Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Survival on a toilet, makeshift sink and cold water

This reno thing...it's not so bad. A little tense but all in all it's going well. I knew seeing my bank balance would make the hair on the back of my neck stand at attention but I'm doing my best to keep on budget. Okay, I have to admit....I've blown it in a couple of areas.
There are so many decisions. I knew there would be but I wasn't expecting to make so many decisions so quickly. Luckily I've done a lot of planning. Did I say a lot? I mean constant. I spend every morning on the computer looking for the perfect item at the perfect price for my perfect home. I need a personal masseuse to ease the tension in my neck from all the worry I'm putting myself through. I haven't been writing on my blog because I've been so busy finding, picking and ordering "things" for this mid century jewel.

I'm quite smug about a few of my decisions. I've decided to use two IKEA fridge cabinets butt together to make a floating vanity for my ensuite bath. I was truly battling using my original idea, which was taking my dining room credenza and turning it into the bath vanity. Why the struggle? The style... and it would only allow one sink. It's a beautiful piece but really doesn't fit into the "mid century modern" design I'm so eager to achieve. While scouring IKEA hackers website I saw the fridge cabinet idea turned vanity. I didn't like how they had decorated it but it was a fantastic idea and cost effective at that. Yes, it would be more costly than using the dining credenza I already had but I knew that I would regret it if I didn't go for it. Now I can have two sinks...always better for resale in a master bathroom (always think of resale...always).
I'm using the fridge cabinets idea for another project as well. I'm leaving the under portion of my stairs open and I will be making a seating bench to fit under with two fridge cabinets. I found this idea on the internet as well, although not for under the stairs. The cabinets will sit on small pieces of wood (unseen plywood pieces perhaps) just enough to be off the floor so the doors can open to store things inside. I will then make a long pad with nice material to be the cushion on the top of the cabinets. Wa-la, storage and a seating area to sit and put your shoes on. I'm going to ask the electrician this morning if he will put lighting on the wall below the bench so the light will shine up behind it.
The meeting went well with Lorie from the bath store. I ended up splurging a bit here and got two soaker tubs but I was a good girl and selected vessel sinks for my ensuite that were mid range in price. The ones I liked were upwards of a grand each...cough, cough. I spent a sufficient $200 each and achieved the same look. They are on back order until April 22nd, which I'm sure will be fine. My bathtubs should be in next week. Keeping on the bathroom subject, I was thrilled to find some bathroom vanity lights for the main bathroom at a decent price. I found them at Canadian Tire of all places. I was there yesterday on a work mission and spotted them. I really like them because the glass looks like linen. I have tried to purchase all my lighting from Rona because I have over a grand to spend there from Airmiles. I have found some cool wall sconces for my upstairs hall but I just wasn't keen on the vanity lighting selection. I have pinned down some lights for my ensuite but I don't know if they will be powerful enough. They are from Rejuvenation Hardware and they are Atomic style which are awesome and just my cuppa tea. The kicker?...they are more than I would like to spend (what's new) and I will have to pay shipping because they are from the U.S. This company also make reproduction 50's drawer pulls I want for my linen and washer and dryer closet doors. I tried to steal some real 1950's ones from someone. (You know who you are)...but it just didn't happen :).

I have a lot of recessed lighting going into my home. I do love recessed lighting but the real reason I have so much of it is from bulkheads that have had to be built in to hide plumbing pipes. I knew it was going to happen in the kitchen because of my ensuite bath above but now it will be in all the bathrooms as well to hide the ugly wall fans that have to go in. It is going to look cool though, but it's also going to be more ca-ching.
All the framing is done upstairs and most of it is done on the main floor. The electrician will be here today to finish the downstairs wiring so I'm trying to be prepared to make decisions on where the lights will be...most of it is recessed lighting. My vacuum rough-in was finished yesterday and my cable and phone has been ordered to be put in.

