Upstairs bathroom.  Nice.

Another view of the upstairs bathroom.  Would you potty or bathe there?  Ick!

Second bedroom upstairs.  This is how they left it.  Downstairs was much worse.

Upstairs kitchen.  We gutted this in about a day.  It was falling apart, electrically unsafe, and totally unsanitary.

This is the upstairs back porch/utility room.  This is how they left it.  Nice, eh?  We knocked out that back wall, studded it in, put in a new thermal window, levelled the floor, tiled, upgraded to circuit breakers, ad nauseum...Look for a "during" and "after" pic below.

Upstairs master bedroom.  Nice paneling and carpet.  We vac'd at first, and then ripped it up because it smelled so bad.  Haha.

Upstairs looking into dining room from family room.  They left us those nice hangars.

Upper unit, nice view of the porch door from family room.  They just didn't want those hangars, did they?  Look at the nicotine-stained ceiling.  The walls were the same way.  We scrubbed them with Spic-n-Span.

This is our first look coming up into the upper unit.  I have a similar pic below after the rehab.  Look for it.

I found some pics of the lower unit:

Nice pink wallpaper and trashed vanity in lower unit bathroom.  Look how they painted around the vanity.

Here's a lovely view of the commode and bath of the lower unit. See that carpet? I saved it for a lucky viewer. Be on the lookout for toilet carpeting to magically appear on your doorstep. We knocked out all of that pink and white tile and replaced with sheetrock, then a tub surround.

This is the view coming in the front door after lower tenants (Shannon McFee and Jennifer Wilson-McFee) vacated in the middle of the night.

Lower unit family room coat closet. Tenants left us some nice items, including this jar of pickled pigs' feet. Look into the corner and you can see where the puppy peed during the day. Nice.

This is the lower unit family room and dining room stripped of carpet and trash. We managed to get all of the carpet to the curb before the trash truck came.

Lower unit dining room as tenants left it.

Lower unit dining room stripped of carpet and trash. See the dust from under the carpet? That carpeting hadn't been swept in years. We swept and mopped that dirt up for months.

Lower unit master bedroom. Oops! Someone left their dresser drawer. Both sides of that window were broken. There were vines growing inside the window frame.

Lower unit master bedroom cleaned up a bit.

Lower unit kitchen. See the floor tile and brick wall paneling? They also left us all of that neat stuff on the counter, and their trash.

This is the lower unit kitchen floor. The dirty area is where their refrigerator went. That thing hadn't been moved in years. The duct tape is there to hold down an extension cord to the 2nd bedroom because all of the electrical outlets in there were trashed.

Another look at the tidy kitchen left to us by the tenants of the lower unit.

Lower unit kitchen after slight cleaning. We'll remove that floor tile, replace the plumbing, replace fixtures, clean and fix the stovetop and oven, replace the range hood/fan, and install a real door where that bifold is.

Lower unit kitchen. Cleaned up a bit. Look for the after refinished pic later. It looks completely different now.

Lower unit 2nd bedroom as tenants left it. Thanks for the mess.

A cleaned up lower unit 2d bedroom. We'll refinish those floors, fix the walls, replace windows, refurbish wood windows, paint, texture paint, and run new electricity.

Lower unit utility room. We'll gut this later and turn it into a bedroom.  This was their teenaged son's room. 

Lower unit utility room. This is just the biginning. We packed this room with trash as we pulled it out of the basement and other areas of the home.

Basement view of barn-style doors at back of house. We might as well have had nothing there. You could put your finger through the door, animals and plants moved through them freely, and the junk protected them. You'll see this later cleaned up and replaced with studs, insulation, and ply.  This ultimately becomes the laundry area, with two dryers against this wall.

The infamous party room that lower tenants used to escape the slum they had created for themselves. It had posters, stickers, musical equipment, etc. We salvaged all of the 2x4's and sheetrock and used elsewhere throughout the project. The refrigerator was full of cheap beer and cheap beer cans were so thick you couldn't walk through the basement.

This is actually how the basement looked after cleaning up. Clothes were laying on the floor of the entire basement at about knee high or better. We pulled stuff out of here to go to the curb until the trash service wouldn't pick it up any longer. Then we had a lot of it hauled off.  It's spotlessly clean now.  Nothing in this picture is there today.

A last look at the basement showing previous tenant's Y2K larder. They shut the water off the day we took possession. Since we had a lot of the plumbing ripped out, we didn't have it turned back on and we used this water for weeks to clean with by boiling it first.

During.  A lot of work...

