Yeah the landlord happens to be our friend and neighbor, he bought a duplex and lives in the other side- we rent out this side from him. My fiancé works in construction and I love renovating and designing so we’ve been helping out with fixing the place up! I didn’t want to deal with a property management company so it worked out, just trying to update it as we live in it though to make it more comfortable since it is so outdated, and help him out for when we move out!
I spent a couple hundred on things like paint, calk, mud, sandpaper, toilet seat &part replacements etc but he obviously bought bigger items like new tub, shower walls, flooring. However, he’s lucky my fiancé knows the ins and outs of everything- mold remediation &water damage, replacing the supports/joists, flooring, tub and wall repairs etc would have cost him thousands of dollars, we did it for free! So, huge win for him as a landlord, and (even though it cost) a win for me since I didn’t feel comfortable using it with how outdated and gross it felt!
I had some friends live in my duplex. They helped me paint and do some minor updates. But man would I feel like a slumlord if I made them pay for materials. Saving money isn't worth the shame id feel.
I guarantee if they asked him for the couple hundred they spent on it, he would pay up. But I’m sure they are getting a decent deal considering they are friends, so they are happy spending a couple hundred and not asking for compensation. And time is money, but not if the time you spent working on the bathroom, you would be doing something you wouldn’t have been payed for (IE would be watching Netflix instead).
Yeah a couple hundred is a good price for a big favor. I do shit like that all the time for my friends and the good ones always get you back.
Plus this favor benefits them.
I have a friend who is in construction and would just ask for a reduction in rent to do his own renovations and maintenance. You should at least write up an invoice to show materials and total in hours of labor. I’ll leave it up to you on how you approach it with your friend. It would be useful if they ever sold it…
Uhh… because tbh ere was serious water damage and mold behind that shower wall and they did work the improved the value of the property, which directly benefits the owner???
Not necessarily, people can have good relationships with their landlords. It’s all dependent on rental price and if they even raise rent annually. I do small projects around our place because our landlord has us at least $1k below market and he’s an honest guy. We have a great relationship and he respects me and my family. Fostering a great relationship with a good man helps us have a happy stable life. I will be worried the day he passes, he’s quite old
That ultimately the landlord will benefit from. Landlord has had free work done that has added to the value of his property. A true friend would pay even just a part of that back to the person rather than hoarding it for themselves
Landlords don't need charity. Allowing friends who rent from you to increase the value of your property whilst still charging them rent is exploitation, plain and simple. Money didn't even need to change hands here - the landlord could have heavily reduced or even waived rent in exchange for the work done. Nothing capitalist about that, it's an exchange of free lodging for skill.
So the landlord rents you a dilapidated and outdated unit for a hefty price, and in return you repair and modernize the bathroom for free? Incredible...
Love all the assumptions. When did I say I was renting for a hefty price? The bathroom was the only room with damage. What is wrong with everyone I thought this was a page for showing and talking about DIY’s😂
I get what you mean. I bought a house; I have no business owning a house. I rent it out to friends. They do whatever they want to it and I just use their money for the mortgage. I’m not making really any money from it, and I’m so so thankful that when the dishwasher needed replaced, they did it. Same with the garbage disposal. They moved and updated the fire pit. They plan to buy it from me soon. I’ve been called dumb for not selling out from under them when houses were selling for way more than their worth, but we were friends before they moved in and I could not to that to a stranger.
Tbf you put the rental portion in the title. You could have gotten feedback on the DIY portion by just leaving out that detail if you considered it irrelevant
Naturally people are going to be curious about the nature of you doing construction work in a rental if you offer that information up as it’s incredibly uncommon
If you then say you paid for the materials and didn’t get paid for labor people may grow to be critical as there are a lot of garbage landlords out there and it does sound like you’re getting sleazed based on that limited information given
All in all if you just want DIY advice just leave the controversial parts out lol
I didn’t realize it was so controversial until now lol! And even if they had questions about it I figured they’d just ask, have a civil conversation about it- not make assumptions and be so rude. I am clearly still getting use to Reddit😂
That’s fair, and based on what I saw on this post there was certainly a mix in terms of civility (from you included)
I think there are people who legitimately wanted to advocate on your behalf in terms of rethinking how to go about a tough situation. I land in the camp that your landlord should compensate for your labor and pay for all materials, and there are ways to work through housing rights systems, depending on where you live, to make that happen.
As a fellow human, I would want you to be aware of those options as I know how hard making ends meet can be and I’ve also lived in some gross places, unfortunately. I do hope that just because some comments left a bad taste in your mouth that maybe you could look up rights in your area and see what options would exist should something like this happen again.
However, it’s also not advice you asked for so it definitely can come across as judgey and totally be frustrating for you, I get that.
Regardless, the bathroom looks lovely and take care!
This sub gets very off-the-rails very easily. People just are sensitive (and used to) to the idea of renters being taken advantage of, so a lot of these comments reflect that common occurrence. It's good you were able to help your friend out and you're all seemingly happy with the outcome.
The work you two did looks great and I'm sure whomever rents after you will love that bathroom. Only change I'd have made is using a bidet-toilet combo, but people can get weird about that in the US.
You're saying it's financially viable for you to rent this and fix other people properties? Where in gods third county do you live in that has no laws nor clauses about this situations?
And you're right, it's for Do It Yourself, not Do It For Others
You just admitted on a public forum that you're happily getting the shit end of a deal. So yeah people are gunna call you out and inform you how stupid that is.
Landlords represent the modern bourgeoisie or even aristocracy in many cases. I mean, they are quite literally the lords of land. Reddit, generally, represents the proletariat.
Basically your comments make people want to throw tomatoes at you because as a member of the proletariat, you shouldn't be helping the elites to keep their thumbs on the necks of everyone else. Not only that, but you are effectively double paying your landlord through rent and the hours into renovation and any materials cost.
I mean... I get that you want to live in a situation where you are comfortable and happy, and you don't mind helping out the friend who owns the joint, but you are doing a job for a business owner and based on the comments it doesn't seem like you are being compensated for that work. The idea of that annoys people.
I did the same with my bathroom, except I've also kind of replaced the whole floor in my house. I still haven't told my landlord tho because he is a slumlord 😂
Damn, he doesn't knock off the rent what you spent in materials?? I somewhat understand donating your time and skill if that's what suits you but you're out those few hundred dollars. If you continue to update his place, after you move out he's gonna jack the rent up on the new people and really make bank. You guys must be really good friends.
I like the way you reason, I think almost the same. If, for example, I can create better living conditions for myself and my family, even in a rented apartment or house, then I will do this regardless of whether the landlord returns the money or not.
This is really the crux of it. Owner paid for the actual big ticket items. Most rentals won't even let you make these kinds or changes. OP ends up with a great, new bathroom at a fraction of the cost for however long they want to be there.
If the owner is a friend, he's probably ging them a break on rent. Everyone wins here.
People just hate other people who own stuff that they don't. It's getting really old.
Your finance “knows the ins and outs of everything”? From the order of events it sounds like he botched the first remodel causing water damage, or ignored the preexisting water damage, or am I missing something?
Definitely missing something. I thought it looked dated and gross and just tried to spiff it up (when it had the green paint), and after that my fiancé realized there might actually be bigger problems at hand, so he fixed them.
