New Windows

I don't have anything new to report on the whole house-reno thing. We last heard from Sean sometime in July I think. I'm still waffling about whether or not to sue him in small claims court to see if we can cover the cost of repairing the bathroom in-floor heating, and possibly the other bigger things like the siding on the front of the house, the roof we already paid to have fixed, etc.

But on a different note, we just had almost all of the windows in the old part of the house replaced. (We skipped the small one by the original front door as we haven't decided whether we're going to keep that door or remove it one day.) It's so much quieter now!

The back yard renovation is still on hold. Our neighbours have three "protected" trees that they want to have removed; they finally were able to make it onto the Town's council meeting this Tuesday. Hopefully the Town will actually be able to make a decision soon, so we can go ahead with it!

Let's apply some pressure and see what happens...

On Monday night I sent Sean an email saying that we expected him a week ago, and since we hadn't heard from him, we've gone ahead and hired another roofer to fix his mess, and we will send him an invoice for the work. I also stated our intention to hire a building inspector, and notified him I'm filing a complaint with the BBB (which I did last night) and if that if we're not satisfied with that, we'll be taking him to Small Claims Court. Or he can finish the work by the end of the month and we won't sue him. He replied today and I got the impression he is surprised we'd do such a thing; he's been so good to us! I haven't replied yet.

I put together a graphical timeline in Excel tonight. The top (blue) line is work done, middle (red) is delays, and bottom (green) is other. There's a nice, solid section of work done for the first month, then there's his statement that there were 7 10-hour days left just before we hit the 2-month mark (which was how long he'd quoted in the first place) and everything's looking good. Then by the middle of August, there starts being a fair number of delays, although still work is being done. Near the beginning of September he says it's going to be another 6 weeks. Then there is no more work done at all after mid-October, until we threatened him with Breach of Contract. At that point he said he'd finish everything by the end of March; he send one or two guys for a couple of days to finish the permit-related items so that we passed a building inspection just prior to the permit expiring, but that's it. Nothing else has been done since then.

New Roof

Today the roofing company came and re-did our old roof. They are going to come back another day and fix the tie-in between the new section and the old, as I don't think Sean ever will. I can't really see the roof from anywhere so no pictures of this one! Although maybe Brooke might go up one day and have a look, so perhaps there will be some in future!

New glass, finally

Yesterday we finally received the new window pane for the bedroom window that arrived broken before it was ever installed. I had added it to the long list of things that are Sean's fault that we're still waiting for, but when I called the company they said that there was a reason their old salesguy was fired, and the new guy came out that same day I think to re-measure the window. That was a couple of weeks ago, and the installer came last night and put it in, and re-measured for the downstairs screen and said he'd have it to me probably next Thursday when he's in town next.

So that one is apparently not Sean's fault. Now, for everything else....

Three weeks ago Sean said he'd be here in about 3 weeks to do the siding. Or maybe roofing. I'm not 100% sure now. I've emailed him twice in that time frame and have had no response. (One was to confirm that he was coming the week of the 7th.) A few days ago, Thursday of last week I think, some saw horses appeared while we were at work with some quarter-round on them. We changed the locks around November or December, so if Sean was thinking he'd just show up and do them he must have been surprised. We haven't heard from him though. So we'll see. Another week, two tops, and I'm filing a complaint with the BBB. I've already typed it up and just need to send it.

Our yard is going to be huge

There is a long piece of pink flagging tape that has been tied to the chain-link fence behind our trees for as long as I've owned the house. I've never really thought anything of it. A week or two ago when we were trying to figure out how many of the trees are on our property, we used a tape measure extended along the fence between our house and Steve's to help us eyeball it, and it pointed right at the flagging tape, so apparently it was put there for that reason.

Today, Brooke was looking outside and said to me, "Is there more flagging tape out there than before?" I had a look and there was definitely now two long strips of flagging tape at that location.

We went out to have a closer look and discovered a line of stakes with flagging tape attached going across the back of our property. It starts out at the fence on the right-hand side, but on the left it is a good 20 or 25 feet beyond our fence.

Our fence is 35 feet from Sharon & Brian's fence to the original pink flagging tape, so doing the math (let's just pretend it's a right-angle triangle) means this new area is roughly 400 square feet. That means we're not adding 400 sf to our yard, we're adding 800. To our original 500 sf yard.

