this is a list of things i've purchased to fix things in the house and that now belong to the house. it's meant as a running total that will eventually be sent to the landlord.

i'm going to approach this with the perspective that the landlord has discretion to refund me. i moved in here with the understanding that i would need to do some work, and i will do that work for free to better the space. that's fine - i wanted a big space for cheap and i got it, and i'll do the work required to fix it. that was the deal. however, as i'm not going to take these things with me when i eventually leave, as they are now a part of the house and will be inherited by the next tenant, the landlord should volunteer to refund me for the materials.

 

item	total cost	amount used	did it work?	purchased from	brand, link	receipt	should i request costs?
crack sealer caulking	20x$3 + taxes ~ $70	17 so far	to a point	canadian tire	alex dap, link	i can't find them but they're around.	the windows and walls had a lot of cracks. this approach has kept out bugs and kept in heat. it's imperfect in terms of thermal insulation, but it helps a lot with the bugs, particularly ants and roaches. i'm also using paper towel and packing tape to create a kind of cheap blocking layer that helps dissuade rodents, although they could eat through. they don't like to chew through caulk or tape and avoid it, although they can. i created a weak barrier on purpose to figure out where they're coming in and they just didn't come in. fine. this would be a tenant cost of <$10 if it was one or two containers, but the fact that i've needed 17 contaners and counting makes it a landlord cost, imo; sealing drafts is tenant when it's minimal, but should really be landlord when it's dramatic, and the amount of sealing needed in this space has been dramatic. the bedroom, bathroom and kitchen are basically done. i will likely need to buy another 5+ containers to finish up in the living room and hallways and need to take a different approach altogether in the laundry and front entrance.
pink interior insulation	2x$25 + taxes ~ $60	almost 1 of 2	yes, so far	home hardware	owens corning, pink-panther r12, link		there's a large hole in the backyard leading directly into the laundry creating access for rodents and creating drafts. insulation should always be a landlord cost. certainly.
12 rat traps	$22.50 + taxes ~ $25	all	not very well	amazon	lulucatch, link		this is a landlord responsibility, and my position is that whether the landlord should pay for tenants buying traps should be dependent on if it works. landlords shouldn't pay for tenants to aimlessly and ineffectvely hunt rats, but if a tenant does something that is effective, they should be compensated for costs. i did catch a few rats with these traps, and they did alter their movement, so they made a difference, but they mostly went around them. that was good enough for me in the short run. i haven't seen any rats in a few weeks. there was apparently some baiting done outside, and it has worked in the very short run for now, so this has been dealt with, at least for now. this is of least concern to me. maybe split it in the end.
downspout extender	~$20	all	yes	amazon	binazon, link		the water is falling right on the foundation and leaking into the basement. this is absolutely a landlord responsibility to fix.
water proof rubber sealant	~$20	all	tbd	amazon	flex seal, link		the holes in the sunroom, both on the side and in the front, and under the spout, are the result of poor work that was done. this sealant was purchased to address damage created by water leaking in from the downspout, coming off the roof. if there's any left, i'll use it to weatherize the hole on the side from the inside. the hole shoud also be bricked over from the outside. this is landlord, but i'd do it myself and not think about it, if there wasn't so much to do. let's see if it works.
wood pieces for patching the floor	~$12	1/10, so far	i wasn't able to get the wood flush so i just used duct tape. this was a good idea but it would have required cutting and measuring and it's not worth it.	amazon	link		parts of the basement ceiling are unfinished and have exposed plywood to upstairs. there are several holes in the plywood. some of them are the result of the kids stomping on the floor and some were created by rodents. they are access points for rodents, which have used the basement to store food they found upstairs and left droppings. right now, this space is completely cleaned out and i want to keep it that way. i have purchased very cheap, very thin wood that is intended for kids to use for woodworking to just glue underneath the board. i think it's important to avoid nails or screws and that crazy glue is the better approach. i have crazy glue around for general use. this wood will eventually need to be replaced altogether. for now, this is a very cheap but functional hack that should just block the access points into my unit from upstairs. this is certainly a landlord responsibility in the long run but there's no use in fixing the floors when there's kids - big kids - stomping on it. my concern is eliminating rodent access and this will work for me for now, but it's not a longterm solution. forget about this.
leak plugging tape	~$17	tbd	so far. no further leaks as of yet.	amazon	link		the window frame around the bedroom window has had difficulty keeping rain out during downpours. i tried to use the dap but it was not completely effective and gave out completely during the tornado last month. i applied the dap over what looks like an old application of great stuff, which was no longer working, if it ever did. this is again the result of poor previous work. so that doesn't seem to be the right approach. i believe the water is actually coming in from the upstairs window, which is open because it has an air conditoner in it. i will take a look outside soon to see if i can clean the area up and identify places the water is pooling. i was going to use some of the tape to weatherize the inside of the hole on the side, but i may re-evaluate, after noticing it was kicked in. due to the most recent vandalism, the exposed drywall may need to be completely redone before the outside is bricked over. this is landlord, but it's also the kind of thing i'd just do myself and not think twice about it, if it weren't for the fact that there's so much of it to do. let's see if it works.
weather proofing tape	~$23	tbd	so far, yes, this has made a big effect on the drafts.	amazon	link		this is to address drafts inside the unit and keep heating costs down. i will run it around parts of the windows, around the doors and around the hole in the laundry, over the insulation. so, there will be insulation *and* tape over that hole. this is certainly landlord, but i'd just do it myself, if it wasn't for the amount necessary to do. let's see if it works.
duct tape	~$20	tbd	so far	amazon	link		i had purchased some duct tape as well. it turns out the duct tape works better than the wood in blocking holes for now. i'm also noticing a developing roach problem that seems to be in the venting. i roach proofed the inside of the unit as the first order of business when i came in. the reason all of my food is secured was not for the rats but for the roaches. i half expected roaches. i didn't expect rats. i've lysoled around the areas in the ducts i can but i'm going to focus on sealing the ducts up with tape and on leaving the blower running for now. i have not seen roaches inside the unit proper but i'm increasingly seeing them in the laundry, only, and particularly around the ducts. again, i would just do this myself and forget about it, if it weren't for the compounding costs. let's see how much i use and if it works.
drip trays for stove	~$20 (17.99 + tax)	all	yes	amazon	link		the stove was filthy but works fine after a thorough cleaning. the drip trays are long overdue for a change. i've kept the old ones if you still want them, but they're basically rusted completely through, and may have been ripped open by rats. i don't want to take the drip trays with me, so they belong to the stove.
running costs	$150						$70 (caulkng) + $30 (insulation) + $12.50 (half of rat traps) + $20 (downspout extender) + $20 (drip trays for stove) = $152.50 i'm not yet done with the sealant or the tape. this is discretionary and a request. i'm not going to sue you or anything. the rent is affordable. it would be different if the rent was higher, but it isn't; low rent comes with this kind of thing, and i expect it. but the flip side is that if i'm going to do this work as a tenant, a responsible landlord should volunteer to cover materials, and write off labour as the deal in the low rent, in my opinion.

