Floor for dirty, smelly, never-clean-up with 80 lbs dog

[Jin Kim]

This unit for section 8 tenant did not pass the inspection this month. In order to pass the 2nd test, we will have to 1. replace the carpet, 2. find the door knob for shower door, 3. door knob for oven as well. 

This tenant moved in 2009. We took over this property just a few month ago. 

I thought we will change to heavy duty laminate instead of carpet again. But my contractor thinks that laminate will be scratched anyway and downstairs will complain as laminate makes noise. And I've been researching around on the internet it looks like "wood like tile" seems very durable solution. but my contractor told me it's very pricy - 3 times more for material, 2.5 more for installation. 

How much do you spend to re-floor the 1 bed apartment? and what would be the best option for this case. I went inside a few times. the whole place totally stinks and it looks like he has never cleaned for many years. spider webs are everywhere. Plus he has a big dog. I wonder if the dog is potty trained and if not, the tenant actually cleans up after the dog. 

what kind of floor do you install if you accept dogs? 

[Sam LLoyd]

Yikes!

First, think for the future... is this a tenant that you want to keep?  If not, this might be the perfect time to move him out.... whoops, sorry, you weren't able to keep your own apartment inspection ready.  After all, he's the one that lost the knobs and destroyed the floor. 

I agree with your contractor.... carpet goes in upstairs apartments for noise reasons... and it's so cheap to install, that you can do it every few years and cost the same as laminate every 10 years.  A 1bd apartment should be able to have carpet and a nice pad for $800-1000 using Lowes installations services (if you have a Lowes there.... Home depot?)

You'll probably save money paying a handyman or some young person to remove the old carpet and pad.... and we'll go ahead and assume there are pet staining... so make sure you have someone get in there and bleach the floor and paint it with Killz or a product that is anti-microbial.  We do all the work ourselves, and I've had good luck using straight or diluted cleaning vinegar to get rid of smells without the fear of bleaching anything you don't want bleached. 

Also, if you do move that tenant on, and want to provide a nice clean apartment, you'd better plan on getting all the walls and ceilings cleaned and painted.

I hope this helps.