We began work on the home for the veteran and his family today and we discovered many things. Wood floors are rotting, windows have rotted, mold and mildew growing in unsuspecting places, and a multitude of other problems. It was not a pretty sight.
I spent the morning filling in and repairing holes in the walls. I finally stopped counting the holes when it got to be up around 100. There were other holes as big as my fist that you could feel cold air coming through, so I repaired those as well. There isn't a window frame in the entire house that you can't feel cold air coming through.
Next, it was my job to caulk the two bathrooms, but when I started scraping away the old caulking we found even more mold and mildew. So, I spent a couple of hours dousing everything in Clorox. Including me. I decided to leave it overnight, since it was obviously going to take a while for it to work. Meanwhile, I cleaned the bathrooms from top to bottom and it was truly disgusting, but I finally finished. Almost overcome by the fumes from the Clorox, I had to constantly go outside for fresh air.
We also ripped up the carpet in the last room it was being taken out of and the wooden floor underneath is rotting from termites and mold. Another disgusting experience. They are supposed to lay carpet on Monday, but that's probably not going to happen now. We discussed having to take another route with this and it was suggested that plyboard might be laid over it and tacked down. Then, the carpet could be laid.
However, I had a real problem with this. The mold and the termites need to be treated. You can't just move on without addressing the real problems. If you do, they only come back to haunt you when you least expect it.
So, here's my biggest problem with this entire *helping out* thing. We have been working our fingers to the bone... basically for the landlord, although our intention was to help this young family. In my opinion, this landlord is just another slumlord. Yes, he dropped the rent from $850.00 per month to $700.00 per month because we all agreed to do the work and get as many of the supplies donated as possible. What a great guy, huh? Right.
The biggest complaint I have is the fact that they were going to charge $850.00 per month for this rat hole of a house. Without doing anything to it. Granted, the housing here has been tight during the last year. However, just because you can charge this much doesn't mean you should. Unfortunately, there are obviously no laws covering this type of situation. It should be illegal for a landlord to charge so much for a place that is basically unlivable. It just makes me so angry that I want to let out a primal scream that will burst some eardrums.
The mother/wife has severe asthma problems, but because they are struggling, they are forced to live in a place like this. It makes me want to spit nails. Really. I'd like to be able to rub the damn landlord's nose in all of the mold and mildew. Yes, I'd actually derive great pleasure from an act such as that.
If I could, I'd definitely kick some ass over this deal, but I don't even know where to begin... It truly makes me go into full-blown Vapor Lock. I want to hurt someone, but of course I can't and it makes me feel helpless, which makes me even angrier.....
I spent the morning filling in and repairing holes in the walls. I finally stopped counting the holes when it got to be up around 100. There were other holes as big as my fist that you could feel cold air coming through, so I repaired those as well. There isn't a window frame in the entire house that you can't feel cold air coming through.
Next, it was my job to caulk the two bathrooms, but when I started scraping away the old caulking we found even more mold and mildew. So, I spent a couple of hours dousing everything in Clorox. Including me. I decided to leave it overnight, since it was obviously going to take a while for it to work. Meanwhile, I cleaned the bathrooms from top to bottom and it was truly disgusting, but I finally finished. Almost overcome by the fumes from the Clorox, I had to constantly go outside for fresh air.
We also ripped up the carpet in the last room it was being taken out of and the wooden floor underneath is rotting from termites and mold. Another disgusting experience. They are supposed to lay carpet on Monday, but that's probably not going to happen now. We discussed having to take another route with this and it was suggested that plyboard might be laid over it and tacked down. Then, the carpet could be laid.
However, I had a real problem with this. The mold and the termites need to be treated. You can't just move on without addressing the real problems. If you do, they only come back to haunt you when you least expect it.
So, here's my biggest problem with this entire *helping out* thing. We have been working our fingers to the bone... basically for the landlord, although our intention was to help this young family. In my opinion, this landlord is just another slumlord. Yes, he dropped the rent from $850.00 per month to $700.00 per month because we all agreed to do the work and get as many of the supplies donated as possible. What a great guy, huh? Right.
The biggest complaint I have is the fact that they were going to charge $850.00 per month for this rat hole of a house. Without doing anything to it. Granted, the housing here has been tight during the last year. However, just because you can charge this much doesn't mean you should. Unfortunately, there are obviously no laws covering this type of situation. It should be illegal for a landlord to charge so much for a place that is basically unlivable. It just makes me so angry that I want to let out a primal scream that will burst some eardrums.
The mother/wife has severe asthma problems, but because they are struggling, they are forced to live in a place like this. It makes me want to spit nails. Really. I'd like to be able to rub the damn landlord's nose in all of the mold and mildew. Yes, I'd actually derive great pleasure from an act such as that.
If I could, I'd definitely kick some ass over this deal, but I don't even know where to begin... It truly makes me go into full-blown Vapor Lock. I want to hurt someone, but of course I can't and it makes me feel helpless, which makes me even angrier.....
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