On the weekend I went with my oldest daughter to Rona to exchange some wall sconces that I decided were not right. I spotted a Sears Home Center on the way and decided to pop in to see if they had lots of appliances on the floor. Well, indeed they did. In particular I was looking for an Electrolux side by side refrigerator because the french door version was way over my budget. I have changed my mind about the Fisher and Paykel fridge and stove and started veering towards Electrolux. I absolutely fell in love with the Electrolux stove because the warming drawer turns into an oven if you want it to be...think homemade pizza.
Lucky me, I found an Electrolux side by side fridge floor model marked down almost a grand.
It had a couple of scratches on the side but what did I care, my fridge was going to be built in so it would never be seen. I bought the stove and fridge and ended up getting a Kenmore dishwasher.
On a separate note, I also picked up my chromed backplate for my door knob. It looks terriffic with the chrome door knob! I can't wait to see the whole door put together.

Well, that's enough for now...I have to save this entry and post it later with some updated pictures...and more importantly....I need to scour the internet for more deals and ideas before "the men" arrive.

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

A little chilly last night but I did have a good rest. I had my coffee this morning and tried to get organized for the day. I decided to take the day off today because I know I have to get some things done for the reno. I met with Josh and the plumbers today. I pleaded for the toilet but alas I’ll have it tomorrow. We decided where the 1950’s sinks will be placed and I gave them the measurements for the cabinets for my ensuite. I had some questions about my kitchen because my day included going to IKEA to order the kitchen and bathroom cabinets. I needed to know the measurements of the bulk head above my kitchen cabinets and we needed to re-measure the kitchen because the powder room wall needed to be moved slightly. All was good and the kitchen could stay the way I planned.

Heather and I hoofed it to the gym to get cleaned up and ready for the day and we were off. First stop the door store. I got prices and forms to fill out for the door and closet sizes. Josh and I will do that tomorrow morning. Then it was off to IKEA to finalize the kitchen and place the order. We were there for quite a while. I ended up getting almost $800.00 back in IKEA gift cards which will pay for my under stair cabinetry and my shelving units plus more. After that it was off to take my doorknob back plate in to be chromed. It will be ready Friday.

Megan invited us to use her kitchen tonight for dinner so I picked up some fixin’s for fajitas, guacamole and salsa. It was great to use a real kitchen. I ended up bringing over some of my dishes from the morning to wash up as well.

It’s going to be a hectic morning tomorrow. I have a meeting with a girl from a bathroom store to order my tubs and maybe some sinks for my ensuite. The only trouble is I left her address at the office. Hopefully the plumber will be here tomorrow morning. He was the one who gave me her phone number so I can get the info from him. My head is having trouble holding all the info it needs to right now.

HELP!

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Squatting...in more ways than one

Everything seems to be going so quickly. It’s surprising really. Here it is 1 week and 1 day since the reno began and my upstairs is totally framed in and most of the main floor as well. Interestingly enough I’ve been out of town for the last two days and feel like I’ve missed out on the action. It’s funny but I’d rather live in my house the way it is right now as apposed to be being in a nice hotel.
As I sat in the Calgary airport yesterday afternoon, I received a call from Josh. He proceeded to tell me that everything was going well. So well in fact he had lined the plumber and electrician to be here for today. I was told I’d have no water or bathtub or any sink. Not that I cared…I wasn’t there but my poor daughter Heather was. I had to break the news to her. She was fine with it.
Josh called me again this afternoon, at the Edmonton airport, and informed me I had no insulation and no plumbing/water and would have no computer/t.v. He would though, have one plug in by the t.v. and would make sure my fridge worked.
As I made my way home from the airport I have to admit I sped…not just a little but like I was in the Indy 500. I was trying to get home before the light diminished into darkness to see the progress in the house. Heather decided to stay at her boyfriends (good call). Unfortunately I didn’t make it home before nightfall and stumbled through the front door into darkness. It was nice to be greeted by my cats, who by now I’ve come to realize can live through a disheveled household. I dragged my suitcase upstairs, felt my way around my so called room and pulled all the boxes (my clothes etc.) that had been placed there for the day off the bed. I got into my Jammies, grabbed my quilt and made my way to the main living area. I was happy to discover Josh had hooked my computer up to the one plug by the fireplace that now looks like a baby octopus. I guess it was one or the other…computer or T.V. I’m happy with the computer. I have music and the Internet. I used the light from the computer screen to find the remote for the fireplace and turned it up full blast. It’s not really that cold in here but nothing wrong with being toasty, is there? That fireplace is amazing!

I had remembered I had used a metal cage utility light before I had left to go out of town…now if I could only find it. I turned the computer screen around to cast some light into the far reaches of the other part of the room. Aha, there it was. Josh had hung it up in the kitchen and had plugged it into an extension cord. I turned it on and wa-la I had some light.

