This is Mike making a guest appearance on Delonna's blog because I don't have my own.
So, our renter moved out this week. Not main reason for this post. This was planned as we were the ones who initiated the termination of the agreement. The renter was, overall, a good renter. He did all the things a property owner likes renters to do. We asked him to move so Delonna's folks can move in. You might have read some entries on this blog about their travels to Kenya to help people there build low-maintenance water filters. It's a project that is a strong call for my in-laws. Delonna's dad has been to Kenya several times in the last 18 months. Since their trips are at least four weeks long, we wanted them living closer to us to keep an eye on their property. When Delonna's dad is on trips by himself he worries about his wife being by herself. Who wants to come home to a quiet house, anyway? Their current home is only about 20 minutes from us, but soon they'll just be out the back door. We all get along great, so it should work out pretty well.
I took vacation this week to work on the little house. And, while around 1k square feet, there is a lot of work to do. You're getting closer to the reason for this post. When your rental is a century old, that's the nature of things. Before I walked into the place (oh, and I had only seen it once since we bought the property in 2006), I knew we needed the usual repairs: paint, carpet, maybe linoleum. And some extras: new vinyl windows to replace the gorgeous but drafty and rotting (in some cases) old windows, gas heater, and re-texture the ceilings of the living and dining rooms. We have until mid-August to accomplish enough of these projects that Delonna's parents can start moving in. I'm sure we'll be doing small projects as they are loading in boxes, etc.
Here's where the main reason for this post. Delonna is a smart lady (but you know that). The day we walked into the rental, she told me she was going to email our neighborhood group and the members of our church that we needed help getting the place in shape. I was a little hesitant. I don't have a problem asking a few people for help on specific projects, but I was worried about an "all-call" and having folks show up and not having work ready for them. But I agreed to the shotgun emails.
Two hours later a family of four from the church arrived and helped us clean up some things left behind in the house. Jim removed the ceiling fan in the dining room so I could remove the texture off the ceiling later that day.
A larger crew arrived Thursday. Mrs. Gerry washed the bedroom walls upstairs for new paint, Judy watched Conrad as Delonna had an appointment in the afternoon, and Dan and I replaced the bathroom floor around the toilet. Yep. Rot.
Now, you'll notice this wasn't on my original lists of regular work and extras. I had noticed the caulk around the tub was in real sorry shape and there was a little rot in the floor next to it. I started removing linoleum to see how far the damage was in the floor and discovered the area around the toilet was rotted. I shut-off the water and removed the toilet in short order. I had never replaced a floor before, but I've always felt very comfortable making repairs where plumbing is involved. Probably because my dad was such a good teacher. BTW, Dad, your reciprocating saw was very useful for this job. I cut out the bathroom floor and realized the sub-floor was also rotted. Ugh. That's when Dan showed up. He's done these a few times and agreed with me the sub had to come out. I like Dan a lot. He's kinda like an uncle. He has the same attitude as I do about projects like this - we love them. We might be in a little over our heads, but it's fun (in that demented way) to do the work. Probably because neither of us do it for a living.
While Dan was cutting out the sub-floor his son-in-law arrived for a quick visit. Jaime is a former electrician. I had him peek at a "junction box" (remember I wrote earlier the house is a century old) and give me his thoughts. In the scheme (and priority) of things, it's going to stay a "junction box" for awhile. In the future, I'll make the repairs (note: call Jaime) to remove the quote marks around the phrase.
After about three hours of cutting, measure, making some mistakes, and cutting some more, Dan and I installed the new sub-floor in a space about the size of two large game boards. I have to put in the new floor and cut out the rotted area next to the tub, but having Dan there made the work go a lot faster.
This was all great help and moved us further along than if we had been working by ourselves. I am really thankful we have the community around us that is willing to help. What's also nice is everyone is enthusiastic. Jim was practically bubbling over with it and ideas to really make the place pop. Our neighbor Steve, he's my living "how to" manual whenever I work on something around the house, offered great ideas on more ambitious remodel projects for the future. He offered his services and equipment when it comes time to texture the ceiling. Micheal, our friend who will install the windows, also had great advice for us and not just on the windows. He has some exterior doors he'll sell at cost.
My conclusion is our friends and family are great folks. We are blessed to have them to support us and help with these crazy projects we get ourselves into. And, my wife is a smart lady. But you already know that.
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