Lush Home

oops - January 19, 2009

2009-01-29T17:08:00.000-08:00

How did I forget to mention?

I woke in the night to the sound of dripping. They make fun of me for being a "princess and the pea" but it saved us tonight. The house was leaking or something and I heard the first few drips in my sleep. We ended up taking off some of the wood (building with wood has it's advantages, drywall would have been impossible to remove and save) and looking around. I guess the verdict is that snow came in the roof vent during one of the storms and then melted and ran down the inside of the metal and outside of the vapour barrier. The solution is recontructing the vent for our high wind situation. We'll do that in the summer but it's a bit of a pain.

January 29, 2009

2009-01-29T16:04:00.000-08:00

I was stuck at home today because of bad weather. Luckily for Donnie, that meant I was home to prompt him to get going with the kitchen :)

He measured and cut the plywood framing and then Isaac and I helped him assemble them. The island is completely framed and the cooktop installed. When we put the counter top on we'll need to pul out the cooktop for a few minutes but in the meantime we cooked tonight on the new top and it's hot! We only cooked bacon and eggs but it worked! The oven is also installed but we'll test that tomorrow.

We put the countertop in the pantry as well. I didn't pick the pattern - my cousin got it for me for free which makes it perfect- but I like it. It will be much easier to keep clean than the silly plywood. No real food prep goes on in here but Isaac often makes his lunch for school or gets his cereal in the bowl here.

January 27, 2009

2009-01-27T04:58:00.000-08:00

We've been in a deep freeze for almost a month I think. The few times it's warmed up a bit it snowed and we've been snowed in. The house progress is at a stand still. Donnie's new plan is to work an hour each day that he is home. That should jump start things.

In the meantime I made a list of what needs to be done inside the house to complete it.

House Projects - Inside

Donnie and Alicia’s bedroom:
shelves in closet
baseboard in closet
trim around closet door
top of wall above closet
trim along dormer ceiling
attach baseboard on long wall
make crawlspace entrance
wall and door into bedroom

Loft:
bookshelf and wall in loft
baseboard in loft
railing around stairs
edge of top stair tread
door on bathroom
attic ladder
attic wall and entrance

Isaac’s bedroom:
door frame
closet door and frame
top shelf in closet
permanent loft railing
trim along dormer ceiling
permanent ladder
loft floor trim
cover ceiling beam
shelves along wall

Bathroom:
plumb shower
install tile
plumb sink
install vanity and sink
plumb tub
finish dry wall
paint
door and window trim

Pantry:
counter top
cabinet trim
inside door trim
install baseboard

Bathroom:
tile trim
permanent inside door trim
finish window trim
cabinet behind door with counter top
vanity under sink
cover around toilet line
soffit to cover vents on ceiling
crack filling around trim at top
handle on door

Entry:
finish wall around closet
closet door
closet rod and shelves
cubbies above hooks
boot shelf below bench
beam trim above den door
replace broken baseboard piece by den door

Kitchen:
framing for island
install cooktop
remove old stove
facework for perimeter cabinets
install oven
drawer hardware
doors
facework for island
drawer hardware
doors
paint and stain woodwork
cut and glue butcher block
plane butcher block
install butcher block
install baseboards
bulkhead to cover plumbing overhead
install light fixture

Dining:
get new table
paint new chairs
install overhead light
install dimmer switch

Living:
install light fixture
stain stair runners and reinstall
cut and install new stair treads
decide on stairwell railing
window seat

Den:
install baseboard end
electrical outlet covers

Basement:
replace stairs
replace last floor board before stairs
build storage under stairs
bookshelves
cover ceiling
stone under stove
shelves above laundry
countertop in laundry
gate/door for dogs
electrical, phone and TV wiring
window trims

January 14, 2009

2009-01-15T05:14:00.000-08:00

Donnie's plan is to start the island before we go any further with the perimeter cabinets. That meant we had to find the time to sit down and talk about the requirements and make the plan. My original plan is still with the original kitchen guy which isn't very helpful to me now.

The island will be based on the one shown here but we're planning to finish the wood with stain instead of paint. Originally I had wanted red paint but I'm concerned it will leave us with fewer options for decorating because the house is so open. The dark stained wood will let us change the wall colour or living room whenever we want.

The cook top will go to the right of centre, closer to the fridge. The backside of the island will have stool seating. I'm hoping to build tallish milking style stools for that with some round cookies of wood for the seats. Four drawers will be dropped down under the countertop

Under the small side of counter to the right of the cooktop will be a bank of drawers about 15". Under the cooktop itself will be open shelves for pots and pans. That will end at the halfway mark. Mirroring those two spaces in width will be two banks of drawers for plates, glasses and more to the left end of the island.

Maybe work will start next week. This week Donnie seems to be at work all the time.