Okay this next part may be a little too much information but you can cover your eyes if you don’t want to read it…
I new I had to find something to use as a port-a-potty. I decided to look for some ideas in my garage. First thing I spotted I knew was a good idea. My small plastic garbage container was sitting by the washing machine. It had a garbage bag lining it. I decided it would be a perfect solution and since kitty litter was good enough for my cats why not a human. I would put some litter in the bottom of the bag and quite simply have my overnight facilities. I wasn’t really keen on the idea of going outside in my back bushes…especially in the middle of the night. This was definitely the answer. I really don’t want to use my neighbor’s bathroom in the middle of the night. With my luck they would think it was a break and enter and beat me with a baseball bat.
On a very positive note, I just found a new pound of coffee after rummaging through some boxes. I thought I was out. I will be able to have my java tomorrow morning without leaving my house! I gotta have my coffee first thing when I wake up. Life is good. Life is very good!

Saturday, March 20, 2010

Reno Day 3 and 4

Well, I survived the week. Here it is Saturday morning and I’m still here to write about it.
Not a lot happened on day 3. Okay that’s a lie…the permit is ready to be picked up. I didn’t know I could be so elated about paying over $300. for a piece of paper.
The tear down went swifter than Josh had planned (money saver #1) and so it was only a half day of work. The work included accidentally putting a crowbar through a kitchen window. Surprisingly, it was the only window in the house I hadn’t replaced with the new energy efficient ones. Reason was, back then the window guy couldn’t measure it properly because tile was installed on the ledge of the window and at that time I hadn’t picked a contractor yet. I just told him to leave it and I’d get him back to install the new version when the house was completed. So, it was time to call him. He came out and measured and it’s now on order. No biggie.
I decided to do some laundry tonight but what I didn’t count on was deciding to wash my concrete floor in the kitchen. As the washing machine went through the cycle of emptying of water it spurted onto my kitchen floor. With the dismantling of walls the pipe had been disturbed and had formed a leak. I had a small heart attack when I saw the lake on the floor. I quickly mopped it up with some rags but I knew the washing machine was going to fill up again with water to do the rinse cycle. I held the pipe with a rag while it did it’s second drain and withheld the water from spilling onto the floor once again. I chuckled to myself, threw all the rags outside when done and new Josh could fix the pipe in the morning. I’m still grateful I have a washing machine.
Day 4
The sub floor is now done upstairs or should I put it the way Josh did when I came home yesterday… “Cori, we have your dance floor finished”. It looked a whole lot better up there with a consistent floor. I joked that I thought to save money I should just stain it and not put flooring on top.
The framing is now done in the exercise room and most of Heather’s room and all the room walls have been laid out. Just looking at it I thought my bedroom looked a little small so I gabbed the tape measure and measured it out and it’s 12’.2 X 13’.3. I know that’s not huge but it’s a bit bigger than my last bedroom which was plenty for me, plus I’ll have a 3’ X 8’ closet and a large master bathroom.
I went to the door store yesterday morning and have decided on my exterior doors. I’m going with fiberglass flat finish doors. I’ll get two single pane window doors, one for the dining room out to the patio and one for my master bedroom out to my deck. Then I’ll get a plain flush fiberglass front door and have my retro window lights installed in it.
Josh measured my kitchen for me (my piece of mind) to make sure my IKEA kitchen and my appliances fit in. They do, although, I’m wavering on appliances again. I’ll go to the appliance store today or tomorrow to make a decision. I’m questioning the Fisher and Paykel appliance servicing in Canada.

