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Monday 30 April 2012

Decisions, Decisions, Decisions!

My brother and his wife, my sister and her husband and I have started working on the rental property.  The initial work was all about taking truck loads of garbage to the dump. Then came the cleaning and repairing.  

That let us see what was salvageable and what was beyond hope.  Luckily, we all agreed on everything.  Like that would be possible!  We're siblings!  So, we argued and won or argued and lost and settled on what was most likely to sell the property.  We have already lost $8,000 on this property in the last four months and will have to use credit to make any changes or upgrades.

The evicted tenant stripped everything out of the building that she hadn't already broken, so we have a large square footage of flooring to buy and bathroom fixtures to replace. That will chew up most of our money.  We also want to address some not too attractive things that you find in very old buildings, which have been worked on by everybody who thought they could swing a hammer.  It's going to be DIY all the way and I thought you might like to see what we are doing.  I warn you there aren't any pretty after shots yet!

As my sister and I were painting the staircase, I mentioned that, if it were my home, I would close the door that led from the kitchen to the staircase and reopen the original door that led into the living room.  It's wonky where it has been cut for carpeting and someone had the brainwave to install a floor vent in it.  It also is a fourth door in the kitchen, making furniture placement difficult.

See what I mean about wonky? ~


It opened into a dark, tiny vestibule. ~


Behind the open door is a furnace pipe, the old door and 3 makeshift shelves. When this door is closed, you see exposed electrical boxes and there was an acoustic tile ceiling.  The ceiling is already down in this shot. ~


The staircase was very dark in the lower section. ~


It opened into a well lit upper hallway and was a little less gloomy at the top. ~



My sister slipped away and must have had a talk with my brother.  The next thing I heard was a skill sawing chewing through the drywall on the living room side.  That's a window, not a door, you are seeing to the left of the new staircase opening. ~


Here's the lighter, brighter, curving staircase! ~   


Now to clean up the electrical, remove the furnace pipe and install a new ceiling!  

Does anyone else have a man around them that will argue forever that a doorknob doesn't need to be changed but doesn't bat an eye over sawing through a wall?  My brother is weird!  Good weird, but weird!

 

30 comments:

  1. It's fun to DIY on your own home, but not so much on a rental you have to sell. Sorry you're going through this mess. Hope all goes well.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks for the good wishes! It is a little more difficult to get inspired on a rental.

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  2. Bless your heart, thank goodness for karma..that renter will get it! Now, you have made some good progress. I have turned quite a few houses and paint is by far the best thing you can do that really makes a quick and fairly cheap difference. My next favorite is a new commode, they're only about $100-$200 and make it seem so much cleaner. Good luck keep us posted

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    Replies
    1. I think she may be living her karma now. There's nothing nice about living the way she does. We are painting throughout in BM Barley, which looks off white in most rooms. I'm taking your commode advice into the next family meeting. They love hearing the opinions of my imaginary friends!

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  3. Wow Maureen, you really have got your work cut out for you. I look forward to seeing how you get on. And as to your brother- aren't all men like that !!!

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    Replies
    1. It's been awhile since I lived with one and I forget about their quirks!

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  4. You guys are working wonders over there with the resources you have...I know this firsthand! The changes are going to be beautiful! xo wendy

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    Replies
    1. It's more fun to reno than to clean it, for sure! Thanks, Wendy.

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  5. But Maureen, door knobs do not require power tools. Oh, I see some fun times ahead.... non?

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    Replies
    1. Oui, tons of fun! He did have the greatest, small skillsaw that runs on a power pack. I kind of want one myself!

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  6. hi Maureen ... just a few bad renters give good renters a bad name. We have had both and lost a bundle on a house where we had a bad renter. Not fun to clean/repair the mess. I am sure you will get it looking good soon. Good luck. The staircase is such a nice feature.
    Blessings,
    Audrey Z @ Timeless Treasures

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I've always wanted a curving staircase, so it was nice to uncover one there. I don't think the issue here was it being a renter, but rather someone with a severe substance abuse problems. She would have done the same with her own home. Thanks for the encouragement!

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  7. I think that was a really smart decision. We have done so many of these projects over the years. I get what you are going through!

    ps..ALL men are weird like that- it is NOT just your brother!;>) Blessings- xo Diana

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    Replies
    1. Thanks, Diana! We're not trying to make the job bigger but sometimes you just know it has to be done.

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  8. Oh my!! As for your brother, you gotta be grateful for a man who is good with a hammer and saw! And with your knack for turning little thrift store goodies into treasures, I am sure it is going to turn out great. Good luck!

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    Replies
    1. Actually, I am grateful for his skills. It's the arguing I can live without!

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  9. Good luck in this endeavour my blogging friend. Looks like a lot of work, but I'm sure it will turn out great. And brothers, sigh, what can you say about them?

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    Replies
    1. I have four brothers, Laura, so I can say quite about about that unique species! lol

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  10. I think it looks really promising and health care is better there, right? So I'll rent from you! ;-)

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    1. Health care is free here. They say we have longer wait times but my daughter found the opposite in Brooklyn. I don't really know. I should be consulting you on where you want the wall sockets when we redo the living room! lol

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