January 9, 2009

2009-01-09T14:41:00.001-08:00

We brought the dishwasher up from the basement where it's been living for, oh, a YEAR. It fits the hole we made for it which is a great start. After some reading of the manual Donnie hooked it up. Too ad we just had grilled cheese for supper and there's not much to wash.

January 5, 2009

2009-01-09T14:29:00.000-08:00

Donnie installed the plywood frame today. Isaac says he loves it. I'm not sure what's to love but I'm happy to see us one step closer to being able to cook a decent meal.

January 4, 2009

2009-01-09T14:23:00.000-08:00

We're getting a little more done each day. Today we cut the plywood frame pieces and measured and cut the plywood that goes along the wall to line up with. Well, I helped measre but Donnie did the cutting. Donnie wants to wait til we're back to work/school and he's home alone to start assembling the frame.

January 1, 2009

2009-01-01T13:13:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year! This will be the year we finish the house. OK, finish building the house. We'll never really be done will we?

Today we were snowed in and we couldn't really open up the garage to do wood work. We mostly stayed close to the couch although Donnie plowed us out and I got the house back to normal by taking down all the Christmas decorations.

That's not to say the kitchen was at a stand still entirely. I got our table out of my kitchen. I moved it into the "dining room" and set up my dining and sitting area instead of the living room set up we had before. Then I measured and marked the island on the floor. We're going to have to drill the hole for the electrical before we go any further or we'll have no way to cook during construction. The old range (that was supposed to get me through a couple of months) has to sit in the middle of the room while we build the perimeter cabinets and then we'll be without it entirely while we build the island.

December 29, 2008

2008-12-31T09:22:00.000-08:00

Well Christmas is over and it's time to get to work on the house. The kitchen comes first and is in such need of our time as you can see in the photos. I have pots, pans and dishes everywhere. I should refuse to cook until my conditions are improved.

We bought the materials today and finalized our plans. I'm pretty sure this is how the professionals do it minus the gingerbread house and popsicle stick napkin holder on the drafting table. Maybe the pros don't write measurements on the existing structures with sharpies either? That 20 pack of multi coloured sharpies I bought at Costco were awesome! I think every tradesperson we had in the house managed to go home with one or two. They were in high demand. Turquoise was my favorite.

Cabinets start this week!

December 24, 2008

2008-12-31T09:10:00.000-08:00

We're ready for our first Christmas in the new house! We cut down a tree out back, I decorated it while the boy hung out and Donnie went in to work. Who works on Christmas Eve anyway? The family started arriving in the afternoon and by the time Santa arrived we had a houseful of overnight guests. Notice the tree is decorated with beads, lights and Christmas cards? I can't find my box of tree ornaments anywhere. Oops.

December 8, 2008

2008-12-09T06:46:00.001-08:00

We are snowed in today! So we sat down to work out kitchen details. Did I mention that our original plans are still with the kitchen guy who didn't do the work?

From left to right across the kitchen wall with the big window we will have:

1. Some as yet unidentified piece of cabinetry. Maybe something unfitted or like a narrow hutch, or both.

2. Fridge. This is already in place. It's black because Donnie wanted black. I don't mind it. It's an all-fridge because I wanted that. They warned us it would be noisy but wow, it's noisy.

3. Straight run of cabinets with stack of drawers about 30" wide, sink cabinet with two doors underneath, dishwasher, undercounter oven and last, cabinet with drawer on top and open space for stoneware underneath. I like the one Pioneer Woman is building. http://www.flickr.com/photos/pioneerwoman/3026789035/

You really should read her blog www.thepioneerwoman.com

The countertop will be random length 2X6 counter top. Donnie will place and glue them and I will plane, sand or whatever I decide to them to get them ready.

Once the cabinet front is ready I will be hand painting them - black. Sort of a warm, antique black if you can picture that. Originally the island was going to be a deep distressed red but I'm leaning more towards a dark stain now. We'll decide later.

December 4, 2008

2008-12-09T06:08:00.000-08:00

We sat down to talk about the kitchen cabinets. It's a bit nerve wracking because we don't have a lot of faith that we will be able to do this joint project without killing each other. Like Isaac says, "Remember the window well incident?" In that case it was best to work seperately but here I'm the cook so I need to be involved but Donnie is the carpenter so he needs to be involved. He hasn't done cabinets before so it's not like I can show him pictures and he just does it. We need to figure it out. By talking. And working together.

So, we know what we want it to look like. We're both fans of a primitive painted style, inspired by The workshops of David T. Smith. Me because I like the look and I think it will work with the farm house. Him, because well, it looks simple and lie one of the easier options. Maybe he likes it too.

After we agreed on the basics (which were already laid out for the cabinet guy we hired who didn't perform) we decided to go away and think about it and talk again on Saturday night. Yay, date night.

