Home renovations advice and asbestos

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HoLeChit

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Hold on to your hats, pour yourself a coffee, and grab the reading glasses, this is gonna be a long one.
So, we’ve finally gotten into the girlfriends house. It’s been rented out for the past 6 years, and the same people for the past two. Well, they’ve trashed it, to the tune of 2-3k worth of repairs minimum. Sucks, but we’re completely renovating the place anyways. So I’ve got some questions for you guys who’ve been in these shoes.

many suggestions for real estate attorneys in the OKC area? Reasonably priced of course. We want to see what we can do to get some reimbursement for damages, the house has urine soaked through all carpets and pads, into the tile grout, multiple holes punched/kicked through walls, cabinetry and doors damaged, trim destroyed. It’s really a combination of vandalism and neglect really.

when renovating a house, what are you glad you did? Little additions and such? I intend on putting in some USB power outlet deals in, upgrading the lights inside and out, and putting some floor/shelves in the attic in addition to the normal renovation stuff. We’re going with the nicest carpet pads we can find, soft close cabinets, other nice touches. Any nice touches you guys especially like about your homes?

The ceilings throughout the house are popcorn ceilings. Considering that the house was built in 1972, I’m pretty confident the ceiling texture is asbestos. I’m getting a professional out to test it for sure though, and to give me a quote on abatement. However, everywhere I have read says to expect $5-10 per square foot for abatement. Definitely cannot afford that, considering we’re looking at 1900ish sqft of ceiling to abate. Looked into it some, with proper procedures and ppe it appears I could do it myself. Found some documents online from gov sources/public health sources explaining the entire process. Has anyone done this? How bad of an idea is this?

For the record, I do have an active listing in the everything else section of the classifieds, selling things like the counters, cabinets, and toilets from the house. Giving some stuff away too, and am adding to the list as I go. Everything is OBO, so make me an offer if you need anything you want.
 

Parks 788

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Are you going to keep renting or are you moving into it? I would suggest not putting carpet back down. Is there old hardwood floors under the carpet and padding by chance. If so, have those redone. Carpet is a mess and takes so much upkeep to keep clean. On the popcorn ceiling, have it tested as you are doing. If asbestos, that;s a tough one. I probably woud PPE up and use a hudson sprayer with water and wet the ceiling and do a test scrap to see how easily it come off. Use visqueen on the floors and up the walls a couple feet and start scraping. keep every thing moist and don't let dry out on the ground. Go in sections and clean up as you go.
 

montesa

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Hold on to your hats, pour yourself a coffee, and grab the reading glasses, this is gonna be a long one.
So, we’ve finally gotten into the girlfriends house. It’s been rented out for the past 6 years, and the same people for the past two. Well, they’ve trashed it, to the tune of 2-3k worth of repairs minimum. Sucks, but we’re completely renovating the place anyways. So I’ve got some questions for you guys who’ve been in these shoes.

many suggestions for real estate attorneys in the OKC area? Reasonably priced of course. We want to see what we can do to get some reimbursement for damages, the house has urine soaked through all carpets and pads, into the tile grout, multiple holes punched/kicked through walls, cabinetry and doors damaged, trim destroyed. It’s really a combination of vandalism and neglect really.

when renovating a house, what are you glad you did? Little additions and such? I intend on putting in some USB power outlet deals in, upgrading the lights inside and out, and putting some floor/shelves in the attic in addition to the normal renovation stuff. We’re going with the nicest carpet pads we can find, soft close cabinets, other nice touches. Any nice touches you guys especially like about your homes?

The ceilings throughout the house are popcorn ceilings. Considering that the house was built in 1972, I’m pretty confident the ceiling texture is asbestos. I’m getting a professional out to test it for sure though, and to give me a quote on abatement. However, everywhere I have read says to expect $5-10 per square foot for abatement. Definitely cannot afford that, considering we’re looking at 1900ish sqft of ceiling to abate. Looked into it some, with proper procedures and ppe it appears I could do it myself. Found some documents online from gov sources/public health sources explaining the entire process. Has anyone done this? How bad of an idea is this?

For the record, I do have an active listing in the everything else section of the classifieds, selling things like the counters, cabinets, and toilets from the house. Giving some stuff away too, and am adding to the list as I go. Everything is OBO, so make me an offer if you need anything you want.
Are you going to keep renting it? Either way, I’m not a fan of carpet. If continuing to rent, laminate wood look flooring is great. Buy plenty extra and you can always patch it up if something happens.

Popcorn removal I’ve done a ton. Probably a dozen properties. I mask everything off, soak it down and then scrape it and let it drop directly into a trash can with a liner. Wear a mask but if it’s wet, there’s little dust. Then do a simple skip trowel texture. Keep it simple so if it needs repaired it’s not hard for someone to match.
 

