Stick a trowel in me…

Posted on October 18, 2012 by Julia at Home on 129 Acres

… I’m done.

We are calling it on the drywall phase of the basement reno. Five and a half months–in case the text version wasn’t clear, let me translate that into numerals 5 1/2 (or 5.5 for you digitally minded folks) months–after we started drywalling the basement, we are finally finished.

Oh the glamourous life of DIYers.

Lest there’s any additional lack of clarity, the basement reno itself is not finished. Only the drywall stage is done.

Some other things that are done:

Bandaging my fingers for my evening sanding sessions.

This is what my hands looked like at the end of a night of sanding. The bandages are pretty much worn away.

I built up calluses on my fingers, of course, but calluses can only do so much. It took me two nights of bleeding fingers to learn my lesson. (Point in my favour: the nights were not consecutive. I’m not that dumb). Before the second incident, I thought my fingers were sufficiently toughened from the first incident to not require protection. I learned that no matter how leathery and rough I think my hands are, I can apparently always do more damage.

Good news is I would make a good spy these days, as my fingerprints are sanded off.

Also done is Matt’s nightly decoding dilemmas as he tries to interpret the pasting instructions I draw on the drywall.

The two circles highlight a scratch and some divots that need to be filled. The U and V markings are supposed to be arrows that point out a ridge that needs to be feathered out with paste.

The division of labour when it came to drywall was I sand, Matt pastes. As I work, I keep a pencil behind my ear, so that I can mark spots that need particular attention.

Additional symbols in my drywall lexicon include lines and once in awhile actual words–that usually still require translation.

The biggest change that will result from concluding drywall work will be no more drywall dust throughout the house.

The partially swept office floor (and yes, I know my work shoes are looking a little worn).

In the basement, the dust was so deep that dunes were starting to form. It took Matt and me a full afternoon to wipe down the walls and ceilings, sweep up the worst of the dust and then vacuum the remaining powder.

Upstairs is also covered in a fine skim of dust, although we haven’t done a deep clean there yet. We have to keep up our glamourous DIY lifestyle, after all.

Starting out on this project, I never dreamed that drywall would take us nearly half a year (ouch, that sounds like a really, really long time). My only excuse is that we ended up having to redo a huge area–pretty much the whole basement, we didn’t work on it religiously every single day and we’re not professional, so we’re slow.

The finish is definitely not perfect, but I’m satisfied with how it turned out, and I’m really happy that Matt and I were able to tackle such a big project together by ourselves (with help from my Dad, of course. Thanks, Dad!).

And now, in the way of DIY, concluding one stage of the project means it’s now on to the next. Painting here we come!

What’s on your agenda for this weekend?

Staking our claim

Posted on October 11, 2012 by Julia at Home on 129 Acres

When European explorers first landed in the new world (including Canada), it was customary for them to plant their flag as a symbol of ownership.

I think this latest development means the farm is officially ours.

Please ignore the overgrown mess that is the turnaround. Past owners dumped heaps of dirt and rubble here that made mowing impossible. Landscaping is next year’s project.

This project also means that Matt and I have officially started in on the fall to-do list. Planting the flag pole was #11.

I had bought the pole second hand on kijiji back at the end of June with the idea that we might be able to install it for Canada Day (July 1). That didn’t happen.

We drilled a hole for the pole back in August when we had the auger, and I tried to convince Matt that installing the flag pole would be a good birthday present for me at the end of September. That didn’t happen.

Finally on Sunday morning, we dragged out the wheelbarrow and a bag of concrete and made it happen. It took all of a half hour to mix the concrete, place the pole in the hole and pack the cement around it.

The hardest part was making sure the pole was plumb and holding it in place with ropes and stakes.

Our mini-circus tent… or the bottom third of the flag pole braced in place while the concrete sets.

Our flag pole came in three pieces, so it was very easy to wrangle one 7 foot piece into place, rather than a long 20 foot pole.

By Monday (I love long weekends by the way–we get so much accomplished) the concrete was set.

Set, secure and straight!

While Matt and his dad were working in the back bush clearing the trails, I went to work wrangling the rest of the pole into place. If you’re ever looking for a laugh, watch a 5’4″ woman staggering around with a 12 foot flag pole–to which she has already attached the halyard (or rope)–trying to keep it perfectly vertical so she can set it in place on top of another pole that’s as tall as she is. It took two tries, and the cats were absolutely no help.

Once the pole was fully assembled, it was a simple matter of attaching the clips to my rope and hoisting the flag.

