet looking for tips and tricks on this, we even called a couple HVAC specialists. After all that, this is still the best system we've seen.

Do you have a trick to doing this that makes it easier and safer? We definitely want to hear it, so let us know in the comments. You can keep up with Brent Rose, the author of this post, on Google+ or Twitter.Ask Real Estate is a weekly column that answers questions from across the New York region. .I live in a co-op building and have an air-conditioner in my living room window, which is one of two windows that look out onto the fire escape. The air-conditioner does not block access to the fire escape. However, my building manager says city rules prohibit an air-conditioner in a fire escape window. But the Bureau of Fire Prevention told me that I could have one in that window as long as it does not extend out onto the fire escape. Memorial Day weekend is the unofficial start of summer, and many New Yorkers will likely spend part of it hoisting unwieldy air-conditioners into their apartment windows. I imagine some of them are eyeing their fire escape windows as a prime location for such an installation.

But they should pause, as a fire escape is not an unofficial balcony to be adorned with potted plants or blocked by an air-conditioner. A fire escape is what its name suggests: an escape route for people fleeing or fighting a fire. And it should be free of obstructions. “There should be a focus on safety, fire safety to be specific,” said Joel E. Abramson, a Manhattan real estate lawyer.The arrangement you described might be permitted by city rules. In general, residents are prohibited from installing air-conditioners in fire escape windows. But they can install one in a fire escape window if the apartment has a second window onto the fire escape that is large enough to be used as an emergency exit. Keep in mind that the alternate window must be large and easily accessible. (A small bathroom window, for example, would not suffice.) The air-conditioner should not extend more than five inches onto the fire escape balcony or obstruct the flow of foot traffic, according to the Department of Housing Preservation and Development.

So if the unit you installed blocks the fire escape in any way, it should go. And even if it doesn’t, you still might want to consider a safer alternative. We recently bought a home with a 250-year-old oak tree in the backyard that extends above the neighbors’ property. The tree’s branches show signs of having been trimmed regularly above our yard, but not above the neighbor’s yard. As a result, the lopsided tree has developed a slight lean toward the neighbors’ house and yard. A contractor mentioned casually that the tree was likely to fall at some point, and that it would fall toward the neighbors’ property. (If it falls, it could hit their house.) I don’t particularly want to remove the tree, because that would be several thousand dollars and it appears relatively healthy. What is the right legal and ethical thing to do here?For more than two centuries that oak tree has been spreading its limbs, oblivious to municipal property lines and state law. The tree might know no boundaries, but the law certainly does: The tree is your responsibility, although your neighbor is allowed to prune overhanging branches.

Submit your questions, share your stories and tell us what topics interest you most. The hanging branches constitute a nuisance, and your neighbor could sue you. You also could be liable for damages caused by falling branches or a falling tree. “At the end of the day, the letter writer could be liable,” said Gemma M. Giantomasi, a New Jersey real estate lawyer. “Especially in light of the fact that the letter writer has been made aware of the dangerous condition.”Get the tree evaluated by an arborist, preferably one with a tree risk assessment qualification certified by the International Society of Arboriculture. An arborist should be able to point out hazardous conditions, look for signs of disease or decay and suggest remedies. “It sounds like this tree needs at a minimum a professional assessment and probably a pruning — hopefully not a removal,” said Bob Redman, a New York City arborist. Get more than one opinion, particularly if the arborist suggests removing the tree.

“A tree that large and old is worth a lot in terms of money, beauty and other benefits,” Mr. Redman said.My husband and I bought a single room occupancy building with plans to convert it to a two-family home. After about a year of renovations, we applied for a certificate of occupancy inspection, which turned up an outstanding $1,000 boiler violation from the 1990s, which we paid. Follow-up inspections found open permits and Buildings Department violations that predate our purchase, totaling about $50,000 in repairs and fines. Shouldn’t the title company or the lawyer have caught these issues during the buying process? Do we have any recourse?As a buyer, you are expected to do your due diligence. For example, if you had consulted with an architect before you closed on the property, he or she could have helped assess the outstanding violations, open permits and the scope of the work ahead, said Lisa R. Radetsky, a Manhattan real estate lawyer. With that information, you might have been able to negotiate a reduced price.

Changing the certificate of occupancy for any property is complicated, and single room occupancies, or S.R.O.’s, are notoriously troublesome. “S.R.O.’s are often, if not typically, poorly managed properties with many violations and deferred maintenance issues,” said David A. Kaminsky, a Manhattan real estate lawyer. The owner must also obtain a “certificate of no harassment of the tenants” from the city before starting renovations, which can take months. It would have helped if your lawyer had explained the challenges and risks involved. Most contracts specifically state that the buyer will accept title subject to existing violations, so lawyers generally recommend a violation or permit search. If your lawyer did not do that, you may have a claim against him or her.Violation searches are generally ordered through a title company, but its liability is limited to the cost of a search, usually about $350. In general, a title company is not liable for open fines. But if the fines constitute a lien against the property and the title company missed that in its report, then it may be responsible for that, Ms. Radetsky said.