All Forum Posts by: Rae Mac

Hi,

I have an unfinished basement in my rental. It has exposed floor joists and exposed underside of hardwood flooring of the first floor apartment. My question is: where is the best placement for the smoke detector to work properly? I figure there's 3 options:

1. On the underside of the hardwood flooring from the first floor (the highest point in the room)? 

2. On the fat edge/face of the floor joist?

3. On the skinny edge of the floor joist (the area closest to the floor)?

Thanks for your thoughts! It is brick exterior, but it also is up against my neighbor's house with a ~15-20 ft wide sidewalk in between so nobody would really be seeing it. I never thought about a non-opening vinyl window. Would the area around the window be susceptible to leaks?

Hi folks,

I am house hacking. I live in one half of my duplex, and my intention is to hopefully rent my apartment one day. My bathroom is HIDEOUS, and I'm planning the best reno for it. I am stumped by the window. It's a very old house so it has a regular window in it, from when it was just a tub and not even a shower/tub combo. In my head I have three options and I'm unsure which is best, or maybe I'm missing another option:

1. Leaving the design as is and just putting in a new vinyl window, but then I feel I would have to do this same deal of having a clear shower curtain cover it for the rest of its life to make sure water damage doesn't happen around the window, and I don't know if a tenant will always do that. I'd also have to do tile/grout for the shower and from what I hear, tenants get that nasty sometimes

2.  Installing glass block window, but a contractor told me they're a pain inside a shower and not worth the expense - and again, I would have to have tile/grout, and that might get nasty with tenants

3. Removing the window entirely and bricking it up. That might be the safest option for future tenants and would allow me to just put in a tub surround, but obviously takes away some great natural light and ventilation. 

My question is: what do you recommend that would be the most tenant-proof, yet maybe not so hideous? It's a delicate balance of living in a space that you want to be nice, but also preparing to rent one day. I appreciate your suggestions!

The photo wouldn't upload so here's a link to what the window is like in my shower:

All of this wisdom is very helpful! Thank you guys!

Hi folks,

I have a upstairs/downstairs duplex, with laundry room on the second floor for the upstairs apt. The flooring is vinyl plank that is water resistant, not waterproof, with no floor drain or anything, and I lie awake at night wondering what would happen if a hose burst one day. There is a water shut-off valve right on the wall next to the washer, but I know I can't trust tenants to shut it off after each wash, because I can't even remember to do that haha.

Questions:

1. If a hose did burst on a tenant, could homeowners insurance cover this?

2. If a hose did burst on a tenant, could I somehow make it part of the lease that the hoses and turning the valve off are their responsibility and if it bursts and causes damage to various floors of the house, it's their financial responsibility (and would they even pay?)?

3. I found water leak alarms on amazon that you can place under the washer for instances like this, has anyone had experience with these and their practicality?

I know this is quite lengthy, but any input from experience or common sense is appreciated. Thank you!

All of this is good to know. Thank you!

Ahh this is very helpful. Thank you both!! The residential permit program seems so far reaching, it has me wondering if anything similar has been put into place in other rust belt towns, and how it panned out. I couldn’t imagine how some of these old buildings would fair.

Hey yinz,

I'm a Pittsburgh native house hacking in the city limits. I have one duplex, it's my first one, and I'm trying my best to wade through the laws. I have a valid occupancy permit, and I've been researching other laws I should be paying attention to. I found lots of ordinance related info about the Residential Housing Rental Permit Program (referenced here: https://library.municode.com/p...)

The latest news I could find about it was this:

https://www.wesa.fm/post/landl...

So, I have three questions:

1. Does anybody know if there has been any update on this? Is this still something we should be worried about being put into effect?

2. Besides the occupancy permit - is there any other permits I should be worried about right now?

3. Are there rent control laws within city limits that you know of?

Thanks!