The Middle?

Well, it isn't the beginning... it isn't the end... it also isn't the middle... So.... Oh whatever, we are shifting gears.  The studio has numerous 'little' things that need to be done to make it done, but it's done enough.  I moved all my quilting stuff out of the house and into the studio and, holy crap, do I have a lot of sewing stuff!  Also, my living room in the house is really big.  

Summer is here and, as I have been dreading, it's time to take a bite out of the house.  In case you missed it, we are building a staircase in our present bedroom into the attic where we plan to build two bedrooms for the girls and a water closet type bathroom.  

This attic project is the first of a series that will see the house transform into a functional and funky (Jeremy doesn't know it's going to be funky yet) modern home.  The plan would ideally see the first half of the house (attic, living room, master bedroom) completed by Summer 2014 (1 year), but the chances of that are 1 in 50.  So like champs we are going to try anyway. 

I'm taking the kids back to British Columbia for a couple weeks and Jeremy is going to get started on the staircase and the framing of the attic.  I will return, leaving the kids in BC with their grandparents for another two weeks, and Jeremy and I will continue on with trying to get the bedrooms up to drywall so the kids could move in to at least one of the rooms.  

It's going to be a journey actually living in renovations again, this is our 4th house we have renovated.  Although, this is going to be the most extensive project so far.

It all begins with a plan and some wood... passed up a tiny hole in the bathroom closet.   So our plan basically goes like this:

• Frame half the attic 
• Demo our bedroom to make room for stairs
• Build stairs hoping they end up where we planned 
• Insulate attic (spray foam?) 
• Wine... I mean wire attic
• New windows
• Rough-in water closet plumbing
• Frame master bedroom on main floor
• Drywall and all that crap

Well consolidating all these thoughts here on the computer screen has made me go cross eyed.  

Jordan and Payton playing in Jordan's future bedroom

The masking tape is the proposed walls

The kids are always ready to do a project so they got to paint the cat house.

Ground Up

Lately I have been feeling a little dizzy, I'm not sure if it's due to exhaustion or excitement but since all I do is feel dizzy I suppose it really doen't matter.  We have been plugging away at the endless number of tasks to bring this renovation hell to a close... we are not even close yet, but closer than last month I suppose.  Its time to turn our sights to the floor and get er' done.

Before the floor could be laid Jeremy had to fix a rather large gaping hole in the floor and build a new access to the crawlspace.  This ended up working out because our back ordered flooring we purchased never did show up at least not in time for us.  We cancelled our order and found some other stuff.  To be completely honest I'm really not that picky about the floor... actually I really couldn't have given a darn.  Jeremy kept asking me and sending me photos from the stores asking me which one I liked best and in the end it only took me telling him 12 times that "I DON'T CARE!  As long as it's not gray, or dark, or cheap, or fake looking...."  Hahaha indecisive through and through.  In the end it's just laminate, and in a studio to boot, so whatever.


With the flooring stacked in neat little piles, I was excited to get started and use some power tools!  I have wrestled with a fear of saws since a kid in my grade 12 year cut off three of his fingers and I saw him running through the school dripping blood and yelling... But I'm also ready to overcome this irrational fear and get sawing.  That is when Jeremy dropped the bomb on me... He wanted to do the floor because his OCD would never abate if I messed it up.  So after a split second of disappointment I shrugged and went to go read a book and have a cup of tea (I mean if he really wants to do it, who am I to argue? It was a good book).

But as per renovation law things had to snowball... Like building a brick wall, one brick HAS to come before another or it all falls down.  So, with financial tap-out looming, we had to purchase both toilet and vanity for the bathroom so a layout could be planned and proper holes for the plumbing drilled.  Also we had to purchase interior doors (on back order until who knows when, dammit) for the finishing of trim and transitions between rooms to be properly installed.  The finishing sure adds up, little things that seem so insignificant at the beginning of a project, but are vital to a completed one.

I've taken another job here in middle of Nowhere, Saskatchewan...which brings the grand total up to 5.  Yep, I have 5 part-time on-call jobs outside the house, renovation hell (studio), and somehow a stay-at-home mom?  They include :

• Teachers Aid (on call)
• School Secretary (on call)
• Librarian (on call)
• Janitor at the Fitness Gym (free membership!  When I can use it is still to be seen)
• Bartender (the newest on the list, I mean who needs sleep?)

But all whining aside, I'm very happy with our progress this far and very proud of Jeremy's laminate skills (I still think I could have done it).  Upcoming pressing matters include (since I'm in a list-type of mood):

• Back porch lino (already got it, just need to clear the area and get it done)
• Finish window trims (need more trim, pick up tomorrow)
• Base boards (pick up tomorrow with window trim and then paint it...)
• Plumbing in toilet, vanity, and outside tap (for the garden I didn't mean to plant)
• Rough in plumbing for tub and kitchenette sink
• Buy another case of beer and finish writing this list.

Yeah enough lists, it's disheartening.  I just noticed my calendar by the computer is still on January... no wonder I forget so much stuff...  Well that is all for now.

The Kids Step Up

Well the kids have been working on their own project, a house for the cats.  It's fairly self explanatory, so here are the photos.