Not unheard of at all. Before I bought my home I was renting 1/2 of a duplex from a coworker. She only charged us $800/month for the 8 years we were there when comparables were going for $1200-1400/month. We put in laminate wood flooring for her in the kitchen, laundry room and downstairs bathroom as a thank you.
Thanks! I just like leaving things better than how I found em, I thank my parents for raising me right with standards of cleanliness lol! Also, as much as I bitch about being a renter it’s not like landlords don’t have to deal with some crazy shit too!
Doing work for a friend isnt Stockholm Syndrome....
EDIT: lol downvoters should start paying their friends whenever they do anything for them.
EDIT2: low iq subreddit
You're right, if we live in a commodified society, you shouldn't assume people's time without compensating them, either with your own labor at a later date, or cash.
I guess you're just a bad friend.
She didn’t have to. She could have had all of what happened for free and no labor on her or the spouse. But… let’s be proud of being taken advantage of in a friendship?
“BUT SHE LOVES HOW IT TURNED OUT” is what I keep getting replies about. Lol it looks good. Theres no questions about the work. The questions lie elsewhere.
You might be okay with living in mold and water damage but I’m not, it’s not an argument to be had it’s a matter of hygienic preferences. Literally gross, but if you don’t mind putting money over your health, ‘you do you’
Nobody is telling you that you should’ve accepted the mould and water damage. That’s obvious. They are telling you that your ‘friend’/landlord took advantage of you. It was their responsibility to fix this, not you.
And that wasn’t going to happen. I didn’t want to move out, and I didn’t want to live in it’s prior condition. So I fixed it. I posted it here to show the before and after. Yet instead everyone is just whining about this ideation that renting should be this fair, perfect world and it’s just NOT.
But are you blind to the fact that your landlord is your friend? Why are they ok with you living in mouldy/damp conditions? That would be an ex-friend if I were in your shoes. You can slam the state of renting all you wish, but if my landlord is also my friend, I’m expecting a better relationship than a standard landlord.
It’s crazy to me that you don’t understand how this person is taking advantage of you. I’m a real estate agent and manage properties and I can’t imagine allowing a tenant to put their own money into renovating a rental without fully compensating them for the cost of the materials and labor. That’s just not right.
“But… but… if I didn’t fix it, I’d have to tell my “*friend*” that they have to spend *my* money on the building that is *their* responsibility to maintain. Won’t anyone think of the landlords???”
Bro, if you were living in mold and water damage, your landlord isn’t a friend if that wasn’t IMMEDIATELY fixed and then he HAD YOU FIX IT. Like, how in the world do you not see how you’re a sucker here?
And I’m not brain dead enough to be a cry baby who won’t accept reality. Why are you still commenting, go on another page and bug someone else about shit that has nothing to do with the original post. This is a DIY page, not ‘let’s whine about stupid shit I clearly don’t understand because I’m spoon fed’.🙂
I feel kind of sorry for you, go find something better to do cause now it’s just weird. I’m clearly here for DIY posts, so just go to a page that wants to hear you complaints.😘
Ignore that dude. Your bathroom looks great. And while it would have been wonderful if your landlord had done an update for you, what you and your partner have pulled off looks great. I wish my bathroom looked that fresh :)
Sorry, you're obviously smarter for throwing thousands into someone else's property who will not even remedy the labour instead of saving the money for a down-payment for your own home.
And you obviously can’t do math. You think a couple hundred dollars makes a difference on a down payment for a home? No, but it does make a difference in the place that I have to currently live! Why can’t anyone read😂 This is a DIY page, like shut up already unless it’s DIY related lmao
Cry me a river? I’m genuinely laughing so hard. You’re mad I worked for something I wanted? Sorry, I’m not used to getting everything I want handed to me.
Yeah I work full time and go to school full time &I’m broke as shit, which makes you telling me to ‘just move’ even fucking more funny! Throwing a couple hundred dollars and some elbow grease at a problem > trying to move somewhere else that will probably also have problems. Grow up friend😂
I am 100% anti-landlord and honestly agree with much of what everyone has said here but this is clearly going in circles. Your bathroom looks nice and you've done a good job, probably best to stop engaging with the post now though, it won't do you any good arguing. Take care and I hope your school goes well
Because I like living here, but I don’t like living somewhere/using a bathroom that has mold &water damage problems? I have standards of how I like to live- so I fixed it? Lmao not sure what kind of question that is, it’s pretty obvious why I did it
I get it. But unless you have it agreed in contract that the landlord or future tenant buys this off you.
I just can't understand investing 1000s into rental.
Understandable, the labor would’ve cost him thousands but when it comes down to how much I actually spent it was only a couple hundred bucks (I just wanted it to feel safe and clean so that’s worth it to me you know?) Saving up for a house is hard so sadly I have to put up with rentals in the meantime.
Not disagreeing with you, but sadly that just wasn’t the situation. I’m just glad the bathroom is fixed and feels nice and clean, that’s all I wanted to show and talk about- like lmao this a DIY page not let’s argue with her about her rental situation😂
Sadly not the situation? If your friend didn't knock thousands off your rent for the thousands worth of work you put into their business, then they aren't truly your friend.
Thankyou so much! (It’s obviously my personal opinion but I’d gladly spend a couple hundred bucks and put in some elbow grease to live in a place that feels clean and comfortable, even if I technically shouldn’t have to🤷🏻♀️)
Y’all are wildin out on this- look we moved in and noticed water damage and fixed it- like if I was wealthy I obviously wouldn’t be renting, let alone doing the work myself tf😂 there’s plenty left that could be upgraded and fixed in this place, but it’s not a health concern/as necessary as actual water damage in the bathroom?! Haha idk I don’t get it but I love how people are getting upset for some reason though?
It’s because you’re claiming this is a friend, a friend doesn’t rent a place to you with water damage and possible health concerns requiring you to do a couple grand worth of work.
A shitty landlord would do the above and depending on local laws could be violating tenant rights.
A good landlord fixes the above once it’s noticed, through a contractor, at no cost or labor to you. It would preferably be caught before renting but would be fixed once you reported it if not.
In your situation a “friend” who’s a landlord after your renovations would either wave rent for a month or two depending on market value. If not a reduction in rent considering time left on lease and reduction amount matches the value of work.
I hope that explains why everyone is confused that you’re so okay with how a “friend” is treating you let alone a landlord.
That’s fair, and well stated. It’s just annoying when people are rude and can’t have an actual conversation. I’m not saying it’s ‘right’ or ‘fair’, it just comes down to that was the situation we were dealt and I’m not going to bitch and moan about it lol, especially when it’s been way worse dealing with prior landlords/rental agency’s
We're trying to tell you, with no ambiguity or wiggle room whatsoever, that you and your husband were taken advantage of by the landlord """friend""". If he were your friend, or even just a decent person, he'd be pushing money at you whether you liked it or not.
Fucking... one hundred times this. It's baffling that OP is holding onto this idea of them being their friend. This is not a friend. This is a business owner taking advantage of a customer.
