# Pocono PA Reno (mostly cosmetic)



## AvalonGirl (Jun 1, 2010)

Background - 
Mom has greatly ignored her rental property for last 15 years. I took over management a couple years back after a really really bad rental situation (I could write a book on that). In Aug the local realtor gave me a rash about the property. Hoping by documenting here other middle age women get inspired and take on projects.
House is mid-1970's construct, stained t-111 exterior, A frame, ceiling about 27 feet. Original all 1970's brown panel, Golden Harvest kitchen, brown carpet and sticky tile floors. In the 90's my father sheetrocked over the paneling, put down second hand pink carpet and lay ceramic tile directly on the subfloor. Flash forward 20 years and here I am, a girl and a plan.
Outside - biggest issues - mold and rotting t-111 exterior, bad door frame where previous tenant kicked door down. Called a local contractor as I don't do doors or t-111. We removed the non-functioning hot tub (again, Tenant damamge), properly hung t-111 down the side removing the quarter sheet psuedo repair, pressure washed the deck and stained the entire house. Installed a new pre-hung door. I will not replace the screen door on as this side has snow and ice build up during the winter months. Tenants attempting to get into house would simply pull the screen door over the ice, bending the door. 

Next up - starting inside.


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## AvalonGirl (Jun 1, 2010)

Inside is getting a big face lift and I'm doing all the work. I've now been at this since the beginning of September. One night a week (after working full day) I drive 90 minutes to the house, usually arrive by 6:30 pm, work till 1 or 2 am, fall over, set alarm for 6 am and drive back to work. 

This is what I started with:
Sleeping loft - original builders grade carpet, brown paneling, 5 beds and a small sitting area.
Living room - tenants who don't know how to tend a fire in the insert destroyed the carpet with burn marks.
Kitchen - I redid the floor a few years ago with tile left from other projects, so it's good. The formica surround andcountertops are original as is the medieval cabinet hardware. Iwill post a close up of the hardware as it is the ugliest stuff I have ever encountered!


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## AvalonGirl (Jun 1, 2010)

*How NOT to lay tile...*

This is a lesson on how not to lay tile flooring, especially in an entrance way:

Lay tile directly over the linoleum floor tile. Do not remove the existing flooring, do not put down anything to improve the strength and rigidity of the existing floor. That would just add to the time and cost! :yes:
Note the lack of any adhesive/mastic product on the linoleum. Not sure what my father used, but whatever it was, it was a very small notch trowel and it didn't stick to back of ceramic tile or linoleum floor.
After breaking this up I was surpised it lasted as long as it did (about 7 years, though the tile had flexed and cracked). I find breaking tile is a great stress reliever.

Next up will be 6 weeks of tearing up carpeting, padding, tackstrips and those little nails used to attach carpet condensed into 1 post.


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## shumakerscott (Jan 11, 2008)

:thumbsup:


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## joecaption (Nov 30, 2011)

Looking at the way that deck was built, and having T1-11 siding will continue to be an issue.
T-111 is not suppost to be any closer then 6" to any solid surface because of splash back.
It was also built to high so there's a very real chance of water getting in under that threshold.
There also looks like there's no gap between the decking and the sidng so water will just lay in there and rot it out.
Many times I've cut along the bottom of the siding, installed a piece of Z moulding and installed 1 X 6 vinyl lumber at the bottom of the wall.
To keep the water from coming in under the door the whole door would need to come out and be flashed and sealed under the door.


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## AvalonGirl (Jun 1, 2010)

Joe - agree the T1-11 is going to be an ongoing problem. Further exacerbated by a roofline constantly dripping water, currently 25 inches of snow up there and a community association that won't let us cut down any trees thus creating and maintaining a dark, dank, moist environment. The underlying issue is my realtor isn't renting the house due to condition, no rent = no money (and not even my house). For now I need to make it rentable, bank some $$, list it for sale and continue to renovate as funds allow. 

Carpet removal took me almost 6 weeks (about 30 hours), my hats off to people who do this for a living, it's tough work (for a 50 yr old desk jockey). Cut, roll, bind, scrap and pull out every tack. Move all the furniture, start again. The loft was circa 1976 builder grade glued to the floor. The foam back totally disintegrated creating a nasty fine black powder that took multiple passes of sweeping to remove. The community would not take the carpet so I had to load it into my car and drive it home to dispose of it.


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