1st Property under Contract! Rehab work sequence questions

[David Hald]

Hello All,

So I have finally gotten a duplex under contract! I am an overseas investor, as well, fyi.

Before renting, I plan on hiring out to qualified people the following work:

-re-glaze all 3 tubs, repair 2 tub surrounds, replace vanities/mirrors/light/fan/toilet internals in 3 bathrooms

-rip up carpet, evaluate wood flooring underneath, and either refinish it, or put down laminate on top

-repaint whole house inside

-professionally treat both apartments for bedbugs (revealed on seller's disclosure that they were there in May 2018)

-full house clean-out (previous tenants may leave crap behind)

My question is how do I order all this work to happen in the most efficient way possible, so that I don't have to, for example, pay professional cleaners to go through the house twice, or repaint after the tub re-glazing makes a mess of the bathrooms, etc. 

Any tips are greatly appreciated, since this is my first one!

Thanks in advance!

Dave

[Marcus Auerbach]

Hi David, generally you work from inside the walls out - so a typical order looks like this:

- demolition and clean out (treat for bugs after this)

- any framing repairs (i.e. rotten studs behinde your tub surround)

- rough in plumbing, rough in electrical (including tubs)

- inspection

- drywall

- flooring

- finish carpentry (doors, trim, cabinets)

- paint

- finish electrical, plumbing (install fixtures, switches etc)

- clean up

I have tried to re-glaze tubs many years ago and it may be good enough for a (low quality) flip, but if you plan on holding the property, better get a new quality tub with caulk-less surround. We use Kohler/Sterling for about $700 a unit and it's installed in 20 minutes. Bathrooms are a binary decision: good enough for the next 10-20 years or a gut job; there is no medium level improvement on a bathroom. If you have leaking surrounds most likely you have rotten framing in the walls.

While you are at it, replace any plumbing that is older than 40-50 years. Your future self will thank you.

We use LVP for bathroom floors, much better than vinyl. Choose a stone look for bathrooms and kitchens and a wood look for living spaces.

You can tell a good contractor from a bad one by how systematic they work through this sequence. Bad contractors often have different stages of progress in every room, which wastes a lot of time and money. Good luck!