Matt’s comment when he returned from the bush and saw the flag was, “I think we just improved this property more than any other owners. Except for maybe the guy who built the barn.”

So yes, we are both ridiculously happy to be flying the flag at the farm. Sometimes it’s the simple things.

Help! I have hod claw

Posted on September 13, 2012 by Julia at Home on 129 Acres

Matt and I put on a push this week in the basement in an attempt to pick up the pace on the pasting. (I love alliteration, but that’s a lot of ‘p’s even for me). We’ve made a lot of progress, but a side effect of all of this productivity (I just can’t stop!) is that we are both suffering from hod claw.

hod·claw

noun

an uncomfortable contraction of the hand, typically occurring after holding a hod for an extended time

For those that haven’t had the pleasure, a hod is basically a big tray that holds the drywall paste (also known as mud or compound) while you’re working.

After a full evening of working in the basement, uncurling our fingers from our hods is harder than you’d think.

Matt holding the hod

It’s not that we love drywall and don’t want to stop. The issue is that our hands have seized around the handle of the hod and returning them to their regular dexterity requires much flexing and massaging.

When it comes to drywall, there are a variety of tools people choose to hold their paste. Some work directly from a bucket. Others use a mudpan. I grew up using a hod, so that’s what we use now.

Once I cross the three hour mark of pasting, I don’t think it matters what’s holding my paste. At that point, my hands have cramped. As long as I keep working, I don’t feel it too much. As soon as I set the hod down, though, that’s when I realize how tired my hands are.

Matt in action

Fortunately, by the next morning, I’ve usually regained most of my range of motion.

Even more fortunately, thanks to our concentrated efforts this week, we’re nearing the end on this pasting odyssey and will soon be setting down our hods. Hopefully, our hands recover from their case of hod claw shortly thereafter.

Any other DIYers out there who use a hod for drywalling? Have you ever been afflicted with hod claw? Or do you have your own unique DIY injuries?

Degree of dustiness

Posted on September 9, 2012 by Julia at Home on 129 Acres

If you zoomed out on Friday’s photo, you would have seen something like this.

Matt and me after sanding drywall

No, we did not have a baking accident and we’re not 18th century aficionados who powder our hair and faces.

We’re renovators and these days drywall is on the top of the to do list. Actually, it’s probably more the “please can we just get this done already” list, but I’m trying not to sound too desperate.

The photo that I posted on Friday was a thick layer of drywall dust coating Matt’s arm. Even though I teased her at the time, Catherine was actually pretty close with her first guess on last week’s post of “really dry skin.”

Skin and arm hair with a heavy dusting of drywall. Yum.

The sanding stage of drywall installation is usually the time I start to reconsider my affection for DIY renovations.

This is a lot of work, and sanding drywall is really not fun work.

Pretty much every single surface in the basement has new drywall or at least a patch of some kind. That means I’m sanding more than I’ve ever sanded in my life. My arm muscles are toned like they’ve never been before, but my nails and fingertips are rubbed off in some places. Ow. And I’m sure the amount of dust that has entered my body through my nose, eyes and mouth can’t be healthy.
We’re not pros, so we’re slow. Therefore, the drywall and sanding stage take a long time.
Even though we’re only working in the basement right now, dust is everywhere. Good news, you can slide around easily on the floors upstairs which makes getting around quick. Bad news, don’t set your black clothes down anywhere, or else you’ll have to choose a new outfit.
We’re not pros, so there tend to be a few more bumps and ridges that we have to sand out… meaning more time, more sore muscles, more dust.

Matt uses the pole sander, but I have never been able to master it. I also feel like I get a better finish by hand. So that means I get up close and personal with every single square centimetre of drywall.

It’s a good look, wouldn’t you say?

The good news is that the basement is looking really good. We’re at the third (and final) coat of paste pretty much everywhere, and a few spots need only touch-ups.

If we can keep up the momentum, I’m anticipating being covered in paint spatters instead of drywall dust in just a few weeks.

That will be a nice change of style. I’m ready for a makeover.

I live in a gated community

Posted on September 5, 2012 by Julia at Home on 129 Acres

It’s a very exclusive enclave we have here in the country.

Population: 2 (plus 1 cat and 1 kitten)

With our new gate in place at the bottom of the driveway, farm living has become quite chi-chi.

Open sesame

Actually, setting aside my new pretensions, we installed the gate for security. We’re far enough from civilization that neighbours or police really wouldn’t be much help to us in the event of a break in. If we’re home we can keep an eye on things, but when we’re not the gate may just be enough of a deterrent to people who are thinking about trespassing.

