I have a huge job of removing all the stumps so I can complete my fence line, new trees and prep for a new garage. I rented an excavator from Single Source Rentals and it arrived Friday at 8am, by 8:30, I knew I did not have a big enough machine to do the job. I called Sheldon who runs a Deere 80 excavator and is a pro, he came out Saturday and finished all the really big stumps. I still worked all day Friday pulling all the stumps I could and prepping for Saturday. I also rented a dump bin which we filled up on Saturday and have a second one coming Monday am. I also got a load of free fill delivered Friday am, well I had to pay for delivery. On Saturday I ripped out the neighbors fence and railroad ties with the excavator. The fence I put in the bin, but the railroad ties I had to take to the dump. I also ripped out each cement ball for each fence post, today I tried to load one into my truck with the excavator and I smashed the window of my canopy and crushed my tailgate, woops, need a few more hours on that machine, haha.
All the stumps are out and the ground is fairly level now. Monday I will finish putting the stumps in the bin, return the excavator, have the bins picked up and my new fence is being dropped off. I had a crew coming on Monday to help me install the fence, but now we have 3 inches of snow, so I will wait till it is gone and warms up a bit.
I am flipping the entire layout of our home with new electrical, plumbing, heating, making it energy efficient, and modern, and I am also building an attached 3 car Garage. Watch the process and share my journey.
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Friday, February 25, 2011
Nathan Allan Glass Sheets
Yesterday I bought three custom glass sheets made by Nathan Allan. The glass is tempered and is 40 x 32x 1/2 in size. I picked up all three for $175, supposed to be worth $700 a piece, not sure about that tho. I am going to build a recessed wall in the Master bedroom, mount them using 3x6 reclaimed lumber with a groove top and bottom and back light them with an LED dimmer control. They would make for a nice table too, or even a wall waterfall. Pics below are from Nathan Allans site.
Thursday, February 24, 2011
My Trees
When I moved in I could barely get down my driveway because of my trees, overtime I removed every tree I could safely remove. On Monday Tri-Craft Tree Services and their crew came over and took the rest down for me. The huge line of trees on the east side, the line on the west side where I am building the garage, and a few monsters in the back yard.
It was interesting to see them work, in most cases they remove all the branches with the bucket truck and top them, leaving standing timber and move on the to next one and so on. This allows them to clear the yard, and keep working, then near the end, simply fall all the trees, with no heavy branches it is easier to control and they do not get hung up within each other.
Other trees are climbed, where the climber clears the branches on the way up, controlling where they fall, then topping the tree and cutting it in sections on the way down, again leaving standing timber for controlled cutting and out of harms way from the house and power lines.
They worked all day and my friend and I worked along with them clearing the logs, we bucked them up and moved them to the front where people could take the free wood, and they did as fast as we could clear it. By the end of the day all the trees were down and we were all worn out. The next day and Wed I spent all day bucking up the trees and moving the lumber to the front yard, tons of work. I am doing the same today, I should be finished clearing everything today, although my back is wrecked now.
I would guess there is about 40 trees or so. I have rented and excavator and bin for the stumps which I will be clearing on Friday and the weekend. Then a new fence on both sides, new Excelsa cedars and a few Emerald greens.
It was interesting to see them work, in most cases they remove all the branches with the bucket truck and top them, leaving standing timber and move on the to next one and so on. This allows them to clear the yard, and keep working, then near the end, simply fall all the trees, with no heavy branches it is easier to control and they do not get hung up within each other.
Other trees are climbed, where the climber clears the branches on the way up, controlling where they fall, then topping the tree and cutting it in sections on the way down, again leaving standing timber for controlled cutting and out of harms way from the house and power lines.
They worked all day and my friend and I worked along with them clearing the logs, we bucked them up and moved them to the front where people could take the free wood, and they did as fast as we could clear it. By the end of the day all the trees were down and we were all worn out. The next day and Wed I spent all day bucking up the trees and moving the lumber to the front yard, tons of work. I am doing the same today, I should be finished clearing everything today, although my back is wrecked now.
I would guess there is about 40 trees or so. I have rented and excavator and bin for the stumps which I will be clearing on Friday and the weekend. Then a new fence on both sides, new Excelsa cedars and a few Emerald greens.
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Looking west |
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Topping trees |
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Tri-Craft |
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East tree line |
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Pro climber, houses and powerlines to deal with |
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Boom truck |
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Fallen trees |
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Clean up time |
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Backyard, the two left are staying |
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Looks bare, for now |
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Deere and me cleaning up |
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That was a big one |
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These are all heavy |
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All the roots are going |
Thursday, February 17, 2011
The Old Layout and the New Layout
The current layout is basement entry or main floor. On the main floor is the foyer, a workshop area, laundry, utilities like hot water and furnace, an open area or rec room, (currently my office). On the second floor, is the master and en-suite (very small), bedroom 2, bedroom 3, the kitchen, dining area, living room and a deck out back.
