Pug Central Station
/Disclaimer: These photos are not good quality, and I'm sorry - I had no idea I would be putting them in a blog!
When we bought the triplex the middle unit (#2) was vacant, and it was perfect for us - because we needed somewhere to live! Our unit was the one we worked on when we had extra time... The other unit's were rented and I had the time off of work to update where we lived. Except...
As I mentioned in my last post about the basement bungalow that Rachael's and my husband were leaving on deployment on the USS Nimitz. Well, shortly after they left for NINE months, the upstairs tenant's faucet cracked and leaked down behind the vanity, all over her bathroom floor and down through the wall into our unit (we'll call the tenant Jay). I woke up to my kitchen light leaking water. I was 22. At that time, all I knew was that electrical and water is not good. So I cried in my pajamas and had a brief anxiety attack (I only allowed for about five minutes). Then, I went upstairs in my pajamas and knocked on Jay's door - she was not home. I called her. She did not answer. I googled the law regarding entering without permission, I called a water damage company, and I turned off the water main to the house. Did not change out of my pajamas - and cried a little more while knocking holes into the ceiling around the light like a truly insane woman while waiting for the water damage company.
The water damage pros came and told me I had an issue big enough to call insurance and get an adjuster out to assess the damage. They began demo-ing everything that was wet and ruined - I begged them to try and save the upper cabinets - and they did! The awesome crew took it really slow and put the cabinets in my living room while we figured out the rest... Yes, the damage was upstairs, too. I did finally get ahold of my tenant and she had to move out while we did some major repairs in her unit - I will be addressing all that next week!
After getting ahold of Pahl and calling my mom I pulled it together enough to make some calls and handle this! Looking back now as an older and wiser woman - it's pretty funny. But I was just soooo devastated and didn't realize I was about to make the house so much BETTER! Also, the crew I got hooked up with for the "put back" was the best! Riccon Construction really made the difference in keeping me educated on what I needed and what I could afford (AKA what I should do myself).
Moving on... We aired everything out for a few days - the crew started drywall and putting back flooring... and most importantly... THEY SAVED MY CABINETS! Well, they hung them back up... and I had some seeeerious work to do on them, haha.
I went with a classic (and very cheap) large bead board backsplash, I painted the cabinets a historic blue from Valspar, and had stock unfinished cabinets from Home Depot installed below, stained them myself and added some Martha Stewart pulls on them to vintage them up. Functionally, I decided to add a dishwasher and garbage disposal, and again, got the rest of the stainless appliances off Craigslist. Along with some other projects we took on - like the front room when you walked in the front door, the original staircase had been removed in the 1930's when they converted the house into a triplex. It was odd because over the years it had really been rigged up into another "bedroom". I turned it into an entry/office (lets face it - I used it mostly as storage when I lived there). I wallpapered a ceiling (insanely) in the bedroom, I stripped doorknobs, installed laminate over the original hardwoods. I know... it broke my heart too, but financially and practically it was the best decision.
After all these updates, the last thing we did before moving to San Diego was the bathroom. This was not an original bathroom, however it was installed in the 30s so there was a vintage six foot tub. Since we turned this into a one bedroom, like the basement, we took the ginormous tub and 2/3 windows out and put in a shower stall with subway tile and new vintage inspired flooring, then dressed it all up a bit with bead board wainscoting and black vintage accents! It really packed a punch for such a small bathroom.
Overall the water damage was a blessing. I saw a lot of the home's bones and really walked away from a college course in insurance claims, construction, adjustments, landlord laws/responsibilities, and designing on a budget. Below are some photos of what the unit looked like when we put it on the market and adorable Rebecca - who still lives there today.
I hope you enjoyed the journey of unit 2, in all its 700 square foot glory. Any house takes work, but a 110 year old converted triplex with years of rental history really took TLC to a whole new level. This whole process was nothing but a labor of love that gave me so much experience that I am endlessly grateful for. Next week I'll be posting about the upstairs unit - see you then!
With Gratitude - Lauren