When I got home from work yesterday my neighbors came over to see what all the hullabaloo was about. It was funny to see their reaction. These are the same neighbors who helped me take down the hideous playhouse that was in my backyard a few days after I moved in. I had let them know back then that I was going to gut the place. Obviously Brad the hubby hadn’t taken those words to heart. Brad’s exact words when he walked in today…. “You weren’t kidding about gutting were you?” I smiled. “Nope”.
In my mind it was always the plan. He just looked around the house and said… “I love post and beam construction.” As he said that I thought, so do I!! They had been in the house before and made a comment that this poor house needed some TLC. Brad asked if everything was sound, as in, were any surprises found. I told him not a one. Everything is solid as a rock except for the minimal rot by the bathtub. They asked how I was doing living through it and I said I was fine. I told Angela I would be without “facilities” for a few days possibly next week so she gave me a key to her house so I could use the bathroom. I really appreciated that.
I’m heading out of town on Monday for two days. It’s going to be hard to leave the reno. My mind is totally intertwined with the fundamentals of constructing this house. Heather will have to hold down the fort.
We are both doing great with regards to living through this (and my cats are even getting used to it). We both know it’s worth the end result and so far, with no help from negative statements from well meaning people who try to scare you (or warn you) with their “oh, just wait, it’ll get worse” comments. We are excited and are looking at this as a process. Yes, there will be times that will be uncomfortable but I can’t help it. I love the challenge of it. I get off on the flurry of decision making and discovering the stages of the progress.
Bring it on!!...Okay, that is, with regard to living through discomfort bring it on…not having to fork out more money. That I don’t want to bring on!!! (I’m nervously knocking on wood as I type that)

Thursday, March 18, 2010

Reno Day 2

Reno day 2, my main floor is now gutted. Good thing I like the minimalist look because that is basically what I now have. Josh was good enough to set up a computer station for me downstairs by the T.V. so I can do research for finishing materials for the house.

The container we had ordered to put the materials from my house in was filled to the brim so we had to order another container (over budget #1) and it was delivered in the evening. My briefing with Josh went well. We have to switch the toilet with the shower in my ensuite to make things work better, which is no problem for me and I’m now in a bit of a rush to get the tubs I want for my bathrooms (a request from the plumber). I’ll be going this morning to the Kohler showroom to hopefully find the tubs I want. I do have my eye on the “Archer” model but want to lay in it first and give it the ol’ comfort test.
Apparently my subfloor will be going in upstairs tomorrow and the framing will begin. Now all I can think about is the dreaded “drywall stage”. I’ll have to pick up some tarps for that process…cough, cough. I’m guessing my hair will feel dusty constantly and I’m imagining I’ll be like Pig Pen from the Peanuts comic strip with a constant cloud of dust trailing behind me.

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Reno day 1...top of the morning to ya...Happy St. Patrick's Day

I’m now into Reno Day 2 and day 1 went over without a major hitch but of course there is always something.
I had purchased a vintage pole light from a thrift store a few weeks back. It was a major find and I had been very excited about it. It had only cost me $5.00. Let’s just say my pole light is now in the bin. It got thrown out by accident. Poor Josh, he was so sorry. This morning I took precaution and put sticky notes on everything I wanted to keep….even if it was obvious. We all had a good laugh about that. You have to laugh during a reno, at least that’s what they say.
I came home at lunch yesterday and they had already ripped out most of the upstairs. Everything looked good. No rot and nothing out of the ordinary. My phone got disconnected by accident but will be hooked up again today and I was without my computer last night. All things I could live without.
I actually had a bath in my open concept upstairs. It was quite romantic with all the lights out and being in the open area with all the windows. I was really happy because even with all the windows you could not to see in. My yard is very private at the back and from the angle of the bath from the front of the house you couldn’t see a thing…all I could see from the tub was treetops.
I couldn’t have the heat on yesterday but my fireplace kept the house very toasty. Our weather forecast for tomorrow is 18 C so that makes it even easier.
My cats faired quite well. A little freaked out but not too bad.
I’m heading home again at lunch to see the progress. My downstairs is being ripped apart as I type this. All that will be left in my kitchen is my sink, stove and fridge.

Dinner tonight will be interesting…although, surprisingly…I haven’t been hungry. Stress will do that to a person….although it seems a trip to Charlies chocolate factory was in order yesterday after I had viewed my house gutted. Ah chocolate…a stress reliever!

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

And the walls come down

Did I sleep last night? Not too well I’m afraid. This is it. It’s finally arrived. The bin makes its way to my driveway and the walls are coming down.
My youngest daughter arrived home yesterday from Thailand and after hours of evening chat (which was a great distraction) I knew she and I needed to hit the hay. She hadn’t slept for 24 hours and I, well I knew I’d be up early.
Not much sleep happened. Two cats and an extra person in your bed plus the impending knowledge that your house would be shredded in the morning doesn’t leave much room for sleep. I dismantled her room a few weeks ago and all that remains in the center of it is a dresser with a sheet draped over it. My house is pretty empty. It looks like a summer cottage that is sleeping for the winter. Bare rooms with white sheets draped over big furniture pieces that don't fit in the garage are patiently waiting for the dust to fall. Kitchen counters free from clutter and empty cabinets are ready to be pulled from their supports.
In one hour Josh will arrive and we will go over what stays and what goes and I’ve decided I’ll be making my way home during lunch to see the progress and to see how Heather and the cats are fairing.