I’ll admit that I was initially pretty resistant to having a gate. I don’t like the way they look, and I didn’t want the inconvenience of opening and closing it when I was coming and going.

However, I actually like the way our gate ended up looking. It’s still a bit of a pain to stop, open the gate, drive through, park and close the gate when you’re leaving or arriving, but it’s a small price to pay for feeling secure about our house.

It’s a simple set up: just a chain and a padlock

If you want in, you have to have the key

My Dad and Matt made some metal hooks to support the gate when it’s closed and when it’s propped open.

The hook supports the gate to ease the weight on the hinges and also secures the gate in place.

We do like having visitors at the farm–at least from people we know. So if you’re planning on dropping by, let us know, and we’ll open the gate for you!

Welcome to the farm

Anyone out there live in an actual gated community? How do you deal with security at your house?

See my earlier post for the story of setting the posts for the gate.

Six month review

Posted on September 4, 2012 by Julia at Home on 129 Acres

Some days, it seems like we’ve always been here at the farm. Others, it still seems unreal that all of this is ours. However, it is true that this is our new life. In fact, Sunday was our 6-month anniversary of farm ownership.

Looking over the hayfield towards the barn

My backyard

I thought it might be interesting to look back and see what we’ve accomplished so far:

Energy Audit, both the initial inspection and the post-retrofit review
Install new geothermal heating/cooling/hot water system
Have all of the ducts cleaned
Drill a new well and install completely new pumping and treatment systems
Buy and install new washer, dryer, dishwasher, fridge. We were also given a new-to-us stove, so all of the appliances have now been replaced.
Upgrade the insulation in the attic
Remove woodstove from the basement
Brick up two old windows and woodstove chimney hole in basement
Reframe all of the exterior walls in the basement
Rewire the basement and do minor electrical upgrades upstairs in the house like a new exhaust fan in the bathroom and a dimmer switch in the bedroom
Reinsulate the basement with spray foam
Install new drywall throughout the basement (pasting still in progress)
Reframe and replumb basement bathroom and install new toilet in upstairs bathroom
Choose tile for basement bathroom (we’ve taken delivery and just need to get moving on installation)
Paint basement bathroom
Reroof the house… I feel like this point should somehow be bigger to show the magnitude of this job
Recover the chair seats of our newly refinished dining room set
Cut down a huge tree that had a split in it and was dangerously close to the house (and cut and split all the wood)
Find homes for three kittens, adopt one kitten ourselves… oh, and have Ralph spayed
Get internet service
Get telephone service
Get satellite TV
Remove the old TV aerial
Make numerous repairs to the barn, including adding a door where there was just a door-sized hole, relocating another door, rehanging a third large sliding door, installing locks, fixing the broken staircase, installing lighting and plugs on the main floor, cleaning out many, many piles of garbage, scrap wood and bales and bales of loose straw
Rehang the driveshed door so that it will now close
Buy a tractor
Install a gate on the driveway
Sell the paddocks fencing, gates and run-in shelters (removal still in progress)
Watch our first hay harvest
Trench new waterline to the driveshed
Clean out and clean up the house and property
Move in (we’re waiting to finish the basement before we completely unpack)

We’ve had a lot of help over the past six months mainly from my Dad and Matt’s Dad. We also hired professional help for several of the jobs listed above, so it has not all been DIY.

It’s been a lot of work and at times I’ve been frustrated that we don’t seem to be accomplishing more. The to-do list is still very long, even if I just look at what we want to complete over the next six months. Looking back at what we’ve accomplished makes me realize that we have done a lot over the last half-year.

In the review that I posted when we were two weeks into farm ownership, I wrote:

This is definitely where I want to be. I feel very privileged that we were able to make this happen and that we’ve found the property for us. It’s very special. Tiring and a lot of work, but still special.

This statement still completely reflects my state of mind. We are so happy to be here, working together to build our forever house.

The dark side

Posted on August 27, 2012 by Julia at Home on 129 Acres

I may be getting ahead of myself, but the other night I did this.

Work continues on the drywall in the basement, but we’re all done in the bathroom. So before I put the tile on the walls, I decided to put on some paint.

Yes, I should be sanding and pasting, but it’s so much easier to open a can of paint and brush it around a small room. Never underestimate the power of instant gratification when it comes to renovations.

In fact, I was so pleased, I may not have stopped with just the prime.

