Saturday Morning Home Repair is a weekly community gathering where we talk about all things houses. Bring your projects and your problems, and a gifted team of amateurs and professionals will do our best to help. We're a pretty friendly bunch, so don't be afraid to post what seems like stupid questions. We save all scoffing for the idiot who owned the house before you.
And do I have a lot of "scoffing" to do.
Unlike most diaries here, this is to Cover My A$$. No matter what happens with tenants later, they will never be able to say the apartment didn't have certain things, or wasn't up to code in some areas. Since a diary is dated when it goes up, no one can ever say I added these things after a complaint was made. Please forgive the misuse of a normally well-intended space, but if it helps prevent a lawsuit later, it's absolutely worth it. At the end, I'll include a pic that represents the level of work being done, and another with a question of "How the hell do I fix this?"
I'm also extremely tired from working until upwards of 4 AM; the creative juices aren't flowing altogether well....
First up are smoke detectors in the bedrooms.
Bedroom 1
Bedroom 2
Law says each bedroom must have a hard-wired smoke detector. Check.
Next, the dining room.
Dining Room Ceiling
Combo Detector Close-up
Law says a hard-wired carbon monoxide detector, so I replaced the smoke detector in the dining room with a combo unit. Check
OK, the thermostat in the living room.
Thermostat placement
Thermostat close up
More to cover myself. With oil heat, I'm including heat and hot water in the rent. Because it's oil heat, one of the first things I installed when I bought the house were programmable thermostats. I'd like the one in the apartment to still be there later.
Two more quickies.
Fridge
Fire extinguisher
Legally, I have to supply a fridge and stove. The fridge took more than four hours to clean, and here's the proof the new tenants rented the place with a clean one. If it ever comes up that they damaged or neglected it...well, your honor, this is how it was when they rented the apartment.
On the right is a fire extinguisher mounted next to the pantry doorway. Not required by law...yet...
So what's been taking so long to get this place ready? Sheer neglect. Not just by the previous tenants, but the previous owner as well. He and his son lived on the second floor and rented the first, so the first floor was always in better condition. This picture of the bedroom ceiling sums it up pretty well.
The white is just primer. The not-white is unsealed, unpainted raw plaster. I won't harbor a guess as to how long ago it was originally done, but I will guess the guy and his son were both smokers - the second bedroom's ceiling was actually worse. Add the fact that nearly all walls and ceilings in the entire apartment are textured (some rather heavily), and you get an idea how much primer I've had to use. Texture soaks it up; raw textured plaster soaks up primer and paint like a sponge.
This last picture is something I need some advice with. This is where the previous tenant's computer chair was. He had a chair mat, the kind with nubs on the bottom, designed for carpet. Since it was on an area rug, it never crossed anyone's mind that damage was being done. Now I know better.
This is about a 4x6 area where the finish has been worn off, and the nubs from the chair mat dug into the floor. I haven't time or money to refinish the entire floor. Basically I have to fill in the million or so holes, hopefully color the area to match the rest of the floor, and apply poly the area. Any recommendations on the quick and easy would be greatly appreciated.
OK, floor's open. What's everyone else up to this week?