Mud Room Project, Part Two.

So, the sheathing is done, the windows are in. The door didn't even have glass in it last time we blogged about it. The Duke says he'll be roughing in the electrical today. At some point, he'll have the door side (the east elevation) covered with vinyl siding, and then they can shove the porch back in. Keeping the old porch saves a bit of money. For the most part, people are coming and going by the front door, and of course the basement apartment has a separate entrance.

What was a mud room, (or boot room if you prefer) for many years, will become an adjunct to Shirley's country kitchen, which was already pretty big. It was something of a challenge to take out the old mud room, which was dragging down on the rest of the structure, while saving the roof and shingles, which would have added time (labour at x-dollars per hour) and materials to the project.

At the same time, it had to be safe and feasible, and not take too much time in its own right.

The previous room had a frosted window from an interior bathroom, a bench, coat-hooks, a brick wall on what was an exterior wall before, there was a small fridge, and it was basically cold, dark, and kind of dirty. It had never been upgraded, not for many years at least. 

It is, in fact, the last room in the house to be redone since owners Ron and Shirley took possession.

#projects

The interior has to be complete by June 8, or they miss out on certain government rebates.

With upgrades to windows and doors, a certain R-value on the insulation, there will be an improvement in energy efficiency. The old room had a single, old-fashioned light fixture in the ceiling, period insulation and vapour barrier, and we’re probably looking at new LED fixtures as well. Built on top of an old concrete and block porch with inadequate foundations, the whole thing was sinking into the ground.

When the skirting boards are done underneath, The Duke will obviously have to make sure the patio interlocking stones come in nice and tight.

The east elevation needs a fascia board in addition to whatever cladding it needs, as well as an eaves-trough.

Also needed are some fascia, metal or plastic, and soffits under both sides of the roof overhang, probably ventilated. I don't know what happened to the bathroom vent, which should be up on the gable end.

Maybe he just hasn't cut the hole yet. In the previous post, it was clearly visible and he had preserved it for that very reason. In terms of the interior, the electrical device boxes and wiring have to go in, then the drywall goes in, floor and ceiling. 

That will have to be mudded and sanded, as they say in the drywall biz.

After that, flooring, trim, paint, putting in receptacles and light switches, possibly a small ceiling fan, all the finishing touches that go into making what is admittedly, one small and single new room, and a fairly simple one at that.

But, whole thing seems to be coming along nicely, especially now that the weather has improved.

 

Images. Zach Neal.

Thank you for reading.

Managing Income Property A Challenge. Landlord Tips.

From Moneywise.

Owning an income property or two is both a great way to make money and a real financial challenge.

It’s been an excellent source of income for people over the last decade or so, as real estate prices in Canada have soared. But making money from property is a lot of work, an ongoing expense and requires some financial know-how to, in the end, make it make sense.

Landlord Prep for Income Tax Season

Since it costs money to operate a rental property, being a landlord comes with numerous tax deductions, which you can use to offset your rental income.

In general, it’s a good idea to keep all your receipts and use an accountant to help you determine which are legitimate and whether to consider an expense a current expense (like paint or a new door lock) or a capital expense (a new furnace).

When you file your taxes, you have to fill out a special form: a T776 Statement of Real Estate Rentals. As well, if you are buying a new house or condo in order to rent it out, you might be eligible for an HST or PST rebate. In short, the tax side of being a landlord is complex. While you can find some information from Revenue Canada here you truly do need a tax professional helping you to make sure you fill things out property and get all the refunds and deductions possible.

Landlords Need to Know the Law

Every province has an act that governs relations between tenants and landlords — get to know the rules where you live to avoid conflict and, in extreme cases, court. These laws spell out the limits on how much rent you can charge, how much notice you have to give before raising rent, rules about security deposits and eviction rules and limitations. Here’s a quick list of the different provincial rules from the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation.

As well, have a look at the Canadian Human Rights Code. This says a landlord cannot discriminate against a potential tenant based on race, sexual orientation and even being on social assistance. This means you must be cautious during the interview process and not ask personal questions about religion, plans to have more children and the like.

Going against these rules can land you in court or, at the very least, disrupt your relationship with your tenants.

Link to the rest here.

Image. Google Street View.

Thank you for reading.

The Mud Room Project.

Zach Neal, Wit Ventures.

The mud room project came about because a previous owner had added a room on to  the back of the house. Useful enough, tt was in poor condition, and sinking into the earth. While this is not directly connected to our income property, a one-bedroom apartment in the basement, (‘Apartment, Steps from Beach’), There was a concrete porch there, and on top of that, in order to bring it up closer to the level of the kitchen floor, he had added another four inches of concrete. This is one big mess to clean up and with certain technical headaches, like connecting it all up to the rest of the house.

All the weight of that, plus inadequate foundations, (it was only a porch to begin with), meant that it was pulling down on the rest of the structure, i.e., a primary residence. The challenge, was to take the room out, while keeping the roof, which saves an estimated three to four thousand dollars or so. 

We’re talking trusses, deck, roofing, and trim, eaves-troughs and the like. There was electrical there, interior as well as exterior, and this had to be revised as well. This room will not have any plumbing, but it will have lighting and other amenities. This all has to be taken into account.

In the photos, readers will see how the project has progressed in spite of rough spring weather. Workers have stripped the cladding and brickwork, cut holes and propped the roof, which must weigh a ton or two. They took down walls, windows, doors, tore up flooring and pretty much everything. 

They demolished the old porch and concrete, laboriously carting that all away, and finally, augered three ten-inch holes and putting in three piers, a combination of holes, concrete, sonotube and metal brackets, to support our new structure. This will be an adjunct sort of off to one side of our country kitchen.

Under the decking, there is a short riser, and then the basic floor joist structure, which is decked and with proper vapour barrier protection.

The walls will be framed in for our next post, and there will be openings for windows and doors. This author’s nephew is the cute guy in the photo, and ladies: he’s single.

The other one is the builder, whom we shall only identify as The Duke.

Thank you for reading.