Entry for May 11, 2007

Good bye old kitchen…

Today was the day…Habitat for Humanity came (8 guys in total) to remove the old kitchen. They worked fast and efficiently. The ‘hole’ lets us really visualize how this new extension will look…just removing that hanging cupboard from between the dining and kitchen has made a world of difference!

Apparently the wall will come down next week…so JT and I will be busy reclaiming the brick…oh goody, what fun!
Can hardly wait to see what the real kitchen will look like!

Entry for May 3, 2007

Roof has been put on, skylight has been installed. This photo is taken from the guest room on the second floor looking down.
The property still needs grading, but I imagine they will do that once they trample most of the dirt down as they work on the house.
George has actually been communicating every 3-5 days with updates, and the actions have actually happened!
Kitchen guy is supposed to be getting “signed on” on Saturday.

Entry for May 1, 2007

The roof is now closed in and the room is really taking shape. We decided to go for the skylight (which George framed in anyway). Colour scheme has also been selected, nice dark putty colour and lighter tones for trim and window frames…should look gorgeous!
And we have a dumpster again!

We’ve finished packing up the basement, just need to move the boxes into the storage area. We took a truck full of books and such to Goodwill again…wow this purging is redeeming! This weekend we have to pack up the kitchen because a week Friday Habitat is coming for it. Time is really flying by.
Still no kitchen contract! Should be interesting.

Entry for April 27, 2007

Well, it seems that they work one day on, one day off…Thursday, just a bunch of wood was moved to the back, but nothing more was done!
The weather is warming up again, so it should be perfect by the 15th when they break through the existing walls…that should be interesting.

We’re packing up this weekend, so we’re not too rushed. It will be nice to purge again!
Today is our weekly status meeting…haven’t heard anything about the kitchen yet…it will work out it will work out it will work out….

Entry for April 25, 2007

OH MA GOH! What a surprise we had tonight…we have an ADDITION! Wow, they sure got a lot done today.

 

 

The view from the new windows is spectacular…OF COURSE WE CLIMBED IN! They left the ladder for us! The kitchen even has a floor already. The basement is still dirt, but I imagine that they will pour the basement floor when they open to the existing house!
Hope the next few weeks will move along at this rate, so we’ll be done in no time at all! Except that George hasn’t ordered the kitchen yet…UGH!

Entry for April 24, 2007

Wood for framing has arrived. Expectation is to be finished framing by end of week. Habitat for Humanity is booked for kitchen removal on Friday May 11. Break through is scheduled for May 15th!!
Now the fun starts. We’re starting to pack this weekend!!

Entry for April 23, 2007

Damp proofing the walls, and wood is ordered. Inspector booked for April 25 11-12pm.

Entry for April 22, 2007

Basement walls are being finished today.

Weather was fantastic, sunny and 22C.

Entry for April 22, 2007

The foundation walls are being completed today. Lumber is being ordered on Monday and delivered on Tuesday. As mentioned before, framing should begin on Tuesday! This view is of the new extra large basement window overlooking the back yard. WOW, this will bring in a lot of light and make the basement not seem so basement-ie!

The bad news is that George the contractor has not yet contracted the kitchen manufacturer.
It will work out in the end…and we’ll have an amazing kitchen on budget! (that is the power of positive thinking!!!!!)

Entry for April 21, 2007

Well, things are taking shape and it looks like, all things being equal, we should have wood delivered on Tuesday and framing starting Wednesday. They may indeed be ready to break through to the existing house by May 15!!!

Entry for April 19, 2007

We have now caught up to the schedule (we were ahead before!). The block apparently wasn’t delivered until late afternoon on Tuesday, so this is all they did the first block laying day. And of course, Wednesday they didn’t work (huh?).
The original plan was to have the foundation laid by Friday and order wood and begin framing on Monday.
George has not finalized the contract with the kitchen manufacturer. Apparently it only takes 4 weeks to make the kitchen! Stay tuned….

Entry for April 14, 2007

The footings have been poured, inspected and apparently 12″ concrete block has been ordered. Mark (one of the labourers) thought they were laying the block Sunday, but we were told Tuesday…so we are unsure. As you can see, things are progressing. And we seem to be a little ahead of schedule, which can and likely will change later in the project!

Entry for April 13 2007

Well, they’ve poured the concrete. The truck was canceled due to rain and then re ordered…it finally came at 5:30 on Thursday. Unfortunately, we were out at a charity shoe event (and you know what happens if we buy shoes!) so we were not able to see this exciting event.
There wasn’t enough concrete, so the guys will have to hand mix tomorrow!

