Progress

It's hard to believe that we've been renovating this old house since 2001.  Eric started off with gusto, got lots done in the first year, and then other things took over.

Real Life took over, that's what.

Eric decided that this October, he'd take a month off work - unpaid, I should add.  He wanted to tackle the upstairs, once and for all.  The last time I posted about our so-called progress, it was October 25, 2012.  I called the post Renovation Day 1388 to coincide with the day we officially started the knotty pine purge.  If I add 364 days to that count, we'd be at 1752 days, but that's bordering on terrifying.  Let's forget I even went there.

Oh, what a naive and innocent soul I was!  I've often said I'm time-challenged because I need to be, and I'm not kidding.  My sanity depends on looking the other way, and pretending that everyone lives with exposed 2x4's and plastic sheets in place of bedroom doors, don't they?  When people ask me how I deal with it, I put my hands over my ears, and sing LA-LA-LA-LA-LA-LA, very loudly to prove my point.  That's the defense mechanism I've built up over the last few years.  Maturity is not my middle name.

Remember I said we always complicate things?  That's why we're still here, 12 years later, wielding power tools and cursing, albeit lovingly, at each other under our breath.

Truth be told, our house was massacred at the above spot by previous owners.  A couple of square feet of actual, physical house structure was missing here.

Here's a photo taken last year that shows what I mean.  The master bedroom is behind the formidable plastic sheet, as I've affectionately named what we've considered a bedroom door since January 2009.

 While Eric insists he didn't over-engineer, I tend to agree with him so as not to pick a fight.

Here we can see the BC Fir timber-frame structure that Eric built to shore up this part of the house, and accommodate the rail-mounted glass door from Sadev we're putting here.  Perfection doesn't evade Eric, which is why he talks in terms of 64ths, and uses a micrometer to measure things.

While some people think it might be romantic to renovate an 1850's farm house, I'm here to say but one thing:  NOT.  Knowing what we know now, we'd much rather build from scratch than marry old with new, ever again.  It's, like, six times the work.

Trying to get things to fit flush - on the first try - takes a bit of knowledge, a lot of patience, and the right tools. Make that a lot of knowledge, and a bit of patience, on second thought.

When Eric asks me to hand him the 0.5mm pen instead of the 0.7mm pen for marking, I think he's over-doing things just a tad, but I do have to hand it to him, literally and figuratively.  His attention to detail pays off in the end.  When Eric marks and cuts, stuff fits.  And if it doesn't?  That's where the La La La La song comes in.

In order to finish up this corner, we actually had to remove part of the vapour barrier and the boards we had initially put up in 2009.  Once the timber-frame structure was complete, and the electrical wiring done, Eric insulated using Roxul Safe'n'Sound.  Again, words can't express just how highly we think of this product.  I have to be punny and say it rocks.  Enough said.

We've used a radiant barrier everywhere upstairs.  I cannot extoll the virtues of this misunderstood step enough.  We used rFoil NT radiant barrier upstairs and highly recommend it.  It makes a huge difference in the comfort of our home, and should be considered by everyone building or renovating.  It's an integral step in insulation.

rFoil installed!  Eric is chugging right along!  The barrier is joined to the studs using Mulco's Acoustic.  There's another pun in there, because this stuff sticks like a SOB.  Buy a big container of lighter fluid - that's the antidote.  Where 2 sections of barrier overlap, use the best aluminum foil tape you can find - we prefer Cantech brand.

The only thing missing is the drywall.  Thankfully, Eric has a new foreman:

Capucine is to construction as misery is to renovation.  Crack that whip, kitty!  Here she is on the platform Eric built to be able to work safely in the stairwell.  We've left it in place for now, and we only needed to knock our heads on it twice to remember to duck, both coming up and going down the stairs.  When we remove this platform, I can guarantee you it will take us a few days to walk straight again.

Hark, what have we here?

Why, the drywall has been applied, the joints are done and sanded, and the first coat of primer is down!  We're so excited by this step, we actually run our hands over the walls and burst into gales of laughter.  Clearly, we're not quite sane, but that's a prerequisite for undertaking a project of this magnitude in the first place.

Paradoxically, part of me is sad we don't see the old structure of the house anymore.  While I never really got used to the dangling electrical outlet (see the first photo), and always tentatively fumbled for it when the house was dark, I'm sad to see the old part of our house now covered.

