Some Things take Time

Unlike “Chipper & Shiplap”
or “Flop-Flop & Blondie”,
we are not an H&G TV show.

We do not have a bevy of contractors off camera,
ready to swoop in and “make it happen”.

We do it with a much smaller budget.

As a solo act, with a weekend helper,
I’m satisfied with the timeframe this has taken.

Our first project was over 10 years ago.

That house took 3 years to complete,
but it was totally paid for when it was done.

Now it earns us a nice monthly income.
In another few weeks,

this one will too.

Thanks for following us and all your comments!
Stay tuned, we will keep you posted
as we wrap this up in the coming weeks.

Hall floor Follow-up

By the time I got done fussing with the old boards,
I spent the better part of two days putting this floor down.

I laid it at a 45 degree angle to the sidewalls
for both aesthetic and structural reasons
and it was worth the extra labor.

Although it took longer than expected
and I barely had enough material,
even with the extra footage I aquired from my friend,
the results are great!

I will have to seek out something else
for the upper landing and hallway space though.
I have just enough flooring left to do the lower landing.

Since the landing has a curved step,
I decided to make a paper pattern of the exact shape.
I will glue the flooring together back at the shop,
then cut the solid piece to the shape.
This will allow me to make a custom bullnosed end cap
and join it to the floorboards, resulting in one piece.

I can then mount this to the subfloor on the landing
with adhesive and screws from underneath.
I’ll match the same diagonal format and stain the treads
including the stair treads the same dark finish
as I used on the hall.
I think it will look seamless and well planned.
If I’m lucky, it will look like it was original to the house.

Even though we are reusing
some of the original material on this reno,
this house never looked this good.

For the living room, kitchen and dining room,
we have chosen a wider plank style laminate,
in a dark teak finish which should blend well with the hallway.

No carpets will be installed anywhere
since we are renovating as a pet friendly rental.
You can charge a higher rent for tenants with pets
and we find there are a lot of responsible pet owners
who want a nice place to rent
and are willing to overlook a less than desirable location
or the lack of certain amenities.

There is no garage and a basement that won’t be available to the tenant.
But with three bedrooms, 1 & 1/2 baths, laundry and dining room,
this house should have plenty to offer
and we can get a premium.

We expect that the rent will pay back the total investment
in the first 3 years (not adding in for our labor of course).

What a long strange trip this has been and I for one,
will be glad when it’s over.