Moved in a month ago, freshly painted walls and popcorn ceiling(which is odd to me). Wasn’t here much the first 3 weeks. Different color stuff specs on walls, dents and bumps all over walls. water stains appearingin 3 top corners of apartment, every other corner has a “termite” hole. Popcorn ceiling producing Some big popcorn spots which will produce a powder on floor and eventually the big popcorn will drop. Some don’t produce a powder and just the popcorn will fall. New water pipes because pipes burst before I moved in. Kitchen sink spits water up with a fowl smell when the neighbor upstairs does something in the kitchen everyday(he’s always working on something in the apartment lol). He just moved in a couple weeks ago and i havent talked to him. ““Not in pictures”” The carpet in front of the bathroom is dark along with walls which is caused from poor ventilation but its no where else in apartment. Noticed 3 decent sized “mouse” holes in bottom corners. 1 in my bedroom closet, 2 in water heater room along the same wall(I duct tapped the first day). Loud scratches in water heater, quiet scratches in both bedrooms. “Termite holes” is every room, most are covered because paint but there’s quite a few new ones. 3 dime sized holes. 1 in ceiling 2 in walls(duct tapped first day). The bathroom and hot water heater room have a ammonia like smell (bathroom is worse) I have 50 pictures that include some of the stuff mentioned above some not mentioned above. I can take more pics needed. My son lives with me and I just want to make sure he’s safe. I have some ideas of what I think is going on after hours of reaearch. One of my ideas include “an old meth lab” Which I can explain why I think that after you read this and look at pictures. I’m only going to mention that because not too many people would think that and this town is known for it. [http:// Flickr](http:// Flickr)
[quote=“Wolverine71, post:1, topic:751030”]
Moved in a month ago, freshly painted walls and popcorn ceiling(which is odd to me). Wasn’t here much the first 3 weeks. Different color stuff specs on walls, dents and bumps all over walls. water stains appearingin 3 top corners of apartment, every other corner has a “termite” hole. Popcorn ceiling producing Some big popcorn spots which will produce a powder on floor and eventually the big popcorn will drop. Some don’t produce a powder and just the popcorn will fall. New water pipes because pipes burst before I moved in. Kitchen sink spits water up with a fowl smell when the neighbor upstairs does something in the kitchen everyday(he’s always working on something in the apartment lol). He just moved in a couple weeks ago and i havent talked to him. ““Not in pictures”” The carpet in front of the bathroom is dark along with walls which is caused from poor ventilation but its no where else in apartment. Noticed 3 decent sized “mouse” holes in bottom corners. 1 in my bedroom closet, 2 in water heater room along the same wall(I duct tapped the first day). Loud scratches in water heater, quiet scratches in both bedrooms. “Termite holes” is every room, most are covered because paint but there’s quite a few new ones. 3 dime sized holes. 1 in ceiling 2 in walls(duct tapped first day). The bathroom and hot water heater room have a ammonia like smell (bathroom is worse) I have 50 pictures that include some of the stuff mentioned above some not mentioned above. I can take more pics needed. My son lives with me and I just want to make sure he’s safe. I have some ideas of what I think is going on after hours of reaearch. One of my ideas include “an old meth lab” Which I can explain why I think that after you read this and look at pictures. I’m only going to mention that because not too many people would think that and this town is known for it. https://m.flickr.com/#/photos/141581215@N05/25909316250/
All the pictures of the ceiling look fine to me. I don’t see any “termite” holes. You’ve never had a popcorn ceiling before, by the sound of it? Some sloppy work there. And some sloppy taping jobs on the wall, but what can you expect when the landlord wants it done fast and cheap. Even if there are some termites, they are not going to attack a person. Same thing with mice. But I do know that their scratching gets rather annoying.
If you really want to keep your son safe, I’d recommend not placing objects against baseboard heaters, and not using receptacles (outlets) that are immediately above them such that the cord is on top of the heater. Also I think spring-type mouse traps are pretty ouchy on a young one’s fingers.
Like I stated above I didn’t post any termite hole pics. I’ve never had a popcorn ceiling before and I know this ceiling was made with asbestos. I wasn’t worried about termites attacking us. I just wanted to mention everything with the apartment and get advice. Someone might know something most of us don’t. I don’t use the heaters. Weather has been decent here.
