Brothers,
It’s been a while since our last House Corporation update, other than Seth’s monthly letters so I will attempt to give you all the complete picture all in one document.
As most of you know we, actually mostly Tom, have devised a five-year plan for the renovation of 520 S. We are well into year 3 and doing well. Here is a list of what we have accomplished so far.
1. New roof.
As many of you know this was a huge undertaking, we had significant structural damage from rot and termites that was not visible until the old roof was removed. We planned on some damage but not as much as we found. Now that it is complete we have a 35 year roof, very solid structure underneath and properly flashed, so we should be good for a long time.
2. New bathrooms.
All the upstairs bathrooms are completely renovated with solid surface showers, Toto toilets (well built, high efficiency, virtually clog free) new vanities, new vent fans, tile floors, new PEX plumbing, PVC drains. These should last for a long, long time and be virtually maintenance free.
3. Drains, vents.
All the cast iron drains and vent stacks above the slab have been replaced with PVC pipe. Roof vents were combined where possible to reduce the number of holes in the new roof.
4. Supply lines.
All the supply lines in the main house are now either copper or Pex, reducing the possibility of leaks and corrosion down the road. This will be done in the wings when they are renovated.
5. Security system.
The house has multiple cameras, motion activated recording etc. We have already used it to recover some ladders and tools stolen last year. The entire exterior of the house and rear parking lot is now lit with LED (to reduce electricity) security lighting.
6. Underground utilities.
This paid dividends almost immediately. When the hurricane came through several limbs in the back parking lot came down which would have taken out the overhead power line. Instead, we were one of the first to get power back after the storm. Thanks to Vince Parrinello for funding this project.
7. High-speed WiFi.
The house now has super fast WiFi throughout. Thanks to techno wizards John Banta and Jeremiah Poff for their help in procuring and installing the system.
8. Insulation.
All exterior walls have been filled with expanding foam insulation. Cinder Blocks walls are not the best at keeping heat/cold in or out but this was an inexpensive way to keeps walls from sweating and losing cool air in the summer. Attic insulation will be added to the main house and wings at a later stage in the renovation.
All this has been done with NO DEBT. I’m sure quite a few of you can remember how much fun we had burning the mortgage. This is of major importance to us. Most of you know Delta Chi, amid much fanfare, finally has a house “on campus” It is actually located on ERAU property about a mile south of campus on Clyde Morris Blvd among other apartments ERAU owns. The problem is they took on a huge debt to build the place and now, unfortunately, they are having problems meeting that obligation. We, of course, wish absolutely no ill will on our greek brothers but we could have been in the same place if we built new instead of renovating 520 S. This was mostly due to the expert guidance from our HC President Tom McSwiggan.
Tom has also spent time meeting with city fathers, ERAU brass and others to “reshape” our part of “Old Daytona” This has resulted in two nearby crack houses being closed down by DBPD, reduction in nearby prostitution, Segrave Ave being cleaned up, less vagrant traffic and other improvements.
Now for the next phase…….
1. Downlighting front exterior.
Before we close in the soffits from the roof job we will be adding downlighting on the entire front of the house. This will allow the house to be “bathed in light” of several different colors, green for St Patty’s day, red for Christmas, blue for Sigma Chi etc.
2. Soffits.
The underside of the roof overhang will be closed in with aluminum soffit material
3. New Hurricane windows.
These will be much better for multiple reasons, reduced energy costs because they reflect heat out and keep cool in. Much heavier frame so it will hold up to extended use. Allow screens to be installed on all windows, no storm windows needed either. More aesthetically pleasing.
4. Wing air conditioning.
The wings will be fitted with Mitsubishi splits. These are the small single room units. They are more efficient, up to eight units can be run off one compressor so we only need one compressor for each wing. This also allows for the A/C to be turned off if a room is vacant without having to shut down the whole house. This will also place a much smaller load on the A/C units in the main house attic.
5. Fencing.
We will be fencing in the back yard with a more private (style to be determined) fence. The poolside fence will be moved several feet south toward the Raintree Hotel. We own the property and Tom has already informed the owners of our plan and they are fine with the idea. We will also be putting up a fence beside room 1 south to the Raintree. This will keep unwanted folks from traversing the property between the two buildings.
6. The Pool.
Last but not least the pool, the money pit that has been there forever. First a little history. The actives, in an effort to save money wanted to take care of the pool themselves. Tom took the appropriate pool maintenance class, and got certified, showed the actives how to maintain the pool and they took over. After a few weeks Tom went home, the pool turned green, a new inspector for the county wanted to make a name for herself and RED FLAGGED the pool. This means closed, no swimming until further notice. After several meetings with the county, the county pool engineer and Cal, the fellow who took care of the pool for decades and is now maintaining the pool for HC again.
We have two choices:
1. Put a band-aid fix on it that will have to be mostly thrown away when we do the real fix to comply with 2018 code.
2. Do it right the first time to comply with 2018 code.
Volunteers Needed
This is where the 800+ alumni of Eta Iota come in. We usually do very well at 5 year Bday parties, everyone comes back, gets re-acquainted with old buddies and they open up their wallets. Make no mistake here Brothers we are VERY MUCH appreciative of your generous donations. We would, however, like to have all this finished by the big 50!! One option would be to get a loan and finish it up, and hope we can pay it off after the 50th. We would like to do this debt free though.
ERAU has just enacted a new policy forcing every new student to stay in ERAU provided housing for their first two years in school. Only exceptions are if you are 21 years of age or transfer in about 28 credit hours. This is a two-pronged sword for us. It means we will have a smaller pool of actives to draw from to fill the house, but the actives who do live in the house will be a little older and more mature.
Here is my idea for fundraising. I would like a non-HC member for every 2 year bracket that Eta Iota has been around. This person would presumably know most everyone in his 2 year bracket so they could personally contact each Brother in his group. Using a personal touch will hopefully stimulate some donations. Let me stres one thing here, ANY donation is needed and appreciated, $10/month, $20/month. Of course, those of us older, more established alumni may be able to make larger donations. This would require about 24 volunteers, out of almost 900 alumni how hard could this be?
If you would be willing to be one of these folks please contact me.
If you would prefer to donate through 1855 or make a recurring or one-time donation please see the HI web site under 1855 Club.
Thanks for taking the time to read this,
IHSV
Mike Wyble