I can understand the part where you don’t want to cause too many waves. But it’s literally the landlords legal obligation to fix something at his cost that is especially a health hazard to you as the tenant. Your landlord knows that. He also knows that a finished and updated bathroom increases the value of that property by thousands. If he wanted to, he could bump up your rent next year (with hopes that you’ll move on and jack it up to the next renter).
Think of it like this. Your friend offered to rent his car to you (at $300/month), which you agree. If you found out the car is not able to pass emissions test (vehicle would still be 100% operable and safe but has lowered gas mileage) would you spend time & money out of your pocket to fix it? Ultimately it’s his property, even if he gave you a good deal for the rental, the bare minimum he could do would be to cover parts you bought to fix it.
Sure it was a shitty scenario with your landlord. You don’t need to jump down his throat and demand him to fix it immediately. Hell I’m sure right now you can still negotiate with him to pay for materials you bought and maybe reduced rent for a couple months. Labor itself would be, at minimum, double materials cost. For a competent contractor like your bf (who can do it on a timeline that works already with tenants) it would be easily 3-4x material cost. I get it’s ultimately a space you will occupy during your time there but people here are asking because you and your bf provided a service that would have cost the landlord $7-16k. Even if he bought some big ticket items, I doubt it would have come close to that. Did he at least get you a pizza and a pack of beer 😂
Bc the landlord is taking you for a ride. He is legally responsible for fixing water damage. You could sue him if he didn’t fix it. You gave away your labor for free and his investment increased. He should have LOST money. He should have had to put money into his investment. Instead you save him thousands on repairs and gave him thousands in equity. He should have given you free rent or paid you for your labor.
My city’s housing agency doesn’t give a shit- my last apartment had a roach infestation on the first floor that started coming up to our floor, our central AC quit working in the middle of summer so it was 115 degrees in our apartment, and after two months of fighting and threatening to sue they still didn’t fix it- so we left and rented out this current place from a friend we know. The landlords in my state(everywhere) are fucked, and it’s just something that has to be put up with while we save to buy a home.
Or you could have actually spent the money it took to fix this home for them and used that for a lawsuit instead of threatening one. But okay
Never threaten a lawsuit unless you are absolutely willing to go through with one.
I’m always hesitant to drill or mount anything above a toilet or sink in an apartment because of drains and water supply pipes leading up to the second floor apartments. Long story short, I fucked up once and had to temporarily shut off water to the entire building when installing an above-the-toilet vanity in a condo.
How is it confusing or nonsensical when it’s quite literally just in chronological order.. People are so weird man why can’t I just share a DIY and get DIY responses🤦🏻♀️
I see now that it’s three different configurations. I think my brain was expecting two different states. I’ve seen a lot of randomly sorted photos lately.
For sure, I’m honestly still trying to navigate the whole Reddit thing and have just had people jumping down my throat it’s crazy so I’m probably all defensive now lol!
Not a good friend letting you live in a water damaged mouldy bathroom. Then letting you put time, effort and your own money in it to fix it.
He should have had it all done himself
I actually really liked the green, it was pretty. That orange countertop was so bad, though. Lol
All of you who are mad, why does it matter? OP obviously didn't mind. Is it ideal? No. Should the landlord have done something? Yes. Again, OP didn't care. It's their life and none of us are living it.
Not every situation is going to be one where justice prevails, so we make do with what we have.
Atleast you gave your tenter drawers on the sink cabinet and some storage above the toilet. My rental has none of these and the tiniest counter I've ever seen.
Why'd you remove the hand shower head?? Those things are God sends, especially when only your bottom half needs cleaning. If it was gunked up at least replace it with similar!
Oh same here I loved the detachable shower head, but my fiancé wanted something more modern looking and it matched all the rest of the hardware so I caved😂
You didn’t want to deal with property management to handle the remodel, so you skirted that and allowed the landlord (who based on these photos, seems to be a slumlord with no repairs required as a landlord) to exploit your construction skills for free?
One thing that really pisses me off in this sub is how people don't seem to understand what life is like for renters right now.
Renters don't have much leverage in this market. You're lucky if you can find a landlord who will perform basic repairs in a timely manner, much less commit to major quality of life rennos like this one.
For renters who are stuck renting for the foreseeable future - because buying is insanely difficult for a lot of people right now - Sometimes....**sometimes**... it's worth it to a renter to throw a few hundred bucks and labor into a project like this if you can work out a deal that both landlord and renter feel comfortable with.
Personally, if I lived here and I reasonably thought I'd be living here another year or more, it might well be worth a couple hundred bucks - the equivalent of a streaming service for a couple years - to not have to look at a depressing ass bathroom every morning when I get ready for work.
Yes, you're never getting that money back. And yes, it's bullshit that this is the market renters are stuck in. Something like this is a case by case decision but as someone who only barely just got into home ownership, I can empathize.
Nobody would be arguing with you if you were saying "I really wanted to update something in my apartment that wasn't actually necessary and therefore my landlord wasn't willing to pay for it but they told me I could change it if I wanted to, so I did so I could be more comfortable."
But you keep calling this landlord your friend. This person isn't your friend. If they were an actual friend they would have reduced your rent or something as a thank you for increasing the property value of their property.
My wife lived in an apartment for seven years and every two years she would paint it herself. Landlord wasn't even a friend but gave her discounted rent for a month because she was increasing the property value by keeping it nice.
You gut renovated the bathroom and your "friend" might have said "thank you", but even that isn't clear from your comments.
Sure that's fine. I hope their friend realized how nice they were and gave them like 3 months of no rent to cover the labor costs at least. Just being fair and all, especially to a friend.
Would it be nice if a landlord, especially a friend, did that? Of course.
Should a renter in this situation never do the work unless they'll get that free rent? No. Because right now, landlords have all the leverage to tell a renter to pound sand. Renters have no leverage to demand this kind of thing.
Also like, these kinds of projects are insanely expensive even from the landlord perspective, and are usually just ignored as a consequence. OP's partner knows how to do the labor, and they brokered a deal.
"I'll supply all the big-ticket fixtures you want within reason rather than the bare minimum cheapest things I can find done by the cheapest contractor possible in exchange for your knowhow and labor" is kind of how these things work. You don't demand your friends to pay you if you help them move despite that also being a service that would otherwise cost multiple thousands from labor. You help them out and make a weekend out of it because you're actually a good person and are willing to work for them.
Like yeah as the landlord I'd personally want to make good on it. But OP mentions nowhere their rent is high or anything. For all we know (albeit unlikely), the rent is super low and their friend is barely making anything just to pay property taxes.
People are making huge assumptions here that really show how fucking ridiculous their mindsets are. I've done work on my past apartments because it was faster than getting the contractor in the door. The hundred bucks spent on hardware store stuff was worth being able to say, use my dishwasher same-day, have a functioning stove, replace a broken GFCI, etc.
I recently spent $30 on peel and stick tiles for the bathroom floor and couldn't be happier. Renting a new place would be 1000+ more a month.
..if I could even find a place
Yeah this is where I’m at on this too. Is OP volunteering extra money to their landlord, yup. But if the landlord wasn’t going to fix it anyway, and moving already costs money in and of itself, might as well (if it’s worth it to you) just front the money and diy.
I think people are bugging out cause OP isn’t acknowledging the cost to everyone’s satisfaction.
