Workation.....

We are going on Vacation  Workation!!! 

That's correct...we are taking a week off of regular work to stay home and work on the addition. The extra time will be needed in order to meet addition deadline. 

We have windows, toilets and tiles all ready to be installed. Flooring will be picked up this weekend and the siding has all been ordered to be delivered for March 26th. 

We've been up to a few small things around the house like this....

Addition Deadline Countdown 


25 days 

Attic Insulation Done

Quote from the Home Depot Employee:

"Oh Yes, this is a very easy job. Just rent the machine and feed the bags into it. 600 sq. ft. should take you about 1 hour"  

He was a really nice man don't get me wrong and he probably had no idea that I would actually be the one feeding the machine with insulation. 

And so we started. The process is to cut and break these bags in half and then feed each half into the machine. 

Branko did one just to show me how it works and it looked pretty simple, he then proceeded to go into the attic with the hose while I would stand by the machine and feed it with bags of insulation. 

There is a small knife built inside here and what it does is cut the plastic wrap once you push it through this entrance way.  The insulation expands and the plastic is pulled off. 

Problem #1: 

Try and get the plastic off before the insulation falls into the machine was extremely hard. It was jammed by that plastic piece on the right side and I had this huge fear it was going to tangle in the rotators in the machine. So each time I would feed the machine I went into panic mode trying to frantically get the wrap off. 

Problem #2:

When we started our second round Branko had the bright idea of stuffing 1/2 a bag into the machine before it was started. Each time he went into the attic and I hit the start button it would kill the breaker and the machine would die. We quickly figured out the machine must be rotating before you stuff anything in there. 

Problem #3:

It's too stupid to talk about in full detail, let's just say somehow a piece of plumbing pipe ended up in the machine.                                                       

Don't ask how. 

Problem #4: 

By the time we finished it was 8:30pm on Monday night. The machine needed to be returned and it was pouring rain out. The bottom part of the machine was very heavy. We had to carry it out the window entrance we are currently using, around the back side of the house, through the house to the front, walk across a patch of ice in the pouring rain then lift it into the trailer. The problem...I'm not that strong and it was pouring rain. Just use your imagination. 

So over all, the process wasn't that bad. It took longer then we expected since the machine rotates the insulation much slower then we thought it would, if you are going to do this yourself allow extra time for how slow the machine is. 

I'm sure with experience and understanding of the machine better next time would be much easier. 

Addition deadline moves on. 

Countdown:

33 days 

Our plumbing all passed inspection(fantastic news) considering this was Branko's first time doing plumbing. 

We can close in all of the floors completely, windows are being picked up tomorrow and installed this weekend. The flooring was purchased yesterday and will be in next week! 

(http://pinterest.com/pin/118430665173360331/)

A mash-up of the weekend...Addition Deadline update

My weekend was full of 2 days spent driving around looking for a good deal on tiles. 

Since we are selling this house I didn't want to spend a ton of money but still need something modern and up to date. 

On Saturday I drove to Tile Shoppe Outlet in Newmarket ...do you know where this place is....almost in the middle of no where. But the flyer looked really good and I thought considering it was an "outlet" store they would have a huge showroom with tons of stock. 

What a disappointment! The show room was so small it may as well have been a closet, it was also packed. The store opened at 10 am  and I was there at 10:20 am. The prices were not the greatest ranging from $3.49 sq ft and up for anything some what modern. 

Boooooooooooo, I spent an entire 8 minutes there and walked out knowing it was a waste of my time. 

Next up...Tile and Stones (Jane and something, close to Ikea) I've purchased nice tile here before for $2 sq ft. The service was great the first time so I figured no harm in going back. Unfortunately I couldn't find anything close to what I needed. 

I then headed over to Ikea to look at counter tops. It was almost noon by this time and we all know what Ikea is like at noon on a Saturday. I selected 2 different types of counter tops that I believe would look nice. Branko will go back and order them this week sometime since he works close by. (the wait was 45 min. - no thanks) 

I ended up going home after all of this with nothing, Branko needed my help so I figured I would just try again the next day. 

This time I convinced my mom to go with me, we headed to Olympia Tile Clearance Centre and there big show room...Zero...Nada...Too Busy....Branko will kill me if I come home with nothing. 

We also stopped at 2 other places close to there and the cheapest I could find was $2.89 sq.ft. No thanks, I'm on a budget here! 

