Property Project Part 3: Heating Up

Summer is taking its time to arrive in Rhode Island this year, and no one is complaining because we know it will find us.

We hosted an open house in the middle of June, which felt a little awkward since we still aren't totally moved in (furniture at our Wampanoag AirBnB)... but people who love us showed up and explored the property in the rain, filling the house with laughter and our slightly-overwhelmed hearts with encouragement. 

I'm glad we took the time to share what we're doing before our spare minutes are absorbed by projects we've been waiting to start.

We officially broke ground on June 6th with the addition of a gravel drive connecting the main road behind us to the rear cabin!

This should be a multiplier when it's time to rent it out - short or long term - as it gives the tenant(s) a way to access the unit without parking in our family drive and hiking across our backyard.  We didn't know this was the first step to renovations but when it occurred to us, it was obvious.

Bonus: We got to work with Wolfe Construction a third time.  This is the outfit who filled in the pool at Wampanoag and came back later to trench some much-needed drainage on that property.  Richard and his crew are truly a class act and an impressive self-made small business.  We recently put together that we know the same local billionaire, so that doesn't hurt!

Since Richard had graciously freshened up our barn gravel, Andrew couldn't let the facelift go unfished and tackled the 3rd-floor apartment entrance with the power washer!  Satisfying before/after power washing photos for your pleasure:

June 7 - Unexpected vacancy of the front cabin.  This was a good tenant - a quiet, enlisted Navy guy (and oboist for Navy Band Northeast).  He acknowledged that he owed us rent through July ... so we have some time before we start feeling the vacancy.  It turns out to be a real advantage to have unfettered access to the place so we can get in there, get to know it and what it needs, show it on short notice, and clean/repair to our standards.

Early June - 87C (rear cabin tenant) disappears for 2 days.  Is this it??  Or is his car just missing?  This length of absence is unprecedented.
Recap:  87C is the tenant whose 'verbal rental agreement has been terminated' as of July 3rd.  He's been there for 18 years and his cabin is not safe nor hygienic for human habitation.  He's got to go so we can bring it up to standards, and rent closer to market rate to a non-smoker.

Early June - After searching for and pondering a product robust enough for teenage boys, yet classic-looking enough for a house built in 1865, I settled on a dozen doorknobs on Wayfair and ordered them.  Andrew starts 'picking through' the project (replacing most interior knobs) with a gusto and the kids are unexpectedly stoked about the upgrade (shouts of "Hurray!!").  Turns out privacy is a real commodity in this house.

Entirety of June - Now I know how to create and list an apartment on Zillow (front cabin), conduct tours and write a lease.  We are still waiting for the right tenant and are considering taking steps to make it an AirBnB (furnish + wire smoke alarms for fire marshal inspection - we know this routine from the Wampanoag permit process).  
https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/81-Freeborn-St-Portsmouth-RI-02871/2112430098_zpid/ 

June - It's time to call in the [licensed] big guns.
I'm intimidated by this part of the cabin renovation.  We've decided not to hire to a contractor and, instead, string together the renovation ourselves with the required help of some professionals.  If it requires a permit, we're hiring a guy (or gal).

But I don't know any guys or gals who can wire, plumb or drywall.  I've got to get on the socials and start cold-calling people.

Luckily, I know a bad-A at our church who oversaw the complete renovation of an athletic club into a sanctuary, so we started there with a brain-picking session and left with some great advice and a little more confidence.  "You guys can do it!"  Thanks Kristine P. :)

Her advice:
You can have two of these three:  Time, Budget, Scope.  Figure out where you're willing to budge.

I started with a plumber.  He was recommend by a friend at the local pilot breakfast I attend about once a month (aka "gentlemen who can afford to own airplanes"). 
Dear Mr. Plumber: I have two cabins, both of which I'm hoping to eventually equip with a washer and dryer.  What are we looking at here?
Answer:  A complete bathroom remodel on the front cabin; a complete plumbing refit on the rear cabin (due to its antiquated system).  By the way, he said on this way out, please let me send someone out to fix that leaky sink.  Ok.

