All Forum Posts by: Riley Holt

Thanks for the tip on the LP smartside assist guide. The paint is in pretty terrible shape. I guess I could do it side by side and just take my time I suppose. Its just nice to get some assistance and talking me off of a ledge. 

So I have posted in the past regarding my rental and the issues with lead paint on the exterior. I  recently did a renovation to the garage that was right next to the house causing damage to the existing wood siding. I now have access to all the areas I need to repair but I am disheartened. What I was hoping for was a quick "scrape and paint" but since it has lead paint no one wants to mess with it. I used LP smartside on my shed (the 8" x 12' boards) and I like that and would like to put it up on the rental. I just feel like doing the work myself, which I can do, will take me 2+ months utilizing all my nights and weekends as I work full time. However, the quotes to reside and paint that I have been getting are in the ballpark of 5K-8K and I can't afford that. I feel like I got into a rental that has more issues than I can handle and any and all guidance would be greatly appreciated. 

Yeah. It’s my first rental in a c class neighborhood. I’m trying to not be a slum lord. One contractor who came out had a little white cigaret looking thing that he rubbed on a board and it turned pink and he said it had lead and would be like 5k to “properly” prep it with 10 foot 6 mil sheeting, having misters going to keep the dust from flying, etc. I have really been looking into just nailing some LP smart side over my existing 117 pine siding. I think that would actually go faster than scraping the crappy paint off of the existing siding! Decisions decisions. 

Thank you all for your replies. As it stands I think I will focus on repairing what I can and see how far I get with paint prep. I can do most of the work as long as I don’t get burned out. 

I would post pictures if I could but I can’t seem to figure it out on my iPhone. I will actually be doing all the work on it to save some cost and to improve my skill set. I like the idea of vinyl but it appears that I would have to do a significant amount of prep to the substrate to get it to hang properly. Like I said I would like to do the sheet panels if the price is right. I just got a new siding nail gun and want to put it to good use!

So I recently purchased a 2 bed 1 bath sfh that is approximately 720 sf. The siding is decent but there are several areas that need to be replaced and one contractor did say that it at one point had lead paint. It definitely needs repainting. My question is, would I be better off trying to paint and prep this house or would it be better to look into vinyl siding or some other siding material to cover over the existing siding. I have been looking into sheet panels but don’t know what everyone would recommend. My budget is prohibitive to under 2k. I live in Abilene TX in case anyone is wondering. Thanks for the advice. 

I’m using an iPhone and I don’t see that box. The post in question is a free floating cement block that is a about a foot squared and it is slumped over in the grass. So there is no support around it. 

So I’m working on fixing up this rental that I recently acquired. The front porch is leaning because one of the supports is shifted. It is a pier and beam house with two supports on a cement porch and the third post is on a leaning pored cement block approximately 12”x12”. I want to square this up and either use a deck block or put a form around the existing block to level it out. The problem is I can’t for the life of me decide how I would do it. Suggestions?

Ps: I don’t know how to upload a picture. 

Wow. This escalated quickly. I wasn’t expecting the pervert salad story for sure. I’m not trying to say I’m better than anyone. I’m just trying to figure out the mindset of these tenants. Thank you all for the advice and I will take it to heart. 

Thanks @Dennis M. for the advice. It’s funny you mention the TV. I was in one tenant occupied dwelling and they had junk piled all along the edges of the house about 3-4 feet high. Sink basins cracked. Washing machine in the kitchen and dryer in a shed in the backyard. And the first thing I see when I walk in is a gigantic 80” flat screen tv. To say I was shocked would be an understatement.