Basement Flooring

We had our basement flooring installed today over 2 weeks ahead of the original schedule they gave us.   So we are quite excited to have it done before we go away on our trip (March 10-17.)   The 3 installers arrived  about 8 AM this morning and were all done by about 3 PM.   We ordered Tarkett Fiberfloor in a Cherry Spice wood grain pattern.  It is similar to a thicker vinyl flooring but instead of a felt backing it has an inner layer of fiberglass and a water proof and mould resistant foam backing.   After final measurements 2 installers went back to the shop to cut the flooring pieces while one installer was finishing up filling cracks and small holes in the concrete floor.  We had investigated laminate flooring originally but it would have need much more extensive leveling of the concrete floor. And our stairs would have been a major problem to put laminate on the way they were built.

We got the same flooring all the way from the bedroom at one end through the family room and the hall and closet and storage room to the bathroom at the other end.  We had chosen the paint colours to coordinate with the flooring colour.  We are very happy about how it turned out.

The same flooring was installed on the stairs along with nickel-plated metal nosings.  The picture shows the before and after for the stairs.   How well it would go on our type of stairs that were in rough shape was one of the reasons we chose this flooring. 

Now that the flooring is in we can get the toilet and vanity/sink installed in the bathroom.  The plumber said he can come next week.   And the electrician will be back maybe tomorrow to install more light fixtures.   The work is now into the home stretch ....

Basement Renovations in Full Colour

The painting is now completed for our basement renovations.  The painting was done by the same person who did the drywall finishing.

The bedroom is "Winter's Eve" blue.  The closet is white, as are all the ceilings, and we will have white baseboards and trim.   

The family room colour is called "Kangaroo."  The door to the right is the bedroom and to the left is a storage room.  

 The bathroom is "Caliente" red which contrasts with the white bath fixtures.  There is also a white alcove that the vanity and sink will be built into, as well as white baseboards and trim.      

Painting the stairwell was the biggest job.   This picture is looking up toward the ceiling at the top.  It is about 10 feet up from the top of the stairs or about 18 feet up from the bottom of the stairs.  The painter used two ladders with planks between them to paint up there. And he did it again today for a second coat.   It is amazing to have that done!

We are very excited to have the painting completed and very pleased how good a job the painter did.  It makes the completion of our renovation project seem so much closer.  The flooring is on order and scheduled for installation after mid-March.   The electrician is scheduled to come tomorrow to replace our breaker panel with a new larger one for the extra circuits that were added.   And the work continues .....

One Month To Go

We have one month to go until we travel to Victoria to visit Maryanne and Chris.  We will be there for a week March 10th to 17th and this time we are taking Elaine's parents with us.  Elaine has wanted to take her parents to Victoria for a while and when she mentioned it to them they just kept saying "Well we'll be thinking about it."  Then a few weeks ago we just bought the tickets and told them the arrangements are all made.  They will take the bus here and then fly together with us.  We are pretty excited about our upcoming trip.

This picture is of Elaine and I at Willows Beach on our last trip to Victoria in March 2010. 

Is it almost spring?

Much of this winter has seemed more like spring weather.  And this being Groundhog Day,  two out of three Canadian rodents predicted an early spring.   Ontario's Wiarton Willie groundhog and Nova Scotia's Shubenacadie Sam saw their shadows predicting an early spring, but Manitoba's woodchuck, Winnipeg Willow, agreed with Pennsylvania's Punxsutawney Phil, forecasting six more weeks of winter. But meteorologists warn that unpredictable weather may still have surprises in store.   Canadian meteorologist David Phillips says " ... it is premature to expect that winter will go away and spring is on the way in spite of what the groundhogs say."   

Weather forecasters had said we were going to have a long cold winter this year but we have had short cold spells and many weeks of mild weather.   Since I can't resist plotting numbers in a spreadsheet I plotted the winter temperatures so far. 

We had one fairly cold week in late November with temperature lows in the -20s, and then mild weather through December and up to mid January.  There were only 2 days in December with lows at or below -20C, and most days went up above 0C or minus single digits.  Then in mid January we were hit with a very cold week with temperatures in the -30s and extreme windchill in the -40s.   But then the mild weather has been back and still continuing.  I am very glad for this since I wasn't able to go out at all in the very cold week.   

 

The meteorologists explain the unseasonably mild winter as an "arctic oscillation" which keeps the jet stream stationary holding the very cold air in the far north.  What ever the reason I can take this kind of winter.  But we know enough that we haven't seen the last of cold winter weather no matter what the furry rodents say. 

