Progress on the Apartment and an Award

It's Saturday morning and today hubby and I are catching up on household chores instead of working on the apartment. It is exhausting and with his bad heart and my bad legs and back, we need a break.

On Friday, Jack, Melissa and Griffyn came. When they arrived Dwight had already ripped the bathroom vanity out and was starting on the walls. They got the sink disconnected and then they tore out the wall that has to be removed to get the tub out of the bathroom.

Let me tell you that the vanity was pieced together. It has been there since we moved here 15 years ago and when Dwight pulled the doors, the whole front fell off of it. LOL Whoever put it in there pieced it together. I'd never really looked at it closely before. So it needed to be replaced. I don't expect my tenants to live in anything less than I would want for myself. I don't need fancy things, but do want them to be stable. I'm surprised it lasted this long.

So now the bathroom is down to the joyces, except right behind the tub and it is down to the lath. The bathroom has been there many years, as it is horsehair plaster in there. That was the old fashioned type of plaster and I would think it's been there since the house was built in the mid 1800s. I was hoping to find some old newspapers, but not so far.

I would like to present all my readers, visitors and those on my blogroll with the award below. I treasure your friendship. Please feel free to take a copy.

Thanks to all of you for your encouragement and support as we are taking on this project. This is huge for us for two reasons. One, we both have issues - Dwight's being his heart and mine being my back and legs. Two, it is something we've never done before. We've painted, put up wallboard, but have never done much plumbing. So far, so good. We are going to learn a lot with this project but it is going to look super when it's all done.

I will post pictures while some of the work is in progress, but once we start putting it all together, I will wait until it is done to show you the new look.

Take care and have a wonderful and safe weekend. Be sure to take some time to spend with family. Go to the park, the zoo or take the kids out for a bike ride. Enjoy those around you and have a good time. Laughter is the best medicine there is. ~Blessings, Mary~

Before Photos of the Bathroom and Entrance Hall

Today we looked for carpet. We went to the Restore, which is run by Habitat for Humanity. They sell all types of supplies and materials at a good price. We found nothing there so then we ran around looking at various places. By mid-afternoon we were tired and came home. I phoned more places for estimates on the carpet and we've found it at a reasonable price. I just have to go and choose the color and have someone come out for an estimate. I already have one estimate but it is far too high.

Here are some photos of the bathroom the way it looks now. Keep in mind that this was all clean when the tenant moved in. What happened! The tub and sink weren't new but they were in good condition.

Here is a photo from the hallway. The wainscoting was put on by a previous tenant and was white when this tenant moved in. His girlfriend painted it this dark brown color. Not something I would do in such a small room. And it is damaged in places.
The tub surround was ivory. I'm not sure what happened to it but it didn't look near this bad.
Tenant's girlfriend sure did like to paint. I'm not sure where the green color came from on the vanity doors. And the sink has a big chunk out of it. How in the world did that happen?
The tub is a mess and is also damaged. All of the grout and caulking is missing from behind it. It's a wonder that the water didn't leak down into our place. I don't think it's been cleaned since the tenant moved in last September.

There is major work to be done here. We have a new bathtub that we are going to put in here, a sink and vanity and toilet that the neighbor gave us when she renovated her bathroom. They are used but in pretty good shape.

I am almost ashamed to show these photos. I would never live like this and can't really figure out how this could happen in such a short time frame. Tenant moved in here in September 2007. My, oh my! I'm glad he didn't stay longer. Who knows what damage would have been done.

Now for a glimpse at the front entrance hall. Remember, this was tenant's private entrance. I did go out there once in a while to get the mail if it was raining or snowing.

The fire department would have freaked to have seen all of these fliers piled high on tenant's bookcase. And take note of the W*endy's drink cup on the floor and also a paper roll on the cold air register.
And the floor wasn't much better. This is actually tidy compared to sometimes. He just threw the fliers wherever.

It doesn't look quite as bad from this angle but if there'd been a fire and we would have had to get out this way in the dark, we would have broken our necks.This is the inside of the door that goes to the upper apartment. This was sanded and painted before the tenant moved in. The door knob is broken off and the door is a mess. I'm hoping when I sand and paint it that it will look okay.

When I took this photo above, I was somewhat relieved. This is the front entrance hall behind tenant's door to the upper apartment. The TV and microwave are there. This is about a week before he moved. I thought this was a good sign.

This is the front hall as it is now. Yes, it needs washing and painting, but at least all the clutter is gone. The tile on the floor are coming up and I'm not sure about that wallpaper. It is in good condition and needs to be washed. What do you think? Should I leave it or change it? Hubby and I can't agree on that one.

Take care and have a great Friday. ~Blessings, Mary~