urbanSTL

innov8ion wrote:A friend told me that all loft ceilings from the 5th or 6th floor on up are painted white; the others painted grey. Don't ask me why, this is just what I heard.

irocktheparty2000 wrote:Yea, some of the units do have the grey ceilings and do not know why the two different colors. I too really like the floor to ceiling windows. And a couple of other things I see that seem to be different than most other developments is they took the tile in the bathroom all the way up to the ceiling which I think is a great look. And it looks like they angled the vents in the ductwork to point more downward which is smart.

That makes sense, since the ones I saw with the grey ceilings were on the 5th floor and below. I would prefer the walls be white also, and then I could add colors myself.

innov8ion wrote:A friend told me that all loft ceilings from the 5th or 6th floor on up are painted white; the others painted grey. Don't ask me why, this is just what I heard.

irocktheparty2000 wrote:Yea, some of the units do have the grey ceilings and do not know why the two different colors. I too really like the floor to ceiling windows. And a couple of other things I see that seem to be different than most other developments is they took the tile in the bathroom all the way up to the ceiling which I think is a great look. And it looks like they angled the vents in the ductwork to point more downward which is smart.

I wonder if it has something to do with the lower units with red brick get the grey ceilings and the higher units with the white tile or white painted brick get the white ceilings? Anybody have red brick and a white ceiling?

innov8ion wrote:Does anyone know skilled designers (or unofficial ones) with experience in loft transformations that don't charge an arm and two legs?

Hire funone108 from the Moon Carriage thread!

I'm on the 5th with red brick and a grey ceiling and I've seen other units on the 5th that are the same so I'm guessing irock is right. Perhaps this is another area where either the developers are trying to differientiate (i.e. floors 5 and above have and/or will have hardwood in the hallway) and/or just a better blend with the color of brick??? The 6th floor and above isn't/wasn't accessible earlier in the week so I haven't checked out any units with the white brick yet to denote the ceiling colors.



Doesn't the 2nd floor have white brick?

I think all of the second floor has red brick. They may have changed the choice of ceiling color for the upper floors after the people on the lower floors complained about the grey. That's what happened with the grout colors from what I understand.

Somehow I think we're going around in circles here. Floors 2-5 have red brick and grey ceilings. Floors 6 and up have white tile and white ceilings. I am on the 6th and have verified the white tile and white ceiling..

Downtown Newbie wrote:I think all of the second floor has red brick. They may have changed the choice of ceiling color for the upper floors after the people on the lower floors complained about the grey. That's what happened with the grout colors from what I understand.

Just curious - has anyone signed up for and/or attempted to sign up for wireless internet for The Meridian yet? When I contacted ATT/SBC I was advised that I would have to also get a phone line to run the DSL. Any suggestions/thoughts as I was not wanting to obtain a phone line for my residence?

I signed up for AT&T DSL today. Unfortunately, phone service is a prerequisite for DSL. With the advent of cell phones, most people see land line phone service as redundant. The only real options for broadband internet are Charter cable and AT&T DSL. Since Charter isn't an option at the Meridian, if we desire broadband we'll just have to suck up and pay for a phone line we won't use.



That being said, Charter may see some competition in the cable arena if and when AT&T's U-Verse comes to St. Louis. U-Verse offers IP-based television & internet service via FTTN (fiber to the node.) Granted, they may still force you to use their phone service. See: http://www.sbc.com/gen/u-verse?pid=7871&cdvn=custom



Verizon's FIOS is a similar product and theoretically better than AT&T's U-Verse because it is FTTP (fiber to the premises) as opposed to FTTN. Whereas FTTP will bring fiber into your unit, FTTN will bring only fiber into the building. Once in the building, data will be transported over the existing CAT5 copper into your unit. See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiber_To_The_Node.



Too bad Verizon doesn't have infrastructure in our area. Doubt they'll be competing with AT&T in St. Louis soon or ever.



