House Improvements - Winter 2019

In Fall 2017, we completed payments of $90,000 of loans on the 501 Russell Blvd propertry, freeing up a large amount of funds each month that would otherwise go to paying debt.

We have been largely saving these funds throughout 2018, and now have a decent surplus from which to make improvements, along with the expectation that we’ll continue to draw in a substantial amount of funds going forward.

Accordingly, we can now deploy our saved cash to make some good quality of life improvements and to create the foundation for a long-term property improvement plan. Below are our agenda items for the next few months to year.

Insulation, Weatherproofing, and HVAC

Our house’s energy performance and weatherproofing could stand to be improved. We have an estimate from a contractor from a few years back which we will be executing on piecemeal, as funds permit. Our first scope of work will be re-insulating and airsealing the back house attic, which should result in a very substantial increase in comfort for the residents back there.

Following that we will be examining repair of the duct work and further weathersealing / vapor barriers to re-establish the building envelope and central heating.

Gutters

The gutters around 60-80% of the perimeter of the roof are down, and we should finally have the funds to tackle this issue. Contractor bids are welcome on this scope, feel free to tip them off and tell them to reach out to seaverklug@gmail.com.

Inspections

I have heard concern about some areas of the house when it comes to structural integrity, namely the back house fire exit stairs and the two front balconies. In addition, our electrical system is definitely underpowered given higher modern usage of electricity.

Currently Lukas and I are working to find inspectors who could give us a bill of health on these property components, but if you know anybody in the local area who is knowledgeable in this area please reach out to us.

- Seaver Klug, Alumni President