All Forum Posts by: Adam Logan

Well, here is one. http://www.refinisherswarehouse.com/refinishing_coatings_glaz_weld.htm

"The Advanced Molecular Bonding System Found Exclusively at Refinishers Warehouse.

Current (now outdated) methods of preparing bathroom and kitchen surfaces for re-coloring by etching with acids and sanding are dangerous, time-consuming, expensive . . .and they can lead to microscopic pores in the prepared surfaces that virtually guarantee eventual failure of the new surfaces due to blistering and loss of adhesion.

Refinishers Warehouse Glaz-Weld is a molecular bonding agent. Glaz-Weld utilizes a high performance fusing chemistry which is based on unique formulas specially designed for kitchen and bathroom refinishing. It is a new technology for surface preparation and literally fuses the finish coat to the surface. It is quick, easy and safe to apply. Glaz-Weld must always be used in the surface preparation of porcelain bathtubs, sinks, showers, ceramic tile, etc.

Glaz-Weld is a revolutionary product that fuses the new coating to the substrate material at the molecular level: it’s the practical equivalent of chemical-welding the new coating to the fixture or appliance. In effect, the two become one!

Refinishers Warehouse is the developer and originator of Glaz-Weld, which is often copied but never equaled!

Never tried it, I use a triple silane bonding agent. I will wait and see JUST how good this trend is. Everyones developing something like this, so it may be a fad, or it may be legit. For now, thats the pnly one I could find. It was in my newsletter where I had the details of the W.I.P from my supplier. Duh!

Sure. My supplier has it in development but I thought it was released last week, my bad. Theres 2 others that already have it out there, mighta been glas tech. I am trying to remember the company I last saw who used it. The refacing co who just started trading publicly on nyse. Bathtub Doctor I think! But I dont think they MAKE the materials, so its gotta be one of those 2 companies that supplies them. Ill look around for you, there is maybe 10 companies and about 5 are awful and all are hard to find, so gimme a bit. No msds or anything, but I will get what I can. I am anxious to try it out.

Originally posted by "OGStilts":

Amerikote-

I don't want to hijack this thread here so this is my last post on this subject but it is obvious to me you are not a licensed contractor as you have said as much in other posts. It's also been said by you that you have learned everything you know about construction from the DIY orange book from Home Depot. Then in another post you talk about construction classes you have taken. Hitching your wagon to your electrician brother does not mean you know the first thing about construction. I'm smelling a fly by night contractor who when he gets in over his head takes the money and runs and that pisses a legit contractor off.

You did hijack it. But for some reason think I claimed to be a GC??? Never! some GC's are the dumbest people I met. SUBS know their portions better and are the experts. GC's know how to coordinate them, to check code, and thats quite general. After many jobs through the years, including roofing even, you seem to think I cannot do a roof because I did not take an exam even though I did it for a JOB? I also worked construction 4 years, and did register for the state GC exam and qualified, but dont have a desire to chase around subs. or tolerate people building homes through me,so did not take it.

As for homedepot, never touched the book. I only reference local code books if unfamiliar with something. But, even that means I cant know anything I guess. Hell,I have built a house license free legally because it was to be MINE to live in,and I probably did 60% myself except the framing, basic service, trusses, slab, hvac, and exterior. The ARCHITECT is the brains, not the GC. HE determines if the house falls over or not. The GC just follows HIS plans.

Lastly, I will NEVER do anything to others property that is a HUGE undertaking or liability requiring licensure. Tile, carpentry, drywall, yea I dont care I will do it unlicensed. Would I wire your house? No! MAYBE a new light, NOT the whole house or even replace the circuit box. Not big liabilties otherwise, and I know and have done them, then I will do them under the table. A code officer does not know if I am inside a house installing cabinets, tile, nothing. SOME people like to save the cash and hassel, the end result is the same, as is the quality. Experience.

Well, a good investor also looks for maximizing profit, and since I never was a GC nor wanted a trade license, I tended to AVOID paying people to do what I USED to get paid for in many cases through my college jobs. I never was a contractor til last year, in a different field; Paintinglicense and REFACING license. So, it never mattered if I was a good contractor or not, just that I had damn good skills for many trades AND experience in many work related over the years, that my work came out NICE and I tended to OVER fasten, strengthen, support, what I could.

NOT until I invested did I EVER care about code either. It was then that things were done right, and EVERY gc or sub I ever was around NEVER followed code to a tee, or were even there half the time, if the end result was unmeasurable, undetectable, or unseen, which a TON isnt, they just cared that what was visible at inspection points was up to code.

When I DID pull permits,I always passed inspection. No DIY book tells you a 3/8 slope per ft on a drainpipe, etc etc. because CODE IS DIFFERENT COUNTY TO COUNTY, STATE TO STATE! And, is readily available for all trades at your courthouse or online. Its updated yearly here.

Electric comment:
Its VERY easy. IF you have done it. Again, no diy exists. Faulty wiring? Well, potentially manufacturer defects, staples or drywall screws penetrating a wire, or even someone as I said before,who doesnt have ANY experience not accommodating a load properly. Many ways. But other than not doing due diligence and with zero knowledge powering something improperly, it tends to appear mostly ways in which human error is not so much the issue as is faults within the materials.