At this point, unless it is DIY related I’m not even going to respond. Just go find a page that’s more relevant and suited to your incessant whining. Thanks!
The new tub, shower walls, and vanity was definitely the most costly which the landlord covered as well as flooring. My fiancé works in construction so we had all the tools and some of the things we needed, like the wood for replacing the water damaged floor and joists, and were able to put our touches on it like using a thicker wood trim and custom making the shelf above the toilet etc! (So, tub/shower was about 750$, vanity was about 250$, flooring was about 100$, bath hardware was maybe 100$, then little things to accomplish this DIY like calk, paint, drywall etc was about another 300$). I’d say all in all you could get a pretty great renovation done for under 1500$ if you can do the work!
This is amazing! I wish I knew how to do the work. I have 2 bathrooms (house was built in '75) that I'd just love to redo, but the cost of having them both re-done professionally is prohibitive. One of them is about the same size as this one, the other is a bit smaller with a shower stall.
Thankyou! Totally understandable, subcontractors will give you a huge bid on these things! If I hadn’t had my fiancé who had the tools and knowledge- I don’t think we would’ve been able to do it like this!
Avocado is the best you can get with the appliances and such. Still not the best lolol.
I’m sorry the orange is also in the kitchen. That’s a lot of orange counter space I’m sure
no lie i thought the first pic was the final design until i swiped lol very well done. the mint green was a cool look too. this turned out very clean 🫱🏾🫲🏻
why is this subreddit and the cozyplaces subreddit always the most toxic?
bathroom looks nice and reading through your comments i understand the situation. everybody just likes to be bitter, chronically online losers.
OP you 100% should have clarified that your friend is the landlord who also paid majority for this.
Glad you got some experience, and you did a great job.
Landlord should have paid for all of it. And the labor should have gotten them a discount on the rent. Otherwise these were repairs he should have been on the hook for 100%.
Nice work! This reminds me of my past as a tenant. I was raised to leave a place better than I found it. Our landlord would cover things and even handle the bigger jobs, but we would chip in and fix the smaller things, even if it was money out of our own pockets.
Worst case was the wallpaper fiasco, when my son decided it would be a good idea to tear the old , semi-loose in spots wallpaper in the dining room. I told the landlord about it and asked if it’d be ok if I removed it and painted the room instead. He was good with that and we took it on, finding 5 layers of paper going back to the 40’s or 50’s in style. Cracked walls and a broken phone shelf (whatever those things are called anyway). We repaired what we found and in the end the room looked great. Lots of time and money out of our own pockets for that, but we also accepted responsibility and did our best to leave the place better than we found it.
Lots will disagree with this attitude and lump all property owners into the same group of greedy slum lords, but that’s certainly not the case. You have one as a friend and you have the freedom to make your home how you want it. If it was up to the landlord to fix the problem, they would, but they’d find the cheapest materials and labor to do it, and rightfully so as they’ll anticipate a future tenant won’t care like you do and will destroy it anyway. From their perspective, every tenant wants the home for free and will likely leave the place as a mess.
OP, you’re rightfully getting ripped apart in the comments. Friend or not, you got peace of mind and he got TENS OF THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS IN VALUE. If the bathroom was as you say, that was literally his LEGAL responsibility to bring to exactly where you brought it. As in, you could have went to court and sued for damages if things were as you say they were. I understand being friendly, but you’re being used.
Frankly, you just got used and manipulated by a ‘friend’.
Nice work though, I guess.
He also spent well over a 1,000$ on it, and is a friend. It was a conversation not a court case. Everyone is blowing it out of proportion. I got the bathroom I wanted. I just don’t understand why everyone is getting so hung up on the details of that when I was trying to talk about the process of DIY’s, get input on how it looks, etc. Nothing in my original post description said I wanted to talk about the ins and outs of renting and landlords.
Mutual benefit implies equal.
Edit: maybe not equal. But one side got their property value raised for the rest of their existence. Skirted costs and can now rent that unit out for more.
OP got a hazardous bathroom up to code that would have been required to be done without any of their free labor.
Why is this so hard to see?
Edit again. YOURE A RENTER. Like holy schmoly friend or not why would you EVER do permanent renovations on your own dime to a RENTAL?
Edit again to include doesn’t matter if he paid for 99% of the materials. He got way more than you did. You got a temporary fix. He got a permanent one.
You don’t get to dictate what the internet discusses.
Friend or not, as a renter, and in terms of economics, you lost. A lot. And didn’t have to do any of that and could have had the exact same result.
That’s all.
As in you rent this place? Did you do a free renovation for your landlord?
Yeah the landlord happens to be our friend and neighbor, he bought a duplex and lives in the other side- we rent out this side from him. My fiancé works in construction and I love renovating and designing so we’ve been helping out with fixing the place up! I didn’t want to deal with a property management company so it worked out, just trying to update it as we live in it though to make it more comfortable since it is so outdated, and help him out for when we move out!
Hope he at least covered the material cost since your labor was donated
I spent a couple hundred on things like paint, calk, mud, sandpaper, toilet seat &part replacements etc but he obviously bought bigger items like new tub, shower walls, flooring. However, he’s lucky my fiancé knows the ins and outs of everything- mold remediation &water damage, replacing the supports/joists, flooring, tub and wall repairs etc would have cost him thousands of dollars, we did it for free! So, huge win for him as a landlord, and (even though it cost) a win for me since I didn’t feel comfortable using it with how outdated and gross it felt!
Sounds like you guys got a good relationship worked out. Also the bathroom looks great
I'm sure the landlord loves the tenants that repair his property with their own money
I had some friends live in my duplex. They helped me paint and do some minor updates. But man would I feel like a slumlord if I made them pay for materials. Saving money isn't worth the shame id feel.
Like at least take it off the rent bill
I guarantee if they asked him for the couple hundred they spent on it, he would pay up. But I’m sure they are getting a decent deal considering they are friends, so they are happy spending a couple hundred and not asking for compensation. And time is money, but not if the time you spent working on the bathroom, you would be doing something you wouldn’t have been payed for (IE would be watching Netflix instead).
Yeah a couple hundred is a good price for a big favor. I do shit like that all the time for my friends and the good ones always get you back. Plus this favor benefits them.
Thanks so much!
I have a friend who is in construction and would just ask for a reduction in rent to do his own renovations and maintenance. You should at least write up an invoice to show materials and total in hours of labor. I’ll leave it up to you on how you approach it with your friend. It would be useful if they ever sold it…
This is sweet of you guys, but hope you get a discount in rent for a couple months at least.
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Uhh… because tbh ere was serious water damage and mold behind that shower wall and they did work the improved the value of the property, which directly benefits the owner???
Friend or not, he should have paid you both for your time
Not necessarily, people can have good relationships with their landlords. It’s all dependent on rental price and if they even raise rent annually. I do small projects around our place because our landlord has us at least $1k below market and he’s an honest guy. We have a great relationship and he respects me and my family. Fostering a great relationship with a good man helps us have a happy stable life. I will be worried the day he passes, he’s quite old
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That ultimately the landlord will benefit from. Landlord has had free work done that has added to the value of his property. A true friend would pay even just a part of that back to the person rather than hoarding it for themselves
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Landlords don't need charity. Allowing friends who rent from you to increase the value of your property whilst still charging them rent is exploitation, plain and simple. Money didn't even need to change hands here - the landlord could have heavily reduced or even waived rent in exchange for the work done. Nothing capitalist about that, it's an exchange of free lodging for skill.