Called a couple of electricians and got a call back from a guy who parks his work van down the street from me.  Score:  We are indeed neighbors and this guy is great with us.  He said he was reminded of our projects whenever he drove home down his street, to which I replied, "Good!  I've got you right where I want you. ;)"
The ask:  I have two cabins; I want to be able to run a washer/dryer, mini-split and electrical stove in each (divorce from propane).  How do we do this?
We got some good advice on bringing the front cabin up to code, which is installing GFCIs everywhere -- something Andrew can do.  However, this unit is a long way from installing 240V outlets.  It doesn't even have a panel -- it's on a fuse box!

The rear cabin is more interesting.  It's only getting 50 amps, and most homes are rated for 100A.  The tenant couldn't run an A/C unit if he wanted to.  Upgrading the service requires digging a trench through our backyard from the main house to the cabin (all electrical comes in through the main house), and then a complete rewire.  Ok.

Trenching:

Electrician Dan:  You guys need to call DigSafe to have your utilities marked before my landscaper trenches through your backyard.

DigSafe:  Cox doesn't care about their cable lines ("Cleared to dig!" even though I can clearly see cable coming out of the cabin).  Water doesn't care about anything past the tap in to the city water main at the street, and electric never responded, which is fine, because we're not going to keep using the original lines anyway.
But I'm really concerned about water coming in and sewage going out of that cabin.

I pursue the water question and wind up scheduling an appointment with the Portsmouth Water & Fire Operations manager to come over and "trace the lines" in my backyard.  Nathan the Water Guy knows his stuff and could not be more kind!  He is familiar with this house and its water supply and history.  He keeps apologizing for news he's delivering.  I keep telling him to stop apologizing and keep educating me.  He patiently answers my questions for the better part of an hour and here is what I learned:
The rear cabin is supplied water from the main house through something called "well tubing", since the property used to run on a well.  Because of this, the lines can't be traced since they're not metal.  *When* the old well tubing springs a leak, it has to be replaced by copper pipes.  And also, every separate residence in Portsmouth is required to have its own water supply and meter from the town (supply runs under most streets).  Both of my cabins are routed through the main house.

The front cabin used to be on well tubing and did spring a leak in 2016.  The owners 'petitioned the board' to have the new copper piping routed from the main house, so if we wanted to do that again, precedence exists (and Nathan happens to be on the board).  

This would become an issue *when* the well tubing leaks.  So, we're clear to proceed with our renovations but we should probably be saving up for our new tap in to the city water main at some point in the next few years.  And don't worry about trenching -- that well tubing is way deeper than an electrical trench needs to dig.

Ok.

Drywall:  While I'm getting schooled by Nathan the Water Guy, my quote finally comes in for drywall and ceilings.  I'm just gonna leave this right here:  It's almost $20,000.

Mystery solved:  87C didn't disappear.  His car was being used by a family member.  When drywall came by for the quote, he spent an oddly in-depth amount of time in the 450 sq ft square, and I spent that time with 87C, standing in the breezy sunshine, listening.  Listening about car trouble, listening about his dissatisfaction with how his termination [of tenancy] was delivered, listening to him talk about how much he loves Portsmouth. 
Me too, buddy.  But this is not a healthy place for you to live.  He did hand me his propane bill and asked how he could recoup the money spent on gas remaining in the tanks, so I took this as a good sign that he was taking steps toward moving out.

It occurred to me that when I pray almost daily for God to use me for his good, perhaps that good is the service of listening to people who need to talk.  When this feels like a one-way delivery, patient listening is not something that comes naturally or even joyfully to me.  But I wonder if it's exactly what God is using me for in those moments.

Since I'm human and I couldn't wait another 3-4 weeks, and 87C hadn't disappeared, I went ahead and told him that "tenant parking has been located to the rear lot" so we could start reclaiming our driveway.  

Money:

I could blink and spend $120,000 on a cabin that won't recoup that for 10 years. 

This is good information to have, and forced me to go to the spreadsheets.  Myers-Briggs would applaud me taking their decision-making advice:  1) Gather all the details, 2) take a step back, 3) weigh the facts, then 4) evaluate how this affects people.

Taking a step back for me means stopping.  Doing something else.  Letting the mind wander.  Sleeping on it.  I do have the need to process verbally so 'taking a step back' doesn't really happen until I purge everything on Andrew and leave him dizzied.  

Weighing the facts:  We don't have them all yet!  We really don't know what we're getting in to here.  Is this a 'go big or go home' scenario where we include a cabin addition and splurge for some tree work?  Or is this a 'bare bones' renovation to make the place AirBnB-able until we can phase in larger expenses?  Or is there something in between that's a wise use of money and can be built upon later?

