It seems like there's no such thing as 'spare time' when you're working on a house project.
Today was errand day ... got fancy tiles to go around the edge of the fireplace surround, clothes for The Boy (whose arms are suddenly too long for all his existing shirts), and an electric powered brad nailer. I have an air compressor driven one, but I've got so much overhead work to do that dragging the air hose around and dealing with the compressor is more effort than I want to expend. The electric one was only $80, and I think it'll get used enough to be worthwhile.
What else did we pick up today? Oh right: smoke detectors that can be hardwired in (I'd gotten battery operated ones but apparently they have to be hardwired), face plates for the outlets, and a motion sensing light switch. That one is for the light that goes to upstairs - The Boy is not always very good at remembering to shut the lights off behind him, so the one that lights the way to his room is going to be on a motion sensor. :)
Speaking of The Boy, he has a fairly nasty cold that's been brewing for a few days. Now he's got a fever and is looking pretty pale, so he'll stay home from school tomorrow. There's a PD day at school on Tuesday as well, so it looks like we'll be at Union Guy's place for the next couple of nights. That means not much will get done on the house this week, but I suppose that's how it goes.
29 January 2006
28 January 2006
Cupboards
This week, I started putting together the kitchen cabinets. They are from Ikea, and since whatever furniture I didn't inherit I seem to have purchased from Ikea, at least I have some experience in this particular area. Anyway, I got all the base cabinets put together and the upper corner cabinet as well.
Oh, the other intriguing news for the week is the refrigeration plan: originally, I had hoped to purchase a Sunfrost refrigerator, but they are about 3K and towards the end of a construction project the money tends to run low and 3K is harder to find than one might have expected (or about as hard to find as you might expect, depending on how much experience you have with construction projects). Anyway, Union Guy did some research, and has come up with a clever plan to solve the problem for a reasonable cost. A standard chest freezer (7 cubic foot) is fitted with an exterior thermostat that means it runs only a minute or two out of every hour, just enough to keep the interior at fridge temperature. Because you open the lid, the cold doesn't fall out like it does if you open a fridge door, although it's a bit weird digging for stuff inside. Apparently the wise use of baskets for organizing contents is very important. Anyway, the thermostat thing is on order and this weekend I'll go look at some freezers and see what I can find. The whole solution will cost about $400 instead of $3500, so right there, it's a done deal. And it uses less power.
Today I got one single board hung up in the bedroom ... not a lot done on the house today, but I was busy with The Boy's 4H stuff - we went to the SPCA and a pet store to tour and look at various animals and what it means to be a responsible pet owner. Walls can wait, I suppose, kids matter more. :)
Oh, the other intriguing news for the week is the refrigeration plan: originally, I had hoped to purchase a Sunfrost refrigerator, but they are about 3K and towards the end of a construction project the money tends to run low and 3K is harder to find than one might have expected (or about as hard to find as you might expect, depending on how much experience you have with construction projects). Anyway, Union Guy did some research, and has come up with a clever plan to solve the problem for a reasonable cost. A standard chest freezer (7 cubic foot) is fitted with an exterior thermostat that means it runs only a minute or two out of every hour, just enough to keep the interior at fridge temperature. Because you open the lid, the cold doesn't fall out like it does if you open a fridge door, although it's a bit weird digging for stuff inside. Apparently the wise use of baskets for organizing contents is very important. Anyway, the thermostat thing is on order and this weekend I'll go look at some freezers and see what I can find. The whole solution will cost about $400 instead of $3500, so right there, it's a done deal. And it uses less power.
Today I got one single board hung up in the bedroom ... not a lot done on the house today, but I was busy with The Boy's 4H stuff - we went to the SPCA and a pet store to tour and look at various animals and what it means to be a responsible pet owner. Walls can wait, I suppose, kids matter more. :)
25 January 2006
Tile
I don't like installing tile. It is hard work.
Yesterday I took the day off work and stayed home to work on the house. I did a lot of cleaning up: carting insulation down to the crawl space (so it's not filling up the kitchen anymore), bagging up the garbage sitting outside (and inside), and sweeping and tidying in general. Then I got brave and mixed up the cement stuff and started installing the tiles that go behind and around the wood stove. What a messy job! I used Contractor Man's brand new tile saw, which he kindly left for me to use, but I'm not really all that good at cutting straight lines on tile. (I wonder, is anyone? It's hard to do as they tend to chip off in odd places...)
The end result looks pretty good, though, and my mom tells me that grout hides a multitude of sins, so when that's on I'm sure it'll look even better. I'll post a picture after I recharge my camera battery.