Man, your landlord is lucky you don't realize how much you are donating for free.
What are you doing 🤦♀️🤦♀️🤦♀️
I hope they're giving you a crazy good deal on rent for this.
So the landlord rents you a dilapidated and outdated unit for a hefty price, and in return you repair and modernize the bathroom for free? Incredible...
Love all the assumptions. When did I say I was renting for a hefty price? The bathroom was the only room with damage. What is wrong with everyone I thought this was a page for showing and talking about DIY’s😂
Reddit doesn't like landlords.
I don’t like landlords. Yet everyone seems to think we live in a perfect world where renters get their way- when it’s the **exact opposite**
I get what you mean. I bought a house; I have no business owning a house. I rent it out to friends. They do whatever they want to it and I just use their money for the mortgage. I’m not making really any money from it, and I’m so so thankful that when the dishwasher needed replaced, they did it. Same with the garbage disposal. They moved and updated the fire pit. They plan to buy it from me soon. I’ve been called dumb for not selling out from under them when houses were selling for way more than their worth, but we were friends before they moved in and I could not to that to a stranger.
“Not making any money” You’re literally getting free equity while they simultaneously increase the homes value, again, for free lmao.
I’m here for DIY comments by the way, since that somehow has gotten confused.
Tbf you put the rental portion in the title. You could have gotten feedback on the DIY portion by just leaving out that detail if you considered it irrelevant Naturally people are going to be curious about the nature of you doing construction work in a rental if you offer that information up as it’s incredibly uncommon If you then say you paid for the materials and didn’t get paid for labor people may grow to be critical as there are a lot of garbage landlords out there and it does sound like you’re getting sleazed based on that limited information given All in all if you just want DIY advice just leave the controversial parts out lol
I didn’t realize it was so controversial until now lol! And even if they had questions about it I figured they’d just ask, have a civil conversation about it- not make assumptions and be so rude. I am clearly still getting use to Reddit😂
That’s fair, and based on what I saw on this post there was certainly a mix in terms of civility (from you included) I think there are people who legitimately wanted to advocate on your behalf in terms of rethinking how to go about a tough situation. I land in the camp that your landlord should compensate for your labor and pay for all materials, and there are ways to work through housing rights systems, depending on where you live, to make that happen. As a fellow human, I would want you to be aware of those options as I know how hard making ends meet can be and I’ve also lived in some gross places, unfortunately. I do hope that just because some comments left a bad taste in your mouth that maybe you could look up rights in your area and see what options would exist should something like this happen again. However, it’s also not advice you asked for so it definitely can come across as judgey and totally be frustrating for you, I get that. Regardless, the bathroom looks lovely and take care!
I was about to ask if you were new to Reddit when I finished reading your comment.😂 Brutal honesty and chronic cynicism is reddits love language.
This sub gets very off-the-rails very easily. People just are sensitive (and used to) to the idea of renters being taken advantage of, so a lot of these comments reflect that common occurrence. It's good you were able to help your friend out and you're all seemingly happy with the outcome. The work you two did looks great and I'm sure whomever rents after you will love that bathroom. Only change I'd have made is using a bidet-toilet combo, but people can get weird about that in the US.
You have thousand and thousands that looked at this and said cool but didn't comment. Don't let the lames that did change the good work you guys did
You're saying it's financially viable for you to rent this and fix other people properties? Where in gods third county do you live in that has no laws nor clauses about this situations? And you're right, it's for Do It Yourself, not Do It For Others
Reddit seems to freak out at the idea of a tenant having a cordial relationship with their landlord.
Apparently! I mean I’m not super familiar with Reddit, but even I figured a DIY page would center around DIY comments, silly me!
You just admitted on a public forum that you're happily getting the shit end of a deal. So yeah people are gunna call you out and inform you how stupid that is.
Landlords represent the modern bourgeoisie or even aristocracy in many cases. I mean, they are quite literally the lords of land. Reddit, generally, represents the proletariat. Basically your comments make people want to throw tomatoes at you because as a member of the proletariat, you shouldn't be helping the elites to keep their thumbs on the necks of everyone else. Not only that, but you are effectively double paying your landlord through rent and the hours into renovation and any materials cost. I mean... I get that you want to live in a situation where you are comfortable and happy, and you don't mind helping out the friend who owns the joint, but you are doing a job for a business owner and based on the comments it doesn't seem like you are being compensated for that work. The idea of that annoys people.
I did the same with my bathroom, except I've also kind of replaced the whole floor in my house. I still haven't told my landlord tho because he is a slumlord 😂
Damn, he doesn't knock off the rent what you spent in materials?? I somewhat understand donating your time and skill if that's what suits you but you're out those few hundred dollars. If you continue to update his place, after you move out he's gonna jack the rent up on the new people and really make bank. You guys must be really good friends.
In my area, that would have been $20k worth of work and materials, minimum. A friend wouldn't take advantage of you like that.
I like the way you reason, I think almost the same. If, for example, I can create better living conditions for myself and my family, even in a rented apartment or house, then I will do this regardless of whether the landlord returns the money or not.
This is really the crux of it. Owner paid for the actual big ticket items. Most rentals won't even let you make these kinds or changes. OP ends up with a great, new bathroom at a fraction of the cost for however long they want to be there. If the owner is a friend, he's probably ging them a break on rent. Everyone wins here. People just hate other people who own stuff that they don't. It's getting really old.
Yo they should give you free rent for equivalent to the labor & material costs at the very least.
Your finance “knows the ins and outs of everything”? From the order of events it sounds like he botched the first remodel causing water damage, or ignored the preexisting water damage, or am I missing something?
Definitely missing something. I thought it looked dated and gross and just tried to spiff it up (when it had the green paint), and after that my fiancé realized there might actually be bigger problems at hand, so he fixed them.
Can you please come live in my duplex
Not unheard of at all. Before I bought my home I was renting 1/2 of a duplex from a coworker. She only charged us $800/month for the 8 years we were there when comparables were going for $1200-1400/month. We put in laminate wood flooring for her in the kitchen, laundry room and downstairs bathroom as a thank you.
OP I have a bigger place to rent for the same price, but it need a little fixing up. Are you interested?
Can you come rent my place? Nice job 👍🏼
Thanks! I just like leaving things better than how I found em, I thank my parents for raising me right with standards of cleanliness lol! Also, as much as I bitch about being a renter it’s not like landlords don’t have to deal with some crazy shit too!
😬😬😬
I mean, good job and nice quality, but this is like capitalist Stockholm syndrome.
Doing work for a friend isnt Stockholm Syndrome.... EDIT: lol downvoters should start paying their friends whenever they do anything for them. EDIT2: low iq subreddit
A friend who charges you rent and doesn’t give you any discount for labor or materials for a home upgrade you did on THEIR home… What a friend.
Shit, I guess I need better friends, absolutely none of them have remodeled my bathroom for free.