During: Top unit master bedroom.  Working on backside of bathroom replacing galvanized pipe that froze and burst, but the tub faucet needed replaced and copper run for a shower anyway, so big deal.

Upper unit 2nd bedroom before we did any rehab. We knocked out all three of those rotting windows and the wall and studded it in. We installed one new thermal window and finished it off. See pics below.

Second bedroom.  We knocked out three old windows and put in a new thermal window.  We used scrap wood and scrap or reclaimed sheetrock whenever we could.  Some of this wood was reclaimed from old cabinets in the kitchen, utility room, and basement "party room."

This is the upper unit kitchen floor under rehab. The refrigerator leaked condensate and ruined the floor. The boards in this area were all mushy.  Why wouldn't a tenant say something to the landlord about this?  We ripped it up and put down new 3/4" ply.

This is the upper unit bathroom showing the rotting floor around the commode. Obvioulsy, the toilet and shower leaked.  You could stick your finger through that wood.  It was very gross.  I made Angie rip up this wood.

Upper unit bathroom with commode removed and some of the subfloor ripped out. We didn't know it at the time, but it would be this way for months while we finished the lower unit. We replaced about a 4' x 4' area of floor and subfloor, covered it in DuraRock, and laid ceramic tile.

These were our worthless subcontractors. They were lazy. They got fired.

Here are the worthless subcontractors peeling the 15 layers of wallpaper in the upper unit master bedroom. We abandoned this activity later and covered the walls with 1/4" sheetrock. Took about 1/100th of the time.

These are the stairs coming up to the upper unit. This is where we used the new 22' Little Giant ladder to scrape and steam five layers of paper from the walls and ceilings of the 18' entryway.  It took about two full days to scrape it all off, and a full day, plus some, to clean it up.  50-year old glue is tough stuff.

Upper unit kitchen sink area.  We had the cabinets in and plumbed, but all of our pipes froze and burst, so we had to pull them out to replace galvanized with copper.  See the old galvanized pipe laying to the left?  While the new cabinets are out, we are going to put up a tile backsplash, too.  See the DuraRock on the backsplash area?

This is in the upper unit looking into the dining room and family room after we had to pull out the new cabinets to replace frozen pipes.  What a mess, eh?  Look at the dust.  You can see the new stove in there, too.

This is the utility room upstairs under rehab.  We've knocked out the walls, levelled the floors and we are getting ready to do electrical work and lay tile.  A completed pic of this room is below.  It turns out to be a nice bedroom.  The new tenants put a set of bunkbeds in here.

This is upper unit new bedroom looking down the back staircase.

This is the old pedestal sink in Master bedroom.  We covered the walls behind it with 1/4 inch sheet rock rather than try to scrape them. You can see the old holes in the sink where we removed the original fixtures. We drilled new holes for modern fixtures and capped the old holes with stainless caps.

More pics of the master bedroom upstairs.  See the mess in the family room to the left? 

More mess in the master bedroom.  The window was broken out upon possession and they just had plastic over the entire thing.  Could you live like that?

Family room upstairs.  Wait until you see it finished.

Upper unit.  Family room looking toward front porch door.  Look for a similar pic below after rehab.  See the boxes of ceramic tile on the floor against the pink wall?

Upper unit, looking into dining room and kitchen from family room.  Those cabinets will get put back into the kitchen soon.  Just wait.  You'll see.  It'll look real nice.

A little stand alone cabinet.  We added the countertop from the remainder of the sink countertop.  We used an old cutting board as a little extension to finish it off.  I think the countertop cost about $125.  We'll see if it lasts. (It has so far! A good buy)

Upper unit kitchen.  We just finished running new copper and we are enclosing the plumbing.  Isn't that back splash great.  I cut every one of those tiles by hand.  Angie expertly placed them and grouted.  The material covering up the plumbing is leftover sheathing from the outside of the basement.

Upper unit backsplash in bathroom.  While installing the kitchen backsplash, we though we would do one in the bathroom, too.  I had a leaky valve running into the bathtub.

New copper into the upper unit bathroom.  Complete.  I had one leak on all of those elbows and joints.

A closeup of my master plumbing skills.  Look close and you can see an abundance of solder on those joints.  While I claim to be a master plumber, I'm not.

Angie is grouting the tile backsplash in the kitchen. She will go on to tile in many other places. Upper-unit kitchen backsplash and floor, bathroom backsplash and floor, and new bedroom floor. She did the same in the lower unit.