The really good news for the day, though, is that the batteries were charged up to full with the generator, and stayed at green light status until well into the evening ... then when the sun came out yesterday, they charged themselves back up to full green light status without any help from the generator. The little meter on the inverter said that the sun gave us 1.9 kWh yesterday, which is pretty good for a winter day, I think.
Yesterday I took the day off work and stayed home to work on the house. I did a lot of cleaning up: carting insulation down to the crawl space (so it's not filling up the kitchen anymore), bagging up the garbage sitting outside (and inside), and sweeping and tidying in general. Then I got brave and mixed up the cement stuff and started installing the tiles that go behind and around the wood stove. What a messy job! I used Contractor Man's brand new tile saw, which he kindly left for me to use, but I'm not really all that good at cutting straight lines on tile. (I wonder, is anyone? It's hard to do as they tend to chip off in odd places...)
The end result looks pretty good, though, and my mom tells me that grout hides a multitude of sins, so when that's on I'm sure it'll look even better. I'll post a picture after I recharge my camera battery.
The really good news for the day, though, is that the batteries were charged up to full with the generator, and stayed at green light status until well into the evening ... then when the sun came out yesterday, they charged themselves back up to full green light status without any help from the generator. The little meter on the inverter said that the sun gave us 1.9 kWh yesterday, which is pretty good for a winter day, I think.
23 January 2006
... and a shower!
Just got an update from Union Guy: we have a working shower today, as well!
Yippee, now we can even be clean! I'm sure my coworkers will appreciate this new development. :D
Also, an administrative notice: I had several comments backlogged here .... if you commented earlier and didn't see yours show up, it's there now. Sorry about that!
Yippee, now we can even be clean! I'm sure my coworkers will appreciate this new development. :D
Also, an administrative notice: I had several comments backlogged here .... if you commented earlier and didn't see yours show up, it's there now. Sorry about that!
21 January 2006
The sink works!
The sink works! We have hot and cold running water at the bathroom sink. We also have a completed shower enclosure, which will have water and a drain hooked up by the end of tomorrow. Yippee, we'll be able to take showers at our own house next week!
We started the day at The Boy's 4H Public Speaking competition: he had to give a speech to a room full of strangers (mostly strangers, anyway) and do an improvised speech as well. He did very well - he took second place (okay, there were only two kids in his division, but his marks were still very good). He went from terrified to confident in a week - it was amazing to see.
When we got home from the morning's adventures, The Boy went out to play and I started working with stain and sealant. I got the loft wall restained with Pickling Stain (the Pickled Oak stain I had wasn't quite white enough for what I wanted), stained several packages of boards (so they'll be ready to use when I do more work on the ceiling), and then sealed all of that with Varathane. Once that was done I started putting vertical pine boards on one of the bedroom walls (the one that divides the bedroom from the bathroom) - I want to see what the walls look like with vertical pine, and then I want to stain one wall with the same Honey Pine Minwax Polyshades (all in one stain and sealant product) that I used on the doors and see if I like the colour. I'm thinking of saving the cedar for the living room only, where there are lots of windows and not a lot of wall so that the extra money spent on wood will "go further", and just use pine in the bedroom and other less visible places. The only way to know if I'll like it is to try it out, so that's where I'm currently at.
We are spending the night at Union Guy's place, enjoying laundry and bath facilities. :) More updates soon!
We started the day at The Boy's 4H Public Speaking competition: he had to give a speech to a room full of strangers (mostly strangers, anyway) and do an improvised speech as well. He did very well - he took second place (okay, there were only two kids in his division, but his marks were still very good). He went from terrified to confident in a week - it was amazing to see.
When we got home from the morning's adventures, The Boy went out to play and I started working with stain and sealant. I got the loft wall restained with Pickling Stain (the Pickled Oak stain I had wasn't quite white enough for what I wanted), stained several packages of boards (so they'll be ready to use when I do more work on the ceiling), and then sealed all of that with Varathane. Once that was done I started putting vertical pine boards on one of the bedroom walls (the one that divides the bedroom from the bathroom) - I want to see what the walls look like with vertical pine, and then I want to stain one wall with the same Honey Pine Minwax Polyshades (all in one stain and sealant product) that I used on the doors and see if I like the colour. I'm thinking of saving the cedar for the living room only, where there are lots of windows and not a lot of wall so that the extra money spent on wood will "go further", and just use pine in the bedroom and other less visible places. The only way to know if I'll like it is to try it out, so that's where I'm currently at.
We are spending the night at Union Guy's place, enjoying laundry and bath facilities. :) More updates soon!