You are entitled to that. I respect that. But also, a few posts dont convey hardly enough to test my knowledge. I am NOT the most law abiding citizen. Yes, perfectionist, but my rule is, if I can save a buck, and have the same exact end result, and the only risk is fines, and I can validate as such from my past experience, I will risk it. 20 homes later, 1 ground up, 5 jobs since I was 16 in labor, Im confident enough to go with what I have gone with the past 17 years.

If an electrician can pass 4 yrs apprenticeship and the licensure exam, he has a competency level to wire any residential home blindfolded. Big commercial stuff and transformers,vtotally different. But I am saying get it rentable again and dump it, do it CHEAP. if it passes code, so what why pay more to sell it if it will pass anyways?

My brothers a foreman, so I been around it my whole life. I have wired a house. VERY little can go wrong RELATIVELY speaking. Circuit overload, stuff like that yea, but HAVING done it MANY times, I can say that any moron can quickly figure it out if they have someone to ask. A licensed guy I dont care HOW cheap he is, NO WAY does not know how to wire a house.

People that never have learned any of this stuff criticize people who do, which isn't exactly fair either.Other than human error in the connections, what really can happen so different if the amperages are followed correctly and code is also enforced???

Yeah, dont wire it yourself, unless you learn somehow or have help from a pro, but dont think for a sec u need an expensive electrician to run wiring to your outlets from a breaker!

When its a code item, I study the county code books. Over time, I learned a lot. No one taught me directly, I just did it that way. That means squat because no one ever even showed me how to type, yet I can write programs, and probably get into your computer if I wanted to even with a firewall and virus prot. 15 years of trying is a long schooling! time teaches a lot. Plus,my brothers an electrician and always there if I had a question. Other brother is a mechanical engineer, so always had good ideas to solve a problem. Or, I just READ.

Well,goodquestion. First, I do own a relatively successful company. BUT unless I net 200k I cannot pay my bills because thats the life I was adjusted to.

Simple answer? And probably destroy all credibility I have but what the hay Ive nothing to hide anymore: 2 years ago: A very sick marriage and divorce to a cruel woman who admitted to trying to drive me to suicide AND even tried overdosing me in my food with MY meds so it looked as such, for my 3mil life insurance which suicide was exempted by then, after that Mental illness like post trauam stress and high risk depression, then an addiction to alcohol, painkillers and cocaine at $2000 a week to cope with feeling like I was no longer myself, just a person in hell on earth.

I laid in bed 6 months, nearly died, while the bubble popped, my mortgage doubled, and I sat on 4 untouched homes. I never had 800k BANKED, I had a loc of 800k and at ONE point DID have about 750k briefly. When she left I had 145 left, all equity which I pulled out to max out my line before she did. No WAY I could work, a psychiatrist ALMOST deemed me incompetent, so I had to survive on that money. All went to my 2.5k mortgage, drugs, doctors, therapy, 25k got conned by a "friend," the rest to the wife and lawyer.

My father had the 800 loc for me in his name I cosigned, and he silently owned 25%. When he saw the condition I was in when coming to Florida, he cut it off. Too risky. No blame here! When I finally went into rehab on my own, I started to get the 4 homes done and lost on 3 from the collapse, and broke even because of one.

My house I owe 300k, was worth 450k, not its 275k. Its purely financed on a line of credit, prime plus 1, interest only. couts ORDERED me to sell a house I owe more on than its worth! I am in debt $500,000 which wasnt an issue til I made a common mans salary. It took a year and a half to recover from the damage.

So yeah, I got screwed good. Now, I beg for work because I am fighting to return. I have not been able to work much or even think untill this past October. So, 4 months is all I really have had to PUSH for the gold. Never satisfied.

Mainly, I LOVE rehabbing, building,learning. Its where I get my self esteem. I like it over the money. And I know a LOT about it. Went to contractor school, real estate appraisal school and WAS a licensed appraiser, I have done a lot.

Sorry if I offended you, but after 2 years of living in darkness I can hardly pull any memories from, I am excited to be alive, because I should NOT be after what I put myself through.

Yep, it runs down rafters, usually far from whee it enters. Just tar the hell out of the flashing.

We have flat roofs here on the backs of homes like little living rooms. I been painting those with a non skid rubberized coating and it seals everything up fine. 78 a gallon is tough though

Ah credit. Costs about 5 bucks to pull, no scores. BUT, we all know its the debt to income ratio and delinquencies we want to see, EXCEPT medical ones that mean nothing. I never rented when they had a worse than 40% debt to income ratio.

Originally posted by "Beachbum":

With the assumption being that you are holding for the long term, and that the property is not a borderline tear-down, and that you are NOT doing most work yourself, it is a simple business decision. What repair/replacement method provides the best value?

Ceramic tile typically is much more costly to install, and can fairly easily be cracked or chipped. Repairs will be costly. All it takes is rough handling while moving a refrigerator or stove in, and the floor will look bad.