I’ve finalized my IKEA kitchen. I pretty much spent the whole weekend sitting in the kitchen dept. at IKEA, although I did take a break from it and go soaker tub shopping. The place I really wanted to go was closed. Imagine that. A large Kohler showroom closed on a Saturday. I don’t get it. I’ll have to make my way there during the week sometime. I’ve got my eye on a tub but I want to test it out first. Make sure it’s the right fit for me. Sounds like buying a car, doesn’t it?
I’m still not 100% sure about the kitchen. I’m on the fence whether to go with white shiny upper cabinets or matt finish. I’m going to take my daughter with me this weekend to make that decision. The kitchen has to be ordered before March 28th. I’ll wait till the last minute because obviously it’s not time to put the kitchen in. You have to understand that IKEA kitchens come in tons of boxes. I’m guessing there will be approximately 120 boxes in total. I’ll be hiring a company that specializes in assembling and installing IKEA kitchens. They can do the whole thing in one day, which apparently is well worth the money and sanity. I figure with this sale I will save about $778.00. in IKEA gift cards. I have my eye on some shelving units that I will purchase with that savings plus I’ll have left overs to purchase something else. The shelving will go in my dining room to separate the hall but still have light filtering through. The beauty of this shelving unit is you can get drawers and cupboards to close off some of the areas. I love the look of it.

I can’t believe I’m really doing this. It’s all come together…now all I need is that bloody permit and the construction can begin.

Friday, March 12, 2010

Choices

My nights seem to be getting shorter. I seem to wake up and suddenly think about tile choices, appliance choices, kitchen variations, carpet colors and of course the all important “budget”. Did I say budget? I’m just wondering if there is such a thing when it comes to renos.

This will be my last weekend of so called normalcy for the next couple of months. My daughter comes home from Thailand on Monday and on Tuesday the changes will be happening in my humble abode. A monstrous bin arrives in my driveway along with flailing crowbars, pounding sledgehammers and sweaty man muscles.

Josh will arrive very early Tuesday, before I go to work and we will talk about what stays for a while and all that goes. The bin will be here for a while and it shouldn’t be too hard to rip this puppy apart. There’s no drywall, which makes life simpler for Josh and for the fact that drywall has to stay separated in the bin (apparently drywall is not accepted by the dump). For some strange reason I’m not worried about finding “surprises” in this house. The only thing that has me baffled is the little hump in my bedroom floor. It’s not directly over the beam. Which I thought may be the beam crowning. I guess I’ll find out Tuesday when the carpet comes up what that’s all about (I hope it’s not a dead body). We are leaving the insulation in the walls until we get the actual permit from the city. Hopefully that will be a couple of days after the tear down. I’m pretty well living out of boxes now because I’ve had to pack everything up for this reno. It’s not too bad actually. I have had no problem cooking. Luckily my garage is right off the kitchen so it’s easy to access some of my food. (the garage is actually a room right now but will be a garage again after the major reno is done).

I had a major dilemma yesterday, laminate or Bamboo flooring. I’ve had a certain laminate picked out for months now and I haven’t been able to find any others I have liked more. When I was at my little flooring store I found they had floating bamboo flooring for $3.99 a sq ft. I liked it and very much contemplated using that instead of the laminate. I decided to stop into the store where the laminate I liked was and low and behold it was on sale. $2.09 including underlay/vapor barrier and all taxes in. The sale was happening until the following day. I would save $300.00 If I purchased it. There the dilemma began. I had to make a choice quickly. I asked for advice from people, visited the place with the bamboo to see if I could get an even better deal (nope). Went online to find info and reviews on bamboo flooring…that wasn’t great. I looked at the pros and the cons.
My pros for bamboo:
Looks great
Perceived better resale value

