What have we been up to

One of the ugly chores hanging over my head is stripping the popcorn stucco off the ceiling. I had planned on leaving it in place and just having the builder add fresh drywall over it but because there is a chance that the popcorn might contain asbestos, that opens up a can of worms. I have been struggling with what do about this and as i just couldn't face more work on the … [Read more...] about Week 24: Ceiling

This is the start of the really disruptive prep and i was eager to get it done so without a doubt i over did it. Sarah has gone out east to visit her family and the offspring so i lost my voice of reason and moderation. Sitting here on the sofa now and looking through the gap from the fireplace though i am glad that i got it done. The floor is mopped, the kitchen is dusted, … [Read more...] about Week 23: Chimney!

After the big weekend last weekend i treated myself to a weekend off and went for another training hike, this time carrying my pack at about 70% weight. I managed about 15 km return with a break to enjoy the falls before returning in 5 hrs with friends. We didn't set any records and i got a few strange looks with my huge pack, but we weren't the slowest people on the trail so … [Read more...] about Week 22: Final(ish) Floorplans

What did you do with your long weekend? I crawled around on my knees and took down our chimney in the attic. Two labourers (or apprentices) and a mason from Lindjberg Chimney and Masonry Service showed up at 9 am Monday morning as planned. There was rain in the forecast so i was a bit stressed but they wasted no time. Sarah was doing an online story time and i was between … [Read more...] about Week 21: Chimney Extravaganza!

It feels good to be starting to get drawings and to be progressing with the architect but we are both a little stressed at how long it took us to get here. I wish we had done the survey and as-built plans while we were deciding on a builder which could have saved us over a month. I thought i was clever getting the energy audit out of the way but that was just 1 of many … [Read more...] about Week 20: Calm Before the Storm