In keeping with the theme

I need to squeeze one more entry in before the end of the year. And it's also time to renovate the blog - hence the new look for the new year.

Despite the lack of postings this month, there has been some activity. The electrician guys have been and gone; and actually completed their work. It is amazing how much wire goes into all the lights and plugs - upstairs and down.

Our most recent 'wait' has been for heating guys. Getting the heating right is critical. They've told us that we can do it all with the furnace we installed with the last reno. The trick is to balance the output so that the heat is evenly delivered to the old and new parts of the house. Anyway, we are expecting the heat guys to give us the plan early in the new year. Then insulation. Thankfully, we have had a run of nice weather (except a few weeks in November, which pushed our natural gas bill over $300 for the month).

With the basement floor in and the framing completed downstairs, we can store some of the furniture in the new storage room so we aren't so cramped.

Stay tuned and I'll try to post some new pictures soon.

A hush falls over the reno: AKA Day 214

Yes. Basement floor. That's it. Zip. Zero. Zilch.
We've have freezing weather and had to build a temporary wall upstairs to keep the -30C weather out.
Rumour has it that a new and improved framer is going to be here on Saturday to frame the basement. Hoping that the electrician is coming next week.

and a pair of cement shoes while we're at it

Getting the basement floor has been the least painful of the renovations, thus far. However, when I made the first call to the concrete guys it sounded a bit iffy. When I asked when they could come and pour the basement floor, I was told "after eight days of bad weather."

That didn't sound so good, since we were, at that time, basking in above seasonal temperatures and the concrete guys were busy trying to get in as much outdoor work (sidewalks, driveways, etc.) as possible before the inevitable bad weather hits.

For once I was grateful to the weatherman. Last we had a bit of a cold snap, and true to their word, I got a call and we were inching to the top of the list of indoor (cold weather) projects. These concrete guys have it down to a science. One group comes and dumps the gravel, the next group comes a day or so later and lays the rebar and forms the step, then the next day the concrete truck shows up (@6:45 a.m.) and a few hours later we had a perfectly poured basement floor. Magic! Not to mention that we were able to walk on it the very next day!

Now, instead of having all of our belongings stacked up in corners around the house, we can move some of that stuff to the extra 500 square feet that just materialized.

Next up: framer guys to make a return appearance to frame the rooms in the basement; electrician guys to get us wired; and plumber guy to finish off the work he started weeks ago. The last I saw of the plumber was when he came by to install some of the water lines - I made him coffee, ran to the store for about 10 minutes, and returned to find that he disappeared. My guess is an alien abduction.

New fence

... and it's very sturdy. We're looking forward to having a similar one that will run across the back of the yard.

Grand opening

No, we're not finished. We do, however, have a large opening that now joins the old basement with the new. Concrete cutter guy and helper came by on the weekend and made a large opening. We created a bit of a stir with them after they began to cut the opening, because they got the measurements wrong. Good thing we noticed before they got too far or we would have had a not-so-grand opening. We wanted a 38-inch door, but they heard 30. After a bit of cursing on their part, we got the 38 inches. Whew. Come on guys - 30 inches isn't even to code.

Concrete cutter guy was nice enough to leave us a concrete threshold that I had to remove. A trip to Home Depot, one jack hammer and a few hours later, the opening was complete. Now we are ready to have them (not sure who) pour the basement floor.

In exterior news, we have a new fence. Photos will be posted when I can get outside during daylight. It's a beauty.

A roof with a view

Roofer guy (actually brother of roofer guy - long story) came through and finished getting those shingles on the roof. He even went the extra mile (1.6 kilometres) and installed the two skylights. SWEET. We are now protected from the elements.

While we were up on the roof inspecting his handy-work, it became evident that we should have added a second floor. That's right, from the comfort of our roof, we have a downtown view. The roof also provides an excellent vantage point from which to watch the installation of our new fence. It's quite the mammoth fence. 6"x6" posts. Over six feet high. Our own little gated community.

Stay tuned for more details and pictures of the inside. Framer guys returned today to continue building the interior walls. Too dark right now to take pictures.

Windows in - Roof on

The inside of the reno is really starting to take shape. The process of ripping out the old is pretty much complete. On Friday, we crossed another big milestone: framer guys removed the wall between the existing house and the addition. The bedroom is framed and next on the agenda is the two bathrooms. It looks like a huge space when you're standing in the middle of it all.

If we thought it looked big on the inside, that pales in comparison to how it looks from the outside. Standing in the alley, the addition looks like a monster - it doesn't help it is wrapped in white Tyvek (screams to the neighbours "LOOK AT ME"). I'm sure that it will grow on us - we hope it grows on the neighbours, too.

We have great weather in the forecast. The roof isn't quite complete: Hey shingle guy, where are you? You said you would be here yesterday!!!

As if by magic

A few weekends behind us and what we have in the backyard is unarguably a larger-than-life addition. Each day that I return home from work I'm pleasantly surprised at what awaits me. The forecast has been for rain on and off and thankfully it has been more off lately.