Cons:
Scratches easily
Will fade in the sunlight, like all hardwood
Shows foot print marks and marks from my cats paws
It costs more
More maintenance

Pros and cons of laminate

Pros for laminate:
Looks great
Doesn’t scratch, even taking a key and digging into it
Doesn’t show any foot prints or cat prints
Very low maintenance
Doesn’t fade in direct sun
Cost effective
Won’t show dirt as easily
I don’t have to worry about wrecking it and nagging people when they come over

Cons:
Doubtful, but may effect re-sale value of house
It’s not real

So, I chose the laminate and I figure I saved about $2,000 by going with it. I’ve purchased it and they are holding it until I need it. I can take back what I don’t use as long as it’s still in the box unopened. I also had them wave the return policy of 30 days from purchase date.

My Delta faucets have now been ordered. I will get all the sink faucet sets and toilet roll holders for free and will have to pay the employee purchase price for the tub and shower sets (this will be approx. 50% off retail) I figure I’ll save about $1,500.00 plus on all the fixtures. They are top of the line faucets and are beautiful!
I am heading to IKEA this weekend to finalize what I need for my kitchen cupboards. They have a kitchen event until May 28th so I’ll have to order before then. I’ll save 15% off my cabinets in IKEA gift cards, which will pay for my microwave/fan and part of my dishwasher. I have decided to purchase my microwave/fan and dishwasher from IKEA. The reason is I like the microwave and I can get a panel for the front of the dishwasher, which will make it look like the cupboard fronts I’ve picked for the kitchen. It will have a more streamlined look. Apparently the appliances at IKEA are made by Whirlpool. These are an okay brand of appliance and are easy to have serviced. I have also decided to go with a Fisher and Paykel gas stove and fridge from Trail appliances. Two reasons for this. I love the look and fit for the refrigerator and they are also top of the line appliances. It’s not a huge fridge, but the thing I love about it is it has a water dispenser in the door. It’s the smallest fridge I could find with that. I want a cabinet above the refrigerator and this fridge will fit that. The drawers on the inside are very solid and you can definitely tell the difference going from fridge brand to fridge brand in the store. I still have to try to swing a deal for those. I did find the fridge floor model for $500.00 off but it had a little dent in the bottom freezer door and it just wasn’t something I wanted to see every time I went to my fridge.

I have been to my little flooring store about three times and have chosen my tile for the kitchen, the upstairs main bathroom and some for my master suite. I think the most fun will be the main bath. I’ve chosen small hexagon white tile for the floor. White subway tile for the walls and tub area and glass multi green mosaic tile to tie in to the 1950’s green free standing sinks. There will be a boarder of it in the sink area and in the tub area.
The kitchen tile is 12” X 24” porcelain, which looks like cream travertine. It’s beautiful! And at $2.99 sf, very cost effective. I am still not sure what I’d like for my kitchen backsplash but most likely it will be mosaic of some type because that’s what I gravitate towards.

Well, that’s my update for now. It’s coming together. Now if I could only get rid of this knot in my stomach all would be good.

Monday, March 8, 2010

Magically delicious!

Absolutely fabulous news…. the drawings for the existing plan of my house were done yesterday and today Josh and I met at the City Planning Dept. to hopefully have them accepted without having to get an engineer.
I guess I do have some lucky charms up my sleeve, because the pencil pusher behind the desk ended up being a leprechaun and accepted the sets of plans without us having to get an engineer. But alas, now we have to wait to have the permit processed (I knew I should have offered him the pot ‘o gold! Damn!) Josh was told it could take a week (hopefully that’s all). I would like to get going on the demo because the sooner we get started; the sooner it will be done, and the sooner I can soak in my extra deep tub in my new master bath. Which I’m sure I’ll desperately need after going through this reno. Right now it’s Thrilling. We will see how thrilling I think it is when I'm cleaning dishes in my bathtub, living with my coat and shoes on 24/7 and assuring my poor cats that everything will be okay *there will be much appeasing with Temptations cat treats .
My oldest daughter expressed her delight that I’d be coming over to cook at her house a lot but then again, we will see how much she likes me cooking for her when I’m there night after night. Don’t worry Meg it won’t be every night. I’ve got some restaurant gift cards that I can use for a night out once in a while. Plus, there’s always Kraft dinner…Kevin, hear that? You’re Mom just might need a couple of those boxes you bought from Costco.