The new layout closes in the carport, which becomes my office/den, laundry and a powder room, the dining area, kitchen and living room are all now on the main floor with an open concept and a door to the new garage. Upstairs, we close in the tiny master bath and make the shared bath bigger. The regular bedrooms stay as they are, a new master bedroom is created with a walk in closet, a deck and a very large spa like master en-suite.
The new layout closes in the carport, which becomes my office/den, laundry and a powder room, the dining area, kitchen and living room are all now on the main floor with an open concept and a door to the new garage. Upstairs, we close in the tiny master bath and make the shared bath bigger. The regular bedrooms stay as they are, a new master bedroom is created with a walk in closet, a deck and a very large spa like master en-suite.
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Existing Main Floor |
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New Main Floor, Carport is closed in. |
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Existing 2nd Floor |
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New 2nd Floor |
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
House Design
I have been working with Patrick from Jenitrick Solutions Inc. and I think we now have a design and layout ready. This design incorporates as much existing as possible, windows, doors etc. It is an option to completely change the look of the house with added peaks and roof lines, but I decided to keep it simple and keep the costs under control.
Next will be construction drawings and permits. This is the way the house will look... I will show the layout changes another time.
Next will be construction drawings and permits. This is the way the house will look... I will show the layout changes another time.
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House Design |
Simple Screen Repair
For some reason one of my screens had a broken frame, I picked up a new frame section at HD (Home Depot) and carefully lifted the rubber edging out which holds the screen, then pulled the frame apart. I measured the length of the good one and cut the new one to length and placed it within the frame. If your frame does not have joints you may need to take it all apart, buy joints and cut all your pieces to size. Spline Rubber edging comes in two sizes so the frame is meant to fit either. In this case, my rubber edging is the larger size so after I cut my frame I used a wide blade screw driver to pry the grove wider to match the old grove the entire frame length. This makes it way easier to get the rubber edge back in. Using my spline roller I pushed the Spline Rubber edging in place, simple, easy and off my list.
Monday, February 14, 2011
Plumbing Hardware
I found out about a sale on high end plumbing hardware. So I knew I had to check it out, even though I do not need hardware for more than a year possibly. So a few days ago I drove into Vancouver an hour away and checked it out, turns out I know little about high end modern hardware so I made some notes and left. The next day I went to a few stores to compare products and pricing, also increase my knowledge. It also happened to be the weekend for the home show, so I spent four hours there too.
I made a plan, a list of all hardware needed with rough costs. I came up with $2600 and rounded it up to $3000 as I knew I was missing items and on the low side.
I went back to the store on Monday and walked out of there with everything I needed for $3200 plus tax of high end Italian Hardware retailing for probably 7or 8k.
I made a plan, a list of all hardware needed with rough costs. I came up with $2600 and rounded it up to $3000 as I knew I was missing items and on the low side.
I went back to the store on Monday and walked out of there with everything I needed for $3200 plus tax of high end Italian Hardware retailing for probably 7or 8k.
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Laundry under the counter sink and faucet. |
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Even got a Digital Tower Heater with a remote control. |
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This is for the powder room on the main floor, faucet, towel bar and tp holder. |
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Kitchen faucet and spray unit, forgot the soap thing. |
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This is the shared bath on the 2nd floor, tub and shower, 2 faucets, tp holder, towel holder and towel rack. |
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This is for the Roman tub in the Master bath faucet and magic wand. |
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Master Bath faucets, tp holder, 2 towel holders and 2 towel racks. |
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Master bath spa shower, Therm controls, 3 jets, shower head with side or ceiling mount, magic wand and wall mount, shower head, shampoo holder. |
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Toilets
Today I started removing some drywall on the main floor, really just adding to the drywall in my truck so I can take a full load to the dump which I did today. So after some other errands for regular business I ended up picking up three new toilets at Costco, guess I will be storing them too with my lights. Just thinking today, I won't even get to the house reno for about a year, I really need to move most of my stuff into the new garage to do a proper demo.
The toilets are $115 a piece plus tax, I think a pretty good deal considering all the other toilets on the market. They even come with a seal, bolts and a water line.
Features:
The toilets are $115 a piece plus tax, I think a pretty good deal considering all the other toilets on the market. They even come with a seal, bolts and a water line.
Features:
- One piece constuction for easier cleaning
- 16" chair height and elongated bowl
- Fully glazed 2" trap ensures no plugging
- Powerful rim wash for excellent bowl cleaning
- Insulated tank for quiet operation
- Dual Flush, 4L and 6L
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One Piece Toilet |
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Sunset last night from my backyard |
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