Although these photos don't show it, we are at the roof stage. A few more boards to go up tomorrow and then roofer guy can come and work his magic with the shingles. We're close to the "buttoned up" stage. The interior shots are of the master bedroom's east wall (high window) and south wall. Hopefully we'll have some actual windows in the next shots.

We are floored!

We've had great weather this weekend and the framer guys have been busy sawing and hammering. Alas, the fruits of their labour:
They'll be back tomorrow to finish the floor and start getting some wall-action happening...

Day 131 - but who's counting?

As depressing as the title of this entry sounds, at long last, the materials needed to build up from the foundation are piled high in the backyard. That's right folks - joists, trusses, and all things wood.

Framer guys were here for the past two days. The trusses showed up on Tuesday, but the delivery didn't have the joists. Yes! They delivered the material for the roof but not the essentials for the floor, on which they build the walls and then the roof (rocket science, I know). If they were going to deliver anything, why they wouldn't have started with the flooring material is beyond me. Framer guys kept themselves busy with the demolition of the rooms at the back of the house. Thankfully, the joists showed up this afternoon. Tonight, I shall pray to the patron saint of construction that framer guys come back tomorrow. Day 132 looks like it might be a winner.

Glory be to lumber

Before you faithful visitors thought the renovation had moved ahead and I'd left you in the dust, let me say that August has been a big miss. Nothing - and I mean NOTHING happened in August. Unless you count aggravation due to lies from the joist and truss guy. Don't get me started...

Framer guy (actually, framer guys) did show and arrived bearing gifts. I'm happy to report that there is a nice, neatly bundled pile of lumber in the yard (no photo, take my word for it) - so I guess some stuff did happen in August. But the delivery of the wood is about the extent of it. The problem was that without joists, it is hard (impossible actually) for framer guy and his buddy to build the walls. Jump ahead three weeks.

Just today, we've had another promise of the joists and truss delivery, so I'm hoping that we have something to report after Labour Day. The fact that joist guy is going so far as to say the joists and trusses are (finally) prepared and ready for delivery is a gigantic step.

Stay tuned.

Will tomorrow ever come?

Still waiting for framer guy. Was last weekend. Then last Friday. Now tomorrow (Monday). Stay tuned....
Not even a new picture to share. Every time we drive up the alley into the garage, we joke that we are in the Clampet's place (before they moved to Beverly Hills).

Still here

Same backyard, different day. Nothing new to report. We are keeping our fingers crossed that framer guy (v2) will be here to start work on the weekend. We've had great weather, except for the wicked late day thunderstorms. We'll be back out there with the sump pump when we have some certainty that the workers are on their way.

Sump pump and fill

On Friday, we got word from the weather guy that we were in for a string of warm days. Long overdue and just what we needed to help evaporate the week's worth of rain trapped in the new basement. To help get things on the road to dryness, we borrowed a sump pump from some friends. Mission accomplished. Soon after hooking up the pump, bobcat guy returned to fill around the foundation wall. We've now queued up the framers, who we expect to make an appearance before Canada Day.

Exxon Valdez? Not exactly.

In between bouts of rain, tar guy came by to spray the foundation with, well, tar. They call it damp-proofing, I call it an environmental wasteland. Things might not have looked so bad had we not had rain shortly after. With the damp-proofing complete, the city inspector came over and signed off on the foundation. So far, so good. In the next few days, bobcat guy will return and backfill the deep moat around the foundation and our nasty oil slick. I give it another twenty years before it bubbles up to the surface. We'll be long gone by then.

Pink Floyd ain't got nothing on these walls

Last week, on schedule, concrete guy returned and set up the forms for the basement walls. It's hard to believe that you can pour concrete and have it dry while it rains.
The downspout for the roof was draining into open pit - creating a moat of water around the footings and sea of water on the inside. A day or two after they poured the foundation walls, they removed the forms - the cement looked very wet, but we have had a few dry days (despite a forecast for four solid days of rain) and the walls have become lighter in colour - a clear indication that they are drying.

Once the walls are fully dry (fingers crossed for no rain) they will return to apply the waterproofing on the outer surface. Then it's a matter of getting the proper drainage installed and backfilling the dirt. It will be nice to return the mounds of dirt to their rightful place. Lord only knows what the state of the grass will be once the dirt is gone. It couldn't be any worse than it was before.

Houston, we have footings

Not that this picture does the situation any justice, but we have footings - on which they will build walls and place the floor. Hooray! Out came the sun and dried up all the rain so the itsy-bitsy.... you get the point. Concrete guy showed up today and did his thang. Don't hold your breath for much new in the next few days - concrete guys says he won't be back until next week.

Turns out that wider is better

Cribber guy did show up as promised, but back hoe guy didn't leave enough space around the edges for cribber guy to do his footings properly. With one phone call we got back hoe guy back in a flash with a bobcat - now affectionately known as bobcat guy. He made a wider hole and cribber guy came back yesterday and started banging the forms together IN THE POURING RAIN.
The new hole is looking somewhat like a swimming pool. Needless-to-say, cribber guy wasn't thrilled about working in the muck. God love him. He should be back in the next day or so (when things dry up a bit) to pour the footings.

