More excitement - installing a sump pit at #34!

I actually get excited when installing a sump pit.  Seriously.  Hey, it's going to help solve my basement water problem and act as an insurance policy for flash flooding situations.  I also get in a 2 day, cross fit style work out.

This is really step two. In my last post, because of the previous mold problem in the basement, I found the areas where the water was entering the basement from outside and fixed them.  However, the water table can also rise from below and I'm pretty sure that's happening in this basement.

wet basement before

The before picture shows the basement with about 3 inches of sitting water. Would you want to live above this?  It also has some little ghosts zipping around - or maybe that's dust...?

The basin

 I didn't know it, because it was always so muddy, but this basement was finished with some sort of concrete, so I used my trusty Stark jackhammer to break it up at the low end where the water will drain to.  I laid the pipe in there to see if it would fit and to also check the fall. I marked the basin with a sharpie cut the hole for the pipe to enter.  At this point I also drilled holes all over the basin for water to be able seep in. Sediment fabric was wrapped around the basin and placed it in the large hole with space for stones below it, and around it.  I laid the same fabric in the trench and shoveled stones over it.  I slid the pipe into the hole in the basin and making sure the holes in the pipe were facing on the bottom sides of the pipe, attached them with an angle bracket and 2 screws so it stayed in place.  I wrapped the fabric around the pipe and even used a little bit of duct tape to hold it in place until the rest of the stone was shoveled on top of it.

The hardest part of this job was all of the digging and carrying the clay and rubble out of the basement.  The entire job took 2 solid days and most of the time was spent removing the dirt bucket by bucket. Getting the stone in was more fun though. We made a small chute out of wood, poured the stone in and spread it around.

Digging for the drainage pipe

final basement prior to pump install 

If you look closely, you can see the lid for the sump pit to the right of that big rock.  An actual pump will be installed to get the water out.  The big rock will stay because it's heavy! I decided to spread gravel all over the floor so it's cleaner walk on.  Otherwise, this is it.  The basement will not be finished any more than this. It'll just be used for access to the water heaters and other utility repairs when needed.  

Pouring the slab for water heaters

finished slab for water heaters

First things first. Fixing mold problems at #34

Once we closed on the property and got into the house, we knew the first thing to do was to address the mold problem in the basement - exciting!  I am not an expert on mold, but I do know it needs moisture to thrive and the basement had lots of it.  The basement also had lots of wood and no circulating air... perfect if you're mold!    

I'm not going to tell anyone to do this themselves, because certain types of mold can be harmful to your health.  I however, chose to risk it and kill it myself. :)   I actually took many precautions including a suit and mask and even eye protection. I used different concoctions which I mixed and sprayed and scrubbed based on extensive research and depending on the surface involved.  I won't put these recipes here because I don't want anyone to blame me for their mold illnesses, but some batches had hydrogen peroxide, some had borax, some used bleach and some used vinegar - do your own research or even better, call a pro.

First things first, find out where the water's coming in and stop it.  The main culprit here was a hole in the ally's sidewalk where water from the neighbors gutter was pouring into and finding it's way into my basement. This had been going on for years!
I pulled up the loose top cement layer and poured a soupy mix of mortar in there so it would hopefully follow the path of the water and fill in the small areas.  I then packed the hole with 35 gallons of stone and dirt and other matter. I packed in there with a broom handle and patched it with cement.  This will do the trick, but is still a temporary fix since all the sidewalks will be fixed in the summer and this area will require trench drain.

Second thing is to get a dehumidifier in the basement running 24/7 - done.  Water was dripping against the front of the building from the front gutters which were leaking from 2 small holes.  These were sealed with gutter sealant .  Problem fixed - sort of. Since this house is over 200 years old, the front basement will need to be monitored over time to see if there are more areas of water infiltration.

The back basement will also need a sump pit and pump as it seems to fill from below ground.

ally with water poring into hole

ally from opposite end

Ally after holes were filled and patched

   

The new project for 2015!

Front

Here it is.  Renovation 2015!  I say that with enthusiasm because I love buying and renovating investment properties.  I have seen almost everything, and always plan on surprises when deciding to buy, but this one has already proven to be a leaning experience. In future posts, I'll post more on the condition and what's being done to fix the place.

Back Yard

Purchased at the end of 2014, number 34 was an estate previously owned by a woman that lived lived there for almost 70 years.  Her name was Gerty, so, as well as #34,  we have been referring to the place as, "Gerty's house."

The right side has 2 existing apartments and a small office.  The left side had been used as a 4 bedroom house and will be converted into 2 units, each having 2 bedrooms and 2 stories. The back half of the yard will be made into a gravel parking lot with 8 spaces and the other half of the yard will be an outdoor living space for tenants. The office will be my new work digs.

In addition to the main building, there is an old barn at the back of the property.  It will stay as-is for now and be fixed up later.  What's another year after sitting for 200!

Barn

     

Updating a tired old kitchen without major cost. (at unit #9)

Kitchen before  - unit #9 

As I've said in previous posts, when fixing up a rental property, I always want the place to be nice and clean with nothing left undone.  I also try to add some things that I'd want if I lived there.  In the case of the kitchen at number 9, we did some updating. The only thing we added, that wasn't there before, was the dishwasher.  I always add them into my rentals even though some landlord friends of mine tell me I'm wasting my money.  Really? I just don't think this is considered a luxury item anymore, is it?    So I add dishwashers in my units and if you're a landlord, just do it.  :)

Kitchen after - unit #9

In this kitchen, the top cabinets were well built and in the right place, so I painted them.  The lower cabinets and counter top were metal and past their prime, so we replaced them.  I used semi-custom cabinets and a laminate counter top built for this area. If you go back to my Markes house kitchen post, you may notice the same color choices for the counters and the walls.  The flooring is also the same - this is intentional and I'll talk about the reasons for this in another post.    