The lesson remains the same as it has since January:  We're going to have to take this one step at a time.

A huge step is the vacancy and we need to make sure we pause and are grateful when it happens.

The next step is clearing out the unit and seeing what we're working with.  We've planned our dumpster rental and our time off... I went ahead and scheduled a restoration cleaning service to come in and see if they can save the walls and ceiling from decades of mold and nicotine.  

How does this affect people:  We didn't skip this step.  It's not ok for someone to be living in the condition of the rear cabin.  Someone had to make this call.

More money:

Would you believe it, right in the middle of all of this Andrew received a disability rating from the VA, backdated to before closing.  This means we'll be fully refunded our VA funding fee - equal to a significant chunk of renovation costs.

Late June:

During a busy Saturday on the property, 87C had three vehicles worth of people show up and start removing trash bags from the rear cabin.  Signs point to vacancy on July 3rd.  It's reassuring to see that he has people who are showing up for him.

Rest:  We are so grateful for Becki's (Andrew's sister) visit this month and forcing us to have some fun and enjoy a little stay-cation!  Last night Andrew had some friends over for ping-pong, and Drew had a rotating door of 14-year-old buddies playing badminton and munching ice cream cones.  It's not lost on me that work is slow and I have time for property projects and to play a support role for my all-star team at home.  

One step at a time.  Plan. Think. Collaborate. Breathe. Pray. Do.

Property Project Part 2: Kittens!

June 5, 2025 

If you're still reading, I'm flattered, and happy to keep you entertained.  Welcome to Part II:  Kittens!!

Also, if you're local, I hope I invited you to our open house on Jun 14th!  Come check out all the fuss and our little ecosystem/unending project.

On May 23rd I was at my dad's house in North Carolina and received a text from our upstairs tenant: They noticed kittens underneath the rear cabin on the property!  I congratulated Andrew from afar that he had been awarded a litter for his birthday and reminded him to please wear a glove while extracting them.  

This was not as simple as we'd thought, since the cats had made a home far underneath the structure and he couldn't just reach in and snatch them out.  Plus, they're smart enough to not come too close to people wearing gloves and offering them things.

A crate was acquired from the local shelter ... we were told Animal Control was on a long weekend ... I made my way home ... we went about a work week ... and 8-9 days went by before I realized that our tenants and the neighbors were feeding and watering the litter that was quite happily still living in an insulation-wrapped, rat-poo-infested hole.

Ever have that moment when you realize you're the one who's going to handle the thing?

Touché, Andrew was now out of town so it was also my turn.

On a Tuesday I left a message for Liz, the Animal Control for Portsmouth RI, who called me back and agreed to meet me at 2:00 on Wed to catch these cats.  Completely legitimized by this excuse to leave work early, I rushed home and met a sweet 20-something who'd stumbled across her life's work through old fashioned nepotism (not judging; she knows her stuff!).  

Liz had something in a squeeze-yogurt tubed she called "Kitty Crack", got right down on the ground outside the hole, put some Crack on a brick and waited for the cats to come out.  First out of the hole was a little calico whom Liz didn't hesitate to snatch vertically and toss in a crate, complete with surprised kitten sound effect.

Total gangster.

Unfortunately, the gig was quickly up.  The two orange kittens ran back in the hole following the abduction and were kept inside by a skeptical Mama who kept peeking out at us.

Liz, with a patience I've never even had for my own children, baited and waited and tried a few things for the better part of two hours.  What we ended up working with was a humane trap that closes shut behind a critter when they walk in to get the food.  I hung out nearby trying not to add or subtract from the situation but learning what I could, since this was a team sport from the get-go.

Liz got lucky one more time before her shift was up and nabbed orange kitty #1.  These two were off to the shelter post-haste. 

I was left instructions to check the trap before bedtime and then maybe close it, because leaving it open overnight I might trap a critter I wasn't looking for.  (There is enough legal skunk in Rhode Island; I'm not interested in adding actual skunk to our tenant roster.)  

I decided this was a rare 2-glass Chardonnay weeknight, thinking this adventure was on pause for the day and I was satisfied with its progress.

