An expert's look

Earlier at the beginning of this week, Chris Wiedeman stopped by my place for a tour and gave my property a closer look into what needs to be fixed. It was long over due to get someone in there that has a better idea of what they are doing, and Chris has some experience fixing some of his own properties near Findley Market so it was more than welcome advice. He gave me some encouragement in the approach that I'm currently going about my renovations, but also showed me some things that need address ASAP that I didn't think we were urgent until now. 

Chris is the first person that I've ever taken to the 4th floor whose first instinct was to look for the roof hatch and go straight out onto the roof. "Are you afraid of heights?" he asked as he climbed out before me. It's a good thing that we did though, because the small leak from my gutter box that I'd noticed from the ground turned out to be multiple cracks from aging in the waterproof membraneabove the cornice. This is the type of thing that can become a nightmare if it's left to get worse and is priority number one for me to fix. I've got the materials ready for the patch already and am just waiting for the roof to dry enough to go up and fix it. 

Another place that Chris shed some light for me was on my electrical capacity in the basement. His first reaction upon entering the basement was that I'll need to upgrade the electric panels and service to the building at some point down the road. It's fine as it is now, but with the growing demands of modern day electronics could see some strain when the building is fully occupied. He gave me some tips for the ways to go about doing it piecemeal to save money on permits and spreading the cost out over time. 

These are just a few of the highlights, but bottom line is that Chris is a great resource. It was pretty obvious from the start that he wasn't phased by OTR buildings and their challenges. Where most people sit in awe of the arched stone ceiling in my dark basement and the unrenovated state of my 4th floor, he seeks out the problems and offered solutions to tap to the building's potential.