I apologize for all this geekiness, but I promise you'll care about it later. Maybe

cbroy2544 wrote:Just curious - has anyone signed up for and/or attempted to sign up for wireless internet for The Meridian yet? When I contacted ATT/SBC I was advised that I would have to also get a phone line to run the DSL. Any suggestions/thoughts as I was not wanting to obtain a phone line for my residence?

Why isn't Charter an option? Are we going to have a dish?

I don't know the specifics. I was told by Civitas Real Estate Services that the Association would have to work with Charter to make it happen. Call it conjecture, but it's highly probable that the Meridian didn't want to incur the costs to bring Charter into the fold.



If you want television above and beyond what's available over the air, it's dish from All Star Satellite Systems or nothing.



All Star Satellite Systems Inc

Commercial Services



Toll Free: (888) 440-4133

The Central Scrutinizer wrote:Why isn't Charter an option? Are we going to have a dish?

innov8ion wrote:I don't know the specifics. I was told by Civitas Real Estate Services that the Association would have to work with Charter to make it happen. Call it conjecture, but it's highly probable that the Meridian didn't want to incur the costs to bring Charter into the fold.



If you want television above and beyond what's available over the air, it's dish from All Star Satellite Systems or nothing.



All Star Satellite Systems Inc

Commercial Services



Toll Free: (888) 440-4133

The Central Scrutinizer wrote:Why isn't Charter an option? Are we going to have a dish?

What costs? The builing is wired with coax. All Charter has to do is plug their cable into the basement!



Sounds odd. I wonder if the got kick backs from the satellite company?



We'll have to see what the channel lineup looks like.

I wouldn't think it would be that difficult for Charter to do either, but who knows. Does anyone know who at Charter we can contact? I'd think they'd be interested in not losing business.



You should have received the channel lineup in an email from the Civitas Real Estate Services. If you PM me with your email, I can forward it to you.

The Central Scrutinizer wrote:
What costs? The builing is wired with coax. All Charter has to do is plug their cable into the basement!



Sounds odd. I wonder if the got kick backs from the satellite company?



We'll have to see what the channel lineup looks like.

innov8ion wrote:I wouldn't think it would be that difficult for Charter to do either, but who knows. Does anyone know who at Charter we can contact? I'd think they'd be interested in not losing business.



You should have received the channel lineup in an email from the Civitas Real Estate Services. If you PM me with your email, I can forward it to you.

The Central Scrutinizer wrote:
What costs? The builing is wired with coax. All Charter has to do is plug their cable into the basement!



Sounds odd. I wonder if the got kick backs from the satellite company?



We'll have to see what the channel lineup looks like.

I haven't really had any contact with them, since I don't have a closing date. I'm on the 8th floor and doubt of I will be in there before October.

Charter cable service is available at the Meridian. I contacted them recently about cable service being available at several locations DT and the Meridian was one of them. Call 1-800-211-4450.

Below is the email I received from Civitas Real Estate Services on Aug. 8th. Can anyone else verify Charter is available at the Meridian? I called Charter but the lady couldn't confirm it...



---

Hi,



At this time, DISH is your only option. Charter has not come to the building and could not project a time when they would.



The Condo Association Board, once in place, will have the option of directing the management company to seek services from another provider.



Name Blanked Out

Civitas Real Estate Services

rickC wrote:Charter cable service is available at the Meridian. I contacted them recently about cable service being available at several locations DT and the Meridian was one of them. Call 1-800-211-4450.

If you do get DISH, don't you have to plug the receiver into a phone line anyway? Both my units have to be plugged in "at all times" according to them, to avoid extra equipment charges, and I think for uploading pay-per-view selections.



Might be a use for your unused phone line

Ha, the dish folks shouldn't build dependencies with a dying breed (analog phone line) into their product. Cable boxes communicate with the mother ship over coax. TIVO lets you communicate with them either through ethernet (internet) or phone line. More reason not to go Dish!

bprop wrote:If you do get DISH, don't you have to plug the receiver into a phone line anyway? Both my units have to be plugged in "at all times" according to them, to avoid extra equipment charges, and I think for uploading pay-per-view selections.