I'll probably get over it by tomorrow.

And, for your viewing pleasure, things would not be complete without two sunsets and a message from Capucine:

Looks like you missed a spot, right there!  Just doing my job!  X O X O, Capucine.

Renovation Day 1388

Yes, it has been 1388 days since we started the Knotty Pine Purge.  But who's counting?

Today started off auspiciously:

This was our sunrise this morning.  Glorious.  I never, ever tire of our views.

Today Eric installed the new culvert in the drainage ditch that divides our property in two.  With the building of Highway 30 and the drainage work that was done earlier this year, our old culvert was removed last February.  Now that the soy is cut and our field  is accessible again, the new 25 foot-long and 5' diameter pipe could be placed:

Eric still needs to place some rocks around the edges to prevent the clay from washing away, but the biggest part of the job is done.  Our two lots are now accessible again, and heavy tractors can access the back field without having to make a big detour over neighbouring properties.

Here's the back field:

If you "embiggen" the above photo, you can see the two ginormous light standards lit by the setting sun just behind the forest.  Using Google Earth's handy measuring tool, I can tell you they are just shy of one kilometre away from where I'm standing.  This is where the new Highway 30 will pass just before it goes under the Soulanges canal, and then over the mighty Saint-Lawrence linking Cedars with St-Timothée.

Walking back to the house,  I captured this shot:

The phragmite  grass is as beautiful as it is annoying.  Short of using napalm, we can't get rid of it, so we might as well sit back and enjoy it.

Here's a view of the sun setting behind the house:

All's right with my world today, how could you tell?

And if that progress wasn't enough, Eric started work on the final (well, not final, but getting there...) stage of our upstairs renovations.

The missing link is the frame around the door to the master bedroom (behind the formidable plastic zippered door).  Although the master bedroom is finished (well, again, finished but not done to our liking...), the frame around the bedroom door is proving to be quite the production for many reasons.  Part of this is our fault, and our high-falutin tastes.  At some point in time during the upstairs renovations, we decided to finish the master bedroom with a sliding glass door.  Our chosen product is made in France by Sadev, and the hardware has been sitting in a huge tube in the living room for the past 3 years.

Part of what makes this work challenging is the fact Eric is working at critical part of our house.  The unfinished wall you see in the above photo is the old exterior of the original house which has already been butchered by previous owners.  Also, the door leading to the bedroom is not a standard size, and to top things off, it's located right beside the stair and close to the chimney.  It's like a trifecta, a perfect storm of sorts, where more head-scratching, planning and procrastination are needed to fix the various issues.

Of course, the fact we're using a product like the Sadev sliding door rail compounds things even more.  By this point in my life, I don't think we're complicating things, I know we're complicating things.  But when that door is finally rolling on smooth stainless rollers, I'm convinced we will have made the right decision.  I say that with the ease of someone who hasn't had their knuckles ground off against rough-hewn wood, of course.

Eric, who over-engineers something fierce, set about putting up a frame composed of 5"x5" BC fir.  The beams need to fit squarely against the original structure of the house, which, being about 170 years old, calls for some fiddly framing work:

Here's a look behind the chimney, where we have legal clearance of just over 4" (really not obvious from that angle, but the clearance is there).  The old wall needed to be notched and carved out to fit the new beam, but thanks to our new Fein tool, even this onerous task proved do-able.

Again, we can't laud the Fein MultiMaster enough.  We actually hold it and shake our heads in dismay, wondering why we didn't buy it earlier.  We'd probably be finished our renovations by now, come to think of it...

Here's another view of the ensemble, where I'm letting it all hang out, so you can get a good impression of the hovel we somehow manage to thrive in:

Once the frame around the door is complete, we can finally finish the insulation and vapour barrier.  The white thing taking up valuable floor space is but a tiny corner of Eric's massive drafting table.  I'd love to hurl it out the window, but Eric's somewhat disturbingly attached to it.  I fully intend to offset the drafting table with my junk when the upstairs is finished.  That should serve as a warning to Eric that my three sock machines are heading upstairs, along with my sewing machine, and a table large enough to let me work comfortably.

Anyhow, we still have a way to go before finishing the upstairs, but the start is made, and Eric is back into the swing of things.