Sheet vinyl is nothing more than paper over felt with a clear plastic sheet for protection. It tears easily and can rarely be patched to look good. Also, in bathrooms and kitchens any sewage backups or long-term minor leaks will eventually get some mold growing between the paper and the clearcoat, which necessitates replacing the whole room floorcovering. Again, rough handling of appliances at move-in or when cleaning, and the floor is trashed.

The new laminate wood flooring is not much different, except it also swells up when moisture finds its way under the pretty top surface at the seams.

Vinyl commercial tile costs more than sheet vinyl, but considerably less than ceramic. It is easy and quick to install AND maintain. I just had a tenant move out of a 1 bedroom unit on a busy street. The vct was new (about $1200 installed) when they moved in, but it appears they never cleaned it during the 12 months they occupied the unit. The floor was literally and completely black with exhaust soot ground in. There were also some gouges in the tile from a bed frame with metal feet. 2 hours with a power buffer and a total cost less than $200, and the entire floor looks like new again. This is the same floorcovering used at the Kwikee Mart, the department store, the museum, and other high traffic areas. It can be maintained easily and should last 20+ years IF you have a solid substrate.

Hardwood floors- depends on the property, and the overall character of the unit. I have installed vct over MANY wood floors, and never looked back, for all the same reasons as above. Wood floors can be easily gouged and damaged by irresponsible tenants, quickly negating a lot of hard work.

As for carpet, again depends on the property. Some properties MUST have decent carpet, or they simply will not "look" right. ALL low end and most average rentals, however, are perfectly fine with vct throughout. Tenants can obtain inexpensive remnants and throw rugs at their own expense. I'll provide the double-faced tape! With no carpets, you have no fleas, odors, stains, loose seams, cockroachs, worn thresholds, and all the other issues. A quick powerbuffing and your floors are new again. Find you need to sell? It's easy enough to throw down some carpet over the tile in a room or two to get a more "homey" look if need be.

Tub surrounds... "reglazing" MIGHT last 3-5 years; fiberglass 4-8 years; a proper ceramic (or cultured marble) surround should easily last 20+ years. Just be sure to replace the faucet and any iron pipes at the same time. And DO NOT install a "soap dish" or other "shelves" on the long wall and/or in the corners. Tenants use these as "grab bars", and they are the first areas to start loosening and allowing water to penetrate behind the wall. At most, I will install a basic soap dish on the "wet" wall (where the faucets are). If you have a portion of the surround walls that do not extend to the ceiling, also be sure to cap that wall in such a manner that it can not be used as a "shelf". Soap etc. that sits eternally in the same spot seems to also affect the grout and becomes another starting point for water penetration.

The main issue with plastic or fiberglass surrounds is the fact that tenants simply do not follow instructions. IF they clean at all, they do not use the proper gleaning agents and scrubbers, and end up damaging the surfaces of these surrounds, which causes their appearance to rapidly degrade. PROPERLY taken care of, by you or I, they can last much longer...but again, we're dealing with tenants, over which we have little control.

Having been exposed to, and practiced, the principles of quality management early in my career, I have applied these concepts in many areas of property management. It has become clear to me that over the long term, prevention of problems is always less costly than correcting problems repeatedly.[/i]

Good points, BUT with the showers/tubs, surrounds are costly. New products are out for us tub painters that now cause a MOLECULAR bond, that is, the paint will share an electron with the porcelain itself. Supposedly, these MAY last many many years over the traditional mechanical adhesion with acid. Also, a few companies give forgiveness to investors. My paint holds up about 5-6 years if your about trying to destroy it on purpose only! 10 years if you dont take noticeable care of it like you do a standard tub basically. You should wax it real quick every 3 months. I have investors that the tubs still look new after 3 years of tenants. I buff them out for them if they are dull. I grant them one extra paintjob free incase of a wearout. Otherwise, 5 year warranty against peeling, lifting, etc. so, 3-5 years, a free paintjob, another 3-5. youd have MAYBE spent 200 total for the first paintjob, and thats 6-10 yrs for 225 bucks ($150 in a hotel or apt!)! Those surrounds are like 2k right? if so, I could paint your tub for 100 years and youd be just hitting $2000 based on the way I deal with my prized investors hehe!!

If it were real nice, whats the top end value? Is 90k hiring out the rehab? Wire isnt a big deal, not that expensive THOUGH more because its old construction.

Do as much as u can yourself. get the wiring done, it may not need to be torn ut just disconnected and new wire added. The rest, RIG IT and sell. If you need ANY shortcuts on fixing or makinganything presentable, dont hesitate I guarantee I have a solution!

And REALLY shop the electricians, they vary a LOTTTT. Dont use a phone book, get the guys at home depot you seebuying electrical equipment wearing shirts of companies you dont know. Some of the guys there even are licensed. One offered to wire my new houses when I was gonna build for 2000 including fixtures (cheap ones). Maybe a credit card just to get it up to speed. 4 units is nothing. No transformers,nothing. Just 4 breaker boxes! Hell, I would be doing it myself hehe but I am a HUGE risktaker with code enforcement. If I wasnt so sneaky, Id be their number 1 most wanted!