Archive for the ‘Furnace work’ Category

US080 Ashton; Works update

Tuesday, March 2nd, 2010

US080 Ashton works update:

As usual, checks are made on heating, electrical and plumbing systems, to see if they are up to code or in working. It’s not wise to commence decoration and find a leak when the plumbing is turned on later!

With this property the furnace and boiler were missing so we had to replace those. The plumbing and electrics have also been updated. The crew are well experienced on these sorts of jobs and did this within a few days. Good quality taps have been fitted in the kitchen.

All internal surfaces are being repainted in a neutral but attractive cream colour (that some in UK might call magnolia), with white ceilings and trim. We’ve often noticed that rushing work crews in Detroit tend to spray everything in the same colour. Saves time, but our background is in development where we have to attract buyers and good tenants.

No way to accept such an approach and our guys have been trained to make the extra effort to paint skirting, windows and ceilings in contrast colours.

The property will soon be finished and there is no doubt renters will be falling over themselves to rent this one.





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US077 St. Mary’s; Project Progress

Tuesday, January 19th, 2010

(From 16th Jan 2010)

One new furnace has been installed and the other fixed. And the electrician kept very busy with his pliers on sorting out the two fuse boxes. Luckily, wires outside the fuse boxes hasn’t been pulled. We’ve had places where intruders will pull out wires to sell the copper for a few bucks, yet cause thousands worth of damage. With the drop in scrap metal prices during the recession, hopefully there is less incentive to do this now.

Working from top down, rooms are cleaned and redecorated. Carpets are protected by dust sheets and cleaned at end of job. They are pretty good condition on this house and well worth protecting.

Generally, we aren’t keen on split levels and they tend to be on less savoury streets. However, this St Mary’s property is an exception as it’s a good property in a nice location. It will rent well and provide the owner with an excellent return on their investment.








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Furnace replacement: Wrestling with a 500lb gorilla

Wednesday, January 6th, 2010

It might seem a straightforward job – replacement of old furnace. It might be if the new furnace was the same size as the old. That is didn’t weigh 500 lbs. And you didn’t have to take it down a narrow staircase!

A refurbishment job on a 3 bedroom house on Haverhill Street, Detroit included replacement of the old furnace. You can see from the picture of the old piece of kit how old it was. Circa Titanic era, by the look of it! It left a trail of rust on removal.

To save the property owner a couple of thousand dollars, a good, second hand modern style furnace was acquired. A really heavy duty one that is incredibly heavy. Luckily, our contractor is a muscular 15 stone guy and with his work partner, they slid it down a ramp made over the stairs. It took a whole Saturday afternoon just to get it down to its new home in the basement.

As you can see from the pictures, there was a lot of work fitting the replacement. After making a level base, the old flue pipe had to be replaced and so too all joining pipework . This means quite a number of expensive valves and joints. It’s a big job and matching new to old is always tricky.

Pictures are unfortunately on the small side but should give a good idea:











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