All Forum Posts by: Don Meinke

I would put a mold cleaning agent on it you can buy at a big box store and most small stores.  THEN put a dehumidifier right where mold persists and see if it comes back then. Fven a small fan 24/7 running against this window glass may be enough to fix what ails it.

You have active mold spores alive there,,,you wipe off the mold and spores regenerate.  They may not be able to if its dry enough

Dont know WHAT your looking for but as a first timer,,,I would avoid 'conversions'   Thats a house, generally old, that was coverted from 1 family to 2 3 or 4 family.  Usually has central heat the owner pays,,and sometimes same thing with electricity.  Utilities can eat you alive.

A built as duplex or fourplex etc will get you where you want to go faster.  Every tenant should pay all their utilities.  Maybe or not on water, but if your paying water on ANYTHING you have to have a usuage moniter.  And a maintance plan to avoid leaks.

Good luck and dont pass a good deal on a single family while your looking.

I see alot of tile installed over sheetrock only cause its there,,,or cheap,,,or easy.  Was the original tile installed with mastic or thin set?  The quick wipe the wall, slap the tile on,,,,or the right way with thin set and each tile back buttered???

So IF just a simple thing as old tile was not back buttered,,,or put over sheet rock,,,YES it needed demo'ed.  (I) would NEVER even think of putting tile over tile,,,but maybe thats just me.  Old saying  "If you dont have the time to do it right the first time,,,how you going to find time to do it right the second try???"

If you have it all demoed put cement board around the tub/ shower  surround and where ever else you are putting tile.  Drywall everything above that with a no mold ,water resistant sheetrock and paint it with a couple good coats or three of good enamel paint to keep moisture away.

Best part of a demo to the studs is you can replace wiring,drain plumbing ect as well as upgrade to a modern light/vent that is ducted all the way outside and insulated to prevent condense inside. Ducting into the attic or up to a roof vent is NOT a good idea

TRY to keep outlets that you plug high energy things like hair dryers and curling irons as well as electric space heaters on separate circuits than the lights etc. Those should all be #12 wire  Think about it, your standing there just out of the shower and circuit breaker trips from high use,,lights go out you cant see to get clothed enough to get to the basement to fix.  So three circuits are not out of line.  One for lights, and half outlets and third for other half of outlets,,,ALL gfic's of course.

OTHER item is to watch and make sure your over rated  on your bath vent fan,,,and you watch the sonnes ratings for quietness.  I also do NOT put the fan on the light switch.  Seperate timer switch so it can run a while after a steamy shower and it shuts off.  Seems to prolong fan life  better than anything else,,,IF they run all day and night with the light, half or more of time unneeded, they dont last from noon to dinner.

Sorry to be so long winded but you only get one chance at doing it right

'MOST' windows are flashed and sealed incorrectly if at all.  The ONLY place I have seen correct info on window flashing is a site by Alberts roofing somewhere in the East part of the USA,,,but it is available last I looked on the www.  If you cant search for it I may be able to find an old link.

Guess to attack the issue head on,,,what kind of window is it?Newer?with nailing fin or replacement? Sheathing? house wrap? siding? Possible condensation site? Plastic vapor barrier?ANY vapor barrier?  AND your location does help as each section of the USA and the rest of the world does things differently for there specific location and climate?

I guess if it were mine and I didnt know where the water was coming from I would be tempted to take off interior sheetrock (or plaster) and have someone with a water hose on outside while I watched inside for where it leaks.  IF that didnt find it either it may be cold drop of the window condensing water OR a direct air leak causing condensation.  I would get several cans of the low expand foam for doors and windows (brand name of 'Great Stuff' is just one of them) and spray foam complete entire window bay from top to bottom.

If that stays dry thru a couple cold or wet spells drywall over this area with either drywall rated as moisture proof,,,mold resistant,,, or even use cement board tile backer(that should NOT harbor mold)...Paint to match

This whole thread this never came up one time.  "IF" this is inspected work the building inspector probably isnt going to allow ANY window in a tub shower period.  He said its a safety issue and even a very high window with no sill is still no no...He said the glass will get broke and tenant cut while bathing.  I never got a chance to ask about glass block but he said :NO: windows at all.  I hate dark bathrooms and using a light in the middle of the day.  He said tough,,,buy some light fixtures,,,and a vent fan ducted all the way outside.

Here is one small idea.  Who ever put that tub in,,,or father time causing settling etc,,,may  cause the water to run off the tub edge onto the floor.  try pouring a little water beneath the fucets and see where it drains.

That  AND TENANTS need to be educated as to how to use a liner also.  The wet hand wiping down the tile and the liner stuck to the wet tile.  ANY other way will result in corner splash.

When you  get soft spots there it usually runs under the tub.  MY prefered floor covering is a non skid textured ceramic tile, caulked in tub

Is this all on slab or crawl space? Present baseboards are hot water on boiler or electric baseboard?  Each tenant pays there own  heat,,,right?  General condition of present system?  Sorry for all the questions but trying to get enough info to help.

"MY" favorite heat system is each tenant having own PVC vented gas furnace,,,ducted as necessary either thru crawl space,(Preferably) or over the top in the attic with lots of insulation covering.

This leaves a way to use same system for central air with an outside unit and inside A coil.

Electric baseboard in every room  would be least fav, as energy cost much higher and results less satisfiying and no a/c option other than a whole system

These pvc vented furnaces are small and are low gas users.  I can heat a small home in the brutal midwest winter here for 50 - 100 bucks a month on coldest and less either side of that.  Natural gas is the cheapest heat.  AND tenants like cheap too.

If this thing takes up 4 foot by four foot PLUS the amount of space it is seperated  from the wall you should have room for a small PVC vented furnace of forced air with a few walls built around it alot like a closet.  It would be more energy efficent. 

 Is there any other use shared with the chimney?  If its the only thing using it,,,take out chimneys when possible,as they are energy robbers.  You could either use same chase for the pvc vent either up thru the roof or out a side wall.  If its not a huge place very little duct work may be needed. 

 I had some once that had a plenum attached to top with registers pointed at every room AND a return air grate on the bottom section of the blower so virtually zero duct work.  Wasnt expensive and gives you a way to install central air also.  Some models have zero clearance to walls etc.

Have had those old style space heaters too,,,they are energy hungry.  Most people have them turned way too high to keep the recesses and far away spaces warm enough.  I have kept small houses warm enough with 50 to 100 bucks a month on the coldest months and down trending off that on either side pretty fast,  that two stage heat is miserly on gas cost.

Hope that helps in any small way!!!

That looks really nice,,good work!!!  How much was there,,,how much did you have to add?

If that unit is vacant turn on the ozone maker and walk away for a LONG time,,,like days or a week.  Cant see what it would hurt.

If smell still there would pull all carpet, seal subfloors.  Could be related to how those people lived there, seasoned foods, or drugs.  Might haxe to kilz all the walls and ceilings