1403 3 Ave N property

This is a house built in 1906 at 1403 3 Ave. N., Coalbanks (later to become Lethbridge), AB, Canada. It was the same year the Lethbridge Viaduct (commonly called the High Level Bridge) was built. It is one of the only two-storey houses built in the area. It’s been added on to four times but still maintains close to its original look. I bought the house in Dec. 2021 as a rental property. It has a 3-bedroom suite on the main floor and a one-bedroom suite on the second. This blog is an account of all that we (FT and I) have done to make it rentable. Read about the main or 2nd floor (“up”) by going to that category. Comments are welcome (but moderated)!

reasoning for renovations

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I have some explaining to do.  The reasons renovations to the main floor suite were started in the first place were 

  • 1st floor suite bathroom was cut across by 2nd floor stairway (duck your head!) 
  • sloped floor 
  • 2nd floor suite had stairs so steep that a mountain goat couldn’t climb them (although this was not tested with real mountain goats) 

Some other reasons were 

  • no insulation at all – just bricks acting as heat sinks (not even structural) 
  • no bedroom or living room ceiling lights 
  • bad location of bedroom doors 
  • bad windows
    • BR1 had a window opening into the front porch – no fresh air, not to mention illegal as all hell as there was no means of egress
    • BR2 had a tiny, leaky awning window 
    • BR3 had a large, leaky window 
    • living room window leaked, would not close 
  • dated, painted 1960s panelling 
  • no 36-inch egress doors 
  • and many, many more 

grounds maintenance

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This shrub needs to be gone.  I’m sure its roots are messing with the house.  I would like to …  Then again, maybe it’s the only thing keeping that side of the house up. 

Meanwhile, the lawn was cut. 

But, there are thousands of these little plants growing all over.  What are they?  I think they may be tiny trees hoping to grow.  I bought some week killer to help tamp them down. 

Next…

final(ly) wall

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The next batch of lumber is for framing the last wall and building the 2nd floor suite stair landing. 

As Dave was priming and re-mudding, priming, and painting walls, I framed the final wall separating the two suites.  It is a 2×6 fire-rated wall.  This seemingly took forever (2 hrs, 20 min after arriving with lumber) as my Bosch laser meter wasn’t accurate, out more than four inches.  Someone mentioned, “Maybe the batteries are low.”  But the speed of (laser) light doesn’t change when batteries are low. 

 

Now that that is done…

water leak

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There seems to be a leak in the water pipe from the street.  The dirt is damp.  The water meter was jostled about several times when exhuming loose dirt, removing the retaining wall, replacing copper water lines with PEX, etc. 

light, fan, tub, cabinet, and other junk

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I need a new ceiling fan for the kitchen.  However, all the simple, clean, white ones without any extra goo-gogs and dingle-bombles and doo-dads all over it have single light or an LED cluster that isn’t suitable as a) it doesn’t offer enough light for a kitchen or b) the lights are built-in and not changeable.  Here’s not a bad one from Home Depot.

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cleanup and trees

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I cleaned out the van and back yard (garden) today, and Dave trimmed a lot of the trees at the alley.  Some of them were crowding the power lines. 

light, shim, bath fan, weeds

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I wasn’t supposed to come in today as I had other obligations, but I was called away to a sewer problem at another property.  In my spare time between tasks, I came here.  Light duties today. 

 I found out why the kitchen light only sometimes worked.  Here was the pattern: 

bedroom light turned on

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old lumber

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There was a rather unattractive pile of seemingly junk lumber stacked outside the back door while we worked on the mudroom.  I restacked and organized it all in the front porch (sunroom).  It is all usable. 

 

Many of them have yet to be de-nailed. 

grass shrubs

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The day started at 7:30 with a trip to Home Depot to get some screws for the ceiling fans.  Costco is close by.  Their parking lot has tall grass shrubs.  This is what I would like for the boulevard to dress up the front of the house.