December 3, 2008

2008-12-09T06:05:00.000-08:00

Donnie and Doug have been working on the garage wiring on and off all week. I think it's now done since the outside light came on tonight when I went out to feed the goats. That's kind if nice. As long as it doesn't come on when I'm sleeping I'm fine. We situated the house and our bedroom so I'm the farthest away from any yard activity so I should be good.

November 29, 2008

2008-12-03T18:16:00.001-08:00

We started planning for the kitchen. It looks like I am going to have to revamp my plans a bit. My final draft is with the AWOL kitchen guy and the plans I have here are just not detailed enough for the two of us learning how to builds cabinets.

November 24, 2008

2008-12-03T18:14:00.000-08:00

Donnie built the garage door today. It looks massive. I guess I'll get to stain it in the spring. I can't get the stain I want this time of year anyway. Apparently it's a summer product. Who knew?

November 22, 2008

2008-12-03T18:12:00.000-08:00

It was lucky the roof was finished last week because we woke up to a huge early snowstorm! We really need that door.

November 20, 2008

2008-12-03T18:09:00.000-08:00

Donnie and Dad finished the metal roof on the garage. They had been working in spurts because it's been either too windy or too wet to get up on the roof safely. Finally it's done and we're ready for the winter. Well, we need a door first I guess.

November 1, 2008

2008-12-03T18:04:00.000-08:00

I spoke with the kitchen guy again. He's still not started. I'm beyond frustrated. I guess I won;t be cooking Thanksgiving dinner any time soon :/ I told him I needed to make other plans and forget about having him do the work for me. He said he would be able to get the island alone done by Christmas so I asked him to call me back with a new price. In the meantime Donnie and I are planing to undertake the kitchen project ourselves as soon as he is finished with the garage and available. Too bad kitchen guy has my plans!

October 2, 2008

2008-12-03T17:55:00.000-08:00

Finally! We're getting the dirt work done that we expected to do this summer! Bucky was here for the day and did a wonderful job cleaning up the yard, placing my big flagstones, lining the point with left over rocks, setting retaining walls and more. We still have lots to do by hand and with our tractor but we're officially done with the stuff we needed help to move. Some of those rocks are massive. Bucky runs the machine like he's picking the rocks up by hand and never seems to scratch or drop a rock or make a mistake.

September 27, 2008

2008-12-03T17:51:00.000-08:00

Donnie is putting up the first of the roof trusses. We bought the engineered trusses again just like with the house. So far they look like they will go up easily. Donnie and Dad will work on them this week.

September 20, 2008

2008-12-03T17:47:00.000-08:00

Donnie has a loft in his garage. I'm looking forward to getting some of the junk out of the basement. Now we need a roof.

September 16, 2008

2008-12-03T17:44:00.000-08:00

Donnie called the kitchen guy for me. We hadn't heard from him since he last told me that he had just started. This time he told Donnie that he had just bought the materials and was starting tomrorrow. I'm getting concerned about the whole thing. We knew he'd take his time but we've already missed our house warming date and it's not looking good for the promise he made me to have it done by fall. This time he promised Donnie he'd have it done in the next month.

September 11, 2008

2008-12-03T17:38:00.002-08:00

The third wall is stained and up!

September 10, 2008

2008-12-03T17:38:00.001-08:00

The second wall is up!

September 7, 2008

2008-12-03T17:35:00.000-08:00

The first garage wall is built. Donnie wants it done as soon as possible but definitely before the snow comes. After the garage we're startig wrok inside again so obviously I want it done asap too! Tomorrow I stain the wall. I chose the same deep red that we used on the house trim.

August 28, 2008

2008-12-03T17:26:00.000-08:00

We hired someone to pour the garage slab. It was quick, painless (except the cash) and turned out much better than the slab we also paid for in the basement of the house. We did all thelead up work and the slab crew were only here a half a day.

August 22, 2008

2008-12-03T17:25:00.001-08:00

The goats have a barn roof thanks to Donnie and Dad!.

August 16, 2008

2008-12-03T17:21:00.001-08:00

The goats have arrived! We have no roof on the barn but maybe the weather will be nice? Donnie built a little lean to inside their pen to keep the rain off them if they choose.

August 10, 2008

2008-12-03T17:17:00.000-08:00

The barn is now finished up to and ready for the roof trusses. We only have a few days before the goats arrive so we need to hurry!

August 8, 2008

2008-12-03T17:14:00.001-08:00

Donnie has the floor and 4 walls up on the barn. Isaac and I linseed oiled the barn floor.

August 4, 2008

2008-12-03T16:56:00.000-08:00

Isaac finally has shelves in his closet. They aren't pretty but he's happy and his clothes are off the floor.