I decided to go really dark with Matt’s bathroom. It’s a pretty small room, and there are no windows, so my first instinct was to choose a really light paint. However, between the built-in shelving, tile and a big mirror, only one wall is going to be painted. Therefore, there’s room for some drama. Plus, everything else is going to be white or mirrored, so there will likely be enough lightness that the room doesn’t feel like it’s closing in on you.

The colour I chose is Wrought Iron from Benjamin Moore. It’s a really dark grey that reads as black at times.

I’m hoping that it will play well with the grey tones in the tile.

And that’s another benefit of painting at this point in the project: no spatters or drips on our beautiful new tile.

This is my first time choosing a paint colour this dark, and so far I’m loving how it looks. If it turns out that I don’t love it later on, it’s simple enough to repaint one little wall.

Anyone else a fan of the dark side? What are your tricks for dealing with a small window-less room?

Roof wrap-up

Posted on August 14, 2012 by Julia at Home on 129 Acres

Matt’s a numbers guy, so as the roof was his project, it’s only fitting that I summarize his work in a statistical fashion.

Here, in a series of lists, is the story of how we reshingled our roof ourselves.

Schedule breakdown

Day 1 – 1.5 hours
Matt loads the shingles and other materials onto the roof. Thank goodness for rooftop delivery.
Day 2 – 10 hours
Matt, his Dad and I strip more than three-quarters of the old shingles off the roof. And then we cross our fingers for the night and don’t cover it with a tarp.
Day 3 – 15 hours
Shingling begins. Matt, his Dad and his friend (a former professional roofer) complete about two-thirds of the roof and strip the remaining old shingles. Fingers are still crossed and the naked part of our roof is still untarped when we go to bed that night.
Day 4 – 14 hours
I take a personal day to stay home from work, and Matt, his Dad, my Dad and I finish shingling the roof.
Day 5 – 6 hours
Matt and his Dad do clean-up picking up nails and shingles from around the house and out of the eaves troughs.
Total: Five people 46.5 hours–note that nearly 40 of those hours came over just three days

I have to say a huge massive thank you to Matt’s dad and his friend. It was hot, dirty, heavy, uncomfortable work, and they put in a lot of hours, especially Matt’s dad, just to help us out. They supplied tools, equipment and expertise, and we could not have done this without them.

I have to say thanks as well to our roofing supplier AMA Roofing. They were a complete cold call, and we had a great experience. From the office staff I dealt with on the phone to the delivery man who brought the materials to the house, Matt and I were both very impressed. They spent a lot of time answering all of our questions and provided great guidance about how much to order and how to install everything. I highly recommend them.

Materials breakdown

110 bundles of shingles – used 102 bundles
22 pieces of drip edge (176 lineal feet) – used none, as there was a strange flashing/drip edge installed on the roof that we ended up reusing
48 lineal feet of valley
14,400 nails (120 coils) – used only 75 coils. We had so many nails left over because we had to buy two cases, as we would have been short with just one.
3 rolls of ice & water shield (240 lineal feet)
6 roof vents (we found an additional four in the driveshed that we were able to use)
1 special roof cap/vent for the kitchen hood fan exhaust
8 rolls of tar paper – used 7 rolls
6 tubes of roofing tar
10 sheets of plywood – used only part of one sheet for three small patches. Despite the awful state of our shingles, the plywood underneath was in good shape.

You’ll notice that we went with a very light grey shingle. Its official name is dual grey, and it’s a combination of black, grey and white stones. At times it reads almost green or blue from the ground. This is not what I was going for at all, but I can live with it.

My biggest goal in choosing the colour of the roof was to pick something light. White roofs are more eco-friendly, because they reflect more of the sunlight, rather than absorbing all of that heat into our house. We didn’t want to go with a true white roof, but we chose a light colour to give us as much reflectivity as possible.

By the numbers

Total roof square footage: 3,375
Average temperature: 29.82ºC (not including the humidex)
SPF: 60
Cost savings from doing it ourselves: $7,000 (this is a guess, as we didn’t actually get a proper quote from professional shinglers)
Hours between installing the last shingle and the first rain drop: 10. And then it rained for three days straight.

