FT Reno - Day Four

We're just bustling along with the reno's. Just amazes me how much you can get done when focusing exclusvely on the work. We had our inspection for insulation and Vapour Barrier yesterday. Passed with flying colours, actually the inspector comented that I went a little above and beyond. Guess if you insulate the floor there is no need to use the styro insulation board on the crawlspace walls.. oh well better to over do that than to under-do it and get a fail. Trying to track down a decent drywaller to get the room ready for paint and tile. Almost there - to the point of moving into it. It's going to be a really nice bedroom, so much bigger and brighter.

I installed the Air Conditioner in the sunroom yesterday, just getting it in nice and tight, started to prep the wiring in that room. Then I can insulate and throw on the vapour barrier. I almost finished the barge-board too. Just have one side of the house to do and then it is also out of the way. I have to put in the junction boxes (in the crawl space) for the new wiring to the Sunroom, New Computer Room, New Bathroom, and heating for the living room.

Alison, Margaret and Dianne have been working on the painting of the exterior (Hardie-Plank and Stucco). It's a lot of work with the old Stucco, pretty thristy walls. They have done a fantastic job though. The colour Alison chose is very nice, relaly adds a rich depth to the House.

Today is a bit of a goof-off day, as we worked right through the weekend. I am on the hunt for a truck (Dodge or Ford Diesel, prefer 1 Ton, extended cab, etc..) so there are a few in Nanaimo that I want to look at. With both Margaret and Dianne from out of town, it might be nice to get a one days break from everything anyways...



EOF ------    LC

First Few Days working FT on the House

We got a huge break in the weather to begin my time off for working on the house. My Mother-in-Law came down from Terrace to help out, My Sister-in-Law came over for the weekend From New Westminster to chip in, and my buddy from Edmonton is arriving tomorrow to help out too. Even though it has only been a couple of days we have got a lot done. Check some of the pictures out here.

It really moves forward so much quicker when you can spend the entire day on it.  I would have finished the Hardie-Plank on the Sunroom this evening but ran out of Big Stretch. I think I have two more short planks to install, then the AC can be put in and sealed up. The ladies have been working on Painting, ( Hardie-Plank and trim on the front of the house and MB Expansion), prepping the stucco walls for Paint (I am going to have to mix up some cement to do some patching).

I prepped the MB extension for the inspection Monday, if all goes well then we can get the drywall in...paint, tile.. and get moved in.

Thought I had more to say, but I am bagged... another big day tomorrow....  Oh first full day of Spring tomorrow (It arrived here today at 10:31 AM)



EOF   --    LC

Builder Bob is Back in the House!

Only a few days until I am taking time off work for my other job. I become Reno-Man (Cape is optional)! So I can go gangbusters on getting things moving forward with the Home Reno. Going to be a blast. My Mother-in-law is coming down (arrives today) to help my Wife paint the outside and fences, a very good friend is coming from Edmonton to work with me on the building side of things. I have a lot planned, and it looks like the weather is going to cooperate too. When I took all the time off last year it was really rewarding as to how much we got done and how fast everything went. Since then it has hit a lull after Christmas, so I think this focus on things will re energize and motivate me to get going, plus getting together with family is always good for the soul. 

While I am doing this will be able to update the blogs, FB and Flickr with pictures of the events. We start tonight with St Patrick's and some Guinness of course, like a christening of a maiden voyage  ;-) . Then some pre-planning of how to proceed and organize who is doing what, I need to book the inspection for the Vapour barrier and Insulation. I was going to hire out the Drywall but may take it on ourselves due to time constraints (unless I can get someone in on a moments notice). Damn I am excited - some say not much of a holiday but considering how much we will benefit from this for years to come it is a great investment of time and coin.

I have been working a lot with Odin, and using ideas from Cesar" The Dog Whisperer" Millan's TV Show, not that Odin is trouble so much as he is just a dog that wants to be boss and I want to rein him in before he starts to believe he is in charge. It's really different for me, having a dog that has Rottweiler in him, I suppose the same with many other more assertive breeds. You have to handle them so much differently. Watching the show I can see where the wheels begin to fall off if your not careful.  I am surprised how well Cesar's hints and tips work, and how much behavior troubles are caused by us humans instead of the hounds. They had a Marathon of his shows dedicated to his dog "Daddy" who passed away in February, a beautiful Pitbull who helped re socialize other aggressor breeds. 

This past week, Gérémi Adam (FBI claimed he was Canada's biggest Movie Pirate - supposedly) was sentenced to 2 1/2 months plus Community service etc. What a crock, now I am not saying downloading movies is right or wrong, what I am saying is the Government is starting to put Commercial and Corporate interests (and lobbying groups) above the civil rights of the individual. Even bowing to foreign pressure to strip these rights from Canadians. All the while proceeding with further negotiations for ACTA (Talk about a envisioning a communistic police state - this act or at least what little has slipped out to the general public would completely restrict all of us, including artists, and would assume each of us to be a criminal without rights before any proof needs to be presented by the police or Border Services). Michael Geist has much about this on his website here.  Some further comments here. I think some radical protests are going to be necessary to stop this from going through or at least from stopping Canada's participation in it. 

Keep your eyes open and don't let it slip through.

EOF  - LC