July 26, 2008

2008-12-03T16:48:00.000-08:00

Donnie rented a tractor for the weekend. Partly to dig to footings for the garage but partly to see if he really wants to buy one for himself. The verdict? He wants a tractor but won't bother with the little digger attachment.

The exciting part for me was that I have my first little patch of "lawn." We moved top soil onto this rocky hill this weekend! I also finished my famous window well with flagstones surronded by more topsol and planted grass seed!

July 16, 2008

2008-12-03T16:41:00.000-08:00

I called the kitchen guy today. I was surprised I hadn't heard from him yet. I was expecting him to call me when he got far enough along to show me what he was dong and to discuss colours. He said he had just started and would be in touch in the next week or two.

July 3, 2008

2008-12-03T16:31:00.000-08:00

The entry way is done! The bench and closet are done although we'll do more with the closet next winter by adding a door. For now it's finished and ready for the final appraisal. The door trim is done and looks great. The door in the dining room is also trimmed but didn't turn out as well. It had to be wider on the right to meet the post and it just looks wrong. We're still thinking about what can be done to look better. The stair landing is done and looks nice and the skylight trim in the loft is finished. They took a whole day each! The trim in the downstairs bathroom is finished as well.

Donnie will be taking a month off to recover from a kidney biopsy so this is the last day before we get the appraisal and close the mortgage. It looks like we're closing without a kitchen!

June 20, 2008

2008-12-03T16:22:00.000-08:00

Once again, we've managed to get some loose ends tidied up. A month of progress these days looks like a week or less did in the winter. Still, it's progress and it counts!

I finally bought blinds. I went for cheap but tolerable to keep the sun out of our eyes with the TV. Walmart special! Donnie finished the walls around the top and in the den it's so much lighter than the rest of the walls. I really hope it fades to match soon. We also worked around the entry area and will soon have a comfy place to take off our shoes and jackets. The wall leading to the baseet is half done and my favorite acomplishment - the bathroom door is done! It's awesome! People either love it or hate it as soon as they walk in. Lucky for me, I love it! We also cleaned the house building equipment out of the loft. It's a lovely space. Better than we imagined.

May 31, 2008

2008-12-03T16:13:00.000-08:00

We've been slowly working away at the interior of the house although with the nice weather we're spending more time outside and less time in the house.

Dad is working on the pieced wood around the top of the den door. Dad and Donnie have completed the walls above the upstairs landing. I finshed painting our bedroom but the wall trim is still unfinshed. It likely will wait til next winter. Isaac painted his bedroom loft today too. It looks great. He was going for a graffitti look and I think he got it.

May 30, 2008

2008-12-03T16:09:00.000-08:00

The kitchen guy came today and we talked about the style of the house and my plans. I want the ktichen to look like it has been there for ever. The syle is called primitive although the red or natural (can't decide) island is slightly more detailed than the black perimeter cabinets I plan on painting the cabinets. He likes the island plan and figures it won't take long once he gets started. He is not able to start for a few weeks though.

May 12, 2008

2008-05-12T17:43:00.000-07:00

Donnie installed the trim in the kitchen today. It looks great. He didn't have enough pine for the lower trim below the sill so he'll add that when the delivery arrives. It looks so light coloured compared to the living room but it will darken with the varnish ad a bit of sunlight in the nest week or so.

May 7, 2008

2008-05-12T17:39:00.001-07:00

Donnie installed another beam today and cut the short beam pieces for the ends. I have to stain the short beams if the weather ever improves enough to take them outside.

I contacted a guy who is able to do our kitchen. He does cabinetry with wood and traditional methods. He won't do composite materials. He will come up to see the place and my plans around the end of the month.

May 5, 2008

2008-05-12T17:35:00.000-07:00

Donnie installed the first of the faux beas today. It wet reasonably well and they look good. They do seem to be a bit darker than most of the beams but there are some pine beams that are darker tha others so they aren't totally out of place. It's hard to match the spruce planks to the pine beams.

May 4, 2008

2008-05-05T08:18:00.000-07:00

I painted the kitchen today. The yellow is really bright but I still think it's what we wanted. I need to use a glaze on top of it to give the old/plaster look I want which will subdue it somewhat. It's hard to tell what it will look like once we get the cupboards in but it matches our inspiration picture and hopefully it will all come together. For now I find it too bright but Donnie likes it.

May 3, 2008

2008-05-05T08:12:00.000-07:00

I stained the faux beams that we are trimming the tops of the walls with. They were really hard to sand down and took 3 coats of stain to look at all like the pine beams.

April 27, 2008

2008-05-05T08:11:00.000-07:00

I painted the bathroom. I mixed a dark red/burgundy colour that Donnie liked. It looks good with the dark brown tile. Now we need trim!

