Heating Up The Bedroom

I am so thankful to say that we finally have heat in our bedroom!  We had been using the gas fireplace on some of the colder nights that we've had, but it wasn't ideal without a thermostat or remote.  We would wake up and be freezing if it wasn't on, or boiling hot if it was on.  Knowing that winter is quickly approaching, we had to do something.  If we didn't get it taken care of, we'd be moving into one of the smaller bedrooms that did have heat.

A great friend and co-worker of mine just happens to be dating an HVAC guy.  Perfect!  He spent most of last weekend doing some serious work for us. He brought along a second crew member, and the two of them ran four duct lines from the basement to the second story addition above our garage.  In total, it took almost 10 hours, 300 feet of duct work, and lots of digging, cutting and tunnelling in the dirt of our crawlspace.

Here's just a few shots of what they accomplished.

  

Before they arrived, Jeremy spent a few evenings tearing down the ceiling, walls and floor of the old garage bathroom.  It was so dirty and a waste of space.  With it gone, they were able to run the ducts up the garage walls.  We'll also be able to park in the garage this winter!

They ran four duct lines off of the main trunk line that ran through our crawlspace.  The dirt floor had to be dug out and removed to give them access.  The four lines run to the back of the basement and come up through the garage floor and up the wall.  They then branch off to the four vents that were installed in our bedroom and closet.

Once again, we went with black cast iron floor grates to match the one we used in the bathroom.  I'm happy to say that the night they finished, the temperature dropped to 2 degrees, and we didn't even need the fireplace.  It's nice to have heat!

We were talking about some of the larger projects we've done since we moved in at the end of June.  Although we've done a lot, it often feels like we haven't because much of what we have completed is behind the walls.  Having the electrical replaced, and now this HVAC work done was costly and very necessary.  But it didn't make a big impact in the look of the house.  Hopefully some of the next few projects will really start to change how the house looks and make it feel like our home.

Here's a list of a few of the projects we have scheduled to happen within the next few weeks:
-rock retaining wall in side yard
-repair wood soffits and eavestroughs
-remove two windows in the mud room
-replace two windows in the master closet and craft room
-drywall ceiling in living room

Hopefully that's enough to keep us busy for the next few weeks!






  

Rock of Ages

We've got a lot going on house-wise this month, and yet it feels like nothing's happening at all. We're just waiting...and waiting...and waiting.

Back in August we had a few quotes done on some soffit and eavestrough repairs.  The contractor we hired has been really busy and keeps pushing our little project back, which was fine.  But now that colder weather is arriving, animals are starting to look for winter homes...in our attic.  Not good.  Apparently he's going to be starting next week.  We'll keep you posted!

We're also having some work done on getting some heat to our bedroom.  Currently we don't have any ducts running to that section of the house.  It was fine for the summer, but with these cooler nights, heat would be nice.

But on to a more exciting project!

We've been wanting to install our wrought iron fence (kijiji find!) along the side yard to keep the dog enclosed.

But when we went to start that project this summer, we realized that something had to be done with the retaining wall that currently divides the upper and lower yards.  

Although it doesn't look too bad in this photo, it's really leaning and not put together too well.  We also feel like it doesn't suit the style of the house.  So we decided that it should be replaced before going to the work of installing our new fence.

We spent some time this summer looking at rock.  Rock shopping sounds really boring...but it was actually fascinating!  Who knew that there were so many different types, styles, and colours of rock?

We looked at the Armour stone that many people are having installed in their properties around us, but in the end we fell in love with this Quebec Blue stone.  

Finally, after many week of waiting, we came home one day last week to find this in our driveway:

Our rocks were delivered!  They're not all facing "out" so it's hard to see what they will really look like once they're in place, but I know it's going to be awesome.  Much better than the falling-over, pressure-treated wall of 6x6s. Now we just have to wait some more.  We're expecting a load of gravel any day now, then installation can begin.  

One thing that I'm definitely learning through all of this is that even when you hire the pros, renovations take time.  A LONG TIME.  Hopefully I'll have some finished pictures to share with you soon!