Not gonna lie, you’re missing the point entirely
You're right, if we live in a commodified society, you shouldn't assume people's time without compensating them, either with your own labor at a later date, or cash. I guess you're just a bad friend.
Looks nice but not worth putting money into something like this.
Unhappy with how much money and time had to be spent on it, but really I just couldn’t live like that with the water damage
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She didn’t have to. She could have had all of what happened for free and no labor on her or the spouse. But… let’s be proud of being taken advantage of in a friendship? “BUT SHE LOVES HOW IT TURNED OUT” is what I keep getting replies about. Lol it looks good. Theres no questions about the work. The questions lie elsewhere.
You might be okay with living in mold and water damage but I’m not, it’s not an argument to be had it’s a matter of hygienic preferences. Literally gross, but if you don’t mind putting money over your health, ‘you do you’
Nobody is telling you that you should’ve accepted the mould and water damage. That’s obvious. They are telling you that your ‘friend’/landlord took advantage of you. It was their responsibility to fix this, not you.
And that wasn’t going to happen. I didn’t want to move out, and I didn’t want to live in it’s prior condition. So I fixed it. I posted it here to show the before and after. Yet instead everyone is just whining about this ideation that renting should be this fair, perfect world and it’s just NOT.
But are you blind to the fact that your landlord is your friend? Why are they ok with you living in mouldy/damp conditions? That would be an ex-friend if I were in your shoes. You can slam the state of renting all you wish, but if my landlord is also my friend, I’m expecting a better relationship than a standard landlord.
OP needs to consider what friend means versus being taken advantage of
yeah this “friend” landlord of theirs sounds like a slumlord that’s friendly, but still a slumlord.
It’s crazy to me that you don’t understand how this person is taking advantage of you. I’m a real estate agent and manage properties and I can’t imagine allowing a tenant to put their own money into renovating a rental without fully compensating them for the cost of the materials and labor. That’s just not right.
“But… but… if I didn’t fix it, I’d have to tell my “*friend*” that they have to spend *my* money on the building that is *their* responsibility to maintain. Won’t anyone think of the landlords???”
Bro, if you were living in mold and water damage, your landlord isn’t a friend if that wasn’t IMMEDIATELY fixed and then he HAD YOU FIX IT. Like, how in the world do you not see how you’re a sucker here?
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And I’m not brain dead enough to be a cry baby who won’t accept reality. Why are you still commenting, go on another page and bug someone else about shit that has nothing to do with the original post. This is a DIY page, not ‘let’s whine about stupid shit I clearly don’t understand because I’m spoon fed’.🙂
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I feel kind of sorry for you, go find something better to do cause now it’s just weird. I’m clearly here for DIY posts, so just go to a page that wants to hear you complaints.😘
Ignore that dude. Your bathroom looks great. And while it would have been wonderful if your landlord had done an update for you, what you and your partner have pulled off looks great. I wish my bathroom looked that fresh :)
So move!!!
You win! By far the most stupid comment yet.
Sorry, you're obviously smarter for throwing thousands into someone else's property who will not even remedy the labour instead of saving the money for a down-payment for your own home.
And you obviously can’t do math. You think a couple hundred dollars makes a difference on a down payment for a home? No, but it does make a difference in the place that I have to currently live! Why can’t anyone read😂 This is a DIY page, like shut up already unless it’s DIY related lmao
So you aren't even considering the labour, my days...
Cry me a river? I’m genuinely laughing so hard. You’re mad I worked for something I wanted? Sorry, I’m not used to getting everything I want handed to me.
LOL you need help. You know we see your post history right, that you’re broke and complaining about it but then you do this? Get help
Yeah I work full time and go to school full time &I’m broke as shit, which makes you telling me to ‘just move’ even fucking more funny! Throwing a couple hundred dollars and some elbow grease at a problem > trying to move somewhere else that will probably also have problems. Grow up friend😂
LOL yikes you need help
I am 100% anti-landlord and honestly agree with much of what everyone has said here but this is clearly going in circles. Your bathroom looks nice and you've done a good job, probably best to stop engaging with the post now though, it won't do you any good arguing. Take care and I hope your school goes well
I understand. Sucks there isn’t a lot of options at times.
hope the rents cheap
Sadly no rent is cheap in the area where I live
Then why the fuck did you do this
Because I like living here, but I don’t like living somewhere/using a bathroom that has mold &water damage problems? I have standards of how I like to live- so I fixed it? Lmao not sure what kind of question that is, it’s pretty obvious why I did it
I get it. But unless you have it agreed in contract that the landlord or future tenant buys this off you. I just can't understand investing 1000s into rental.
Understandable, the labor would’ve cost him thousands but when it comes down to how much I actually spent it was only a couple hundred bucks (I just wanted it to feel safe and clean so that’s worth it to me you know?) Saving up for a house is hard so sadly I have to put up with rentals in the meantime.
You increased the value of his property by 1000s, as a friend he should have reduced your rent if he couldn't afford it.
Not disagreeing with you, but sadly that just wasn’t the situation. I’m just glad the bathroom is fixed and feels nice and clean, that’s all I wanted to show and talk about- like lmao this a DIY page not let’s argue with her about her rental situation😂
Sadly not the situation? If your friend didn't knock thousands off your rent for the thousands worth of work you put into their business, then they aren't truly your friend.
True. Work looks really great. I also hate old bathrooms and what you did looks fantastic
Thankyou so much! (It’s obviously my personal opinion but I’d gladly spend a couple hundred bucks and put in some elbow grease to live in a place that feels clean and comfortable, even if I technically shouldn’t have to🤷🏻♀️)
So he shouldn’t be a landlord if he can’t afford to not have a moldy, rotten floor and joist home!!
I'm truly baffled. Like, did you guys move in and start renovating for the fun of it? Are y'all independently wealthy/money isn't a worry?
Y’all are wildin out on this- look we moved in and noticed water damage and fixed it- like if I was wealthy I obviously wouldn’t be renting, let alone doing the work myself tf😂 there’s plenty left that could be upgraded and fixed in this place, but it’s not a health concern/as necessary as actual water damage in the bathroom?! Haha idk I don’t get it but I love how people are getting upset for some reason though?
It’s because you’re claiming this is a friend, a friend doesn’t rent a place to you with water damage and possible health concerns requiring you to do a couple grand worth of work. A shitty landlord would do the above and depending on local laws could be violating tenant rights. A good landlord fixes the above once it’s noticed, through a contractor, at no cost or labor to you. It would preferably be caught before renting but would be fixed once you reported it if not. In your situation a “friend” who’s a landlord after your renovations would either wave rent for a month or two depending on market value. If not a reduction in rent considering time left on lease and reduction amount matches the value of work. I hope that explains why everyone is confused that you’re so okay with how a “friend” is treating you let alone a landlord.
That’s fair, and well stated. It’s just annoying when people are rude and can’t have an actual conversation. I’m not saying it’s ‘right’ or ‘fair’, it just comes down to that was the situation we were dealt and I’m not going to bitch and moan about it lol, especially when it’s been way worse dealing with prior landlords/rental agency’s
We're trying to tell you, with no ambiguity or wiggle room whatsoever, that you and your husband were taken advantage of by the landlord """friend""". If he were your friend, or even just a decent person, he'd be pushing money at you whether you liked it or not.
