Bathroom: check.

This weekend we reached a major milestone in the reno-sched, as the upper bathroom received its finishing touches. Everything works, water comes out where it's supposed to and goes where it's needed and it's proven pretty liveable in the last few days we've been able to enjoy it. Two bumps on the road proved a tad annoying, but fixable, and we're now sitting at about 98% completion (the remaining 2% is not really noticeable, just some things that have to be done...sometime).
One of these headaches scared me to no end. My Dad was downstairs (oh, this is Nik for this post, btw) and I was having a shower in the new stall, quite enjoying being able to bathe in my own home standing up for the first time. I finish and head downstairs where my looks at me and says "Hate to say it, but your shower leaks." Now, a fully tiled custom shower is a bit of an undertaking, if you can imagine, and "leak" is the one word buzzing in the back of one's mind throughout the whole construction process like a mosquito in a one-man tent. My heart sank a little and I shuddered at the thought of pulling out new tile to TRY and find a leak. I had previously left the drywall off the back of the shower to ensure that once the water was on I could check for leaks in the plumbing and showerhead connections (none surfaced). I also was a bit puzzled because I knew I was careful throughout the whole process, and even ordered quite a big amount of special waterproofing membrane, installing it to the tee, to make sure I would never have this problem. I was counting on my shower lasting for about 50 years, and 15 minutes seemed a bit short on that goal. Anyways, before this gets out of hand, I'll just cut to the chase and say that after cutting a hole in the wall, I determined that the leak was from the main showerhead (there are also 4 body sprays, a bit excessive I know). I unscrewed the neck and found no teflon tape on the threads. A simple fix that woulda been nice to do without having to repair more drywall, but them's the breaks. I won't tell you who my helpful helper was who installed that showerhead, I'm far too kind...
The next blunder in the story was one entirely of my own doing. Maybe. I'm not sure if the instructions and diagrams written by what must have been a kindergarten focus group weren't entirely to blame, but I digress. Anyway, after the floor was laid and finished and I proceeded to install the bathtub, I was greeted with this nice little discrepancy:Yup, put the holes in the wrong spot. Meaning I had to do this:

And then move some pipes and drains down underneath as well. Again, not a huge deal, but definitely annoying. Here's the tile install almost finished (with holes lying unknowingly in the wrong spots):

AND, here's the finished room, with the always curious little monkey sneaking into a few:

Finally, I had a playoff-beard of sorts going on while I was working on the bathroom (1 part motivation, 1 part too lazy to shave without a proper shower/mirror/sink), so during one of my first showers, I was able to part with the muskrat that roamed my face the last few weeks. Chip forgot what I look like clean shaven, I think, as he was waiting when I got out and was pretty surprised at my smooth-as-his-bum appearance:

Next up: Laundry Room/Powder Room/ Back entrance.

And now, some thoughts from the other half...

Nik here.

This blog is so appropriately titled I can't stand it. I mean, we live on Red River Rd., and Red River just so happens to be in the title!

But enough shenanigans, time to get to business:

The other night I stared at the large pile of foreign goods shaped as plumbing parts we had acquired around the time of this post and proceeded to snip, solder and secure the various pieces together in the hopes that they would deliver clean water to our sinks, toilets, tub and shower; something our current super-old galvanized system has a bit of trouble doing currently.


After far-less head-scratching and bloody knuckles than I was expecting to endure, we now have the new tubing and plumbing manifold (think of an electrical panel, but for water) in place and can hook up the fixtures when the time comes. The PEX tubing we used is pretty neat, as it runs just like an electrical wire, unbroken, from the basement to each fixture, with blue for cold and red for hot. Here's some pics:

from the manifold in the basement...

...up through the powder room and to the fixtures therein and above...

...and up to the main bathroom. This is the shower and what lies beneath the tile. There is a showerhead at the top and four adjustable body sprayers (the little brass things you see on the sides). Hopefully soon we'll fire this up and blast away the filth we've been living in. Ok, it's not that bad, but the dust and dirt can get discouraging, especially for Dana who's trying to keep the place liveable for us.

Here's how some of the bedrooms are coming along (actually, ours is further along, but these pics show some of the work involved:

our bedroom

Chip's room (Thanks to Chris and Dave for throwing up a few sheets while yelling at each other the whole time, a great source of laughter for me)

Part TWO: Take it outside...

So, as things move along inside, I thought it might be good to show you what's going on exterior-wise at the abode. Our yard is a disaster, no two-ways around it. A garbage bin (on it's 6th fill-up), scrap aluminum, random doors and old windows, lumber and supplies, and that previously-posted bathtub all currently reside in plain view for the whole 'hood to see.