Angie is doing something to the cabinets...Cutting the hole for our new plumbing, I believe.  I probably ordered her to do it.

Voila!  Running water.  No leaks, either.  New cabinets, countertop, sink, and fixtures.

Look!  It's still running.

Nice tile, eh?  Trim is unfinished.

DuraRock down on the floor of the upper bathroom before tiling.  That stuff is hard to cut.  Much of the subfloor around the toilet was rotten.  We replaced a 4' x 4' section of this floor with 3/4" in plywood.

Downstairs master bedroom, where I had to break into the wall to route copper pipe to the upper unit.  The pipes froze and I had to get pipe from the basement to the upper unit.  What a nightmare.

Bottom unit, looking right into family room from the front door.

Bottom unit, family room looking back toward front door. A little dark.  Shiny, happy floors.

Bottom unit, family room looking back at the front door.  New, prehung front doors.

Bottom unit, looking into dining room from family room.

Bottom unit, dining room looking into family room.

Bottom unit, master bedroom closet and little storage space. Crappy picture.

Bottom unit, master bedroom looking out toward dining room and kitchen.

Bottom unit, dining room looking toward front room.  New blinds in every window.

Basement, looking up toward kitchen of bottom unit.

Basement looking toward front of house.  No more party room.  New furnace's plenum on right.  Basement is completely empty now.  That door is leaning up against a tongue and groove wall.  There is more area on the other side.

Basement, looking toward back of house. This was a set of deteriorating barn doors that that we ripped out, studded, insulated, and covered with plywood. Tongue-and-groove builder's paneling covers the outside. 50 degrees warmer in the basement now.  Pics of before above.  See update for new pics with laundry equipment.

Basement looking toward back.  All that crap is gone.

Basement, looking at one of two new gas furnaces and old hot water heater.

Basement showing new hot water heater and the second new gas furnace.  Yes, TWO new gas furnaces.

Basement, looking at back door. We ripped up the rotting wood threshold and just poured the new concrete threshold.  A new trim piece should help warm up the basement.  New knob and lockset helps secure it.

Bottom unit, kitchen looking toward back into new bedroom.

Bottom unit, kitchen. Original, cheesy cabinets.  Nice yellow sink.  Matching stove top is behind me.

Bottom unit, second bedroom.  We ripped out three old windows in this room, too, and replaced with one new thermal window.

Bottom unit, bathroom. Replaced window, and sink.  Replaced old sheetrock and installed ceramic tile.  Surrounded tub with three panels.  Bathroom turned out nice.

Bottom unit, bathroom. New pedestal sink, custom-cut tile backsplash.  Added GFCI outlets and the light switch controls above-sink light and nice accent sconce behind.

Bottom unit from kitchen counter looking toward bathroom, second bedroom, and basement door.  New ceramic tile on floor. Looks good, eh?  We put a laminate top on top of the oven.  Paint cans are holding it down while the liquid nails dries.

Front porch looking into upper unit's stairway.  Those walls had five layers of paper that we steamed off.  The ceiling here is 17' high.  I bought a 22' Little Giant and supported Angie while she steamed/scraped it all off.  Took an entire weekend and another day just to clean up, and another weekend to paint.  Angie varnished the steps.

Top unit, coming up stairs into family room.  Look for a similar pic above for this view on day one.

Top unit, family room looking toward incoming stairs and deck/porch.  Look for similar pic above on day one.

Top unit, dining room looking into new bedroom through kitchen. This room was a dilapidated old porch. We had the walls torn down and studded. We finished it off with sheet rock, new baseboards, big thermal window, ceramic tile, and baseboard heat.

Top unit, looking into kitchen from bathroom and second bedroom area.  New stove, new cabinets, texture paint, and refrigerator.  Crappy pic, but you can see the texture paint swirls and smooth-top stove.

Top unit, bathroom.  New ceramic tile, texture paint, tub surround, thermal window, and refurbished pedestal sink.  You can see the great spong-paint technique over the texture paint.  Looks great.

Top unit, bathroom looking in from master bedroom.  Refurbished pedestal sink with modern faucet fixture.  You can also see the custom-cut, ceramic tile backsplash, cleaned up old medicine cabinet, and new lighting.

Top unit, second bedroom looking in from hallway between kitchen, bathroom, and bedroom area.  Window on the right replaced three rotting windows.  We knocked out the wall and windows and replaced with large, new thermal window.

Top unit looking through dining room into family room from kitchen.

Top unit, looking into master bedroom from dining room.  Similar, Day 1 pic showed paneling and carpet.