April 25, 2008

2008-05-05T08:09:00.000-07:00

I was off today and Dad and Mom came up. Mom and I worked a bit on stocking the pantry and Dad oiled the ceilings upstairs.

April 23, 2008

2008-05-05T08:05:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Donnie!!!

We actually had appointments in town so Donnie spent the day at home alone. He installed the upstairs toilet. His birthday present is being able to get up in the night and not having to walk downstairs to pee!

Earlier in the week Donnie and Dad put up the wood walls at the top of the stairs.

April 21, 2008

2008-05-05T08:03:00.000-07:00

Donnie installed the shelves in the pantry. It looks good and I am very excited to be unpacking more of our food.

April 20, 2008

2008-05-05T08:02:00.000-07:00

I painted the pantry while Donnie was at work. I mixed the colour from the yellow I bought for the kitchen and some white. I wanted it to look good with the yellow kitchen and the burgundy of the bathroom b/c you'll see all of them at the same time if the door is open to the bathroom.

April 14, 2008

2008-05-05T07:50:00.000-07:00

Dad varnished the wood in the stairwell. It needed to be done by standing on some kind of ladder contraption so I was glad he did it. Donnie worked on the upstairs plumbing. After supper we went into town and picked up the paint for the drywall rooms and the toilet for upstairs.

April 13, 2008

2008-05-05T07:48:00.000-07:00

We had a busy weekend of work. I varnished the walls in the entryway. Donnie uncovered the bathroom floor upstairs. We both tidied up the basement. We're thinking about installing the upstairs toilet so that we don't have to go all the way downstairs in the night. That bathroom won't really be operational until the summer or later.

April 10, 2008

2008-05-05T07:46:00.000-07:00

Dad and Donnie worked on the stairwell walls. It's really starting to look finished in some places as the framing gets covered up. Easier to keep clean too!

April 4, 2008

2008-05-05T07:42:00.000-07:00

Dad and Donnie worked on the ceiling upstairs today. They had to do some interesting contortions to get the last few pieces in but it looks great. We'll need to get the linseed oil protector on and then it's finished!

April 3, 2008

2008-05-05T07:33:00.001-07:00

Donnie got the entry walls up. It looks much nicer coming in to see wood instead of vapour barrier. Now we need trim!

April 1, 2008

2008-05-05T07:27:00.000-07:00

We've been having some problems with getting our newspaper and we haven't gotten any mail at all so Donnie set out to fix that today. The post office wrongly thought that our road ended at the last house before our driveway. Now that they know the road continues they asked Donnie to turn his mail box for easy drop off. He fixed that and we should be good to go. The newspaper is another story. Some mornings it is on the road in front of our driveway and we don't see it until after the schol bus squishes it into the muck. Other days it's in our neighbors box. Never in our box. Hmmm.

March 31, 2007

2008-04-02T09:59:00.001-07:00

We're investigating kitchen cabinets now. Depending on the price and schedule, we may decide to have someone do it rather than do it ourselves. I'd like a kitchen sooner than later and Donnie would like to spend his time on his garage.

Donnie got Isaac's loft livable. It's not the finished product but he installed an attached ladder and the railings.

March 30, 2008

2008-04-02T09:56:00.000-07:00

More getting settled.

We wake up every morning to a lovely sunrise. I'm not sure if we should add curtains upstairs or not!

Donnie;s not yet liking the long walk to the mailbox for his morning paper but I'm not sure driving Isaac's bike in a snow storm is the best alternative.

Macrh 29, 2008

2008-04-02T09:50:00.001-07:00

We basically took the week off and got settled in to the new house. Donnie's still sick and I'm tired.

Today, Dad, Larry and Bobby helped Donnie move the big stuff from his garage up to the new house. Since we don't have a garage at the new house yet we bought a tarp shed to hold the stuff. Donnie can't wait to get his garage started.

The dogs were so excited to see their doghouses arrive!

The house is starting to look like a home with work to be done.

March 25, 2008

2008-04-02T09:49:00.001-07:00

The bus forgot to pick up Isaac this morning! Donnie driove him to school and they did manage to get him home. It was a substitute driver so that probably explains it.

I tried to slow down for the old driveway after work but then I remembered and happily kept driving to our house!

March 24, 2008

2008-04-02T09:47:00.001-07:00

We spent our first real day in the new house as a family. We tried to take it easy. Donnie's still feeling sick. I finished the cleaning at the old house and never plan to go back. The new people are moving in tomorrow. Donnie still has his garage to move next week and I return to work tomorrow and Isaac will get on at his new bus stop tomorrow as well.

March 23, 2008

2008-04-02T09:46:00.001-07:00

We had Easter dinner at Mom's and Isaac came back with us. I'm slowly getting some stuff unpacked. My pantry is filling up with food and we're enjoying eating real food in our new house.