Might be a use for your unused phone line

One bad thing about Charter, I've found them to be kinda hit & miss with there customer service support. Seems like some reps can answer questions a lot better than others.

I called the 800-211-4450 # on Aug. 10th, chose the "transfer existing service option". The rep told me that according to their computer system cable service was available at the Meridian address, but that they needed a loft unit number and would have to come out and verify (which could take up to 10 days). Sounds like the only way to find out for sure is to call them and set up a service request to verify service.

^^^ charter isn't hit and miss when it comes to customer service. they are just miss. it's fine when everything is working but try to schedule an appointment with them and it's all but fine. if i had another option i'd take it.

innov8ion wrote:Somehow I think we're going around in circles here. Floors 2-5 have red brick and grey ceilings. Floors 6 and up have white tile and white ceilings. I am on the 6th and have verified the white tile and white ceiling..

I was just providing my opinion of a possible reason why there are different ceiling colors.

innov8ion wrote:Below is the email I received from Civitas Real Estate Services on Aug. 8th. Can anyone else verify Charter is available at the Meridian? I called Charter but the lady couldn't confirm it...

I asked the developers why they went with Dish considering the fact that we are limited to two televisions with independent viewing. I was told that Dish was offering the best deal because Charter was saying that it would take up to 8 months to get their service up and running. Thus Dish was the only way for us to have TV service quickly. So it sounds like it's an option but just wasn't the best one for us at the time the developers were looking for a provider.

So one person says it would take 8 months for Charter to get service to the building and another says it's available. Can someone let us know if and when they can watch Charter cable in their unit?

Downtown Newbie wrote:

innov8ion wrote:Below is the email I received from Civitas Real Estate Services on Aug. 8th. Can anyone else verify Charter is available at the Meridian? I called Charter but the lady couldn't confirm it...

I asked the developers why they went with Dish considering the fact that we are limited to two televisions with independent viewing. I was told that Dish was offering the best deal because Charter was saying that it would take up to 8 months to get their service up and running. Thus Dish was the only way for us to have TV service quickly. So it sounds like it's an option but just wasn't the best one for us at the time the developers were looking for a provider.

I moved in this weekend. My place looks absolutely spectacular. I'll try to post some pictures when I get a chance.



I called cable people today. Charter does not provide service to the Meridian. The people at the Meridian who made the decision not to go with Charter deserve a lot of credit. Having lived with Charter for the last several years, I personally am ecstatic to never again (hopefully) have to deal with that company. They're horrendous. My service had problems on almost a weekly basis, and their customer support is a joke. None of that should be suprising when you realize that Charter has a virtual monopoly on cable in the St. Louis area. Guess there's no reason to have high standards when you have no competition.



As to having to get a "land-line" in order to have DSL, I went ahead and did that today as well.



I was thinking about it today, and the land line in our units is probably a good idea. I'm assuming the downstairs call-box will be forwarded to a phone line of our choosing. I'd rather have that ring in my unit, than have my cell phone start ringing when I'm on vacation somewhere. I know a lot of people have these set-ups, but I'll pass on having to hear my door-bell ringing while I'm in my office.

All I know is my TiVo better work with the dish! It's one of those things - like NetFlix - that I can no longer live without.

Harvey, congrats on your place!



Regarding Charter Cable. Some people have experienced bad service with them and are happy to have another option in Dish. On the other hand, I'm happy as a current Charter subscriber. It's likely many others in the building are too and shouldn't be denied that option just because some don't like the service.



We need to understand we're living in the same building and decisions that affect the entire building can't be made by a few because they feel a certain way. When the time comes, the Association can see what is entailed in providing the option for Charter cable. Then, it can be voted on...



What is this virtual monopoly? Charter is competing with all the satellite providers as well. And soon there will be more competition yet when AT&T provides television service. I can feel ya though, I've been upset with different services over time...



That's a good catch with the land-line / call-box connection. I'd still prefer to not have a land line in my home as I can have the call-box forwarded to my cell. Again, this is my personal choice.