Yesterday was another long but productive day.  I began by working on final layout for the September issue of  Horizons Magazine which has to be at the printer on Friday.  I’d asked for an extra five days to finish it so I could work on my rental renovation.  After a morning of computer work, I went over to the rental and dropped off supplies and two bananas for my friend and his worker buddy.   Tod and I went through the place with a checklist and made a pile of items to return and another list of items to buy.  I went across the street to Home Depot and returned a ceiling light, two smoke detectors and a dozen switch plates, receptacles and wallplates.  I then bought the 10 packs of each which was a lot cheaper (thanks Tod for the tip.)  I bought a faucet set, a medicine cabinet and another ceiling fan.  With so many returns and purchases, I’m not sure what my grand total is yet, altho the receipts are in the file and I’ll check them against the bill when it gets here.  When I got back, ceiling fans were going up, the new toilet seat and shower curtain were installed and the place was shaping up.

I went back to the store to get the right smoke detectors and floor registers,  and to find a 240v, two pole light switch for the water heater and neither Lowe’s nor Home Depot had one in stock.  In Home Depot I was walking through the carpet aisle and eyed the large remnants they had displayed.  I saw a beautiful medium beige measuring 12 x 15 that would be perfect for my 11 x 12 front room.  It was a good price, so I bought it and enough padding as well.   I’m surprised how easily we got it home in my Toyota Prius.  Tod’s done all this before, so it’s a piece of cake for him. For me, it’s an eye opener and a learning experience.  And am I ever getting my walking in.

My concern was the couple of patches on the floor that felt soft to walk on.   In my mind, I figured that’s where the big cost would be, fixing any subfloor issues.  We pulled the carpet and padding back and saw there had been a leak years ago that had weakened the particle board.  (Particle board subflooring?  I know…)   It was likely a glass of liquid spilled.  Thankfully it did not smell of cat urine.

Tod showed me the damage and explained what we were looking at.  He told me what he planned to do to fix it and made it all sound so simple.  It meant sawing wood to size and nailing or screwing it into the right places for strength, support and safety.  I’m tempted to replace the carpet in that room and the hallway as well.  We’ll see after they get a good shampooing.  Tod’s rug shampoo machine stopped dispensing water, so I Googled online to find the user’s manual and trouble-shooting guide and emailed to him.  I printed the trouble shooting guide out to take to the rental, so he’d have it handy.

At the end of the day, they’d installed the ceiling fans in each room and it was breezy cool in there.  Tod’s a work space neat freak so he had supplies out of sight in cabinets and closets.  It is looking more ready every time I go over.  I love it when work happens when I’m not there!  I’m not happy with just cleaning the walls in the front closet and bathroom, so I’ll paint them after the September Horizons is done.  I know the nicotine smell is still in my lungs so I am smelling it where it may no longer exist.  But just to be sure and for a fresh new look, I’ll paint it with an oil based primer and soft pale color.  Tod will reinforce the floor in the front bath and build me some new shelves, and later new linoleum will go there.  I’ll replace the towel bars, soap dish, bath tissue holder and little things like that for a fresh look.  As soon as the construction stuff is done, I can clean everything for real.

I figure by then I will have attracted the next right tenant, otherwise I’ll post a notice on the bulletin board at the park office.  I’m looking forward to see what amazing new friends I’ll make in the process of selectfully sifting through the dozens of perfect candidates.   And oh, yes, I must add the no smoking clause to the new rental lease…and a deposit.

Andrea

Turning on utilities
Getting my rental property ready for the next lucky tenant
Wear gloves cleaning nicotine damage to avoid poisoning
I clean my rental home of nicotine stains
My tenant is moving out this weekend