I was supposed to go to my little flooring store I had found this afternoon but never made it. It will have to be tomorrow on my lunch break. I'm on a mission to match my 1950’s green sink with some green mosaic tile in the store so I will not be panicked to find it at the last minute . I also want to look at the laminate again and possibly the bamboo flooring which is obviously more pricey. I think the laminate I chose on Saturday is just a little too dark. Just a shade lighter would be great.

So blog world, It’s pretty probable that my house will be very “open concept” by weeks end. I sure hope so. Just in time for my youngest daughter’s arrival back home from Thailand Monday. It will be the ultimate in comfortable living for the next few months. Can we do it?.... Yes, we….(gulp)…. can.

Sunday, March 7, 2010

May the force be with me...

Okay, even though I am a bit frustrated right now, yesterday I did find some sweet light at the end of the rainbow. First, the main issue…..I had taken my house plans into the city on Friday and wouldn’t you know it they want the original plans of the house, (engineering purposes). I tried to explain there are no bearing walls, it's a post and beam, and so it makes no difference but the ape behind the counter didn’t care. Oh Maple Ridge, can you please hire some sane people at city level? I called Josh from City Hall and he told me to go back, give the plans to “The Ape” and he would call him to discuss it. I followed my instructions then drove back to work and waited for the call from Josh. Turns out no, in fact Monkey Butt wants the original way the house looks…(does it really matter? We could make up the drawings and no body would know) Makes no sense to me. In the end, luckily, I had already drawn up my house the way it is (roughly). Josh told me he would not charge me anything to redraw more house plans professionally (See, I picked the right guy) and to email my rough drawings to him and he would get them done this weekend. So, this will do nothing but set us back a few days. We did find out that the city can take up to 7 days to process the permit request….not good….but there you go. It’s Maple Ridge.

Okay…now for the sweet light at the end of the rainbow. I have to tell you, I was extremely elated about this.
I had set out to go to Jack’s used building supplies yesterday, which I did. I found nothing there….but, on my way home I decided to go to a flooring store I had found on Craigslist, don’t worry, I checked it out first. I have trust issues with regards to too good a deal. This store belongs to BBB, which is a good sign. I was expecting a hole in the wall…but when I pulled up and parked I knew I was going to be a happy girl. Here I had thought they only sold laminate and hardwood and at that, a limited supply. Boy, was I wrong! They had tile, laminate, engineered, hardwood, carpet, they even do Ceasarstone countertops…they had everything I needed and at very reasonable costs I might add. I felt like I was a kid in a candy store. When I walked in the sales person was helping someone else, so I took the opportunity to browse. First thing that caught my eye was the assorted tile that adorned the wall. Better yet, there was a price on everything (per square foot). These guys were organized. Right away I found some I wanted. The other customer left and the sales guy asked if he could help. I told him I had found him on Craigslist and also told him what I was doing with my house. I mentioned I was looking for either laminate or engineered hardwood, on sale. He took me to the laminate, (12mm only) which is all I’m interested in. It was beautiful and only $1.59 a foot. I had brought my house plans with me and I asked him to do a quote for me for everything. He copied my plans. I also asked him to do a quick quote of my kitchen counters with Ceasarstone while I waited. It ended up being around the same price as the quote I got from the place that had no name brand quartz counter top!!
I picked out the tile and Ceasarstone I liked and put it with the laminate I liked…Wow! Gorgeous! One of the fears I had was running around to different places to get my tile and flooring etc. This was a one stop shopping experience and would make my reno life a lot easier. I also found carpeting I really liked. It was a $1.00 sq foot cheaper than some product I had picked out from an outlet store. I told the guy I was most likely going to purchase everything from him. I got some samples, told him I’d be back Monday with my bathroom sink to match some green tiles to and was on my way. This place is just a hop, skip and a jump away from my place of work so it will be easy to go in on my lunch break….

It is close to St. Paddy’s day. Maybe that light at the end of the rainbow I had this weekend will turn out be a pot o’ gold and the plans I submit this coming week will be okayed without a hitch!.... That is, if there is a leprechaun at city hall.

Thursday, March 4, 2010

Let the reno begin!

