Early Retirement Extreme Forums

ooooh congrats! exciting times.

7Wannabe5 wrote: ↑

Tue Nov 03, 2020 11:39 am

Congratulations! Remember, just clean it for a year! (Obvious exceptions being stuff like leaking pipes.) The irrepressible urge to rip out fake wood paneling and Popcorn drop ceilings has been my downfall.

Oh my gosh, yes.

7Wannabe5 wrote: ↑

Tue Nov 03, 2020 11:39 am

The irrepressible urge to rip out fake wood paneling and Popcorn drop ceilings has been my downfall.

boy do i feel you

realistically, the repairs that are actually needed before winter sets in properly are:

- the pipe + treat associated mold
- there's a wooden window on one side that's been directly exposed to the elements since 1972. Its paint needs stripped, rotten bits scraped out and filled in, and window repainted (other windows need repainted, too, but they're structurally sound and can wait until spring)
- water also leaks into the apartment from under said window. i'm still undecided on whether i should just replace the entire window but that window is definitely an issue.
- water has leaked onto the kitchen cupboards. If there is mold, they will need to be ripped out. The kitchen isn't in a usable condition right now at all. I can make alternative arrangements like cook on the balcony etc. but that's a temporary stopgap

Cosmetic but necessary:

- wallpaper in two of the rooms is of the cheap paper type, and has soaked in a lot of his cigarette smoke over the years. one room has washable wallpaper so i will first try to clean that, but i'm afraid the rest of the wallpaper will need to be taken down and replaced.
- Doors, windows, and some of the furniture might need repainted. I want to strip the 70s paint (lead?) to check for structural problems that need wood filler. Then I want to repaint them.
- repair hinges etc. of furniture i'll definitely keep.


Also necessary is a deep clean of all household textiles. I need to decide if I want to buy one of those vacuums that also double as furniture washers or whether i want to hire professional cleaners. Also, I need to decide whether I will bring things to the drycleaners or buy a heavy duty washing machine that can handle washing a blanket, curtains, etc. The apartment does not have a washing machine now, so I will need to buy one anyway. I am deciding on 5kg vs 9kg capacity (roughly 12 vs. 20 lbs)

Advice appreciated on:

- fate of window: try to repair or rip out and replace? It's a north facing one + it's exposed and takes a lot of weather damage, so if I go the replacement route I will probably shell out for quality pvc with proper insulation.
- washing machine issue and fate of household textiles in general
- do I purchase a fancy vacuum? In general household appliances are so expensive here, a quality washing machine will probably set me back 400 euro and a quality vacuum 230-ish. The dry cleaners wants 5 euro per kg to wash household textyles. Professional vacuum wash of all furniture would probably be between 50 and 100 euro.
-

Congrats! Where are you living, which country? I couldn't find any information on this.

i'd get a shop vac with a hepa filter. powerful, cheap, great for construction projects, cleans finished houses good too.

hepa filter would solve lead mitigation problem.

i'd throw out the textiles and exorcize all ghosts

i mean, that's just me, i'm a "stripper" ha hah ha-- i strip things clean cuz i love a blank slate.

who knows what the old man harbored? lice? bedbugs? fleas? moths? rodents? ghosts? i have a high disgust response (genetic) and little patience for filth. sell maybe?

but anyway, a shop vac with a hepa filter here costs $120 ($100 for the vac, $20 for the filter). add definitely a bag if trucking with lead paints, about $8 each (sells in pair though, $16).

shop vacs also clean water. see: water pipe. or any possible floods. (you have to take out hepa filter for this).

i can't recommend the things enough. i just don't know what products you have available in your area. shop vacs rule all.

sexy photo: https://images.homedepot-static.com/cat ... 3_1000.jpg

hubba hubba

bah i'll need to go get a job again wouldn't i

i really didn't want to do that but what can you do. actually getting the place in livable condition will take cash and deplete savings way too much.

i checked out shop vacs but the ones that cost acceptable money are only 1000W. This seems too wimpy to me. Thoughts?

ask the construction uncle what they use in his business? borrow one? test live?

my 6 gallon ridgid never blew a fuse. would pick up bolts, mud, chunks of drywall, etc. glorious.

specs shows it at “124 airwatts” https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airwatt

otoh it says peak power of motor is 3.5hp, which converts to ~2600w... but that’s peak. idk continuous.

ask the electrical engineer for advice?

eta wait wait wait it uses almost 6 amps: https://www.ridgid.com/us/en/6-gallon-wet-dry-vac - that’s 720w in my system? but im not an electrician.

and don’t rush the purchase. this is a real tool. parts are also replaced when used up and suited to projects, so availability and price of parts (filters, bags, hoses, adapters) is important.

