Temptation Wins!

Okay so I haven’t blogged in awhile…I’ve been busy alright so lay off!

Life has been fantastic. The house is amazing, my family is good and things with Jill are fantastic!!!

Now I can’t stop talking / thinking about something and I was TOLD to blog about it so here it is.

On Friday of last week I FINALLY gave in to the temptation that has been on my mind since I bought the house in May…that temptation…a 47 inch TV. Go here to see the beast and the specs. Anyhow, the Queen’s campus computer store sells them and they have a payroll deduction system setup so there’s no interest or anything and this thing is affordable to me because of that!

Anyhow, I get it at the end of the week so I should have it setup (even in a temporary capacity) for the weekend’s hockey / football games.

So there you have it…for the rest of the week if you’re wondering what I’m up to at any given time during the day its probably safe to say that I’m dreaming about the television…

Cheers!
-Andrew

House Update

YAY. The apartment is finished. The kitchen has been tiled upstairs and the washroom has been started! The floors have been re-sanded and look brand new. The walls have had a washing to get rid of all the sawdust from sanding.

This weekend I’m going to start staining the hardwood upstairs. SO EXCITED! Believe it or not I’m almost finished the inside. Staining, varnishing floors and baseboards and trim, then it’s on to painting then I move my ass in…then I start the outside! But that will just be a fun workout!

Hot damn, the place looks GOOOOOD. So good in fact the previous owners came by to check it out and said it’s a brand new home and they can’t believe what we’ve done in under 3 months…beat that Mike Holmes!

Oh and for all you smokers out there, I’ve got a little story for you:

The previous owners were HEAVY smokers and had never had the ducts cleaned. So, I figured that after all the sawdust was cleaned out of the house then I would get the ducts cleaned. In order to perform this task, three access holes needed to be cut in the duct work so the pros could get their vacuum inside…OMG, what a disgusting layer of yellowish-brown, nicotine filled, hairy, moldy, fungal mess! It was at least an inch thick on the inside of the ducts. They are now sparkling clean and they’ll never look like that (while I own the house) again…but let me tell you, if you are a smoker and see something like that and don’t quit…well…you’re F*CKING CRAZY!

Cheers!
Andrew

P.S. I’ll try to remember to take a picture of the fungus and in the coming days (next week) I should have “FInished” pics of the apartment online.

Great Weekend!

Great weekend!  Spent Friday night buying tile for the downstairs landing and a few other things for the house.  Saturday morning was sanding at 7am while I waited for the carpenter and window guys to show up.

The carpenter was awesome and got all my doors hung downstairs and trimmed up so-to-speak.  The window guys installed my basement windows and they are AMAZING…get this, they actually close and open with ease and close ALL THE WAY for that matter…crazy I know!

My drop ceiling guy brought the materials he needs to get started but decided to come Monday (tonight) to do the work because there were already too many bodies in the basement (3).

On Sunday Craig and my brother helped do some sanding and overall cleaning of the house and I was really impressed with how much was accomplished this weekend overall.

Saturday and Sunday night my “free time” was spent watching Clerks 2 and Miami Vice…both were OK but not spectacular.

Cheers!
Andrew

Work In Progress

I finally got around to taking some “Work In Progress” shots of the house! Here they are. Its coming along and after this weekend the basement should look quite different. The drop ceiling is going in Friday / Saturday and the doors and some trim will be installed on Saturday too! I’m still a little behind because of the taper but such is life…I was expecting some “bumps” in the road and I guess that’s just one of them.

On the bright side I have a possible tenant already lined up!

UPDATE: Just got a call from Kingston Windows and Doors and they can do my basement windows this weekend!  YESSSSSS!

Cheers!
Andrew

Tired

Nothing much to blog about these days…other then the fact that I’m extremely tired and need a vacation.  Unfortunately for me I just bought a house and will NEVER see a tropical place of any sorts unless I win the lottery or marry into money!

HAHA, Cheers!

Andrew

P.S. The basement is up for grabs, know anyone who wants to rent a (brand) newly finished basement?

FINALLY HAVE A TAPER!!!

Well after years (OK, days) of searching I finally found a dry wall Taper! True, I could have done it myself, but I could also paint the Mona Lisa but you know damn well it won’t look the same (or any good for that matter). Anyhow, that means my basement will be completely taped by the end of the week, which means I can prime this weekend! YAYA.

Anyhow, aside from that and some CAT 5 wiring all I’ve accomplished since my last post is created a LOT of saw dust because I’ve been sanding baseboards and trim for the past week and a half….F*CK is all I can say….F*CK!

Cheers!
Andrew

P.S. F*CK ME!

Rona

125 2×4x8's
12 2×6x8's
10 bags of insulation
1 roll of plastic vapor barrier
1 roll of tar paper
4 cartons of nails
1 hammer
1 pry bar

$1127

HOT DAMN!

Cheers!
Andrew

Do it right the first time dammit…

HAHA, I just got a phone call from AME waste management regarding the final total on what that dumpster cost me. At $90 a ton plus a $160 dumpster fee and GST it cost me $916.56. Yup, who knew that place had 7.47 tons of SHIT that needed to be ripped out in order to correct all the shitty mistakes that were made the first time!?

Anyhow, this goes to show you…when you're building or renovating a house, do it right the first time dammit. If not for your own good, then for the sanity of the next person who is going to have to live there.

Needless to say, I'm doing the job right this time around and it's costing me an F'ing arm and a leg. Stupid people suck.

Cheers!
Andrew

Click HERE for pics of the house (before work)

Done With The Dumpster…

Well, I ordered a massive dumpster and told the guy I needed it for a month (May 30 – July 30)…5 days later it's full and I'm done with it! Great work so far and I've accomplished more then I ever thought possible (thanks to the usual suspects).

The previous owner stopped by yesterday (in his new car…glad to see my money is helping him out ) and was in awe as he said (and I quote) "When I left I thought that the amount of work needed to fix this place was insermountable…but now coming back only 5 days later I can't believe the difference…". That felt good.

Anyhow, I hope to continue this pace and if I do my little "painting party" should be just around the corner. HEY, maybe I'll be able to throw it BEFORE Amy leaves the country for three weeks!

Cheers!
Andrew

Click HERE for pics of the house (before work)

What a Vacation

WOW…3 days off = 1 gutted basement, entire demolition of interior and exterior projects done and phase one of operation Home Renovation completed.

It was one productive week / weekend. Thanks to my Dad, Vern and Scott I was able to get more accomplished in my first weekend as a home owner then I ever thought possible. It took me working 12 hour days there but it was worth it! Now I get a plumber and electrician in there and then I can start phase 2 (framing and drywalling). In the meantime I'm going to jump to phase 3 this weekend and start sanding the floors upstairs and patching the plaster work up there as well. Gotta keep moving if I want to hit my September 1st target!

Cheers!
Andrew

Click HERE for pics of the house (before work)