I'm so excited; it's like Christmas. We haven't actually heard back from the surveyor yet that the entire space he's marked is ours, but I can't imagine he would have marked something OTHER than the property line! Our neighbours are pretty excited too. They figured their property went a couple of feet past their fence, but this is enormous.

Update: I've added a photo of the space beyond the fence. It's a bit difficult to see (click on the picture to view it full-sized; use your back button to return to this post) but you can just see the chain-link fence at the left of the screen and is the left hand side of our property. The large tree at the right of the photo is on the "point" at the top of the sketch, above. So I guess we've found what we're going to do with the fill from removing our hill: use it to fill in the valley behind it!

Yard work & other outside changes

The company that paved our driveway did a great job. There were as many as six guys here at a time (they came and went as required) and I think it was something like 3 hours from start to finish. Most of the driveway butts up against solid surfaces (like the front of the house, paving stones, etc) but the right-hand side is off on its own, and it has a lovely beveled edge. I'm very pleased with how it turned out!

We had arranged with a "friend of a friend" who has done a lot of roofs to come and re-do our shingles. He came out to have a look a couple of months ago, but then got busy with other things. He came back a week or so ago to re-measure and have a good look at what needs to be done, and while he is still willing to do the work, he suggested we should get a roofing company to have a look and give us a quote as there is quite a lot more going on than he originally realized, such as the fact that some sections are spongy so it sounds like there is going to be more work required than just new shingles!

We've also begun a back-yard renovation. This is going to be great when it's done, but we're suddenly realizing it's not going to be as quick to do as we had hoped. Why not? Because we need a soil-removal permit. Which has a long list of requirements, and then a two-week (or so) wait once we submit the application. So much for getting it done within the next month! But we've already started, so we're going ahead with it one way or another!

Currently, we have a bit of a hill at the back of our yard atop which is a row of overgrown cedars. In front of that is a little bit of garden space (in raised beds) and then the main part of our yard is about 500 square feet, most of which is (was) a deck and the rest is primarily gravel.

Two weeks ago, Brooke demolished the deck and this week he demolished the fence and removed all of the landscaping ties around the raised gardens. We had all of that (mostly rotten) wood hauled away on the spot -- the first load was 2,800 pounds.

The next step is to bring in a company to remove the trees and the hill they are planted on, and level the entire yard. It will add about another 400 square feet of space! We're in the process of trying to find out from the Town whether the company will be permitted to access our yard via the road allowance behind us. If so it'll make it much simpler as they can just bring up the machines. If not, it'll probably mean hauling everything out to our road in wheelbarrows, adding days (if not weeks) to the amount of time it'll take, and exponentially increasing the cost. There's plenty of room in the road allowance, so we're very hopeful it'll be allowed.

Once the lot is level, we are going to build a noise-reducing fence (most likely one of the prefab cement ones that are designed to look like wood) and plant grass over the entire thing.

Then in a year or two we'll figure out where the best placement is for the various ideas we have: a new flower garden, possibly a vegetable/herb garden, a barbecuing area, a shed to store the gardening tools and bikes in, and perhaps a table. And whatever else we can think of between now and then. A wading pool! A swing set! A dog house! Who knows?

Hmm

So, an update to my update... where I said Sean showed up with the roofer at 4:40. They left at 5:00. I saw them going down the ladder so I ran out to see what was up.

Sean was already halfway up the driveway when I got out there, so I asked the roofer "How does it look?" He said "Good." and walked away. Then Sean came back and said he'd "give me a full report" tomorrow and that he'd talk to me or leave me voicemail. He did mention that they should probably have moved the vent. I'm not quite sure what to make of that.

On another topic, I started getting quotes for repaving the driveway in October. I had contacted 4 companies, and got 3 quotes. The fourth company never got back to me despite me re-requesting the quote twice (they did come out and measure, I just never heard from them again). The quotes were so far apart (one was in the $2000 range and another was $4300) that I got confused and stopped. So a week or two ago I called another three or four companies and they all came in more at the $2000 end, so I guess the one that was so high was maybe busy and didn't really want the job, but would do it if I made it worth their while. Anyway, I called the "winning" company today and they're going to come on Tuesday & Wednesday of next week to do the work, so that's nice and soon!