Casualties

One air compressor – it literally went up in smoke

Three shirts – Matt wore white in the hopes that he would be slightly cooler, and I’m not even going to try and wash those poor shirts
Two pairs of gloves – Matt and I both wore through the fingertips
One shower loofa – used to be white, now is the colour of shingle scum
One pair of shoes – the soles melted and are now completely misaligned

I was a little bit uncertain about tackling the roof reshingling all on our own. This is a big job and does require a certain amount of know-how to do it right–know-how that Matt and I didn’t have at the start. As it came time to order the materials and figure out exactly how we were going to do this thing, I was very nervous and did consider calling in professional help. However, I’m a big believer that everything happens for a reason, and as we got closer to starting the work there were a few signs that showed me we were going to be okay:

A tremendously positive, helpful and encouraging phone call with our roofing supplier. Getting the quote and talking through the project with Debbie at AMA boosted my confidence tremendously.
Kit, another roofing novice who shared my trepidation–or as she wonderfully described it “grim determination wrapped around an unmistakable sense of dread,” single-handedly shingled her donkey barn.
Matt’s friend, a former professional roofer, rearranged his schedule so that he was able to come and help for a day.
This Old House had a segment on roofing–and yes, we took notes.

As well as everything worked out, I cannot recommend roofing as a DIY. This is a really tough job, and Matt basically knocked himself out getting this done. I’m incredibly grateful that he’s willing to take something like this on, but we’ve both agreed we won’t be doing this ever again.

Final lessons

There’s a fine line between stubborn and stupid, and we ended up deep in dingbat territory
Bungalow = big roof. Big, big, biiiiiiiiiiiiig roof
Don’t try this at home. Seriously, folks. Don’t.

This is not taking it easy

Posted on August 12, 2012 by Julia at Home on 129 Acres

Remember on Friday when I said that I was hoping Matt and I would do nothing this weekend? Yeah, well, that plan didn’t work out at all.

Instead of sleeping in and sitting outside in lawn chairs for two days straight, we went and rented an auger.

We’ve had a number of people turn in the driveway and come all the way up to the house. Once they get to the top and realize our cars are parked there (i.e. we’re home), they make their way around the turnaround and go back down the driveway. Usually by this point I’ve come out of the front door to glare at them as they drive away.

We have a long driveway, so if people are lost and need to just turn around, we wouldn’t even know they were there. For people to end up at the house, they’re trespassing.

We decided we need a gate at the bottom of the driveway.

A gate needs posts, and posts need holes, so we needed an auger.

Matt and my Dad drill a post hole with the auger

Matt and my Dad ran the auger while I came behind and cleaned out the holes.

Why does the person with the shortest arms have to clean out the hole?

We do own shovels, but a hands-on approach worked better for me sometimes given what we found in the holes.

Lots and lots of stones

The auger did not like the stones.

It particularly disliked this stone.

This boulder became the bane of my existence for about an hour. We all took our turns working around it with the shovel, the prybar, even a pick. It was massive, and it wasn’t moving.

The post that was to go in this hole was supposed to be our hinge, so we needed it to be really solid. But with the rock in the way, we couldn’t get the hole deep enough. So, we decided to swing the gate the other way and drilled a new nice and deep hole on the other side of the driveway.

Then, it was a matter of mixing up our concrete and setting our posts in place.

I take a turn mixing while Matt adds the water

By the end of the day, we had four new posts in place: two at either end of the gate, one to hook the gate to when it’s open and a new post for the mailbox.

We braced the posts to hold them plumb while the concrete sets

Oh, and we also had more sore muscles and a few new calluses.

Have we reached the end of the to-do list yet? Has anyone spotted the end? Can you please tell me is it far away?

And please tell me someone out there got to sleep in and sit in a lawn chair this weekend.

Done

Posted on August 9, 2012 by Julia at Home on 129 Acres

The roof is done.

I’ll post a full project wrap-up next week, but right now I’m too stupid tired to coherently tell the full story.

For the weekend, I leave you with some photos of what happened this week.

The before shot: A portion of our 110 bundles of shingles sitting on the roof awaiting installation

Work begins: Matt and his dad start stripping the old shingles off the roof

The end of day one: Note the naked roof and the new shingles waiting to be installed

Let’s take a bit closer look at this photo, shall we? This image pretty much sets the scene for the rest of the week.

The dirty duo: Matt and me at the end of day one.

This is the “I’m trying to smile, but every single muscle hurts right now and I’m too tired to make the proper facial expression” look. Oh, and the reason the upper half of my face is the only part of me that is clean is that I was wearing a hat and sunglasses all day. I’m sure if I hadn’t the dirt would have been up to and into my hair.

The toad that showed up on the roof two mornings in a row. If he’d brought his tool belt, we might have let him stay up there. And can I just ask, what is it with us and amphibians?

The sun rises on the second day of shingling: On day one–also known as the 15-hour day–about two-thirds of the roof was shingled and the remaining old shingles were stripped.