Day Four: Too Good To Be True

Dad and I met back over at the house this morning.  I had stopped by Menard's to pick up lots of plumbing and electrical supplies last night and this morning (over $300 worth!), so I wanted to hit the ground running this morning.  Dad would work on the electrical while I worked on the plumbing.

The house is getting a make-over!

I also brought a Shop-Vac to vacuum out the drain pan of the A-coil in my A/C unit.  I had noticed that even though the house was cooling (and cooling well!), the drain line outside was not draining any condensation.  And what was worse, the drain pan itself was not emptying at all.  I had major blockage from none other than...rust.

The working A-coil with the sludge of rust in the drain pan below.

So I started to vacuum out the "sludge"...thick, wet, lumps of rust.  But all was not well.  My vacuum wasn't really picking up this sludge.  So I went to scoop it out, and that's when I noticed a major problem.  The bottom of the drain pan gave out.  As soon as I removed that built-up rust, the bottom of the pan showed its true colors.  It WAS rusted out.  The sludge was actually (ironically) keeping the drain pan from draining even MORE water onto the floor.  I knew instantly that I had a problem.  We were going to be working in a hot house today...on yet another hot day.

It's hard to see, but by trying to clean out the sludge of rust, I opened up a hole in the bottom of the pan.  The sludge was actually acting as a base layer (even though the pan leaked in other areas).  The whole thing now had to be replaced.

The drain pan leak finally explained an unknown...the damp floor ACROSS the hall in the closet.  After all, the water was turned off!  Sure enough, the A/C was leaking and soaking the entire floorboards.  So now this problem will be remedied!

I also noticed black mold along the wall that shared the wall with the A/C unit in the second bedroom.  The A-coil was leaking just on the other side of the wall, creating prime conditions for mold to develop and grow.  So while it's a $600 expense, it's a must.  I simply cannot have mold growing in this house.

The black mold in the 2nd bedroom.

I called my HVAC guy, and the news was dire.  "You'll have to replace the whole A-coil."  And he said that would run me about $600.  Yikes.  Two days ago I was quite ecstatic about the $200 fix to the A/C-unit.  And now today I realized that that was quite simply just too good to be true.  And it wasn't even the cost (though that hurt).  It was the fact that the A-coil itself was still good!  Maybe even great!  It was clean, and it cooled the house perfectly!  It was literally the drain pan alone that was the issue!!!

What is probably an $8 piece of sheet metal was the reason I was going to have to spend an extra $600.  And THAT was the part that just chafed my skin!  If the whole unit was broken, ok, fine.  But this little piece of sheet metal?!  THAT was going to be the reason for an overhaul?!  C'mon!

What is more, had the unit been installed horizontally instead of vertically, then the drain pan that would have been used was plastic instead of metal.  Yup, no rust!  The whole idea was just maddening!

But it had to be done.  The house was not fun to work in.  And I have a contractor coming to do work this month.  Plus it's hot for us, too!  We can't get a break from the heat!

The HVAC guys came over to measure the A-coil and get a game plan.  I told them that if the furnace worked fine, then I would like to keep the current set-up.  So they tested the furnace for me (it worked perfect...15 amps kicked on, then 30 amps).  So I am just going to replace the A-coil and leave the furnace and fan.  But while we had the unit opened, I noticed a charred wire in the electrical wiring.  They agreed that they would fix it with the new A-coil installation.  Perfect!  After measuring, they had planned on returning today to install the unit, but we never saw them again.  I found that odd.  I don't like when people don't keep me updated on plans!

Notice the charred wire!

Today Dad and I split up into our specialties.  Dad worked on wiring projects while I tackled the various plumbing updates needed.  Dad started with two broken light switches while I worked on replacing the kitchen faucet.

The kitchen light switches.  This house was just abused.

Dad in the middle of replacing switches and installing a new GFCI receptacle.

The faucet was quite dated (probably original).  Also, the sprayer was missing pieces.

I have picked up plumbing skills over the years simply from having to replace broken plumbing pieces!  And with the water off, I wanted to take full advantage NOW of being able to replace the shut-off valves while I could.  Dad said I should keep the old ones on, but experience has taught me otherwise.  Usually when you go to screw in the older ones, they still leak because of gunk in the lines.  And at just $6/valve, why not replace them?  Might as well update 25-year-old items with ones that will last another 25 years!  And on top of that, they are just easy to use!

I was thrilled to find out that the old valves came off super easy.  I have had to cut the copper pipe in the past because compression nuts wouldn't budge, but these just slid right off.  Perfect!  Old ones off, new ones on.  Easy!  The faucet installed easy, too.  I have nothing but good things to say about the new Moen faucets.  They REALLY make installation a breeze.  So I had the new kitchen faucet in
with new 1/4-turn shut-off valves in no time!

The old shut-off valves.  Notice the rusty pieces on the floor, too.

The valves slid off the copper pipes easily!  Woo hoo!

The new 1/4-turn valves and cover plates.

The new faucet!

And after removing the 1/4-turn valves, my, oh, my, was I glad I did.  The valves were nearly 90% blocked with calcium build-up.  They would not have held water at bay at all!  The valve would have turned down and got stuck on some hard piece of calcium.  They all definitely have to be replaced!

So happy I chose to remove the valves!  Look at that calcium build-up!  This is from the hot and cold lines underneath the sink.  Gross!

I then moved to the bathrooms.  I had wondered if I was going to be able to re-use the Main Bathroom vanity, as I was afraid that it would be covered with mold.  The floor and walls certainly are.  So what not a better time to remove the vanity!  I could then work on the shut-off valves way easier!  The vanity didn't come off without a hitch, though!  The previous contractor used more than just silicone...they used adhesive!  And that vanity was attached to the wall!  Unfortunately, during removal, I pulled off the drywall paper, too.  An extra element of work.  Grr.