A non-update

I just read all of my postings from October through to the most recent one. No wonder I feel like not much has been done for the past six months: it hasn't.

Tomorrow is the 1-year anniversary of starting on this "2-month" project. I am so discouraged. Sean has been promising me all week (since last Friday) that he'd be coming with the roofer to look at the torcheon section that may be leaking. On Friday he said he'd be here Monday or Tuesday; on Wednesday when I called him he said he'd been all lined up to come the previous day but "something came up" and he had to cancel. We're now half-way through Thursday and I haven't heard from him. [Update: He showed up at 4:40!]

On Sunday I sent him a list of everything that remains to be done, although in reviewing my blog posts I think I missed the drain pipe outside (which is preventing the gate from opening all the way).

Some work has been done since my last post: Roger and Joel replaced the toilet. I had noticed a hairline crack in the inside of the tank. After Roger had removed it, he said it was actually worse than it looked so it's a good thing I had noticed it. I'm not sure if they've done anything else... I think that might be it.

I can't believe it's been a year since we started this renovation. In that time, I've gone from being pregnant to having an 11-month old who is starting to walk. I have one week of maternity leave left then I'm back to work. My sister has had her first wedding anniversary. Three sets of friends are engaged and two others are expecting babies. A lot changes in a year! I just wish I could say "we renovated our house" rather than "we started renovating our house".

I was talking to my sister today and she suggested reporting the contractor to the BBB. If he doesn't get back to work PDQ I think that and/or a Small Claims action will be forthcoming.

Work was done today!

It's amazing how much can get done in a short time, when you put your mind to it. Joel and Roger spent the day here -- I thought I heard Sean's voice outside at one point, but I think it was Roger because I never did see him.

They installed the new window in the front of the bedroom so we now have a second egress. They fixed the siding along the side of the house that was too close to the ground (has to be 2 inches of clearance) and put a band around the water tank. Those three things were all found by the inspector last time, so they're all good to go. They've got an inspector coming tomorrow morning so hopefully there isn't anything else inspection-related.

They also put a cover over top of an empty light socket outside, and put a cap over an open drain at the front of the house, but Joel said he's going to dig it out tomorrow and make it more level. They didn't get to the dryer vent, but plan to do that tomorrow.

I didn't bring out my list of things to be done yet - I figure I'll see how the inspection goes tomorrow and go from there.

Happy New Year!

Wow, it has been a very long time since my last update.

The fireplace removal was completed shortly after my last post. We had the paint colour matched and Brooke painted just the area of the fireplace, but it turned out the new paint was just a shade lighter than the original paint, so it was pretty visible. He ended up painting the entire wall up to the edge of a bookcase. There is only about 10cms at the top of the bookcase where the old and new paint colours touch, but it just looks like a shadow, not noticeable at all.

When Mom & Dad were here for Christmas, we put Dad to work and he replaced the baseboard heaters in the living room & dining room, one of the thermostats that was screwy (had to turn it to about the 35° mark to get it the same temperature as the other one), and all of the outlets in the living room so they match the ones in the new part of the house.

Shortly before Christmas, Joel phoned to say that our new window had finally arrived. I didn't write down what day it was that he called, but it had just snowed so between that & Christmas, he said they were going to wait until the weather cleared up to install it. (I have snowy pictures from December 22, so it was probably that day or the day after.)

Fast forward to mid-January. I emailed Sean and he said he was busy but he'd talk to me next week. On Jan 30 I emailed him again and got the same response. On Feb 6 he STILL hadn't called so I sent a snippy email and -- guess what -- got essentially the same response: sorry that you're upset, please continue being patient.

So on Feb 13 we threatened legal action. We gave him one week to reply and said that a lack of a response would indicate that he has broken our contract, and if he then doesn't complete the entire contract by the end of April (when the building permit expires) that would also be a breach of contract. That got a better response. On the deadline day, he replied and said he'll finish all permit work by the end of March, which is even earlier than we said. I spoke to him on the phone this past Friday morning, Feb 27 and he restated that.

While I had him on the phone, I mentioned a couple of issues to him that I hadn't before: the cold spots in the bathroom, and the fact that we asked for the window seat to open in front and he made it open on top. He basically said that he'll worry about the permit-related things first, and the other items afterwards which is fine -- as long as they do get done eventually!

