Early June 2013 - Back on Track!

So while I might have been getting a little discouraged there for a while, we’ve made some great strides these past few weeks and I’m invigorated again!  Seeing big changes is so rewarding!  Since my last blog entry, the woodstove has been installed, the very last of the kitchen is in, and the blessed deck rails are up!  (Mostly – a few parts short that had to be ordered in…)  We ended up with just black rails because the custom powder-coated brown colour would have been a tiny bit off, looking like we tried to match and missed.  So good thing we have black after all – so much easier to get extra parts as it turns out.  If I had to do it all over again obviously I would have just gone with black in the first place!

 

At 8:00 am Tuesday, our big retaining wall for the driveway was delivered.  Last week Paul dug the trench for the 2’ x 2’ x 6’ blocks.  Then when it was delivered the concrete supplier was kind enough to place them in the trench right where they needed to go, instead of dumping them on the ground.  That saved us a huge amount of money so Paul didn’t have to rent additional heavy equipment.  So nice to have the right people – and their connections – on the job!  Starting at 1:00 a couple loads of gravel were delivered, so by the end of the day we had a driveway!  Paul also beefed up the drainage here and installed some underground piping since our lot is on such a slope.  He knows a lot about drainage and has been busy these past few weeks installing/repairing tile beds in farmers fields – who would have known there was huge underground drainage there?

We also got quotes on a little interlock patio to go outside the basement doors underneath the deck.  We find we are using that entrance a lot, and the dust and dirt getting tracked inside is insane.  But let’s just say, I had no idea interlock was so expensive!!  So Stephen suggested a little floating deck floor there instead.  AND BONUS!  He is making a little framework and screening the area in so it will be a screened in porch!  So now we’ll have an outdoor summer Sangria Porch, and in the winter we’ll go upstairs to the original Sangria Room.  Mmmm…  That’s a lot of sangria!  We may end up putting our blow-up kiddie hot tub downstairs there – the $300 Wal-Mart special a few years ago.

And believe it or not, we’re finishing the basement already!  Yes, just shoot me now!!!  It was the perfect storm of Stephen having time to do the framing and knowing all the right people to call.  Right now our holiday decorations and craft things and kid toys are still in our last storage locker.  And if we brought all that stuff over it would just be more to work around when we finished the basement later.  And the main reason is that in our brand new house, I just didn’t want “piles” of stuff eventually destined for my sewing room and Ibby’s office.  I didn’t want to look around and say “Oh, that’s just temporary until we finish the basement”.

So, biting the bullet and doing it now.  Stephen has already framed out my little craft room and the kitchenette & toilet rooms.  We’re re-using the glass French doors from the old cottage and they will be pocket doors.  Lots of light coming into my craft room, but I can still shut the door to my mess!  The plumber already moved the roughed in pipes a little (the rough in was really rough, and unfortunately while they were “in the area” now that the design is finalized just a little off).  Electricians were here already, and the drywall has been quoted.  Now that the deck rails and glass panels are out of the garage, just need to shift some furniture out there and get the drywall delivered.  Our kitchen planner is tweaking the design – we’ll just have a basic little galley kitchen with sink & microwave.  But I’ll be able to keep the canning supplies and paper plates, etc down there.   And a nice linen closet where we can keep beach towels & sunscreen so it’s handy to the outside, as well as having room to store our suitcases in the bottom.  Ibby’s office area will be right in front of the main window looking out to the lake.  And of course we have a spot for the “Back to the Future” pinball machine!

 

Just to keep things interesting, a little work has been done at the condo too.  It was discovered there was a leak in one of the skylight areas coming into a support beam.  Drywall had to be stripped out and mold remediation done.  The leak still has to be sealed, then drywall replaced in that area.  Fortunately that falls under the building maintenance and the expense is covered through that.  There are also a couple of interior glass panels that form a little solarium that we are having removed during this process.  Not only do we want to open it up as much as possible, but the airflow to those areas was horrible – freezing in winter, and a sauna in summer.

 

So to sum things up, we’re back on track full steam ahead!  I hope we’ll be able to relax soon and enjoy some of the summer – when it finally gets here that is!