Two tips for those who are performing major renovations on a dilapidated property
If you plan to carry out major renovation work on an old, dilapidated property, you may find the following tips to be quite helpful.
Spend time drawing up the effluent disposal report
If the property you will be working on features a septic system and neither the system itself nor the building has been maintained over the last few years, then it is quite likely that you will need to replace both the septic tank and the piping that connects it to the house.
Before you can replace anything, you will need to find a company that specialises in creating effluent disposal reports and have them draw up a report for you. This documentation will describe the details of the new system you plan to install and confirm that it is a feasible, safe and environmentally-responsible means of disposing of the waste that will be generated in the house when people eventually move into it. Getting this report drawn up is essential as, without it, the local council may not authorise the installation of the septic system.
As such, before you book a tradesperson to perform the installation on a specific date, you should make sure that you set aside enough time for this report to be drawn up. Depending on how busy the company is, this process may take anywhere from a few days to a few weeks. If you don't put aside enough time for this and the report is still being created on the date when the tradesperson is due to install the septic system, you may have to send this person away and arrange for them to do this job on a different date. If they are booked up for the foreseeable future, this could lead to you being unable to fit the septic system for many months.
Use portable generators to power your construction tools
Unless you plan to replace the property's electrical system at the very beginning of the project, is it is best to use portable generators to power your construction tools. The electrical system of an old house that has been neglected for many years is likely to be in very poor condition. As such, if you overload it by plugging in lots of power tools, the fuse box could keep tripping or worse still, an electrical fire could occur. The former could affect the speed with which you complete the tasks that require the use of power tools, whilst the latter may lead to the house being so badly damaged by the flames that you cannot continue renovating it.