But the suspicion was confirmed.  The vanity was covered in mold on the kickplate.  I didn't mind the oak vanity itself, although the sink had a yellow-ish tint to it.  I would have just updated the top and added trendy knobs, but the mold negates that.  Dad suggested rebuilding the kickplate.  I will have to think about that.  I'm just not sure.

The shut-off valves went on and off easy again!  Woo hoo!

I also replaced the toilet shut-off.

The old toilet valves.  Replacing both of them.

I then moved to the Main Bath.  I removed the vanity there, too.  It, too, was covered in black mold.  I will NOT be re-using this one at all.  The shut-off valves went on and off easily here, too!  I was ecstatic!

I removed the trim to expose the black mold.  I sprayed it all down with bleach.  Look at that infestation!

Thankfully the compression fittings slid off easily under the sinks, too!

The Master Bathroom with new 1/4-turn shut-off valves.  Look at all of that black mold!  It had destroyed the vanity.

Ready for the water to be turned on!

Both vanities removed.

The sinks are out.  I don't care for the almond color.  Makes it look dirty.

One problem that I haven't been able to fix, however, is the stained Master bathtub.  Mom has tried various products to remove what we think is paint from the pores of the fiberglass.  But nothing has worked thus far.  The tub is still stained, and I'm not sure if I'm going to keep it (it's an eyesore) or be able to clean it.  But for now, every product or method (bleach, Comet, sanding, scratching) has come up short.  Grr.

The tub came stained!  And we can't figure out how to remove it!

Dad replaced the broken switches and also removed all of the old light fixtures.  The light fixtures were either dated (and gold...which I hate) or literally in various states of brokenness.  They all needed replaced.

Hallway light was missing its glass fixture.

The 2nd bedroom light was in good shape...but gold and dated.  No thanks.

The dated hallway light.  I hate gold!

The 3rd bedroom light was missing its fixture.

The entryway light was incredibly dated.

The Master Bedroom was a combination of gold and silver.

He installed hanging lights for the contractors to work while they are there.  The painting of the ceilings should be quite easy now.

He updated the receptacles to the left and right of the oven with new GCFI-protected circuits and then spent time working on the tricky front porch light.  Again, the projects on paper weren't so difficult.  "Replace front porch light" is actually a fairly simple 15-minute job.  But that's because one simply cannot prepare for the unknowns.

The front porch light.  It proved to be a problematic project!

The previous contractor ended up installing the old light right into the bottom side of a stud (rather than on the side of the stud).  Because of this, the contractor used a shallow junction box rather than the standard-sized one.  So with the first light fixture installation, the light literally couldn't fit into the smaller box.  I had to purchase a recessed light so that the front door wouldn't hit it (it's not lost on me that the glass on the old one was missing!  I can guess what happened there!), but because of that, the LED lights are actually pushed deep into a normal-sized box.  Well, without the normal-sized box, that simply couldn't happen.

The old light was broken and ugly.

So we had to buy some new parts (which was fine, as I needed to pick up lots of supplies from home anyway).  We made the drive into Menard's and my house and enjoyed a lunch along the way (it was
hot again).

But that simple little project took more than an hour because Dad had to cut away even more of the stud.  But all is well that ends well!  And the recessed light looks great!  It's tiny, definitely not able to be hit by the swinging front door, AND puts out a ton of light!  LED is the way to go!

The new tiny yet powerful front porch light!  The swinging door cannot hit it!

This little girl puts out a ton of light!

So all in all, yet another great day of progress.  Foreclosures are certainly not without their frustrations, but this was a great step forward.  The water can now be turned on, and I can see how bad those leaks are going to be!  I called the plumber and left a voicemail, hopeful about his availability tomorrow.

Oh, one more story.  While working in the bathrooms today, I took off the sink drains so that I could remove the vanities.  Of course, each one smelled absolutely awful.  "Pungent" is reserved for times like these.  The one in the Main Bathroom smelled like seven months of stale pee.  Oddly enough, with the houses I seem to acquire, this is a known smell to me.  But the smell was repulsive.

The disgusting sink drain pipes.

I dumped the filth outside.

I see a chunk of hair!  And something round?!

I did the same with the Master Bathroom, and yet when I hurled the smelly black goo into the street, I noticed something round.  Hmm.  Upon further inspection, I noticed that it appeared like a ring.  I also noticed two dimes and an earring.  I pulled the ring out of the black mess on the street and started cleaning it up.

I had found a silver ring!  ha!  The black goo came off rather nicely, and the ring still held a nice color to it...like it wasn't cheap!  It just might be a silver ring!  What a great find!  Hopefully this house is already starting to pay dividends!

I spy a ring!

The house is already giving back!

But another great day.  The plumbing is ready for the remodel, as is the electrical.  I'm just waiting on the availability of the contractor!  I used today as kind of a demolition day...removing the old to be prepped for the new.  And I won't miss ANY of this gold!

Removing the outdated fixtures!

The outdated plumbing is removed!

One last frustration of the day is the no-show by the tree trimming company.  On Tuesday, the company told me they would be here Thursday morning.  Well, the morning came and went.  And so did most of the afternoon.  I finally called and left a voicemail mid-afternoon.  The gentleman DID call me back and say he forgot and was sorry but that he would definitely be here tomorrow morning.  Believe it when I see it.  As for now, I have lots of trees just sitting in my backyard.  I don't feel like that project is entirely over!!!  And I don't like that!

When I look out the windows, I am reminded of an unfinished project!