And A Seized Defrost Motor.......

Well for starters, the tub is repaired and works well. Bonus. However, and yes there is a however, upon closer inspection since the enclosure had to be removed, we have noticed that the tub has been improperly braced.

In order to support the load of the large tub full of water including a person (or two), it should sit inside a "cradle", unfortunately our tub only has supports in the front and butts against the wall. This has nothing to do with the pump failure, this just adds insult to injury and needs to be pulled out and re-done.

As for our air exchange system, it seemed to be running constantly and we noticed condensation in the basement around the units ducts and even frozen areas within them. Not good. So, a repair man came out today and it seems that the defrost motor is seized, so the part is ordered. He also noticed that the seal was improper between the two ducts and will replace that as well.

The laundry room is done now, we just need to put the light fixture back up and put the outlet covers on, otherwise it is re-drywalled, re-painted and re-ready for laundry doing.....oh wait, you would need an operational dryer for that....... that's right folks our brand new gas dryer has gone on the fritz, some error F70 code that the internet comes up with as a computer/control communication error, the repair person can not come out until Dec 30.

It could be worse, I am not complaining, just sharing. :)

Eaves Trough Is On.

The eaves trough was finally installed this week, and it looks pretty nice. It is a seamless product and rather than the standard tin, they used steel because of the steel roof choice. We buried "big O" to drain into the field to the south of us and the eaves drains directly into that, so we hope that there will not be a huge amount of drainage mess in the spring.

The laundry room has its last coat of mud and should be ready for paint on Saturday, hopefully next week we can get the final coats on in the upstairs hall as well. The shower glass for the upstairs bathroom should be finished this week as well.

And The Mess Rolls On.

Well, we are pretty much moved in, and by pretty much I mean the only things that is preventing us from being totally settled is this laundry room/jacuzzi re-work. The tub is now officially fixed (and tested) and we had to rip the pine off for the repair to be done properly so we have decided to tile around the jacuzzi and build in a "secret" access panel, will look much nicer. The drywall board is up in the laundry room and the drywaller should be out today or Monday to do the first coat of mud, not looking forward to this mess and therefore I am holding out on the main Christmas decorating (the tree). The shower glass is due tomorrow and for that we are very excited, as we are enjoying our shower very much but will appreciate the added warmth the glass will add to the enclosure. The back of the house (main entry) is almost complete and the eaves trough should be here Monday as well - next week is shaping up to be a busy one!

We have managed to find a home for "most" of our furniture, though going from 3000 sq ft (Chatsworth) to 1500 sq ft, poses some space issues for bulky items........ Ikea has been wonderful! We are still making some configuration changes as we go, but for the most part things are relatively organized, it has been a lot of fun after waiting so long.

For This There Are No Words.

After a long (hard) couple of days, I decided to enjoy my jacuzzi tub for the first time.

I lit the candle. I readied the iPod. I added the bubbles.

A few blissful moments of bubbly heat, the tub filled and filled and filled. "Wow, this IS a big tub" I thought to myself. I turned the jets off to communicate to Chris that it was wonderful, when I noticed the bubbles getting lower. "Hmmm" I thought. I called to Chris to come and check things out, by the time her got upstairs even I knew it wasn't the drain plug stuck open or the bubbles reducing, he confirmed my suspicions.......... the floor was covered with water.

It is amazing how quickly water finds an escape, we can only assume it is leaking at a jet (experience tells us so) and the plumber and contractor are on their way over to diagnose the situation. I can tell you this much....... the upstairs bathroom floor and the laundry room ceiling are seeping water......... we have not seen the end of this renovation, it isn't through with us yet.

The jacuzzi "guts"

Before the "incident" - getting things set up.


TV is hung, mantle is oiled

Main floor bathroom - looking great!

Just like Christmas Morning.

I gave up this morning. After tossing and turning since close to 3am, I gave up shortly before 5am and dragged my husband with me. It is almost as exciting as Christmas morning, and maybe a little more right now.......today we start the process of preparing the house to move into. Although most of what we will be doing today is prep work to move in, it is one more stage in this very emotional journey.

So off I go to drink coffee!!

Ladies and Gentlemen, We Have Heat!

The furnace is officially working! The appliances will have to wait until tomorrow to be hooked up as we have to replace the flex lines???!! OK. Other than that, the carpet is in and looks (and feels) really nice, as much as I am a hardwood fan, it is nice to have carpet on the bedroom floors. The inside of the closets are all painted and the one side is ready for hanging clothes and the built in shelves are coming along on the other side, also some walls have had their second coat of paint. The stairs are being urethaned this weekend, so we will have to hold out on putting things upstairs until at least Monday........ doesn't mean I can't start cleaning downstairs and filling my kitchen and the basement ;)

Lights, Trim Paint and Some Carpet!!

Well, the place is that much closer to liveable, the carpet installers came a day early and the painters and electrician were on site all day. It is really looking good........maybe this is really going to happen!

