Removing texture from a ceiling 1

The current rehab project has one “bedroom” that was originally a screened sun-room. There is an original exterior-wall window still in place between it and the living room. The interior walls were ¼” exterior-grade plywood shot with heavy plasticized popcorn texture, but the joints were all cracking anyway because of wall movement from inadequate framing. The ceiling had a heavy coating of conventional popcorn texture and also had some quality issues. There were only three receptacles all on the same wall. The room had no door and there was no closet.

The latest step of this rehab was the removal of the ceiling texture to allow refinishing to a smooth surface. I had never done this particular job before and received a very helpful hint from a fellow investor and TBREIA member that most textures could be lightly dampened with water to soften them and then either flattened or removed with a dull-edged trowel. I was a little skeptical but decided to give it a try for lack of any better options. I did not want to remove the ceiling unless absolutely necessary.

I used an old window-wash spray bottle filled with plain water to mist the ceiling in 2’x4’ sections and gave it five minutes to soak in. It worked like a charm. Instead of a difficult, dusty, all-day job the ceiling was ready for refinishing in 2 ½ hours.

Rehab update

I continue to make progress on the rehab on Ewing Avenue in Clearwater. This morning I finished the electrical(six new boxes and receptacles on two different circuits) in the rear bedroom. The new framing is also complete and ready for sheet-rock to go up. Tomorrow the new closet doors will be installed and I will start removing popcorn texture from the ceiling.

It looks like I will be able to start putting up the new sheet-rock by Wednesday, maybe not until afternoon. I want to be able to do the bedroom and the new kitchen ceiling at the same time so that I can tape all of the joints at the same time. Then those two rooms plus the front bedroom can all be painted together as well.

After that will come the bathroom. The plan now is to tile the entire room from floor to ceiling. A new vanity will be installed along with new plumbing fixtures. The ceiling still needs a thorough check but will probably come down and be replaced with fresh sheet-rock and light fixtures.

I will continue to shoot short videos as this project goes along.

The rehab progresses

I have been spending at least a few hours almost every day working on 1585 Ewing Avenue. The framing for a new drywall kitchen ceiling is done. Framing for new bedroom drywall is almost complete and I finished the electrical upgrades in that room today. Drywall repair in the first bedroom is almost finished but I still need to enclose the main breaker box.

This morning the kitchen cabinets were removed from the wall to give access for electrical upgrades in that part of the house. Receptacles will be changed to GFI,s and moved to accessable ares, wiring will be concealed and cabinets remounted correctly. A previously repaired area behind the kitchen door will get a built-in shelf unit to hide that area - the wall material is no longer available and cannot be blended in. Additional lighting has already been added to the kitchen. The wall area behind the range/sink also needs repair.

See the first video of what it looks like now. I will update the videos regularly as the project progresses.

Enjoying getting back into practice

For the past week I have been doing my own rehab work on a real estate investment property. It just had too many cosmetic and minor electrical issues for most buyers. The obvious electrical issues were switch and receptacle boxes recessed behind newer drywall so that it was impossible to attach cover plates and a few lights that were slow to come on when the switch was thrown. Cosmetic issues were ugly drywall taping, no or poorly installed trim, poorly installed carpeting and a really ugly drop ceiling in the kitchen.

It has been almost ten years since I have done any real construction work but I wanted to tackle as much of this project as possible myself to keep expenses down and try to salvage a small profit. I started with the best bedroom which needed mostly drywall touch-up: replacing/repairing poorly taped seems, filling nail holes, fixing receptacle/switch boxes and building a proper cover for the main breaker box. That room is nearly ready for paint.

Every remodel I have ever done has revealed many more problems as the job progressed. I had planned to simply frame and drywall a new kitchen ceiling below what was there and drop the existing fixtures down. The wiring was a mess and the ceiling was not level, so the drop ceiling had to be removed and new wiring and fixtures installed. A problem was found in the wall of one corner and the paneling cannot be matched so a built-in cabinet is now going to cover that area. The wall behind the range and sink were not finished, with exposed wiring and plumbing. Those need to be pulled out, the area finished properly and the fixtures reinstalled.

One of the bedrooms was going to need drywall seams re-taped. Then it was discovered that the joints were cracked because the walls were water-damaged plywood over an aluminum screen-room frame. Those walls are currently being removed and will be properly re-framed, insulated and drywalled. A closet will also be added, which will hide an original exterior window in the wall between the bedroom and the living room.

Yes this was an odd house. A lot of so-so work was done by the original owners over the course of nearly 30 years. But it will soon be a nice, freshly painted home for less than $3,000 of materials and a few weeks of work. And I have really been enjoying getting back into practice with a hammer, screwdriver, multi-meter and drywall knife. It is hot and dusty but also very satisfying work where you can see your progress at the end of every day.

Investment property change of plan

I am now working on rehabbing an investment property purchased a few months ago. The original plan was to wholesale it to another investor as a rental. It was a conventional sale and the normal realtor 30 days until closing even though I was paying cash. Between contract and closing values in the neighborhood went down and sales in the area slowed to a near stop.

There still seemed to be some hope of scraping out a few dollars for a quick resale but interest was low. Soon other properties in better condition were selling for the same amount as my asking price. There was a lot of realtor interest but the slightly run-down property condition and odd floor plan put conventional buyers off. It was time to adjust the investment strategy.

The major problems with the house were old and ugly switches and receptacles, an improperly installed hung ceiling and ugly dishwasher in the kitchen and older, different-colored paint in every room. Taking care of these problems and painting the exterior trim should cost a few thousand dollars and a few weeks if I do the work myself and should make the house acceptable to a conventional buyer at a price that will leave me with a small profit. This seems like a wiser course of action than insisting on a straight resale and losing money on the deal.

In most if not all of life it pays to be adaptable and open to new ideas. I am certainly using a different strategy for the stock market than just a few years ago. Real estate investing is no different. The market is constantly changing and successful investors pay attention and make the effort to change with it.

Real estate investors are still doing well

I have spoken with a couple of other real estate investors working in the Tampa Bay area the past few days. Needing advice on a rehab, I was able to ask someone that has specialized in that area of investing for a long time. A meeting with another investor and friend to catch up on a few shared deals led to looking at several houses in Tampa and dinner.

The rehab specialist works mostly in Pinellas county. He has not had any problems finding distressed houses for good prices. Buyers for the updated houses have not been a problem, either. This investor likes to do “complete” rehabs, replacing all kitchen appliances and cabinets, bathroom fixtures and tile and all floor coverings as well as any windows, doors, etc… that are not in good repair. He likes to sell “the nicest house on the block”, no matter what it looked like when he bought it. Most of the work is done by the investor himself.

The other investor works mostly in Hillsborough county and used to mostly wholesale properties. He has transitioned into rehabbing most properties during the past six months, seeing it as a way to make the same amount of profit while buying and selling half as many houses. He also sees no shortage of good deals on rough houses or buyers for the repaired homes. The plan for these properties, though, is to do the least possible work to make the house presentable to a buyer and keep the selling price in line with short-sales in the area. All of the repair work is hired out.

Both of these investors noted that good labor is available at bargain prices now. The virtual halt of new home construction has left a large and idle pool of skilled workers looking for a job. This will not last forever but is helping real estate investors now.

The two investors also noted fewer properties on the market. Buyer demand has increased and they thought the flood of new foreclosures into the market had slowed slightly. Realtors I spoke with have noted this smaller inventory, too.