Basement Renovation Progress

I haven't been too inspired to blog for a while but have been intending to post some pictures of the progress of the basement renovations.  After concentrating on outside renovations (driveway, shingles, grading the yard, etc)  during the summer the basement renovations finally got underway with the new basement windows installed in October and the framing starting in late November.  We are somewhat at the mercy of when the contractors are available. 

The framing and rough-in wiring was completed by early December.  You can see the framing between the steel braces along the south wall (to the right.)  In the back you can see the bedroom window on right and closet and storage room on left.

   The spray foam insulation was done December 19 and the drywall work started the next day. 

This is a closeup showing the spray foam insulation  filling in the headers between the floor joists and between the framing and steel braces.  It makes a complete insulated seal from floor to ceiling and needs no vapour barrier.   The framing is set out from the wall so the foam insulates between the concrete and the back of the framing as well.

    The drywall sheets were all up by the end of December and then last week the finishing work started with taping and mudding. 

Here I am inspecting the progress.  The area behind me used to be an office/ computer room  and now is part of an open layout family room.   We also have a half wall  along the side of the stairs to add to the open layout.

Now we are thinking about paint and flooring as the work continues ...    

4 Days of Christmas

On the 23rd, called Little Christmas Eve, we had rice porridge for supper which is a Norwegian tradition. On the 24th, Christmas Eve, we had our Christmas dinner and gift opening with our own family as we usually do. We had roast leg of lamb with mashed potatoes as a change up since we would have other turkey dinners. We had a very nice time with our family including playing Trivial Pursuit in the evening. Then we had a quiet day on Christmas Day while Mary, Chris and Mike were having the day with "the other side of the family." Elaine and Janice were working on food preparation for going up to Saskatoon on the 26th. In the morning on Boxing Day we travelled up to Saskatoon for turkey dinner and the day with Elaine's family. It was a full day of eating and visiting with a short break for gift opening, and then more eating and visiting. We had a great time as usual and then headed home for the night. It has been a great 4 days of Christmas.

Aunt Helen's 90th Birthday

I telephoned my Aunt Helen today to wish her a happy 90th birthday.  We sent her a card and 2 pictures which she said she received.   Aunt Helen lives in Delaware and was married to my father's youngest brother George who passed away in 2004.   The picture below was taken in 2004 when we visited there.   Behind Aunt Helen are my cousins Carol, George (in middle) and Roy  (with Tara the dog peeking out beside.)

 It was very good to talk to Aunt Helen.  She is still full of life and not expecting to stop at 90 or any time soon.  She said she always keeps a positive outlook on life.    I said,  "Yes we can certainly tell that."  She said,  "God has been very good to me."   And she told me,  "Just enjoy every day of your life."   I was very glad I was able to talk to her on her birthday.   

Remembering

On November 11 we remember those in the military who gave their lives in war and peacekeeping.  And for Elaine and I,  this year on November 11  it is 35 years since we were engaged.   So for us those memories are  part of our Remembrance Day. 

My Mother's 60th birthday was November 10, 1976 (yesterday she would have been 95) and we were going up to North Battleford on November 11 for a birthday supper.   I was working in Regina and Elaine living in Saskatoon and I was going to pick her up to come with me to NB.   My plans were to stop along the way at an overlook by the river and ask her to marry me and give her the ring.     But Elaine told me we had been asked to pick someone up (Rose) to give her a ride from Saskatoon to NB.  That would make my plans awkward, so I asked Elaine to marry me at her apartment (she said yes) and I gave her the ring right away.  When we went to pick up Rose the couple where she had been staying insisted on us coming in for tea and a lunch.  Elaine was trying to keep the hand with the ring under the table.   The woman must have suspected because she said "Elaine put your hand up on the table so we can see it."    Eventually we went on our way to NB and had the birthday supper but we did not say anything yet about being engaged during the meal.    After supper my Mom and Darlene were whispering to each other about seeing the ring and came out and asked us about it.   We weren't making it a secret just trying to surprise them. 

The picture on the right was taken while we were visiting in NB that weekend.  The one on the left was a surprise party our friends had for us when we got back to Saskatoon.  In these pictures from 35 years ago Elaine looks the same as now, other than her glasses.  I sure had a lot of dark thick hair then which is long gone now (but that does have its advantages in convenience though.)    And 35 years later we are still both smiling and laughing together the same way.