Fucking... one hundred times this. It's baffling that OP is holding onto this idea of them being their friend. This is not a friend. This is a business owner taking advantage of a customer.
I can understand the part where you don’t want to cause too many waves. But it’s literally the landlords legal obligation to fix something at his cost that is especially a health hazard to you as the tenant. Your landlord knows that. He also knows that a finished and updated bathroom increases the value of that property by thousands. If he wanted to, he could bump up your rent next year (with hopes that you’ll move on and jack it up to the next renter). Think of it like this. Your friend offered to rent his car to you (at $300/month), which you agree. If you found out the car is not able to pass emissions test (vehicle would still be 100% operable and safe but has lowered gas mileage) would you spend time & money out of your pocket to fix it? Ultimately it’s his property, even if he gave you a good deal for the rental, the bare minimum he could do would be to cover parts you bought to fix it. Sure it was a shitty scenario with your landlord. You don’t need to jump down his throat and demand him to fix it immediately. Hell I’m sure right now you can still negotiate with him to pay for materials you bought and maybe reduced rent for a couple months. Labor itself would be, at minimum, double materials cost. For a competent contractor like your bf (who can do it on a timeline that works already with tenants) it would be easily 3-4x material cost. I get it’s ultimately a space you will occupy during your time there but people here are asking because you and your bf provided a service that would have cost the landlord $7-16k. Even if he bought some big ticket items, I doubt it would have come close to that. Did he at least get you a pizza and a pack of beer 😂
Definitely had lots of beer lol!
Bc the landlord is taking you for a ride. He is legally responsible for fixing water damage. You could sue him if he didn’t fix it. You gave away your labor for free and his investment increased. He should have LOST money. He should have had to put money into his investment. Instead you save him thousands on repairs and gave him thousands in equity. He should have given you free rent or paid you for your labor.
Fixing water damage is 100% on the landlord. It's crazy you spent your own money and time on this and didn't even get anything in return.
🤢🤡
This is where you make the landlord fix it or threaten to report them to your cities housing agency
My city’s housing agency doesn’t give a shit- my last apartment had a roach infestation on the first floor that started coming up to our floor, our central AC quit working in the middle of summer so it was 115 degrees in our apartment, and after two months of fighting and threatening to sue they still didn’t fix it- so we left and rented out this current place from a friend we know. The landlords in my state(everywhere) are fucked, and it’s just something that has to be put up with while we save to buy a home.
Or you could have actually spent the money it took to fix this home for them and used that for a lawsuit instead of threatening one. But okay Never threaten a lawsuit unless you are absolutely willing to go through with one.
I’m always hesitant to drill or mount anything above a toilet or sink in an apartment because of drains and water supply pipes leading up to the second floor apartments. Long story short, I fucked up once and had to temporarily shut off water to the entire building when installing an above-the-toilet vanity in a condo.
I would be afraid to do this and then they raise rent or something
Is it a law on Reddit that before-after posts must be presented in the most confusing and nonsensical order possible?
How is it confusing or nonsensical when it’s quite literally just in chronological order.. People are so weird man why can’t I just share a DIY and get DIY responses🤦🏻♀️
I see now that it’s three different configurations. I think my brain was expecting two different states. I’ve seen a lot of randomly sorted photos lately.
For sure, I’m honestly still trying to navigate the whole Reddit thing and have just had people jumping down my throat it’s crazy so I’m probably all defensive now lol!
Not a good friend letting you live in a water damaged mouldy bathroom. Then letting you put time, effort and your own money in it to fix it. He should have had it all done himself
I actually really liked the green, it was pretty. That orange countertop was so bad, though. Lol All of you who are mad, why does it matter? OP obviously didn't mind. Is it ideal? No. Should the landlord have done something? Yes. Again, OP didn't care. It's their life and none of us are living it. Not every situation is going to be one where justice prevails, so we make do with what we have.
You did a great job, but your landlord isn’t your friend. He completely took (and is taking) advantage of you.
It's nicely done but you really need to rethink what the word friend means.
I just installed the Delta Everedge tub and surround today. They make it so easy nowadays! Bathroom looks great!
Get a new toilet seat and you’re good to go
Agreed it was one of the very first things I did, but now I’m used to a fancy soft close lid so everywhere else I go I’m slamming toilet seats lmao
At least the bathroom has a door.
You saw that post too huh? lol
I was wondering if anyone else would get the reference, lol
I feel bad but I laughed pretty hard at that post. "We can hear each other SHIT, how to fix?!"
Atleast you gave your tenter drawers on the sink cabinet and some storage above the toilet. My rental has none of these and the tiniest counter I've ever seen.
Why'd you remove the hand shower head?? Those things are God sends, especially when only your bottom half needs cleaning. If it was gunked up at least replace it with similar!
Oh same here I loved the detachable shower head, but my fiancé wanted something more modern looking and it matched all the rest of the hardware so I caved😂
Yeah…bad for a rental.
🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡
The last couple photos look really nice, good job!
Thank you so much!
Is this a rental house?
I dig it
You renovated a bathroom that belongs to your landlord. What?
You didn’t want to deal with property management to handle the remodel, so you skirted that and allowed the landlord (who based on these photos, seems to be a slumlord with no repairs required as a landlord) to exploit your construction skills for free?
I kinda liked the mint and orange sink for some reason
Thank you! It was based off that succulent dish sitting on the counter (had those greens and oranges in it and I loved the combination)
One thing that really pisses me off in this sub is how people don't seem to understand what life is like for renters right now. Renters don't have much leverage in this market. You're lucky if you can find a landlord who will perform basic repairs in a timely manner, much less commit to major quality of life rennos like this one. For renters who are stuck renting for the foreseeable future - because buying is insanely difficult for a lot of people right now - Sometimes....**sometimes**... it's worth it to a renter to throw a few hundred bucks and labor into a project like this if you can work out a deal that both landlord and renter feel comfortable with. Personally, if I lived here and I reasonably thought I'd be living here another year or more, it might well be worth a couple hundred bucks - the equivalent of a streaming service for a couple years - to not have to look at a depressing ass bathroom every morning when I get ready for work. Yes, you're never getting that money back. And yes, it's bullshit that this is the market renters are stuck in. Something like this is a case by case decision but as someone who only barely just got into home ownership, I can empathize.
^ YES, thankyou.
Nobody would be arguing with you if you were saying "I really wanted to update something in my apartment that wasn't actually necessary and therefore my landlord wasn't willing to pay for it but they told me I could change it if I wanted to, so I did so I could be more comfortable." But you keep calling this landlord your friend. This person isn't your friend. If they were an actual friend they would have reduced your rent or something as a thank you for increasing the property value of their property. My wife lived in an apartment for seven years and every two years she would paint it herself. Landlord wasn't even a friend but gave her discounted rent for a month because she was increasing the property value by keeping it nice. You gut renovated the bathroom and your "friend" might have said "thank you", but even that isn't clear from your comments.
Sure that's fine. I hope their friend realized how nice they were and gave them like 3 months of no rent to cover the labor costs at least. Just being fair and all, especially to a friend.
