{"id":16204,"date":"2011-08-13T07:30:38","date_gmt":"2011-08-13T11:30:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/horizonsmagazine.com\/blog\/?p=16204"},"modified":"2011-08-16T07:08:09","modified_gmt":"2011-08-16T11:08:09","slug":"were-making-progress-at-the-rental-home","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/horizonsmagazine.com\/blog\/were-making-progress-at-the-rental-home\/","title":{"rendered":"We’re making progress at the rental home"},"content":{"rendered":"

Yesterday was another long but productive day. \u00a0I began by working on final layout for the September issue of\u00a0 Horizons Magazine<\/a> which has to be at the printer on Friday. \u00a0I’d asked for an extra five days to finish it so I could work on my rental renovation<\/a>. \u00a0After 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. \u00a0 Tod and I went through the place with a checklist and made a pile of items to return\u00a0and another list of items to buy. \u00a0I went across the street to Home Depot and returned a ceiling light, two smoke detectors and a dozen switch plates, receptacles and wallplates. \u00a0I then bought the 10 packs of each which was a lot cheaper (thanks Tod for the tip.) \u00a0I bought a faucet set, a medicine cabinet and another ceiling fan. \u00a0With 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. \u00a0When I got back, ceiling fans were going up, the new toilet seat and shower curtain were installed and the place was shaping up.<\/p>\n

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I went back to the store to get the right smoke detectors and floor registers, \u00a0and to find a 240v, two pole light switch for the water heater and neither Lowe’s nor Home Depot had one in stock. \u00a0In\u00a0Home Depot<\/a> I was walking through the carpet aisle and eyed the large remnants they had displayed. \u00a0I saw a beautiful medium beige measuring 12 x 15 that would be perfect for my 11 x 12 front room. \u00a0It was a good price, so I bought it and enough\u00a0padding as well. \u00a0 I’m surprised how easily we got it home in my Toyota Prius. \u00a0Tod’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. \u00a0And am I ever getting my walking in.<\/p>\n

My concern was the couple of patches on the floor that felt soft to walk on. \u00a0 In my mind, I figured that’s where the big cost would be, fixing any subfloor issues. \u00a0We pulled the carpet and padding back and saw there had been a leak years ago that had weakened the particle board. \u00a0(Particle board subflooring? \u00a0I know…) \u00a0 It was likely a glass of liquid spilled. \u00a0Thankfully<\/a> it did not smell of cat urine.<\/p>\n

Tod showed me the damage and explained what we were looking at. \u00a0He told me what he planned to do to fix it and made it all sound so simple. \u00a0It meant sawing wood to size and nailing or screwing it into the right places for strength, support and safety. \u00a0I’m tempted to replace the carpet in that room and the hallway as well. \u00a0We’ll see after they get a good shampooing. \u00a0Tod’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. \u00a0I printed the trouble shooting guide out to take to the rental, so he’d have it handy.<\/p>\n

At the end of the day, they’d installed the ceiling fans in each room and it was breezy cool in there. \u00a0Tod’s a work space neat freak so he had supplies out of sight in cabinets and closets. \u00a0It is looking more ready every time I go over. \u00a0I love it when work happens when I’m not there! \u00a0I’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. \u00a0I know the nicotine smell<\/a> is still in my lungs so I am smelling it where it may no longer exist. \u00a0But just to be sure and for a fresh new look, I’ll paint it with an oil based primer and soft pale color. \u00a0Tod will reinforce the floor in the front bath and build me some new shelves, and later\u00a0new linoleum will go there. \u00a0I’ll replace the towel bars, soap dish, bath tissue holder and little things like that for a fresh look. \u00a0As soon as the construction stuff is done, I can clean everything for real.<\/p>\n

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. \u00a0I’m looking forward to see what amazing new friends I’ll make in the process of selectfully sifting through the dozens of perfect candidates. \u00a0 And oh, yes, I must add the no smoking clause to the new rental lease…and a deposit.<\/p>\n

Andrea<\/p>\n

Turning on utilities<\/a>
\nGetting my rental property ready for the next lucky tenant<\/a>
\nWear gloves cleaning nicotine damage to avoid poisoning<\/a>
\nI clean my rental home of nicotine stains<\/a>
\nMy tenant is moving out this weekend<\/a><\/p>\n

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