Top unit looking through dining room into family room from kitchen...Another pic.  The floors turned out great.  New blinds.

Top unit, looking into dining room and kitchen from family room.  New bedroom door closed.  We rehabbed that door, too, making it solid and polishing hardware.

Top unit, looking into dining room and kitchen from family room.  New bedroom door open.

Top unit, looking into dining room and kitchen from family room.  You can see where we repaired the ceiling in the dining room.  I crawled up into the attic and (hopefully) fixed the leak around the chimney.

Top unit, looking down entry stairs from family room.  Angie repaired the crappy old door and added nice grille, which is necessary for cold air return located down the steps. We added an old-fashioned crystal knob set.  Tres chic.  We left all trim cleaned and natural or painted brown.

Top unit, looking down back stairway from new room.  This stairway was dark, dank, and dirty.  We repaired all of the holes, painted the steps with floor paint (thanks Sean) and added lighting.  We've already tracked it up a bit.

Top unit, looking down back stairway.

Back stairway looking downstairs.  To the left is a door that we walled in.  It was in the old utility room/new bedroom and wasn't necessary.

Bottom unit, kitchen looking down into basement.  We added support to the treads and painted.  We also added new lighting to make it safer.

Bottom unit, second bedroom looking out into kitchen.  Just to give a perspective.

Bottom unit looking into new bedroom.  New tile, large, new thermal window, blinds, baseboards, light fixtures, updated circuit breaker panel, etc.  You can see the sponge-paint-over-texture-paint technique on the kitchen walls.

Bottom unit, new circuit breaker panel, courtesy of Baldwin Electric.  Angie created the access panel and trimmed it out.  New blinds in the new thermal window.

Bottom unit, kitchen.  Cleaned and scrubbed burner top and new range hood.  Original, crappy cabinetry in that chic wood paneling design.  Love that faux brick paneling.

Bottom unit, range scrubbed clean.  This took about four hours to thoroughly clean, even with oven cleaner.  New heating element.  We are hoping the drip pan will make cleanup easier.

Bottom unit, clean new refrigerator.

Bottom unit, clean new refrigerator.  A little cramped, but there is a large dining room.

Bottom unit, looking at refrigerator and fire extiguisher in kitchen.  See the new tile and the master tile cutter/layer?  Angie is lining the cabinets and drawers.

Bottom unit, bathroom with new light and medicine cabinet.  Texture paint hides many flaws.

Bottom unit, family room looking at the front door.  The lower unit trim is all white.  A mistake.  It took us many hours to repaint the wood doors, wood trim, baseboards, etc.  Lesson learned upstairs...Leave it natural or paint it brown.

Bottom unit, looking into dining room, through kitchen, to new bedroom.  Lots of white trim.

Bottom unit, looking back through kitchen, dining room, and into family room from new bedroom.  Both units have a lot of room.

Bottom unit, thoroughly-scrubbed kitchen sink.  Love that puke-yellow color.

Bottom unit, thoroughly-scrubbed kitchen sink.

Top unit, looking back through kitchen, dining room, and into family room from new bedroom.

Top unit, new stove.

Top unit, new sink fixtures in sink and new cabinets.

Top unit, kitchen.  New countertop, custom-cut ceramic tile, and finished-off backsplash.

Top unit, refrigerator.  Used, but clean.

Top unit, refrigerator.  Used, but clean.

Top unit, refurbished old medicine cabinet and new lighting.  See more sponge-paint-over-texture-paint technique.

Top unit, bathroom.  Refurbished old pedestal sink.  We drilled new holes to accomodate modern fixtures, and plugged the old holes with stainless caps.  The old fixtures were separate with their own controls. How did one get warm water? This sink is cast iron and weighs nearly 100 pounds.

Top unit, bathroom showing new tub surround and thermal window.  We ran new copper on the other side of the wall and added a real shower head.

Top unit, bathroom.  Better light.  See the sponge paint?  Texturized and sponged-painted throughout bathroom, new bedrooms, bathrooms, and kitchen.

Top unit, looking into new bedroom.  Showing updated circuit breaker panel.  We enclosed it in a wood cabinet.  New thermal window and baseboard electric radiant heat.

Top unit, master bedroom.  Looking into bathroom and closet.  The wall to the left has access panel to get at shower plumbing.

Dryers on separate electrical service in basement common laundry area.

Washers on separate electrical service in basement common laundry area.

We had the property painted and new gutters installed. Turned out very nice. Angie installed the planters on both sides of the house. Those look nice, too.