We got a call from the hot-tub shop where our people-soaker sits in storage, saying that we need to have it re-delivered or they'll start charging us $25/week to store it. Talk about customer care. Anyways, this forced us to shift priorities a bit and get the ground ready for the tub. Dana, yes, my 8 1/2 weeks to go pregnant wife Dana, dug the 18" deep X 20' long trench for the big hookup cable, and she and my good bud Steve dug the square in which I placed the pad just a couple days ago.

Want to build a pad/patio? Here's the steps:

Lay out some landscape fabric (black material, stops plant growth and holds sand/gravel in place) and then put gravel on top. The gravel is for drainage and to protect against frost heaving, and also is handy for leveling and adjusting the blocks:

Lay out the blocks (these were sitting around our yard in one place or another, and some are from where the deck will one day sit, so I stole them from there for a cost of $0, which was nice), levelling each one and all rows/columns:

Once finished laying the blocks, pour some play sand on top and sweep it into all the gaps. It packs pretty much instantly and firms up the rocks so that they're pretty much solid right away. I also watered the whole thing down and added more sand, just to make sure it was compacted.

Note the nice little pattern I threw into the stones...that will never be seen again once the hot tub is put in place. Oh well, I like knowing what's going on underneath things, so in my mind I am content. I had some extra blocks (actually, I have lots of extra blocks), so I put a little connecting path in. Good for bare feet in the middle of winter.
And for all of you who aren't able to drive by and gawk and the eyesore that is currently our backyard (EVERY car slows and gawks, it's a bit unnerving, but hopefully we'll clean it up soon), here it is in all its glory:

The white stuff is housewrap, and it covers what was the two-storey sunporch that will soon house a bathroom upstairs, and powder-room/mudroom/laundry below. I realize there's a big tree blocking our whole house, but it flowers really nicely in spring and we were somewhat shocked to find little peaches underneath it a few weeks ago; who would've guessed.

Moving along folks!

Up until this point a lot of the work around the house has all been things that are going to be hidden behind the walls. The wiring, the plumbing (which includes extensive venting that's basically a labyrinth) the insulation (done by mostly, yours truly), the vapor barrier, the black tar stuff to hold the vapor barrier in place (which got into two very mischievous little boys' hair), the shims that leveled two floors (also very painstaking and meticulous work) and so on and so on. Needless to say, it's all been disheartening for this instant gratification lover to know that all of the things that take the most time are the things that get closed up and never seen. My poor husband, even his handiwork behind the walls is pristine and perfect.

Anyways, this last week I've been able to indulge my impatience as I watched drywall being hung and *gasp* mud being applied! This has been one of the most encouraging parts for me....knowing that all it's going to take for us to be ready to actually move into our bedrooms is a little sanding (after a few more coats of mud), primer, paint, floor sanding, staining and varnishing and some trim....no big deal, right? Oy.

My goal was to be in separate rooms from our kids by the time this baby was born. I'm pretty sure it's doable at the pace that Nik is working at, but it kills me not to be able to help him. Actually, there have been a few things that I could have helped him with, but he respectfully declined my offers. I don't think he trusts me with many tools.

So for now, I'll continue to screw in drywall and make a million holes in search of a stud.

Here are a few pictures of my lovely lad looking excellent.





ps. I can not figure out why my pictures aren't rotating. I'm even saving them right side up but when I go to upload them, they're not right. Sorry.

Yesterday's happenings.

So yesterday was the big border run. We've completely capitalized on the fact that we live 40 minutes from the American border and buying things from the States on the cheap is pretty accessible for us. We feel a little bit bad not supporting the local market, but it's seriously hard to justify spending 50 - 100% more on something that was made in another country anyways.

At any rate, we had to go and pick up some things. I knew this was going to be a big run and bororowed our good friend Trev's big 15 passenger van. I took out the seats, except for one bench so the boys could be legal...oh, and it's much safer than letting them play in the back whilst driving. I might just win some award for being so diligent with my kids safety (and I'm totally kidding...it makes me cringe to see some of the things that we see on the road with regards to kids and car seats/seat belts etc)

So, we picked up the van and off we went. I checked the gas gauge to make sure that I wouldn't run out...just over 3/4 of a tank, perfect. I figured I'd top up in the States and save a little (a lot) on gas.
We were driving and I noticed the gauge getting closer to full, and as I pulled in I thought wow, I'm almost at full, I guess I won't top up here.

I got all of my packages (about 20 of them, Nik ordered our plumbing stuff and it all came in separate boxes) and the two skids (a bathtub and floor tile) and headed outta there! The border was fun, actually, no lies. So we were driving and driving and I heard a beep beep, and saw a little gas pump light up. Oh heavens, it dawned on me that the gauge was getting closer to empty...not full. This, admittedly, was one of the blondest moments, of.my.life.

My husband has nothing to say about it, though I'm sure he's bursting with pride.
The boys had lots of fun in the car and loved getting out of the living room...I mean house.

Our tub and tile (seriously folks, 3.00/sq foot for travertine as opposed to 10.00 here)


plumbing


the van