i also have a list of items to do that i cannot do myself and are going to require some contracting:

front entrance area:

1) the incorrectly closed hole on the side of the front entrance, under the stairs, needs to be bricked over, and the drywall may also need to be redone

2) the poorly boarded up front window needs to either be replaced or boarded up better. there is some water damage as a result of it not being closed up well. on closer inspection, it's not as bad as i thought. i thought the window was smashed and boarded up half-assed. it's merely cracked and the board seems to be functioning more as a light blocker. the water damage may have actually been from the front door. while i'd rather use the sun room as a sun room (i may even plant some food in here if we're sure about the rodents), i will focus on weather-proofing this, instead. 

3) the door at the top of the stairs should have a frame on it somebody already fixed this, apparently. great.

4) electrical work: light fixture at top of stairs, converting junction box to outlet under the stairs

side entrance: 

- installing a door to minimize the drafts and increase safety

kitchen:

- patching a small hole left by the heavy stove hood, which fell out of the ceiling because it was screwed directly into the plaster rather than into any wood. but i may just install a light fixture instead. easier, apparently.

bathroom:

- chuck punched a hole in the wall to fix the plumbing which was never patched. i taped over it and that kept the rats out. the plumbing leak left substantive water damage. the rats came back to that area and left a gross mess that needs to be cleaned up. some drywall/plaster work is necessary in here from the basement side and somebody is going to need to get into the floor to clean it out, either from down or upstairs.

update: i have opened it up and cleaned it out and taped it back up. the difference in smell was not immediate as the stench appears to be coming from more directly under the floor. i've been running bleach in the shower and it's getting better.

update again: i'm going to tape over it with cardboard and paint over it. whatever.

backyard:

- the hole in the back needs to be properly sealed up with cement or concrete

- there are cats crawling into the vents. rats are smaller than cats, if barely sometimes. that would need some kind of cover on it.

pest control:

- the rats are gone for now, although i noticed some candy wrappers in the laundry last night. no droppings. i hope it fell through the floor and i duct taped over some more cracks to try to stop that.

- i got the cat out of the vent and to the humane society for medical work. it was starving to death. i want to help this cat. i hope the evicted tenant goes to get the cat as it was frantically looking for her. if it's not adopted quickly, i will bring it back here and it can be a house cat. i'll take care of it and let it roam. it's a friendly cat that will be good with kids and that i think would even like kids.

- i haven't seen anymore roaches in the back after lysoling and sealing the vents. there may be roaches in the walls eating the rat carcasses and their feces. it may be a problem in the long run.

- there are a lot of blow flies, coming from everywhere, indicating a lot of dead things. the flies are actually the biggest problem right now, but it should clear up on it's own.

and i still need a 9 volt for the fire alarm. i'll need to buy one and add it to the list if one doesn't come in soon.

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