It’s funny how we humans just seem to be able to cope with things as they come along. The human brain is fascinating! Either that or it blocks out what it can’t handle, denial perhaps? I guess if you want something bad enough you’ll make it happen. That is what my house is all about. I love the challenge. I love changing an ugly duckling into a graceful swan. I love taking ideas and switching them around and not going with the status quo. Some people think I’m nuts for the things I’m doing with the house and some people totally “get it”…either that or they don’t want to state their real opinions. I know I’m eccentric. I know most people would not undertake this…and who knows, in a few days I may agree with them.

My house plans are now ready. They are being printed off today and by tomorrow I’ll be heading to the city to submit them for a permit. I am imagining that by next week my house will look like a bomb went off. There will be no interior walls, no tile, no carpet. Just the bare minimum, bathtub perhaps and a kitchen sink. I’ll be cold for a while without any insulation. I’ll be using sheets to tack up on the windows for a little privacy. I’ll be hacking up dust and wishing for normalcy. Yes, pure bliss.

My window inserts arrived for my front door yesterday. This front door has started to cost a fortune…but I know what I want…and that front door will set the tone for what is inside these four walls.

I’m off to Jack’s used building supplies on Saturday. I want to look at some of the sinks they have. That place is a gold mine for unique finds. They also have tons of doors and I still need some of those. Who knows what oddities or treasures will be waiting for me.

Wish me luck with that permit. Let’s get this show on the road!

Monday, March 1, 2010

These Olympic Games have really distracted me to the point of not quite finishing packing up my house to get this reno going. This morning and tonight after work should do it though. I basically have the contents of the kitchen cupboards to pack up and I’m done!

The first round of house plans are finished and the final should be done by today or tomorrow. I thanked Josh for including a door in my bathroom and giving me a way to enter my home through the front of the house. The plans look great! I also received my new Schlage door knob and dead bolt Friday. So pretty and shiny...precious, my precious.

Home Depot had a deal this weekend I just couldn’t pass up. It was difficult for me to give in because I had decided on more sleek and stylish models.
What the hell am I talking about you ask?
Why toilets of course.
Some municipalities were offering rebates on low flow toilets (mine NOT included) but I will get a rebate when the energy guy returns. $65.00 per toilet to be exact. There were three to choose from that were on sale, American Standard, Kohler and Pegasus (HD brand). I chose the Kohler. It was the most expensive of the three but I think it was the right choice. My only concern is the color. Even though it’s white, every company has different whites and I may not choose Kohler bathtubs. The only place it may be a concern is my main bathroom. But there will be a wall separating it from the bath so I should be okay. Worst case scenario, I take it back and get a different one. Like I said I wanted a more sleek model but the cost difference was significant! The toilets after rebate will cost me $84.00 each as apposed to some of the ToTo toilets I was looking at which were $400 - $500 each. My thoughts are spend the money in more important places, like a soaker tub. Kohler is a good make and that particular toilet got good reviews.
I was up at the crack of dawn on Saturday, actually before the crack. I studied the three different brands of toilets. Made sure they were included on my rebate and was at Home Depot at 6:45 am. I new there would be a run on toilets….ha ha…and I wanted to be able to nab three. I new I wouldn’t be able to get them all in the car but I thought I’d be able to pay for them all, get one or two in the car and come back to get the other(s). Well, HD wouldn’t let me do that. I quickly phoned Ralph. He lives 2 minutes away. I told him my situation and like a gallant knight he came and picked up one of the toilets for me. I ended up getting two in my car. He and my Mom brought the toilet over later that morning. I had wanted to ask him about ripping up my driveway and putting in new concrete…(that’s what he does for a living). I thought while I was at it I would re-surface my front door area and the back patio. I also need my side yard re-done. He’s going to put a quote together for me. This wouldn’t happen until after my house reno but I want to make sure to leave some moola for that. Fingers crossed…. I have moola left for that.

I made a decision Friday. I want to use some of the wood slats on my walls in a different way in the house. Maybe plane them down, stain them darker and put them on a horizontal angle to the wall. I could do this in the living room to unfortunately replace the existing mahogany paneling (which I wanted to keep but it’s in too horrid a condition). Or, do the same thing behind the master bed to use like a headboard, which looks uber-cool. I’ve seen it done. That way I can still keep some of the original materials in the house.

Well, it’s time to finish packing. By tomorrow I should be ready to go to the city for a building permit. Holy shit! I’m really doing this.