Wow, long time no update! I could almost feel guilty if we hadn't been so busy LOL In some ways it seems like nothing has changed enough to report on but in other ways it seems everything has changed. My 'job' of cleaning really hasn't progressed all that much, only the single room at the top of the stairs added to the done list. Not that I was slacking off but that Tom has been so busy I've spent more time as his clean up crew than playing janitor. First it was a few boards here and there and then it became whole walls LOL Lots of discoveries along the way too!
In reorganizing the mechanics so each apartment has it's own water heater and furnace Tom has been working in a closet off the east apartment shuffling things and making room. The adjoining area is the west apartment is a strange out-of-place type area so one day he decided to investigate. Removing a full length mirror on one wall he discovered the wall behind the mirror to be pretty much missing. Possibly punched or kicked out, hard telling. Beyond the damage to the wall he also discovered a doorway! At some point in time there was a hallway type passage between what is now the kitchen/bath area of the two spaces. We're not sure what the original floor plan was and can't guess as to it's use but it's been great fun popping in and out of each place using the passage. With all the cubby-holes, passageways and places Tom's been getting into with his repairs I actually resorted to yelling 'MARCO!' one evening just to find him LOL
Another surprise we had recently was our first experience in considering crime and the cauldron perhaps being a victim. A misplaced set of keys led to a flurry of lock changing and pointed out some glaring lapses in security on our part. While the keys were found safe and secure I got my own taste of being a victim at the same time. In my hurry to get to the cauldron and help with the lost key issue I neglected to make sure my front door was closed tightly and gave a thief the opportunity he was looking for. Luckily the loss was no more than my iPod and a few dollars but it was scary and unsettling and left me feeling both angry and foolish. Valuable lessons learned in both cases though and likely worth far more than any material loss. If any readers stop by for a visit to the cauldron though you'll now find you need to knock on the door and wait for it to be unlocked rather than just walk in (wink).
Our latest surprise came while Tom was working on the new bathroom fixtures in the east apartment. If you haven't noticed from the pictures both bathrooms and kitchens have decorative wall paneling. These are printed boards, or in some cases shiny plastic, held up by plastic strips. Either through settling of the building or possibly an installation problem the boards don't meet each other or the trim work and they're terribly marked up and dirty. My immediate solution was to rip them all out but reality, budgets and Tom required them to be kept if possible. Turns out it's not possible . . . hehehe Being an old building there's not a scrap of insulation in the walls and apparently Tom found damage or problems that need to be addressed behind the wall board so it all needs to go. That's actually probably the best news I've received so far this week LOL Not just in my wanting to get rid of the old stuff and the increase in cost isn't welcome but being able to insulate, especially in the bath, and having decent walls that are easy to maintain is really fortunate. At least in my warped mind LOL Insulation leads to more comfortable and happy tenants with lower utility bills and a happier me paying the bills until the place is occupied. And the maintenance thing is a huge plus!
I might be naive, probably am, but my thought is if we start out with something looking nice and we keep it nice that will encourage our tenants to do the same. I mean, if you rent an apartment and the walls are marred up, stained and all what exactly is the incentive to not cause further damage and dirt? LOL It seems logical that if a tenant is presented with a place where it is obvious that effort has been put into upkeep they will be encouraged to take pride in keeping it nice. Ok, quit laughing LOL I can just imagine the comments I'll get from experienced landlords out there! It's the pagan-ish way though - expect the best from people and you'll often get it. We'll see in the future how reality treats that belief . . .
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