The Colour of Insanity

So what is the colour of insanity, well I did my research and it's orange so nobody can call me on this one.  Sorry, I think I may still be a little loopy from painting that studio.  As per my previous post I antagonized endlessly over colour (mostly because like hell I'm going paint it again).  I went with my instinct which does pay off now and then.

 This green is the coolest colour I've ever seen, but I was still apprehensive about splashing it up on the walls that I plan to be surrounded by for most of my coming days.  I mean I like ginger too, but that doesn't mean I should put it in my coffee.

The front porch or 'nook' as I like to call it so Jeremy and I stop getting confused about which porch we are talking about, got the 'Seafoam' treatment.  Where in approximately one third of the main area received the controversial but aptly named 'Jaunty'

I'll let the photos speak for themselves.

I painted the bedroom/office a generic kind of grey colour and the bathroom is a light lemony colour.  Jeremy hopped on board and installed the light fixtures once the ceilings were done.  

Whew, what an ungodly job.  The building is so small so it felt like I was spinning in circles dripping paint the whole time.   I'm insanely pleased with the results so far.  Although there is an awfully long way to go, I can't help but feel as though the worst is behind us.

  We caught a sale and bought the flooring for the studio last week and we were expecting to have the laminate in our ready and willing hands but unfortunately the materials will not be available to us until the end of May.  I am disappointed but glad for a short reprieve where perhaps we can tackle some of the more mundane of the Spring chores... or even just pick up some of the beer cans...  So I tidied up the lawn of the studio as to keep the town inspectors off our backs (and subdue the neighborhood grumblings).  At the same time we have also emptied out the shop of all our boxes, some of which have not been opened for 9 years.  So my clean-up efforts at the studio are basically made void.   Soon the 'treasures' that we have been toting around for who knows what reason will be up for sale at the community garage sale in the coming weeks.  

The main focus of the renovation hell that is our lives has been on the studio but to a lesser degree Jeremy has been insulating his shop and building (in my opinion) fancy counters, work benches, cupboards and shelves.  He has done an exceptional job (keeping the cost hidden from me in the process).  The building process in his shop is basically complete, and pretty much relevant to our success when we start the big one in July.  

 My last little blurb pertains to the discovery of this old trunk in the garden shed.  It's pretty beat up and unfortunately loot free.  But it's still an interesting piece.  I'm going to hang onto it for a while and see if I ever get around to restoring it.

Renovation 400

Well I believe I will open this blog post as most Canadian blog posts have been opened for the past month... Can you believe this Spring?  I haven't updated the blog in a month mostly due to some spring blues.

Anyhow the snow is mostly gone and the weather is looking warmer (finally).  I have been working my tail off trying to force my way through the onerous steps of mudding drywall.  It's been a learning curve but I'm more than capable of mudding/taping/sanding the next building.... Although the thought makes me want to cut off my hands.   It's done.  I will never have to work on drywall in this studio ever again!

Today Jeremy and I started the priming.  He's all back on board... I could go into a wifely tale of abandonment and how a woman is the center of the universe, but Jeremy did work on the studio with no insulation or heat all winter... So I'll hold my tongue.  We had to rent some scaffold to reach the vaulted ceiling in the main room.  While we had the scaffold we (I) decided to get all the tapping/mudding/sanding/repeat/primer/paint and finally the fan hung.  Jeremy put the fan up.  Priming was fun (sarcasm).  Jeremy and I had an on going conversation.

A: "This looks good, do you think it really needs a second coat of primer?"
B: "Well, we should do it right the first time"

Basically every 20 minutes or so we would have this conversation, switching back and forth being Mike Homes.

All drywall aside, it's time to pick out colours! *smack self in head* I really don't like this part.  Every time I figure it's going to be awesome to get the colours picked out... but then it snowballs into a second guessing, back and fourth nightmare.  Honestly I know exactly what I want, kind of.  I need a creative, down to earth, soothing, inspiring, energetic, grown-up, playful, comfortable, place to sew.  See easy, lime green... Obviously.  I have known pretty much since the beginning that the main colour in the studio had to be lime green.  So why am I second guessing that decision?  I mean I second guess other decisions all the time (marriage, kids, Saskatchewan), but this one I was sure of.  Anyhow as I stare at the computer my mind is changing it's self again so here is the photo of the colours I have picked out.

I have every single paint chip off the rack... seriously like 400 of them and I went through each one, one by one.  I totally hate all these colours now... Maybe I should just go paint it orange tomorrow.

Here's Jeremy making fun of my DIY stirstick.  I like to stir in comfort, that means with a handful of stick, not 3 measly inches.

Well with paint being a hypothetical done deal in a couple days it's time to turn the think tanks on to flooring.  Jeremy informed me that my one and only option is laminate, since he built everything with the mantra "laminate can fix that" in mind.  I'm fine with this (although I pretended not to be at first just to see how our marriage was doing, we're still good).  Anyhow with this decision made I was sent to take some actual measurements.  We had already crunched the guesstimate numbers but we needed something more concrete to go on.   Turns out or cleverly named Renovation 600: The Studio was perhaps an exaggeration... by about 200 square feet.  Yea, 412 square feet... hmmmm, it seamed so much bigger, but than again I'm short.  So I could either mourn the loss of 200 square feet or rejoice in my much reduced flooring estimate, I'm still on the fence on this one.