Right after the 2nd glass kicked in but right before I took a bite of food, our tenant texted from her window vantage point, "There's a kitten in the trap!"  I grabbed gloves, my 2 boys and my buzz and we went to check things out.

The trap is a long rectangular prism-type cage, and at this moment it contained a terrified little kitty and some ant-covered food at one end.  I figured out how to open it and put on an awkward show in front of my audience (tenant included) of trying to get the cat out.  (In my defense, no one else was trying to get the cat out!)  My arm just wasn't quite long enough to get to the other end, where kitty was hissing, so there was some weird rocking of the trap trying to get him to come closer to the end where I could reach him.  I finally nabbed that sucker and threw him in the crate the boys were holding open.  He did not move out of the corner behind the beach towel for at least 12 hours.

Carl the Kitten (later named by the shelter) spent a quiet night in the crate in a corner of our kitchen where he surely had no clue the conversations we were having about keeping him.  Lending truth to the wisdom of "sleeping on it", by morning he was hissing and mewing his dissatisfaction, and it was apparent that this potential long-term animal behavior project was not something we needed to take on this week (we know nothing about cats!).  

With Pucci (our dog) now alerted to the presence of an alien in our kitchen, things started to get a little tense inside so I moved Carl's crate out to the porch while I got ready for the day.  Liz was going to check back with me at 8:00 so I drug my heels a bit, hoping for another excuse to pursue the action on our property over the endless talking at my workplace (this is a theme of my life right now).

Not ten minutes went by when I cruised past the screen door to peek on Carl and jumped back when I noticed Mama!  She hadn't come out of her hole since the first kitten was scooped up but had heard her remaining baby across the yard (50-60 yards away), and was now pacing around the crate and looking at me:  "What. The. Hell. Lady?!?!"  I probably would have been doing the same thing.

Tactical detour: the habitat under the cabin was finally empty!

I snuck out the front door, around the back of the property, and sealed up the hole with cardboard, nails and bricks.  #feelingclever

Mama didn't leave the porch area nor let the carrier out of eyesight in our remaining hours together.  I took the carrier away from the house, in to the shade, and set up the cage the way I'd seen Liz do, using the kitten to lure the mom in.  About this time, Liz arrived and told me I'd done a good job.  :)  I offered her some coffee, we watched for a while from the kitchen window, then I set her up with a camping chair and good wishes and headed to work.

Around lunch time I checked in with Drew, who was home from school.  He said Liz had taken the kitten and left the trap, and now Mama was in the trap.  From the photos I could tell that Liz had cleverly used the towel Carl had snuggled in overnight to lure the mom in to the cage with his smell.  Her turn for #feelingclever .

By the time I got home, we had no more cats.  I was happy they were safe and getting medical attention, but kind of deflated over the side quest being complete.  Liz left me a nice voicemail and I dropped her off a thank-you note.  I cleaned the bowl and the water dispenser the neighbor and her grandkids had provided during their weekend afternoons playing outside, also with a note about the kittens' fate.

A couple of days later we stopped by the Potter League shelter after church, explained who we were, and asked if we could visit the litter.  At first we were told no, since they were still in Intake, so we wandered around the heartbreaking puppy hallways before leaving.  A sweet volunteer caught us on the way out and urged us to come with him, where he led us to Intake and we got to visit Carl, Mango and Princess Donut.  He had been working with them for three days and gave us a full update.  PD, the calico, was ready for humans and mewed at us until he took her out and we passed her around for snuggles.  Carl and Mango hissed from the back corner like ferocious tigers.  The plan was to leave the three together for a few weeks, hoping to socialize the orange beasts.  Poor Mama wasn't doing well.  Her cage was covered with a towel and a Caution sign.  We left our number and our interest in offering up our property for a spay & release option for her.  We haven't written off making Princess Donut a Kissell, but we heard there is a waiting list for kittens...  

Perhaps the most fulfilling side effect of Property Project is the expansion of our local community.  My soul loves knowing the people in all the circles that surround us, and I believe to my core that we are put on this earth to support each other.  From meeting the animal lovers in my neighborhood and those who work for our town, to coworkers jumping in to help us move, to lending out stuff we discovered when we transferred one garage to another -- this is the platinum lining of staying in one community and continuing to dig in.  (Ironically, if we'd stayed in one house we would have missed a lot of this in our quiet, perfect neighborhood.)  I'm here for all of it.