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List of maintenance expenses paid for FY18

So it was a really busy winter for Wilfredo and Brad, who had to deal with many unexpected repairs and maintenance issues, some of which fell under the emergency category. We budgeted $20,000 for repairs and maintenance for the fiscal year, which is substantially more than we usually do, but the bad news is that we’ll either meet or exceed the planned budget without carrying out some of the projects we had planned.

On the bright side, we’ll get some of these expenses back from property insurance claims that we filed when the emergencies occurred. Our insurance account manager, M.K. Mashek at Holmes Murphy, has been absolutely great and very supportive throughout the whole ordeal, which involves (note use of the present tense, because some of the repairs are still ongoing!) three separate insurance claims (!).

We started with moisture issues in the Brothers Room, due to a small hole in the rubberized roof membrane. We also had water leaking through the pantry floor from the freezer over an extended period, which led to substantial mold growth on the basement ceiling. Some of these costs were realized in FY17, but they included:

New freezer: $500

Mold remediation costs (Brothers Room, pantry, and basement): $7,100

Reconstruction costs: $10,750

  • Removing the drop ceiling from the Brothers Room, tearing out the plaster ceiling above that, and building a new drywall ceiling
  • Tearing out and rebuilding pantry floor
  • Rebuilding small wall supporting the basement stairs
  • Rebuilding basement ceiling, rewiring lights for affected area of ceiling, replacing small area of plywood wall covering

These costs, except for the pantry floor rebuild and the freezer, were covered under an insurance claim filed with our property insurance carrier.

Still to be done: recondition documents in the Brothers Room and reframe old photos that were affected by moisture exposure and mildew. These costs should also be covered under the insurance claim.

Next, we had a number of steam pipe leaks, as well as a cracked sewage line (which, thankfully, was not leaking sewage), all apparently due to old age. In order for the plumbing and heating guy to fix these problems, we first needed to get a substantial amount of asbestos pipe coverings removed from the affected areas in the basement. Then, while addressing the steam pipe leaks, the plumber detected a burst water pipe under the first-floor bathroom.

Water remediation costs: $680

Asbestos removal: $6,600

Reconstruction costs: $1,184

  • Tearing out and rebuilding first-floor bathroom
  • Removing and reinserting hallway floor panels for access

Pipe repair: $5,940

Unfortunately, almost none of the costly pipe repairs were not covered under our second insurance claim, but the associated water remediation and reconstruction costs were covered.

To cap it off, we had a pipe burst under the kitchen sink on a very cold day in January. This required ripping up a second area of the kitchen floor (the first was under the stove, to access some of the asbestos for removal), replacing the pipe, and insulating the area. On the bright side, the insurance claim will cover a full kitchen floor rebuild.

Water remediation costs: $880

Reconstruction costs: $5,175

  • Tearing out part of kitchen floor for access
  • Tearing our rest of kitchen floor and rebuilding (to happen Mar. 13–17)
  • Apply insulation

Pipe repair: $718

In addition to this, we’ve found a dependable handyman to take care of the usual stuff that breaks in an old house and needs fixing. Some of the projects we’ve had him do include:

  • Redoing the rest of the first-floor bathroom, to go along with the new floor.
  • Repainting pantry ceiling to cover stains
  • Reattach kitchen hood vent to ceiling
  • Many other small jobs under FY17 expenses