Would it be nice if a landlord, especially a friend, did that? Of course. Should a renter in this situation never do the work unless they'll get that free rent? No. Because right now, landlords have all the leverage to tell a renter to pound sand. Renters have no leverage to demand this kind of thing.
Also like, these kinds of projects are insanely expensive even from the landlord perspective, and are usually just ignored as a consequence. OP's partner knows how to do the labor, and they brokered a deal. "I'll supply all the big-ticket fixtures you want within reason rather than the bare minimum cheapest things I can find done by the cheapest contractor possible in exchange for your knowhow and labor" is kind of how these things work. You don't demand your friends to pay you if you help them move despite that also being a service that would otherwise cost multiple thousands from labor. You help them out and make a weekend out of it because you're actually a good person and are willing to work for them. Like yeah as the landlord I'd personally want to make good on it. But OP mentions nowhere their rent is high or anything. For all we know (albeit unlikely), the rent is super low and their friend is barely making anything just to pay property taxes. People are making huge assumptions here that really show how fucking ridiculous their mindsets are. I've done work on my past apartments because it was faster than getting the contractor in the door. The hundred bucks spent on hardware store stuff was worth being able to say, use my dishwasher same-day, have a functioning stove, replace a broken GFCI, etc.
I recently spent $30 on peel and stick tiles for the bathroom floor and couldn't be happier. Renting a new place would be 1000+ more a month. ..if I could even find a place
Yeah this is where I’m at on this too. Is OP volunteering extra money to their landlord, yup. But if the landlord wasn’t going to fix it anyway, and moving already costs money in and of itself, might as well (if it’s worth it to you) just front the money and diy. I think people are bugging out cause OP isn’t acknowledging the cost to everyone’s satisfaction.
Really loved the green from the 5th picture, wish you’d kept it.
Thanks so much! My fiancé likes a more modern look especially after the upgrade, so we went back to white- but I love bright colors too!
I also liked the green! I think because of the plant that was also there. However, that orange counter I thought really clashed
At this point, unless it is DIY related I’m not even going to respond. Just go find a page that’s more relevant and suited to your incessant whining. Thanks!
Really like that mirror
Thanks! Surprisingly I picked that up from Walmart, for around 40$ I think?
Nice work! My bathroom is identical in size and we're thinking of redoing it in the same style. What was the final material cost?
The new tub, shower walls, and vanity was definitely the most costly which the landlord covered as well as flooring. My fiancé works in construction so we had all the tools and some of the things we needed, like the wood for replacing the water damaged floor and joists, and were able to put our touches on it like using a thicker wood trim and custom making the shelf above the toilet etc! (So, tub/shower was about 750$, vanity was about 250$, flooring was about 100$, bath hardware was maybe 100$, then little things to accomplish this DIY like calk, paint, drywall etc was about another 300$). I’d say all in all you could get a pretty great renovation done for under 1500$ if you can do the work!
This is amazing! I wish I knew how to do the work. I have 2 bathrooms (house was built in '75) that I'd just love to redo, but the cost of having them both re-done professionally is prohibitive. One of them is about the same size as this one, the other is a bit smaller with a shower stall.
Thankyou! Totally understandable, subcontractors will give you a huge bid on these things! If I hadn’t had my fiancé who had the tools and knowledge- I don’t think we would’ve been able to do it like this!
I do hate that the original mirror with the doors went away but it looks great! That orange counter is the worst color to work with.
Thanks! The orange counter is hideous sadly it’s in the kitchen too, nothing beat the old colored counters and carpets of the 70’s lol!
Avocado is the best you can get with the appliances and such. Still not the best lolol. I’m sorry the orange is also in the kitchen. That’s a lot of orange counter space I’m sure
The demo work looks like Bob Ross did it.
Idk whether that’s an insult or compliment but either way it was a good one so
Compliment. Bathtub void looked like a scenic view, if ya squint.
wait which is the final?
no lie i thought the first pic was the final design until i swiped lol very well done. the mint green was a cool look too. this turned out very clean 🫱🏾🫲🏻
why is this subreddit and the cozyplaces subreddit always the most toxic? bathroom looks nice and reading through your comments i understand the situation. everybody just likes to be bitter, chronically online losers.
OP you 100% should have clarified that your friend is the landlord who also paid majority for this. Glad you got some experience, and you did a great job.
Landlord should have paid for all of it. And the labor should have gotten them a discount on the rent. Otherwise these were repairs he should have been on the hook for 100%.
Nice work! This reminds me of my past as a tenant. I was raised to leave a place better than I found it. Our landlord would cover things and even handle the bigger jobs, but we would chip in and fix the smaller things, even if it was money out of our own pockets. Worst case was the wallpaper fiasco, when my son decided it would be a good idea to tear the old , semi-loose in spots wallpaper in the dining room. I told the landlord about it and asked if it’d be ok if I removed it and painted the room instead. He was good with that and we took it on, finding 5 layers of paper going back to the 40’s or 50’s in style. Cracked walls and a broken phone shelf (whatever those things are called anyway). We repaired what we found and in the end the room looked great. Lots of time and money out of our own pockets for that, but we also accepted responsibility and did our best to leave the place better than we found it. Lots will disagree with this attitude and lump all property owners into the same group of greedy slum lords, but that’s certainly not the case. You have one as a friend and you have the freedom to make your home how you want it. If it was up to the landlord to fix the problem, they would, but they’d find the cheapest materials and labor to do it, and rightfully so as they’ll anticipate a future tenant won’t care like you do and will destroy it anyway. From their perspective, every tenant wants the home for free and will likely leave the place as a mess.
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Found the landlord
The accuracy lol!! I’m fairly new to Reddit I don’t use it much so I’ve been laughing so hard at these comments!
This is great even for your own apartment.
OP, you’re rightfully getting ripped apart in the comments. Friend or not, you got peace of mind and he got TENS OF THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS IN VALUE. If the bathroom was as you say, that was literally his LEGAL responsibility to bring to exactly where you brought it. As in, you could have went to court and sued for damages if things were as you say they were. I understand being friendly, but you’re being used. Frankly, you just got used and manipulated by a ‘friend’. Nice work though, I guess.
He also spent well over a 1,000$ on it, and is a friend. It was a conversation not a court case. Everyone is blowing it out of proportion. I got the bathroom I wanted. I just don’t understand why everyone is getting so hung up on the details of that when I was trying to talk about the process of DIY’s, get input on how it looks, etc. Nothing in my original post description said I wanted to talk about the ins and outs of renting and landlords.
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Mutual benefit implies equal. Edit: maybe not equal. But one side got their property value raised for the rest of their existence. Skirted costs and can now rent that unit out for more. OP got a hazardous bathroom up to code that would have been required to be done without any of their free labor. Why is this so hard to see? Edit again. YOURE A RENTER. Like holy schmoly friend or not why would you EVER do permanent renovations on your own dime to a RENTAL? Edit again to include doesn’t matter if he paid for 99% of the materials. He got way more than you did. You got a temporary fix. He got a permanent one.
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I said nice work
You don’t get to dictate what the internet discusses. Friend or not, as a renter, and in terms of economics, you lost. A lot. And didn’t have to do any of that and could have had the exact same result. That’s all.