March 22, 2008

2008-04-02T09:43:00.001-07:00

Donnie is still not feeling well but we went for a short walk around the property. We realized it has been months since we did that. We've been so busy. The house looks great from down by the marsh and even better knowing that we never have to drive back to the old house after our walk.

We did spend some time at the old house getting some stray items and cleaning. We also showered there since I just did the caulking in our shower today.

March 21, 2008

2008-04-02T09:37:00.000-07:00

Moving Day!

We were up early for moving day. We had tons of help. Mom, Dad, Larry, Don, Judy, Heather and Sandy showed up. Mom and Judy directed them at the old house and cleaned in between and Heather, Sandy and I directed them at the new house and assembled the rooms inbetween loads. The rest of them went back and forth with the two trucks bringing loads to the house.

The day was cold but it turned out to be a good thing as the driveway stayed solid and relatively clean. We only had on casualty and that was in the first load. A lamp was put on as an afterthought and didn;t hold up to the wind. There was a moment of concern when they lifted our boxspring out of the truck and the wind caught it and took it across the yard. At least it didn't go over the bank. The wind was really strong.

Robie, Juantia and Ben showed up later and Wayne from Donnie's work.

Mom and Judy cooked spaghetti for lunch at Don and Judy's house. It was great to get into an intact house and have a decent lunch.

Isaac decided he didn't want to sleep in the new house until it was more organized so he went with Mema when she went home. By suppertime it was just Donnie and I in our new house alone.

March 20, 2008

2008-04-02T09:33:00.000-07:00

Donnie's still sick.

I sanded and primed the pantry. What a mess. I wore a mask and I still feel like my throat is irritated.

Donnie worked at cleaning the house up fopr moving in. He vacuumed and picked stuff up and tried to organize his work areas.

Isaac moved a few things into his room early and tried to enjoy it. He's pretty stressed by the whole idea.

I stayed later in the eveing and put the grey primer on Isaac's walls and the first coat of his red and black paint. They actually look pretty good - for red and black.

March 19, 2008

2008-04-02T09:31:00.000-07:00

Donnie definitely has some kind of cold going on. He's sick and sore today and not really doing a lot. He needs a lot of rest if he's going to be any help with the move in only 2 days.

I did some drywall sanding and priming. The kitchen is almost done. There are a few spots that weren't able to be snaded properly and need another coat of stuff. That may wait til after we move in. There's so much to get done.

March 18, 2008

2008-04-02T09:28:00.000-07:00

Mom and Dad worked at the new house today while we ran errands and went to Drs appointments. Mom packed and Dad protected the ceiling. We decided to use a boiled Lindseed Oil becasue it's not toxic like the floor oil and the smell isn't bad at all. Smells very much like olive oil or something.

We have the bus stop worked out for Isaac, the garabage pick up arranged and the green bin scheduled to be delivered.

We also picked up Isaac's paint colours. The kid knows what he wants. He told us his theme is red, black and silver. I got his red and black paints and we picked up some brushed metal switchplates as a surprise.

March 17, 2008

2008-04-02T09:25:00.001-07:00

We're getting so close. It's Monday and Friday is our official moving in day!

Today Donnie and Doug worked on fixing one or two electrical things that the inspector suggested we change. Dad worked on the drywall sanding and priming again. I think he hates that job. I finished the tile floor completely and moved on to the grout in the shower. It's way harder than grouting the floor! Dad and Donnie also worked on the wood in our bedroom and Donnie installed the fridge. Isaac stayed home sick today as his cold seems to have returned.

March 15, 2008

2008-04-02T09:24:00.000-07:00

We packed more in the old house and went late to work at the new house. We're getting tired. I also think Donnie might be coming down with Isaac's cold.

March 14, 2008

2008-04-02T09:19:00.000-07:00

We got to see the floors today in their final state. I put the pil protector on last night just before I left.

Donnie continued to work on the upstairs wood on the walls today. They decided to 45 degree the boards for our outside corner. It's more tedious but they say it will look better when done. Robie worked on the drywall. Dad sanded and primed the completed drywall. I worked on the tile and actually got the grout on the floor done. I also covered the new floor so we could continue working. Isaac mostly played and somehow managed to fall down the ladder leading from his loft to his bedroom. Nothing broken though!

March 14, 2008

2008-04-02T09:17:00.000-07:00

I'm off work now until after we move in. Almost 2 weeks and so much to do.

Today was so busy. The electrical final inspection was today and it passed.

Heather spent the day with me working on the main level floors. We sanded them and boy did they use up the sanding discs!

Dad and Donnie worked on the wood upstairs.

The HRV guys finsihed up the ventilation system.

Isaac was lucky enough to get to spend the day with Poppa and Luke.