Here is most recent video of the Studio.  I apologize for my carrying on over the corners, but there ARE a lot of corners.

So with Spring in full force and Summer around the corner (fingers crossed eh!), Jeremy and I have been talking about nothing but our impending move...  That's right we are moving into this studio.  We plan to begin massive renovations at the house in July.  I'm so far ahead of myself I'm in the wrong darn race.  The projects for the studio go as thus:

Finish paint
Fix hatch to creepy crawl space
Install rough pluming and hook up hot water tank ("before there are too many spiders" -Jeremy)
Flooring (laminate, same throughout)
Paint and clean windows doors
Trim
Fix all the "I'll get that later" stuff.

Deadline: July. OK. Please send all alcoholic donations to:

Crazy Lady and Husband
1234 Middle of Nowhere, Saskatchewan
Canada.

Art of Drywall

My first seam.

My moment has come.  It's my turn to take over the forward momentum of the Studio.  Mudding and taping the drywall is the first thing on my list.  I would like to bring an important fact to light, I have very little experience when it comes to mudding and taping.  But with practice comes competence  There are different types of tape, tools, and techniques used by both professionals and 'Do-It-Yourselfers".  After a quite a few hours of frustration and YouTube interruptions I can confidently say I don't entirely suck at mudding and taping. 

On that note by the time I'm finished with this building I may consider a career change... no I won't, whoever does this for a living is insane. 

In quilting we call this a 'Y' seam.  In drywall we call it another &$#@ing corner.  But I have persevered so far, and I find the swearing has dropped from constant irrational streaming to a calm repetitive s-word every 3 feet. 

As I may have mentioned before this is my favorite part of the studio, it is the front door area... what I have yet to mention was the difficulty I had in achieving such a nice seamless taping job here.  I would love to go into long fault finding explanations about my husbands poor job of hanging drywall but in all reality it isn't entirely his fault (plus did you see the bubbles in that photo above, I really can't complain too much).  I swear the building is twisted, not crooked but twisted (must have been why we liked it at first).  

Figure 1.0

This was only the beginning of the taping torture.  May I present Figure 1.0, or otherwise known as 'No, I want to keep the post, it's pretty' or 'Why did we keep this stupid... beep, beep, post!'.  I know it should come to no ones surprise that we failed to spring for the metal corner pieces that make these outside corners a breeze... although I think I may know some people who make cleaner drywall cuts, not pointing fingers (ahem... Jeremy).  Anyhow as messy and uncertain as this appears I have already added the first (extremely thick) coat of mud over this and it looks fine. 

Finally I would like to show you where I am now (skill wise) with my mudding.  

 It may be almost impossible to see or understand but that is one flat looking seam.  Anyhow I have an endless number of pressing things to attend to (and a cup of tea to drink) so that is all for the update.  I was planning to go into what tape I prefer and why and technique details but I seriously doubt anyone reading this post would ever take my advice.

And There Was Light...

The lights are on.  I don't really know if I'm able to project my happiness across the internet to you, but THE LIGHTS ARE ON!!!  A minor paperwork foul up left us waiting for the power for a little longer than expected, but once everything was sorted out SaskPower was at the Studio within a couple hours and 10 minutes after they got here we were in business.  It's so much easier to work in the Studio without tripping on extension cords and dealing with work lights in the vast dark Canadian prairies. 

Lights are defiantly an improvement of the working conditions but honestly its about to get better as soon as we get the heat on.  A couple of things need to be finished before we can turn that thermostat on... like installing the thermostat.  But also finishing up the insulation above the bathroom and bedroom ceilings, and installing the exhaust fan for the bathroom at the same time.  Putting in a proper door, and building an insulated access door to the attic.  There is no point on heating a poorly insulated building.  So in a moment of insanity (and also because I knew Jeremy really didn't want to do it) I volunteered to finish insulating the attic and to install the exhaust fan.  I give Jeremy a lot of credit for his dismissive shrug, and not showing the panic that must have been going through his mind.  An hour or so later I was done, sorry no photos... I was too busy.  

Nothing but bills from here on out. 

 Anyhow while I was busy inhaling fiberglass Jeremy was installing the next exterior door in the back porch.  Step one was to measure the door... Step two was to build a new frame on the interior wall to mount the door, and step three was to cut a GIGANTIC hole... Does that hole look too big?  That's because it is too big.  Luckily this isn't an exact science and nothing a level a whole ton of shims and some spray foam can't fix.  Jeremy has also been puttering around finishing off projects here and there getting ready to turn on the heat and set me loose in the Studio with a huge bucket of mud and some tape.  I'm optimistic about mudding the Studio alone... but I'm not entirely certain how it's going to pan out with the 15 foot ceilings, and some fairly obnoxious gaps... But I'm up for the challenge  plus it'll be warm in there. 

Back Door Before

Back Door After... needs trim.