My Favorite Job
Today I got to do my favorite job (OR NOT)! That job was pulling staples out of the living room floor of the 3 bedroom house where I removed the carpet pad yesterday. There were probably 200 staples and the floor was a horrible mess, with slimy stick pet urine attached to the floor along with mouse droppings. Of course, it's hard to sweep or mop with hundreds of staples in the floor and it's tough to remove staples with mouse droppings and pet urine slime goo all over the place. Fortunately, I don't have much of a sense of smell, but even so, the smell was terrible. I took those plug-in air fresheners with me and hopefully the house will smell better tomorrow.
Now that the staples are out, tomorrow I'll sweep and mop the floor and then install the new carpet. THAT ROOM WILL LOOK 100% better with the new carpet!
In addition to working on the room, I also got the security deposit for a new tenant in my one of my 1 bedroom apartments. Her rent is supposed to be paid by a government agency and I went over there to get the paperwork signed. What an experience! I was sitting in a waiting room with a bunch of low-income riff-raff who were looking for a government handout. It looked like the entire circus was sitting in that waiting room. I imagine that this is exactly what it will be like when universal healthcare comes to town - sitting in a crowded waiting room awaiting my turn to be seen by a benevolent government official. Fortunately, I am not too lazy to work and I don't have time to sit in a government office all afternoon. After waiting about 10 minutes, I gave the clerk the paperwork I had and told her to have the case worker call me when she had all the paperwork done. The tenants won't be able to move in until I have the signed paperwork!
Now that the staples are out, tomorrow I'll sweep and mop the floor and then install the new carpet. THAT ROOM WILL LOOK 100% better with the new carpet!
In addition to working on the room, I also got the security deposit for a new tenant in my one of my 1 bedroom apartments. Her rent is supposed to be paid by a government agency and I went over there to get the paperwork signed. What an experience! I was sitting in a waiting room with a bunch of low-income riff-raff who were looking for a government handout. It looked like the entire circus was sitting in that waiting room. I imagine that this is exactly what it will be like when universal healthcare comes to town - sitting in a crowded waiting room awaiting my turn to be seen by a benevolent government official. Fortunately, I am not too lazy to work and I don't have time to sit in a government office all afternoon. After waiting about 10 minutes, I gave the clerk the paperwork I had and told her to have the case worker call me when she had all the paperwork done. The tenants won't be able to move in until I have the signed paperwork!
Comments (4)
Mike: In Twitter you mentioned that you are using PEX to replace some lines. Do you need special training or equipment to do that? It would be good to use this in areas where the criminal element often steels copper.
Mark Forest, about 15 years ago
I've definitely pulled enough staples to last a lifetime. I think I'll also let the neighborhood kids do it from now on. I like the idea of not putting pad. Does that deteriorate the carpet quicker? Do tenants notice/care?
Brandon Turner, about 15 years ago
Norm, Sounds like you're making good progress! The reason that I don't put carpet pad in my rentals is that they retain moisture. As I said in my post, even though the tenant has been gone a couple of weeks, the floor was still wet and slimy under that pad. Tenants are not like you and me. My wife and I have lived in our house for 15 years and the carpet still looks almost new, even though we raised two kids and a dog. When tenants spill something, they don't clean it up. The pad keeps the floor wet and in a relatively short period of time, the pad starts to break down and gets stuck to the floor. Sometime after that the pad breaks down even further and eventually becomes like concrete. At that point, it must be removed with a floor sander! So, instead of going through all that, I JUST SAY NO TO CARPET PADS!
Michael Rossi, about 15 years ago
I was at my apartment ALL day. Painted bathroom and a bedroom. I have 2 neighborhood kids I pay to take out the staples. They did that today, and it was money well spent! Tomorrow a laminent floor in the bathroom, then a friend is coming ove to help me install the shower unit, sink and toilet. carpets next week. I also received a deposit from the college kids today. Moving in June 1. Moving along, but a lot to do yet. Talk about busy...is that the reason you don't put pad in your apartments?
Norm Chrostowski, about 15 years ago