Yeah, I agree with core … this place is rough and tumble, not real long on quality repairs … there is definite water damage here and there … the landlord is a fool to let the roof get so bad.
Keep everything clean, wash the spots off the walls when they appear … it is what it is, and it’s affordable.
The landlord never comes to the apartment. Never even seen him. Its the maintenance guy. The apartment complex has been open since 1983 and they hired him 1992. They have a office guy that does the paper work and he talks really bad about the maintenance guy.
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This is more of an advice and opinion type of topic, so off to IMHO it goes.
Moving thread from General Questions to In My Humble Opinion.
for the popcorn ceiling being asbestos, depends on when it was made. As was said, it’s a rough but affordable apt. I’ve seen and lived in worse. Are you handy at all? If so, ask the manager for a discount on the rent for maintenance and improvements. Get it in writing, make him tell you (in writing) where to buy whatever consumable supplies (paint, primer, caulk that sort of thing brushes and paint pans scrapers and the like are tools at your own expense) and then give him(her?) copies of the receipts so those costs can be deducted from the rent.
Asbestos wasn’t used in ceilings after 1978.
I’d suggest moving. Theres too many issues and I wouldn’t count on the landlord fixing all of them.
You’ll know what to look for and avoid in your search for a second apartment.
You’re going to be moving fairly soon anyway, probably no more than a year before you can afford something better. It is unlikely that any hazard in the apartment will have a cumulative effect on your child that will be relevant in a year, nor represent an immediate hazard, so endure it best you can until your circumstances are brighter. Moving immediately will be more costly than your current cash-flow can tolerate.
Living in run down places is a rite of passage for young adults starting out.
I grew up in a nice home in the suburbs. My first couple apartments after college took some getting used to. Roaches are a big thing because they move from apartment to apartment. Whoever sprays drives them over to their neighbor’s unit. Apartments are rarely as clean or nice as a personal home. But its all young couples can afford right after college.
It took my wife and I a few years to buy a nice home. Its smaller than my parent’s home but I make sure my home is clean and in good repair.
I lived in a cold-water walk-up after college, with the bathroom down the hall. Building had roaches, and I asked them not to spray my apartment because of my cat. Boy, did I learn my lesson. My apartment became the roach sanctuary. The next time they sprayed, I parked my cat with some friends for a day.
The other rite of passage is discovering that there isn’t a lot that can be done except move when your lease is up. Friends had to replace their own toilet when the landlord didn’t get around to it for weeks (hey, there was a gas station down the street) - they took the cost of the toilet out of their rent check and attached a note. There other option was court, but the rent was affordable for a couple of guys with sketchy “haven’t found a real job yet” post college employment and student loans. Yeah, there was a meth lab next door, and hookers across the hall. And the two rooms that had been carpeted sometime in the past twenty years were the kitchen and bathroom (yuk!) - but seriously cheap rent.
I lived in a place where after roach spraying you’d sweep up piles of the gross little suckers.
Asbestos contaminated insulation, mixed with the mineral vermiculite was used primarily between 1955 and 1990. While manufacturing of discontinued in the late 1984, materials still remained on the market. If you have a home built or insulted during this time, chances are good that it contains asbestos
Does the ceiling texture look that old? I went through your pictures again and it seems there’s been some interior finishing work, is it possible the ceiling was done later than 1990?
I think I would suspect the bathroom tiles having asbestos … if anything … it doesn’t look like the kind of place that would spend that much money on asbestos materials. Like lead paint, it tends to the higher end of products.
Wash the red spots off and if they come back, use bleach or fire, then paint … yellow stains are from water, should have been sealed with oil-based primer before painting … meh, probably still leaks anyway … save your money and look for a better place.
No, they were done when they were built in 1980. The ceiling looks fine besides the water stains and popcorn falling. They re painted it before I moved in. Google says asbestos material is cheaper than other material. Maybe I looked at a wrong website
A lot of water damage, and shoddy repair work.
Biggest concern shouldn’t be termites, meth, asbestos, etc., but persistent mold that is behind the walls and ceilings and never abated.