Hopefully, my next report won't be 1388 days in the making.

As Eric likes to muse, "This is not a race, it's a marathon".

Truer words have never been spoken.

Some Photos in No Sensible Order

If I took the time to put these photos into order, I'd be here forever.

Pardon the mess.

It's this or a blank page:

 Beautiful clouds and beautiful weather.  Time to get the mower out...again.

The corn is growing so beautifully this year. The season started off late, but whoa, is it ever growing now. Enough hot temps and enough rain makes for a great corn year.

This is the roof for the south side of our barn.  The north side was done about 4 years ago.  If you're perceptive, you'll notice it's not ON the roof.  We must remedy this.  Soon.

Dear Lord.  We need help - stat.  This is the south side of the barn, and the reason the roof is stored in the barn, and not on the barn.  We need to rip this addition down before it comes down on it's own.  Getting help to do this project rates high on the frustration scale.  I can already see Eric and me doing this work ourselves.  Where's my hard-hat again? Pass me the crowbar...I'm going in. We need to tear this section down before the roof can be redone.  Hence, we're in a holding pattern.  A desperate holding pattern.

Lots of reclaimed BC fir beams we have stored in the barn.  These are on a standard, sagging skid.  They are HUGE.  We have to rotate them from time to time to make sure they don't rot before we can use them.

More BC fir beams in the barn.  These babies are about 8" x 16".  We bought a truckload when an old factory was destroyed nearby.  Old wood is good wood.  These are over 100 years old.  They are being stored because we've got plans for them.  Ignore the mast in the photo, please.  It's another project I really don't want to think about, either.

Bloody @#$%*(& horseradish.  This bleeping plant can die.  I have it all over the place.  It's taking over, and I thought I had it under control.  Grows like a flipping weed, it does.

 Burdock about to bloom.  Again, time for napalm.

Where's my machete?  This plant is already six feet tall.  It's like guerrilla gardening over here.  Halp!

Bonus points if you can figure out what these are!

They are burdock, lots and lots of baby burdock plants.  It's also why I am standing on a sheet of plywood.  I flipped this over onto the burdock, and in 2 weeks' time, no more baby burdock.  Muahahahahahaha!  I'm winning this war!

Phew.  The day lilies are blooming.  My sanity might just be restored.

Someone found my blog by googling "something is eating my elecampane".  Well if you figure out what's eating your elecampane, can you send some my way so mine can get eaten too, please?

Showing a Manitoba Maple stump some tough love.  Just keep breaking those suckers off, and eventually the stump will cry "uncle".  It might take a year or three.  Just sayin'.  The suckers are so soft, no clippers are needed.  Just snap 'em off with your fingers.

That's better.  The Manitoba maple stump suffers under my hand.  All the suckers are broken off.  I'll be back in a week to do it all over again.  Tenacity wins.

Looks like we'll have a bumper crop of grapes this year.  The vines are full and they look good.  Nice and hot summer so far, we should be good to go by fall if the raccoons don't get to them first.

I've got plans for this seeder, just as soon as it's pulled out of the muck it's mired in.

How many years do you think it's been in here?  I'm putting money down on 30 years.  I want to haul this baby out of here, have the wheels rebuilt, and use it as a planter.  It would look great with annuals planted in it, standing in front of the barn.

Same thing goes for this sled.  I hope to rebuild it one long winter, and put it on display in the garden near the house.  I plan on using it to put seasonal decorations on.  In winter, I'll put a Christmas tree and one of those tacky lit-up deer on it.  In spring, I'll put potted bulbs on it, then in summer I'll switch over to bright, potted annuals, and in fall, I'll decorate with hay bales and a scarecrow and pumpkins and squash.  I think you get the idea...my inner Martha is shining through...I should whip her into submission before she gets me into more trouble as it is.

We need to pick a colour for Eric's office.  I know just what colour he wants - a colour that we can't find of course.  I know exactly what hybrid Eric wants, and what saturation he wants.  This colour doesn't exist.  We'll have it made - we've done it before, and we'll do it again.  I'm praying the result is what Eric envisions.

Schatzie says, "I'd go with this shade already and just get the damn room painted".  That cat is the voice of reason, I tell you!

Baby seabuckthorn.  They'll be orange by September.  Promise.