This is all I could find for $2.89 sq. ft. 

So Home Depot happened to be close by and I said to my mom let's just go see what they have.....

And I saw this for $2.47:

At this point I decided to wait, go home and head out to our local Home Depot to look at things with Branko. 

We were going to purchase the one above(it also came in a lighter grey colour) but then we saw this:

Yukon Mist 12 inch x 24 inch Glazed Porcelain Tiles (16 Square Feet per Case) $1.99 sq. ft

For $1.99 sq.ft. I could not pass this up! 

Accent tile selection ($9.50 a pack, the tile guy in the city wanted $15.49 a pack) :

The tile for the master bathroom, laundry room and smaller old bathroom has all been purchased.

Once we install the new tiles in the master bathroom I will have to decide if I want to go with a white cabinet or a black/brown cabinet. 

What would you do white or black/brown????

Things I still need to purchase:

Kitchen Back splash

Kitchen Counter tops

Kitchen Accessories

Stove/Fridge/Dishwasher

Washer/Dryer

Closets from Ikea for the 2 bedrooms (more on this some other time)

Branko was also able to install the Heat Recovery Ventilator plus all of the duct work. His dad finished installing the electrical outlets and light fixtures(no more extension cords!)

We will pick up the windows this weekend and install them, lay down all of the tile in the new bathroom and laundry room and maybe start working on the drywall. 

I also have to make one very important comment normally when we go to Home Depot finding somebody to help if needed is horrendous. 

But...our local Home Depot is getting so much better in there customer service area...

Michelle in the tile & flooring section was amazing last night! So friendly and outgoing, we had a good chuckle with her. 

Stefan from the windows/flooring section from the other night was beyond helpful and patient with me! When we realized they didn't have the product I really need in store he searched a ton of other stores for and even searched the company website to see who carried the stuff in Canada! 

The tool rental guy...I wish I got his name....he was so great! 

Thank you Home Depot Employees!!! 

Addition Deadline Countdown:

36 days 

Don't forget to leave comments below on the cabinet colour...I would love to hear some opinions! 

A good weekend...and staying positive

Here are some photos of what the addition looked like on Wed. Feb 27th:

This will be the dining room, the pass through from the old house will open up in here from the kitchen. 

The bathroom that is tied to the master bedroom. 

The small bedroom. 

Remember the entire addition will be 650 sq.ft. There is also a laundry room and a master bedroom. The master will have some nice views into the backyard and looking down at the creek in the backyard. 

A good weekend is when you almost finish all of the drywall(we had to leave the laundry room open so the inspector can take a look), the plumbing, the TV cables, the insulation in the entire house other then the attic is completed. That means R20 and R12 in between all of the floor joist on the floor and the sub-floor plywood has been put down in all rooms other then the laundry and part of the bathroom. 

We ran 2 x 100ft PEX piping from the old part of the house(where the water pump is) underneath the joist and into the new addition. 

Overall it was an excellent weekend! With only one downfall....it was soooooo cold. 

This is how I prepare myself to go out there and work:

I'm wearing Branko's toque because it's very warm and roomy. It doesn't pull on my hair or feel uncomfortable. I have on a long sleeve shirt underneath my Lululemon sweater plus I put on a wind breaker type jacket. I have winter work gloves that are durable and keep my hands warm. I also wear 2 pairs of socks, leggings and sweatpants. And for my feet I wear my Uggs because they are the only things that keep my feet warm. I know this may sound crazy but it has been almost -10 to -15 of some weekends. 

Me and cold don't mesh well together. 

This weekend I had an angry fit while working, that Branko will only be aware of once he reads this. To be honest I am not even sure why I was mad. I was cutting insulation to fit into the flooring and the knife was moved from where I left it. 

I was just so cold and angry that I had to look for the knife and measuring tape that I kicked the level across the room and into some stuff that was sitting on the floor. 

Thankfully I didn't break anything, I felt better after the kick. 

Regrouped myself and realized things could be worse! The addition is coming along nicely considering we are building in the dead of winter. 

Next week will be loaded with pictures of everything completed. We hope to start on taping and mudding the walls. The windows are ordered and should ready in about 2 weeks. I also plan to go this weekend order new counter tops, pick out bathroom tiles, and order flooring! 

This is where the fun starts right???!!!