More than a money pit

The back hoe makes quick and easy work of digging a hole. Grassy backyard when I left for work and ginormous hole in the backyard when I get home.

Sounds like the cribber is going to stop by in the next few day (there's that range of dates again) to see if the hole is to his liking. Fingers crossed.

What a difference a day makes

Things are cooking now. Tuesday was a big day -- four guys arrived in the morning and went to town on the old garage. They filled two bins with the bones of the garage. Bye bye bye. This afternoon I returned home from work to discover a back hoe sitting on the open pad of the old garage.

Word has it that said back hoe will dig the hole for the addition. I look toward the sky to see if the planets are aligned.

Garage be gone

I'm fairly positive that we are the only house of our size in neighbourhood with garage space for three cars. This isn't by choice.

When our humble house was built in the 40s, they built an equally humble detached, single-car garage. A very small garage by today's standards.

In October 2005, we built a new, two-car garage. We weren't in a hurry to tear-down the old garage because it was on different part of the backyard -- a portion of the backyard that we wouldn't need until we start the renovation. That would be NOW.

Our backyard is starting to look very much like, ummm, hmmm, (no easy way to say it), a dump. The old garage is in pretty rough shape. The new garage is rather large by comparison, but we decided not to finish it (inside or out) until we brought in the crew to complete the addition. May as well get them to do it all at once, rather than bringing them in twice.

The guys who built our new garage suggested that we advertise the old garage for sale in the Bargain Finder. They said that people who live out-of-town often buy them for sheds/storage. Saying that such people would just come by, hoist it off the pad and drive it away on the back of a large flatbed truck. I was skeptical, but considered that it would be nice to have someone pay to take it, rather than for us to pay to have it torn down and hauled away.

Well, now we are very close to having the excavation crew come and do their hole digging, and the old garage is in the way.

Given my skepticism I thought it would be just easier to have it torn down rather than go through the hassle of offering it up for sale. We changed our minds pretty damn quick when we got a quote of $4,500 to demolish and remove the rubble. Not bloody likely. Ring, Ring. "Hello? Bargain Finder? I have a garage for sale."

We didn't hear anything from potential buyers so I contemplated using the garage demolition as a bonding opportunity with the boy. He was pumped to get a sledgehammer and begin. Not so quick. We decided to get another quote -- $1,500. Much better! So much for bonding. The new-quote-guy tells us that he would come some day this past week to knock it down. No sooner do we make that deal, we get two calls from potential buyers. We tell them "too late" because the knock-down guy could come any day. Well, it's Friday night and we still have the old garage.

Note to self: don't let trades get away with giving a range of dates for an activity.

Bigger basement anyone?

Geez. Things seem to be moving along at a good pace. The guy who will do our excavation came over last week (exactly when he said he was going to come) and gave us a quote. With him, was the guy who is going to do the concrete work. Getting these guys lined up is the key to getting things going. Well, I guess getting the approved permit from the city is needed but that seems to be a formality at this point. Excavation guy and concrete guy have said they can come over when we give the word. Music to our ears.

Our initial plan was only to put a frost wall in for the addition and heat the space to ensure that the floor above (our bedroom and bathroom) stayed warm in the winter. That requires going four feet below grade. Since our main floor is three feet above grade, that would mean a six-foot foundation wall. Both of these guys strongly suggested that we add another two feet and create a full basement below the addition - citing that we would regret not having the extra space later on. The cost for the two extra feet is minimal.

Following that suggestion, we had to look in the basement to see where we would put the access door to this new 500 square-foot space; Spencer's bedroom is the only option since it is the wall in his room that will be adjacent to the new space. It requires a reconfiguration of his room. What's a little renovation if you don't have some scope-creep before you even put a hole in the ground.

We aren't doing anything spectacular with that new basement space. It won't have windows, and we don't plan to finish it. It will be for storage (at this point) and will be home to the furnace and hot water tank for the back part of the house.

Here we go again. Over the last few years we have tackled major renovations: gutting and rebuilding the basement; upstairs included gutting and redesigning an open concept kitchen and living room. Now, with nothing left to spruce up we will add on. An additional 500+ square feet. That means growing our small bungalow by roughly half.

With development permit in hand, we now are waiting for the building permit. Could we only be weeks away from getting a hole in the ground? If additions are anything like renos, time and deadlines are the biggest unknown factors. Hence this blog.

Will everything go according to plan? (there is a plan, right?) If so, I'm sure that will make for some dull reading. If things tend to veer of the rails, as I anticipate they might, this blog may get a bit exciting at times and may actually be useful to help any future relationship counsellor determine where things went astray.

Enough, blog blabbery and on with the show. If you haven't figured it out, the image on the right is the floor plan or our house. The top part shows the addition and the light grey lines show existing walls that we're toasting.

Stay tuned for pictures of the back of the house. Not a pretty sight. As the guy who built our garage said, "it looks like a tear-down." Let's hope with the money we are putting into this puppy that he's wrong.