Surprise!! A renovation retrospective of an 1100 ft^2, 2-level flat.

[Roy N.]

Introduction

The saga started almost a year ago (September 2014).  The relationship with long-term tenants we inherited two years prior had been sliding sideways for some time - their unit was the only one we had not renovated and they felt entitled to a fresh home.   

On our part, we were clear there would be no substantial renovation while they still had three dogs and two cats.  We offered to make repairs and replace the vinyl flooring in the kitchen, bath and hallway (which the dogs had scratched through to the subfloor). 

Eventually things culminated in our serving a Notice of Termination ending their tenancy on December 31, 2014.  A couple of weeks later they abandoned the apartment, but left many possessions behind and, obviously, provided neither notice, no returned the keys.

Part1: Abandonment and Possession

By the time we had gone through the process to regain possession of the apartment and permission to remove the {former} tenants' belongings it was November.   When we first entered the apartment, the smell of animal urine made your eyes water!  Windows were left open for a few days, then we returned to remove 3 trailer loads of {predominately} garbage before we could begin the demolition.

Here are some pictures of the unit when we regained possession:

In the photo below, note the discolouration of the flooring and walls as you travel down the hallway and the rusted baseboard heater (the element had rusted out).   The tenants would put "puppy pee pads" at the end of the hallway when they left for work and the 3-dogs would do their business there throughout the day.   The subfloor and wall plates were saturated and rotting.

Here is another picture of the end of the hall under ultraviolet light - the glowing spots are intense urine stains:

There was not a laminate floor in the place that did not have cupping from animal urine and the vinyl on the lower level had been scratched through to the subfloor in several spots. Most of the trim (baseboards, window boxes, door casings) had been scratched and chewed by the dogs and was ruined.

Being long-term tenants (~9yrs) the finish flooring would need to be replaced anyway, but the amount of damage to the subfloor - particularly on the ground level necessitated removal of the entire subfloor.

The bathroom vanity was in rough shape and there was a mysteriously missing square of drywall from behind the toilet (earlier pictures from when we purchased the property showed no hole behind the toilet).

The carpet on the stairs and in the closet under the stairs was originally a light green in colour (with traces of red).  During demolition we drew straws to see who would get to remove the carpets .... I lost ... boy, did I loose!

That stain at the end of the closet was a covert litter box ... pleasant!

Most of the light fixtures had also been taken:

Each of the bedrooms has a 6' x 12' walk-in closet.  One of them, you could not walk-in as it contained an entire (5 x 10) trailer load of "stuff".