Counting Down The Days

Things really progressed today. The stairs are exactly what we had in mind and they look awesome. The downstairs bathtub is tiled and ready for a bit of finishing trim and silicone, the upstairs tub enclosure is ready for paint and silicone and underneath the stairs is finished up and ready for its coat of paint as well........ looks like it is all up to the painters now!

So far there is only one thing I would change and that is the upstairs tub enclosure. I wish I had stuck to my guns and asked for tile rather than wood, its not that it looks bad but the downstairs tub looks really really good, this is something that can be done later on, we just want in!!

Tomorrow we put more appliances in, in anticipation of the propane hook up on Thursday!

Loving The Stairs and Railing!

So, the railing upstairs has begun to take shape and it is looking awesome!! Glad we went away from popular choice of colonial spindles, the square is just right! Also, we have made the decision not to put carpet runner down the stairs, they are too pretty to cover and it will make cleaning them that much easier!!

After another disappointment in regards to hoping for a move in this weekend, we may not be that far off after all. The tiler was able to squeeze us in to finish the downstairs tub, the painters are on sight, the stairs may be complete today, the carpet goes in Thursday (yes Monday was the original deadline), furnace hook up Friday, finish up plumbing this week and the electrician is due to show up today to put our fixtures in. Lets hope the weather holds out so we can make the journey from the POD to the house with our stuff.

Waiting.....impatiently!

We are on the last few legs of the race and it feels like that ribbon is miles away........ it's worse than waiting for Christmas when you are a kid (or me)........ everything is "almost" ready. Water is hooked up but turned off for final tests........furnace and propane are ready, but they have yet to make the "love connection" and everything is just waiting for it's last coats of paint, but these are all things that prevent us from moving our stuff in!!!!!!!! Oh well, carpet is coming on Monday and that will mean the world of difference, not sure why the painters didn't completely finish up there BEFORE, but oh well.

Toilets look good :)

The Mantle Is Ready For Stockings!

Our stairs were installed today and they are nothing short of beautiful!! They take up less room than we thought and will allow large furniture to go upstairs with ease. Most of the trim is painted upstairs and the downstairs tub is framed and ready for tile, and the piece de resistance of the day, the mantle. We decided to use a slab of wood from Chris' Grandpa Brown's barn, it is very old walnut and it is the perfect accent in our old meets new renovation project...... the Christmas stockings have a place.

Bigfeet!

Well, the deck piers have been "installed" (not sure if that would be the correct term) and it is so very tempting to just take the plunge and do the deck this year, but we will wait until spring. The exterior of the house is complete except for the little entryway covering, that will likely get completed once the interior is done. More hardwood is down, more doors are hung and the trim is really coming along! Even the temporary stairs are gone in anticipation of the new ones coming on Thursday.

On another note, as beautiful as our counter top is, the installation job left something to be desired, for interest sake I will post the pictures. Even though the company came out and did a precise measure, the slabs came square ......... and the house is not.
Problems Being:
1. A gap in the corner between the quartz and the wall was filled with the adhesive they use for the seam........ it dried a bright orange.
2. There is a noticeable area of silicone missing on the inside seam of the sink mount - not a good thing with it holding water and all.
3. The centre of the sink does not line up with the center of the cupboards underneath it
4. The sink hole was not cut symmetrical and they covered part of the "Blanco" emblem - not life threatening, but for top dollar it should be perfect.

So, the ball is rolling to have it "remedied"

Other than that, the progress is awesome and we are excited!

Starting To Come Together!!

This shall be a week!! The soffit was finished today, the corner trim on the siding is being installed, the propane lines are dug and installed ready for the propane to be hooked up when they bring the tank later this week, that = heat! They continued installing hardwood in anticipation of the stairs coming on Thursday, the closet doors are installed and ready for paint and the trim is coming along nicely.

The only word that relays this feeling is euphoria, we are so close!

Closet doors in master bedroom - yes they will be painted white

Microwave is in, it even has a flap on the top that opens when you turn the fan on!

Hall closet doors are on

More hardwood being laid

It's Plumb Exciting!!!

The plumber came in like a knight in shining armour and restored this damsels hope of completion, it is amazing what some faucets and shower heads can do for the soul!! The deck piers and propane lines should be dug on Monday and there should even be toilets by the end of the week!

Tiling is Done!!!!!

The tile is officially complete! I really liked our tiler and think he did an awesome job. So now the glass can be measured and ordered! The rest of the house seems to be at a stand still, there was only two other guys working and they did get some soffit done, but we would like them to concentrate on the inside of the house to get us in!

The "new" house had its first snowfall, looked kinda pretty.

Showers Are Looking Good!

The shower stalls are tiled and other than a bit of edging around the bathtubs, the tiling. We are beyond anxious to get in and even though things are moving at a good pace, it seems so slow!