March 10, 2008

2008-04-02T09:15:00.000-07:00

It's the first day of March break and poor Isaac is sick. He hardly ever gets sick but each year he manages to mess up his March break plans. Donnie spent the day with Isaac in tow and feeling cruddy. It was a bit of a write off as far as house progress goes.

March 9, 2008

2008-04-02T09:13:00.000-07:00

Robie came back today to work on the drywall. Donnie puttered around at various things needing done and I worked on the entryway tile.

March 8, 2008

2008-04-02T09:12:00.001-07:00

We have a kitchen counter! It's not much and I don't anticipate baking cookies here but it will get us through the first month or so.

March 5, 2008

2008-04-02T09:08:00.000-07:00

Cory had helped Donnie carry the tub upstairs so that made room for us to bring in another big load of stuff from the old house.

Donie installed the toilet today and everyone is happy about that except me. I'm usually the one to clean the toilets around here.

March 4, 2008

2008-04-02T09:03:00.000-07:00

I came home early today b/c Dad and Donnie ran into a problem with the floor boards. They seem to think that we are out of good boards and need to start using the blue boards for the kitchen floor. I don't like that idea much.

Donnie got the laundry room functional today. I worked on varnishing the remaining baseboards and a second coat on the windowsills.

Robie was here for the day and worked on the drywall. What a messy job that is.

March 1, 2008

2008-04-02T08:56:00.000-07:00

I tiled the bathroom floor today but didn't take any photos. Donnie worked away at all kinds of little items including electrical and plumbing. There's so much to do.

February 29, 2008

2008-04-02T08:53:00.000-07:00

Dad and Donnie installed the floors on the main level up to the stairway. They look so good. Hard to believe they will someday be as dark and marked up as the floors in the old house.

February 26, 2008

2008-04-02T08:50:00.000-07:00

We have been moving a load of stuff down most day or evenings and storing it in the basement. Hopefully moving day will be easier because of it.

They finished hanging the gyprock in the upstairs bathroom. This room won't be used for a long time yet but it makes sense to get all of the gyprock done before we're living in the house. They also finished the gyprock in our bedroom.

February 25, 2008

2008-04-02T08:48:00.000-07:00

My appliances arrived today - a few weeks early. They definitely don't like you to leave them sitting at the Sears outlet in Middle so we raced up and got them. They're very beautiful!

February 24, 2008

2008-04-02T08:47:00.001-07:00

I varnished the wall in Isaac's bedroom and the trim in the den. I like the water based varnish.

We sorted out the attic at the new house which we thought was almost done last fall. Yikes. What a bunch of junk.

February 23, 2008

2008-04-02T08:46:00.001-07:00

We wasted almost a whole day getting supplies and running errands. I guess it's not a waste but it sure feels like it when the move in date is coming up so soon.

February 21, 2008

2008-04-02T08:44:00.001-07:00

The wall in Isaac's bedroom with the big window is now covered in wood. I have to get back into varnishing. We're using a water base upstairs after our mistake on the main level.

February 20, 2008

2008-04-02T08:42:00.001-07:00

Mom spent the day at our house packing stuff. So far, nothing seems to be missing that we can't live without.

Donnie and Dad finished the ceiling in the bedrooms. It looks great.

February 19, 2008

2008-04-02T08:38:00.000-07:00

Donnie decided to move Charcey down to the new house. He thinks we have a mouse.

We cleaned out Isaac's toyroom after he went to bed. He has so much junk that's either broken or unused. He told Mom that we threw out 75% of his stuff!

February 18, 2008

2008-04-02T08:34:00.000-07:00

Donnie and Dad started the ceilings of our bedrooms today. It looks like we are going to have to use some trim at the edges b/c the dormer rafters aren't exactly straight. Still, it looks very nice. We're undecided on how to actually protect these boards. The idea of varnishing them all with a brush is not appealing.

They also got the oil protector applied to the boards for the main level floor. That had to be done outside as the protector is so stinky. We'll be installing the floors as late as possible so they don't get damaged by the ongoing work.

February 17, 2008

2008-04-02T08:06:00.000-07:00

I finished another wall of the shower today! I also stained the fake beam to go between the kitchen and living room. It didn't take the stain nearly as well as the actual pine beams but we were unable to get a pine plank and had to go with spruce.

February 16, 2008

2008-04-02T08:03:00.000-07:00

More work on the tiles. Donnie and Dad have been working each day and it's kind of hard to tell what they have been doing. There are so many jobs and a lot of what they are working on isn;t the obvious jobs. I know they've been doing some electrical work most days.

February 14, 2008

2008-04-02T07:52:00.000-07:00

Happy Valentine's Day!

Donnie, Dad, Don and Isaac got the gyprock up in the kitchen and pantry. It looks so much cleaner and neat already.