Aries

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Most of what we did in our remodel would probably not apply to you, we remodeled our primary residence, not a rent house and probably splurged in some areas that I wouldn't have on a rent house.... The only thing I'd probably do differently is I'd have bit the bullet and had all the drain plumbing replaced before putting down new floors but that may not apply to you.

Our house was built in about 1972 and had popcorn ceilings, and no one tested for asbestos or suggested that it might be asbestos, or that it needed to be tested. The general contractor and a couple of his guys just removed it just as someone described above. I have a short video of them doing a little of it, if you'd like to see it.

I would also agree with FullAuto, you'll likely have more in attorney fees, energy invested in trying to collect, and frustration than you'll ever get back. I know how hard it is to just let people get away with stuff like that, but as a pragmatic matter you'll almost certainly just be spinning your wheels so I would give that a lot of thought first.
 

El Pablo

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Most of what we did in our remodel would probably not apply to you, we remodeled our primary residence, not a rent house and probably splurged in some areas that I wouldn't have on a rent house.... The only thing I'd probably do differently is I'd have bit the bullet and had all the drain plumbing replaced before putting down new floors but that may not apply to you.

Our house was built in about 1972 and had popcorn ceilings, and no one tested for asbestos or suggested that it might be asbestos, or that it needed to be tested. The general contractor and a couple of his guys just removed it just as someone described above. I have a short video of them doing a little of it, if you'd like to see it.

I would also agree with FullAuto, you'll likely have more in attorney fees, energy invested in trying to collect, and frustration than you'll ever get back. I know how hard it is to just let people get away with stuff like that, but as a pragmatic matter you'll almost certainly just be spinning your wheels so I would give that a lot of thought first.
Your contractor should have known better. Asbestos containing ceiling texture was allowed to be manufactured until 1978. Companies were allowed to sell remaining inventory of the asbestos containing popcorn manufactured before 1978. So best to test anything early 80s and earlier.


No idea what percentage of mags still had asbestos in their product in the 70s. I need to test our house, built in 72, before I start scraping it off. I may just throw 1/4 over it to just not deal with it.
 
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swampratt

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Stick their names in a dead beat renters data base.
You can also report the tenants to 3 different credit bureaus.

Forget court and if they have any government assistance you can't get a dime from them.
If you do go to court and get a judgement against a person that is not a win as you will need to go to court again to get a
judge to issue a garnishment on their wages.. does not happen in one fell swoop.

Buddy did that and found out.

If you are keeping the house and living in it yourself then by all means change things up with your fancy plugins and drawers.
But know this in a rental house if that stuff dies you will be in there fixing it.

I do not like a simple ceiling fan in a rent house.
Just plain Jane lights NO FAN.
I do not want to go in replacing fan switches or fans.
Keep a rental simple and reliable. NO Attic access in a rental either.

Nothing wrong with keeping the popcorn on the ceilings.
Unless you hate it and are moving in.
Do as others stated wet it and scrape it off not a big deal.

Come by here and I will give you a couple disposable PPE suits if you need them.

DO NOT paint the trim boards above the carpet white.
If you have stained boards keep it that way they show scars but do not get near as ugly as a painted board after vacuuming and or dinking with toys
and furniture.

Tile as much as possible.
I do have carpet in a couple rentals and I got good at cleaning it ..not all renters destroy carpet.
I have had my front room and stairway carpet in this house I am in since I bought it in 1999 and it was here before then and is still in decent shape.

I am not a renter though.

I had a preacher/ school teacher ruin my carpet with a dog he was not supposed to have.
His kid broke a window and he fixed it with duct tape and thought that was really a fix.

Yea he said he was going to take me to court to get his deposit back and he had pictures.
I told him I have a lot of pictures and will be glad to go to court.

That was the end of that. He rented from me for 8 years.
I thought he was pretty decent and clean. Nope.
 

montesa

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Your contract should have known better. Asbestos containing ceiling texture was allowed to be manufactured until 1978. Companies were allowed to sell remaining inventory of the asbestos containing popcorn manufactured before 1978. So best to test anything early 80s and earlier.
Totally factual of course. But according to my research even in 72 it had been tapered down in use. That doesn’t mean much, I know.

Many if not most guys will take down popcorn without hesitation. There are other things that are toxic also. Remodeling is actually a dangerous business from the dust stand point and it’s really hard to avoid it all.
 

HoLeChit

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Sorry I should have specified. We’re going to be moving into this house and living in it for a few years while fixing it up and saving for our land/home to build. After this last dealing with renters, the girlfriend (who owns the house) is leaning towards selling the home. She got a screaming deal for it several years back, and the equity in it after renovation is going to be hard to say no to.
 

trekrok

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I've removed popcorn that was really easy, wetting as said above. But I've also had one where it was painted. Then I'd reconsider removing it, or cover it.
 

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