19 January 2006
More progress
Today the whole crew was out working - Contractor Man's Assistant is injured and unable to do heavy labour anymore, so Union Guy has been going out to help most of this week (wonderful man that he is). This is Contractor Man's last week, as he heads to Arizona on Tuesday ... so everyone's working hard to get things done before he leaves.
Today vapor barrier work continued: only a few spots remain to be coated in plastic. I have heard a lot of complaints about the tar used to seal the gaps in the vapor barrier: "This is the worst stuff in the world to work with!" according to Contractor Man (rumor has it he said this several times today, like when his stapler got stuck in the stuff). Union Guy has black gunk all over his arms tonight, having forgotten to rinse with varsol before leaving the house. I have to agree, this stuff really is sticky and gross. Oh well, it serves it's purpose.
Plumber Man was working again today: apparently my shower is well underway. I heard that Plumber Man was putting extra glue in the seam in the shower enclosure where the shelves go because "you know how those women are, they need all kinds of shampoo and stuff". With all my long curly hair, well ... that's pretty much true!
The house is really starting to feel like a house now, it's very exciting. I am so happy that it feels the way I thought it would - it is the size I had imagined, and the 'shape' I had envisioned. It's so hard to know for sure what a house will be like from drawings and floor plans alone, but I am very happy with this one. I was putting stain/sealant on my interior doors last night (Minwax Honey Pine all-in-one stain and sealant) - they look beautiful even with just one coat, and it's so nice to finally feel like I am part of the construction crew. Up until now there's not been a lot that I could really do, as so much of it required more strength and/or skill than I have, but the interior finishing will fall almost entirely on my shoulders. I know it's going to be a lot of work, but in an odd way, I'm looking forward to it.
I'm quite sure that someone is going to remind me I said that, when it starts feeling like the house is never gonna be "done" and I'm tired of staining boards and putting cupboards together and laying tile...
Today vapor barrier work continued: only a few spots remain to be coated in plastic. I have heard a lot of complaints about the tar used to seal the gaps in the vapor barrier: "This is the worst stuff in the world to work with!" according to Contractor Man (rumor has it he said this several times today, like when his stapler got stuck in the stuff). Union Guy has black gunk all over his arms tonight, having forgotten to rinse with varsol before leaving the house. I have to agree, this stuff really is sticky and gross. Oh well, it serves it's purpose.
Plumber Man was working again today: apparently my shower is well underway. I heard that Plumber Man was putting extra glue in the seam in the shower enclosure where the shelves go because "you know how those women are, they need all kinds of shampoo and stuff". With all my long curly hair, well ... that's pretty much true!
The house is really starting to feel like a house now, it's very exciting. I am so happy that it feels the way I thought it would - it is the size I had imagined, and the 'shape' I had envisioned. It's so hard to know for sure what a house will be like from drawings and floor plans alone, but I am very happy with this one. I was putting stain/sealant on my interior doors last night (Minwax Honey Pine all-in-one stain and sealant) - they look beautiful even with just one coat, and it's so nice to finally feel like I am part of the construction crew. Up until now there's not been a lot that I could really do, as so much of it required more strength and/or skill than I have, but the interior finishing will fall almost entirely on my shoulders. I know it's going to be a lot of work, but in an odd way, I'm looking forward to it.
I'm quite sure that someone is going to remind me I said that, when it starts feeling like the house is never gonna be "done" and I'm tired of staining boards and putting cupboards together and laying tile...
The luxury of indoor plumbing at last!
We have indoor plumbing!
We have a toilet that flushes.
We almost have a sink, but a piece was missing from the package and Plumber Man will bring the replacement bit from his stash of gadgets and hook it up today. He did, however, install a set of laundry taps for me, so that I actually had running water last night as well as a flushing toilet.
Tonight, I'm supposed to even have a shower.
Plumber Man is officially my Favourite Person of The Week!
It feels like such absolute luxury to have these things. In our part of the world, we tend to consider them 'necessities' and take them entirely for granted. Next time you turn that tap, take a moment to think about how wonderful it truly is!
We have a toilet that flushes.
We almost have a sink, but a piece was missing from the package and Plumber Man will bring the replacement bit from his stash of gadgets and hook it up today. He did, however, install a set of laundry taps for me, so that I actually had running water last night as well as a flushing toilet.
Tonight, I'm supposed to even have a shower.
Plumber Man is officially my Favourite Person of The Week!
It feels like such absolute luxury to have these things. In our part of the world, we tend to consider them 'necessities' and take them entirely for granted. Next time you turn that tap, take a moment to think about how wonderful it truly is!
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