The existing refrigerator was still working, however, it was old and didn't seem like a very good place to store food, so that went away.  Our utility company actually has a program where they will pay you $50 for old inefficient appliances to get them out of circulation, and they come to your home and take them away!  The guys that came to get the fridge wanted to just throw it out my new second story window, but I had to be the adult and asked them to please take it down the stairs.

Since the new appliances were black, the hood over the oven didn't match.  It was in working order, so I decided to tape it off and paint it with black spray paint.  I also got rid of the lights hanging to each side of the window and added one recessed light over the sink in the ceiling.  Again, I had my electrician install GFI outlets to make it safe.

We finally added an additional slim cabinet with a counter top to the left of the stove that holds cookie sheets and works well under the overhead cabinet.

In the end, the biggest expense with this kitchen was the new appliances. And those needed to be replaced anyway. So, with lots of paint, a small bit of electrical work, new lower cabinets, counter top, new linoleum for the floor, and with no layout changes, this rental has an updated kitchen without breaking the bank.  

"Does that look right?" A question of flow at unit #9.

before

   In my former career as a graphic artist, regardless of how complicated a project became, there was always one question I could ask to absolutely simplify the situation:  "Does that look right?"  It required a simple yes or no answer.  If the answer was "yes", I was done.   If the answer was "no", than I could build on it with one of my next questions:  "Why?" or "What do we need to do to make it look right?"

In the case of unit number 9, the relationship (flow) to the living room and kitchen did not "look right". Why? It was dark and getting to the kitchen took effort.  Once you made the effort to get into the kitchen, you felt like you were in a different country - totally cut-off from the rest of the place. You also had to walk through the work area of the kitchen just to sit down at the table.

"What do we need to do to make it look right?"  Well, we could take out the wall to the left of the fireplace if it was not load bearing.  With my rentals, I really don't get involved with removing load bearing walls and then building headers to support a load just to make a place look right, (unless you are walking through bedrooms to get to other bedrooms), this is where I draw the line.  I actually do care about the cost and time involved.  I may be able to get a little more rent for a brighter place with better flow, but if it's structural and not a necessity, I ain't doing it. In this case, the wall was cosmetic, so we went for it, and tore it down.

after

Once it was put back together, painted, and the new flooring was put down, the new opening positively changed the flow of the living room/kitchen relationship.  This layout allowed for more light, and totally different furniture layout options for both rooms.  One other benefit gained was the use of the heat in the living room from the large radiator in the back corner of the kitchen!

So, does that look right now? I think... YES!

Plan ahead...?

I just has to chuckle a bit today when I got to the new site.  The crew I'm working with, (a very good crew by the way), decided to use the space in front of the door for the pile of torn out pipes and floorboards.  This is the same door needed to get all of this stuff out.  I could have much worse problems really, but just a little bit of planning would have saved some time in the end.  

Add value by re-purposing & adding a little wow factor.

Porch before

In any market, there is a limit to what you're able to charge for an apartment.  The question is, how do you maximize the property's appeal in order to be able to get the high number... And at the same time have prospective tenants fighting to get the place.

Here is a shot of an old enclosed porch used to hold laundry machines & cat litter boxes.  It had an un-insulated closet at the far end, it was cold and the floors had a smell from the cats.

       

Some upgrades had been done to the apartment over the years, but this space had been neglected, probably because it was an additional space to pass through on the way to the living room or the kitchen - it didn't seem to add value like an additional bedroom might. 

  

I really believe having an in-unit laundry is essential to anyone. Not having one makes people feel like "renters" every time they have to pack up their dirty clothing and take it somewhere to wash it.* (*this excludes college students :))   Tenants will stay longer if they have a few comforts that make their rental more of a home. With this in mind, we turned the closet at the end of the hall into a laundry room by adding a new stud wall and door after properly insulating, adding electric and laundry hookups to the space.  Because of years of foot traffic, the hardwood floor was totally worn, so it was patched at the far end at the doorway leading into the kitchen.

before closet

In this closet turned laundry room,the brick wall and the stack were both painted.  I decided to paint the stack black for an industrial look - I 'm not sure if this look was achieved, but it's done, it's clean, and I don't think it looks out of place.  The HVAC crew used that area to run the necessary AC lines into the attic as well.

floors before

floors after

Oh yea - the floors.  You don't have to look very hard to see all of the paint I dripped on the hardwood floors. This is why the floor finishing is always saved until last - at least for me.  Why worry about the floors?
If you look at the step, it is worn, and even concave from years and years of foot traffic.  I thought about tearing it out early on, but by the time I got to this step, (no pun intended), I had grown to know and appreciate that step, so I decided (an easy choice) to keep it.  I sanded it lightly with a power sander.  I kept some of the old finish and added some new poly - the step has history and I think it it adds to the story of unit #9.  

I feel the floors are nice but did not end up in a pristine condition - full disclosure this was my first time refinishing floors and I had a limited time on my rented sander.  They have some spots and other divots, but I think, for this purpose, they work well and are in much better shape than the older alternative    

When you walk in, this is what you see - bright and clean with a little bit of a wow factor.  The finished porch area ended up being clean and welcoming.  The space is well insulated, has new windows, and a new laundry room in an ideal place.  I ended up renting unit #9 (for a top market price) to the very first people that looked at it.  I'm happy, and my tenants are very happy going on year #3 living in their home. Oh, and the smell of cats is gone.