Entry for April 11, 2007

Well, the weather is certainly frightful, and the snow is NOT delightful…
We’ve had crazy weather. The hole gets bigger and bigger. Two dumpsters later and there is still a lot of sand in our backyard.
I haven’t taken a photo for a while…it’s just a damn hole! But now there is a trench around the perimeter which I am told is the place for the footings to be poured.
Footings are supposed to happen tomorrow, inspector at 11am-12pm and then blocks are being laid on Friday.
It may not happen…the weather is certainly frightful!

Entry for April 7, 2007

The guys (Emanuel and Mark) did show up on Good Friday afterall. It was bloody cold (-5C plus a wind chill of -11C!). They dug some more (no additional photos, it’s just a damn hole! See photo from day before) and it’s getting deeper and deeper. In fact, they had to fence it off for safety reasons!
Saturday April 7, and they are supposed to be here…Wil was in fact here at 7:45am true to form, and at least one of the two guys, but they left.
Tonight it is a last minute dinner with the Taylor clan chez nous. I’m doing a roast pork loin. 9 people. We’re having a fire tonight…it’s really too damn cold to be April!
Happy Birthday Lucy!

Entry for April 6, 2007

It’s Good Friday and it’s 7:55am and our site foreman, Wil is already here. I doubt the guys will be working today, but you never know.
The pit is not a big or as finished as we thought it would be, but it is progressing nicely. We’re getting a sense of the size of the extension now and it will be HUGE! Very very exciting!

Entry for April 6, 2007

Day 3. Can you BELIEVE THIS?????? SNOW!!! It’s just plain HUGLY!!!! And it’s supposed to be continuing all Easter weekend! Wind chill again. It’s just not nice.
The guys are already here (start time 8am) and Wil is managing them. This guy has a very tight style and seems to be really on top of things. We like that. By the end of the day, they should be finished digging and ready for footings (I’ll find out what that means when I get home tonight).
The hole is now a pit, and it’s progressing, but we thought (or were told) it would be finished by now! Surprise!

Entry for April 5, 2007

This morning we were awakened by the doorbell at 6:15AM…apparently a dumpster was being delivered to our driveway and the cars had to move out! No problem we were sort of almost kinda up already…Dumpster arrived at 7:30 to the dismay of our site manager Wil.
The hole is progressing nicely.

The soil is like sand, but I am told it is denser the deeper you go, and it’s heavy. They should be finished by end of day Thursday and they said they will be ready for the footings. They’ve booked the Building Inspector for Friday (easter?)

Wil has proudly declared that he always finishes a project early!
Habitat for Humanity finally called me back regarding the kitchen donation. They will send someone out April 13th to spec it and then hopefully make arrangements to remove it (they do that too!!!). We are very happy that it won’t go into a land fill.

Entry for April 3, 2007

At the end of Day 1, this is the hole

Entry for April 3, 2007

FINALLY. After a bit of a rocky start, the guys are here now getting ready for the dig.

Take a look at some before photos:

Entry for March 23, 2007

The Big Dig
Well, we’ve got a start date: Monday April 2, 2007. We are very excited about it.

The permits have been processed. The kitchen designed (mainly by us, but some reco’s from the Kitchen Designer, Kris)
Stay tuned for photos…this blog will get busy once we’re into it (hopefully).

February 12, 2007 The Appliances

Well, after a lot of soul searching, we finally caved in and decided to buy new appliances…the “might as well” syndrome #1 (I wonder how many we’ll have?!?!?!)
The dilemma is that we really just bought a new stove, 5 years ago…so it’s really difficult to justify getting another one, just because the colour is wrong. But we did it, we broke down and got them all, stainless steel.

February 9, 2007

The image above shows our vision of the extension.

After a few months of searching in 2006 we finally found the design/build company we felt good about. Earlier this year we hired George and have negotiated until this time. On February 6 we signed the papers and handed over a chunk of change! Scary and exciting all at once. We had a pretty specific idea on what we wanted and George brought it to life in 3-D auto cad! We now have elevations to browse and dream over!
The next few weeks will be selecting finishes and appliances (kitchen needs 6 weeks, and they need to know the size of the appliances to make the kitchen!). Next week we are expecting the workplan and as you can imaging JT and I are extremely excited about it!
Start date of the reno is March 15, but with this deep freeze of late, we are estimating an end of March dig. The plan is 12-16 weeks (3-4 months).