However, since then, we've had two potentially major issues come to light. We had a roofer come on Friday to give us a quote on re-shingling the rest of the roof to match the new section so we don't have a 10+ year old section and a new section, and he told us that the torcheon section of the new roof appears to be leaking and is all bubbled up.

Then on Sunday, Brooke went to check to see if the dryer vent cover was stuck shut as it's been taking longer and longer for the clothes to dry, and he discovered something interesting. The original dryer vent has insulation over it on the inside, and there is no new dryer vent. So either the dryer is connected to the original pipe and it is blocked at the end by the insulation, or else there is new pipe and they never cut through to the outside. Either way, we've been venting the dryer into the walls for the past seven months. We immediately went to Canadian Tire to buy a long piece of dryer hose with the idea of running it through the house and out the cat door, but found something even better -- a kit designed for venting a dryer in a place where a normal outside vent is impossible. So until it's fixed, at least we have this. And the dryer is taking a normal amount of time to dry the clothes now, yay!

I've contacted Pillar To Post, the company that did my original inspection when I bought the house, to find out how much they charge. After the Town's building inspector has given the house a passing mark, I'm going to get PTP to come and do a full inspection of everything and be sure we won't have any more little surprises like this.

Painted the baby's room

Brooke painted Charlotte's room today. It's a soft pink, very pretty! It is called "Prelude To Pink" and can be seen here (colour #8699)

The paint is still wet, but he thinks it might only need that one coat. The doors (closet and room) need to be repainted eventually as they're kind of beat up, and I imagine he'll do the baseboards at the same time.

Fireplace progress

The fireplace insert was removed on Tuesday. It really is a small job! They were only here for maybe an hour. They took it out, filled in the original fireplace with insulation, and nailed some 2x4s vertically into the hole to frame it, and attached drywall. The drywaller came the next day and did the first coat of mud, and the second coat on Thursday. He came today (Saturday) to do the third coat, but the second was still wet so he's coming back tomorrow or Monday.

It's kind of funny; it looks like someone whited-out the fireplace and mantle.

I want to replace the baseboard heaters in the living room & dining room now. The new ones in the TV room are so much better, it's amazing. You turn on the thermostat, and the room is warm in about 5 minutes, and too hot in under 10. In comparison, the old ones take an hour or so (or at least it feels that way) to make the room comfortable. I just hope we don't need to do anything beyond changing the baseboard heaters (and probably the thermostats) themselves... hopefully the wiring is good as it is. (Hey Dad, wanna come do a project for me?) :)

Let's start a new project

Just for fun, we're going to start a few new projects. The reno still isn't complete (99% and holding) and we will obviously not be hiring the same people... but our first small(er) project is to remove our fireplace. We've already had the propane company come and take away their tank that we were renting for $80 per year, so we're saving money already.

We've had three quotes, two were around $400 and the third was $1160. I want to wait for one more place (the ones who did our flood restoration; we were extremely happy with their work) and should hear from them on Monday. Of the quotes, one of the cheaper ones and the expensive one were over the phone, the other cheaper one was in person so I think I'd go with him since he really knew what he was quoting on, not just guestimating based on what I said on the phone!

Update on the smell

Joel came by last Friday (Oct 10) and installed a/another P-trap in the bathtub. After they had run water last time, the smell came back within a day or two, which shouldn't have happened if there was a trap and that was the problem. So far so good and it's been just about a week. If it does come back, the other thought is it could be related to the vent.

Plumbing issue might be minor

Sean and Joel came by today and checked out the sewage smell. When I had tried sniffing the various drains in the bathroom I didn't feel that it was any stronger in one than another, but Sean said it was stronger coming out of the bathtub. Since the tub and shower are separate and I haven't used the tub in about a month, he figures it was just that the water in the P-trap evaporated. He checked to make sure it wasn't leaking (via the fan hole in the ceiling of the bathroom downstairs) and it sounds like he's going to call a plumber anyway to ask, but he sounded pretty confident that's all it is.

As for painting, he's refunding us half of what we paid for painting -- so $400. Brooke will do what he can, and we'll hire a professional painter for the tricky parts. We wanted Sean to pay for half of the professional painter, and he didn't want to pay anything, so we compromised. After Sean had left, Brooke said something to the effect of, "Well, you know you've had a successful negotiation when no one is totally happy."