Bye-Bye Porta-Potty

There are milestones and then there are MILESTONES.
We hit one yesterday when Coast Environmental came and picked up their Porta Potty. This unit has been with us since October and I'm so happy to see it go...



...because it means we have an indoor toilet!

Reasons why we are delayed yet again: the counter tops won't be installed until Thursday this week and the plumbers don't want to come until they can tackle everything at once - sinks and faucets included. We knew the porta-potty was going so we arranged for another plumber to come in to install one toilet and a temporary sink - the ones in the mud room.
Although we have heat in our floors, that too was a temporary fix as the boiler is currently running on electricity. The heating guys have to come back to finish the job so that the heat pump is heating the water for the floors. Our most recent BC Hydro bill is over $600.00. Ouch! Chock it up to lights, power tools and running a heater around the clock. It'll be nice to get that under control.

Our kitchen cabinets and vanities are complete with doors, drawer fronts and hardware and they look great.
Pictures will follow when the counter tops are installed.

February 14 2011

Valentines Day has come and gone and we're still at least a week from moving in. We did spend the evening together in front of our fireplace though and toasted our 11th anniversary with a glass of wine. Sitting on patio furniture and surrounded by trim boards, tools and sawdust - who could ask for a more romantic setting?

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

A change of heart

Our kitchen is in the works now. We have decided on white shaker-style doors on the kitchen and vanities and charcoal shaker doors on the island. The question of what type of counter tops has been a source of anxiety for some time. I have never been a fan of granite. I find it too busy, too much colour and pattern, too shiny, too cold and too expensive. I considered alternatives but nothing I saw was quite right. What to do...?
On my way to Courtenay on the old highway near Union Bay I have passed North Island Granite hundreds of times, assumed they were wholesalers and never stopped. Then one day I did stop, deciding I had nothing to lose. I saw a lot of what I expected in granite and then I saw the Marinacci and I knew that was it....and on sale too! The slabs arrived the other day.




The stone that looks so much like the bottom of the the Nile creek will go on the island and the plain black will top the the balance of the cabinets. Yes, it is still busy but also somehow appropriate. With templating and fabrication it will be several weeks before we see it all come together. Ever closer to moving in.

Collecting our stuff

It was a cold and rainy day in mid-March of last year when Ian and I met the moving van at the storage facility in Coombs and unloaded all of our belongings into a 10x10x10 foot unit. Today, a bright and sunny day 11 months later Ian, Roy and I finally took our stuff home. Two trucks and an SUV, several round trips and it was done - WooHoo!
I shouldn't really be so excited because the "collection" today only represents part of "our stuff". Some remains in our trailer, some in Corky's shed, some at Auntie Jo's, more at Dad's and a great load in Ian's basement. The boxes, bins and few pieces of furniture picked up today went into Roy's shop waiting for the day when we can truly unpack, but at least it's a step in the right direction. Thanks to Ian as always for his help and support.

Appliances, cabinets, doors and more

We made great progress this week.
Mark and Roy did an excellent job and the pine ceiling and trim are complete. Some of the interior doors were installed (pocket doors and some of the closets) others are on hold as we continue to struggle with the concrete finish on the floors in the bedrooms.
Our refrigerator was brought in through one of the patio doors. Thank goodness for friends with muscle as it is a big heavy beast. It took 5 men (and neighbor dog Brew) to wrestle it into place.


The cabinets have started to go in. In just a day that empty wall has become a kitchen - amazing! Day 2 and the island is in place. Counter tops will delay further progress somewhat as measurements have to be taken and the "tops" fabricated.


The heating guys have come to hook up the radiant floors. They laid out what looked like a plumber's picnic - delicious appetizers, entrees and desserts in mouthwatering flavours of copper, brass and ABS - YUM! The back up boiler and all the accompanying tubes and wires are reminiscent of a mechanical Medusa. When finally up and running, our floors will be warmed by a heat pump, the boiler will be a back-up for those times (very cold temperatures) when a heat pump becomes inefficient. Domestic hot water will be heated by electricity.
Air will be circulated by an HRV (Heat Recovery/ventilation) unit - a series of unobtrusive ventilation fans throughout the house. Air conditioning in summer will be the most energy efficient means available -we will simply open the windows. Our kids will recall this method.


Tomorrow the vanities will go in, showers will be measured for doors and hopefully our remaining floors will be surfaced and sealed. We are tentatively aiming to be moved in by our anniversary - Feb 14th. Fingers crossed.