I got a really nice Valentine's gift from Donnie. A level! It will make my tile work so much easier. It's a pretty nifty gadget too.

February 12, 2008

2008-04-02T07:48:00.000-07:00

The upstairs vapour barrier is complete and we all spent the evening at the house tidying up. It's really looking like a house and with the tools and building materials out of the way we're getting an idea of how the space will work.

I got a bit more done on the shower tile too. It's really slow going in the evenings when we have to be out of there by 7:30 at the latest to get Isaac ready for bed. Plus, setting tiles on the wall and and keeping them level is hard!

February 11, 2008

2008-04-02T07:44:00.001-07:00

We started packing up the old house today! It's so exciting. We're taking everything off the walls and windowsills etc that is decoration. If we don't need it we're packing it. Mom plans to start coming up with Dad to do packing too.

Donnie finished the living room and den window trims. They look great. He did forget to make the tiny strip of wood shorter than the header board and will have to go back and trim that before I can varnish.

February 10, 2008

2008-04-02T07:39:00.000-07:00

I finished the shower floor and started the shower walls today. They look really great. Donnie's bugging me already about when he can start showering in it!

We checked the water pressure today and it is fine.

Donnie worked on the window trim for the two windows in the corner of the den. We decided to extend and join the sills b/c they come so close together. He mocked it up and it turns out the windows are not exactly the same height from the floor. Close enough that it's not obvious but the sills don't line up perfectly and look bad. We're back to two seperate sills that end a few inches apart.

February 9, 2008

2008-04-02T07:36:00.000-07:00

We didn't do a lot of work today because we took a family day off from the house and went tot Truro to watch the Woodsmen competition.

I did start to tile the floor of the shower. They look good and weren't terribly difficult to get lined up and straight.

February 6, 2008

2008-02-07T09:08:00.000-08:00

I went straight to the house after work and I'm now caught up with Donnie. Hopefully on the weekend I'll be well on my way to having the bathroom tile done too.

February 5, 2008

2008-02-07T09:06:00.000-08:00

The second mock up of the window trim is really nice. It's a bit more refined and not at all heavy. We're really happy with how it's going. Now I need to get going on the varnish. Donnie is way ahead of me with putting the boards up.

February 4, 2008

2008-02-07T09:04:00.000-08:00

Donnie has the first mock-up window trim done. It looks good but seems a bit heavy. He's going to try one tomorrow with narrower header and footer boards. We really like the square edged sill as opposed to the bullnosed sill we have now. It suits the house really well.

February 3, 2008

2008-02-07T09:03:00.000-08:00

We worked at the house all weekend. I varnished the walls Donnie and Dad have built and I worked on finishing my shower membrane.

February 1, 2008

2008-02-07T08:58:00.000-08:00

I spent my day off taking care of little errands that keep being put off. I bought the toilet and finally picked up the floor tile among other things. The tile is 13X13 and a chocolatey brown. I really like it. The shower floor tile a slightly darker 4X4 tile.

January 30, 2008

2008-01-31T07:42:00.000-08:00

Our first wall is covered! The wood looks great and we love the flat boards. They look wider than the ones we have now in the old house. We decided to not router the edges of any of the wood and it looks so crisp and good. I'm very happy with it.

We played around with ideas for the window trim and in the end realized there was no reason to not install the trim over the wall boards instead of shimming the trim and installing it later like in our current house. We're going for a much starker and smoother look this time and we're really happy with how it's turning out.

January 28, 2008

2008-01-31T07:37:00.001-08:00

Donnie and I worked all day on the house Sunday until we had to go pick up Isaac. He stayed at Mom and Dad's this weekend. Either he needed a break from the house building or we needed a break from him. Not sure ;)

School was cancelled today and I stayed home from work. At first the ice was so bad we couldn't get to the new house but eventually we got to work. I finished the Kerdi membrane on the shower walls and marked the hardware for Donnie to drill later. Donnie finished the main floor vapour barrier and started on the basement.

January 26, 2007

2008-01-31T07:27:00.000-08:00

I now have 3 dark tiles to choose between for the bathroom and entryway floor. None of them are what I invisioned but they're OK.

Donnie's Dad worked on the vapour barrier today and it looks like they will be ready for the inspection on the main floor next week. The house looks so neat with all the insulation taped into the walls and nothing hanging out.

January 23, 2007

2008-01-31T07:25:00.000-08:00

We've been spending more evenings at the house working. Time is getting shorter and it helps that there are jobs suitable for everyone to work on.

Donnie has been working on the vapour barrier sealing this week and picks away at that and other small jobs in the evenings and I'm making slow progress on the downstairs shower.

January 21, 2008

2008-01-31T07:24:00.001-08:00

My soapstone sample came in the mail today. It's so nice. Even Isaac loves it. Now to figure out if we should spend the money.