-


eta 2: wait, no, mine was a 16gallon?
https://www.ridgid.com/us/en/16-gallon- ... ble-blower
12 amps in that.
(but i lived in a mud pit with mucky roads. you don’t)

im trying to reply in a hurry before you make up your mind so...just take your time, yeah...

6 gal could work great in an apartment in fact.

ertyu wrote: ↑

Tue Nov 03, 2020 1:10 pm

...if I want to buy one of those vacuums that also double as furniture washers...

Congrats on the buy! Two years ago I bought a portable upholstery deep cleaner for $100 USD and I fuggin. love. it. Zero regrets. Not sure what it'll do for stale cigarette smells, though. I quickly ran out of the test-size upholstery cleaning solution it came with (why do I keep giving markers to my toddlers?), so I just use water now and it seems to do just as fine a job.

I would replace the window with double pane insulated. It makes a big difference if the old ones are leaky or drafty.

yes it's clear that a leaky drafty window isn't something one wants; the question is whether i should attempt a repair and insulation or outright replace. Cost of new window is around 300 euro.

sigh none of this would be a problem if i wasn't so crap at anything stock market

it depends on how broke you are and your alternatives.

if you’re busy working and don’t have time for bullshit, have it fixed by pros.

if you have no money but have time to spare look for the cheap solution. you could even maybe buy a salvage window or something.

in one of the heath bro’s books (i think it’s “switch”) they talk about the case of a bankrupt brazilian railroad. the guy who saved it instituted a policy of repairing things the cheapest possible way even if it would cost more in the long run, because the goal was to generate cash flow first. so they repaired and refurbished instead of buying new and the railroad started to prosper again. i don’t know how that ended up but it’s a model i use for certain things i’m not sure about, e.g., learning to shave with a straight razor, i just bought a $13 thing to experiment instead of going for the $160 dovo on untested techniques.

[eta: yeah it’ in switch under “script the moves”. i forgot the scriot oart but remember the low-cash method: http://www.supersmartguy.com/switch-heath-brothers-92/ ]

home repair is a good renaissance skill, especially for the homeowner. at least here in the usa where labor is pricey. maybe you could even get paid to learn by working construction a bit? homeotelic & what not. just beware of lead paints... those require some precautions to avoid breathing dust.


btw, once knowing how to upgrade for cheap, real estate flipping can be a profitable business...more profitsble than stock market guesses?

I wouldn't replace a window by myself. There is so much that could go wrong, I know people who tried to replace their windows themselves and they told me that windows are the only thing they don't want to fix themselves. Good windows have a nice return on investment as you can really save on heating costs if you live in an area with cold winters.

Congratulations on the buy! I agree with everyone saying take it easy on the repairs and only do what is necessary.

so, i got my keys today. i guess this is official. may the great fixer-uppery begin

swr: 630 local monies per month, which is a legal minimum wage.

This is big! Congrats this sounds really cool and like a sweet base to build up from. I wish you the best, let us know how it goes. Am just on my lunch break, but I felt congrats are in order here!

congrats on your real estate marriage! may it be a happy and fruitful one.

Congrats, ertyu!

Look forward to following your progress. This will be a great outlet for your creativity, DIY skill acquisition, and quite rewarding in the longer term.

Congratulations, hope you make it into something beautiful.

I want to see all sorts of before and after photos.

Thanks, all

@7w5, shall def. take pictures. it will be motivating. there is A LOT of work to do on the place.

@Alphaville, you will be pleased to learn I ordered a shop vac. mine is blue and has a water filtration system as opposed to a hepa filter. on the one hand, a hepa filter is a hepa filter. on the other hand, living buttfuck nowhere eastern europe often means that replacement filters etc. aren't reliably imported. it's not uncommon that a national chain store would order a make of appliance and then completely fail to maintain it and more on to the next thing. so independence from future need for replacement filters is good. i'll just have to wear a n95 when i start sanding down paint.