New Room

... no, this is not THE new room that I've been harping on for 6 months.  This particular room was put up by my new contractor in an afternoon, using left over materials.

I needed it because code requires that I have a fire break between the mechanicals (furnace/hot water tank) and the living area of the house.  Except, I don't want Winter's litter box in the finished part of the house.  I *could* have them finish the new room, and once it's passed inspection then cut a hole in one of the walls or doors so that Winter could get into the unfinished area, but it was suggested to me that if I did that and the house burned down, Insurance would have cause to deny my claim.  The walls that were put in today are walls that I'd planned to do some day anyway, so I decided to get it done now. Better safe than sorry.  When the door is installed tomorrow, I can cut a hole in the wall behind it and then Winter will have free (legal) access to his pooper.

PROGRESS!

Half way there... and other random stuff

Last week, I was in Calgary to work though the third of six courses (exams) I have to take to earn my expert certification in ITIL.    The classes are dry as dirt, but I always come away with ideas for how to improve things at work.  I'm guessing that's the point.   That, and passing the exams to get the certificates.

I won't be going back for any more classes until spring arrives.  The drive to Calgary was awful - again -  with a heat wave rolling in after a big dump of snow.  I had to use my windshield wipers non-stop because of the dirty water spraying off the roads the entire drive, and ran out of wiper fluid about 3/4 of the way there.

Last summer, I had some skin cancer removed.  It's the less-scary variety of skin cancer that should be gone once it is cut out; except that mine keeps growing back.  What was a small mole is now a big scar across my collar bone.  I went to my doctor in December about new spots in the area, and he prescribed a cream to put on them.  Except, the cream costs $300/month.  Yesterday I went back to the doctor to ask for a less expensive option and he scheduled another appointment to do some more cutting Monday morning.   Dang, I have a lot of scars... I guess a few more won't matter.

My dad and I have been scrubbing the heck out of the tile floor in the basement.  We've been pouring vinegar on it, scrubbing the grout with a brush, then using a floor polisher before sucking it up with a wet vac and then rinsing off with water.  We've done this to the area twice... it took three hours both times.  Improvements have been good, but it's not there yet.

Burned Again

I haven't slept since Christmas Eve.  I can't.  I go to bed and stew, wake up multiple times throughout the night and stew, and am up stewing every morning at least an hour before the alarm goes off.

The reason why I am stewing is because of the basement.  On Christmas Eve, I finally received what I'd been asking for since October - a tally of the expenses to date.  I didn't really need that tally, because I had a quote for the entire job.  However, in October one of the subs told me something that made me feel suspicious.

The bill I received for the framing, drywall and electrical (which is still hasn't been fixed) exceeds the entire quote already.  It doesn't include tile, trim or the extensive millwork I was planning.  It also doesn't take into account that the tile is still covered in grout haze, which is curing (getting harder to fix) every day.

And let's remember that the job was supposed to have taken a month to six weeks - five and a half months ago.

Shortly after New Years, I went to see a lawyer to discuss my options.  He confirmed that the quote I was given is legally binding.  His recommendation is to have a trusted contractor come to give me a quote for how much the work that has been done is worth, less the cost of the corrections to the electrical and tile and pay that out.  It may be higher than the original quote, but it is unlikely to be nearly as high as what is being asked now.

I emailed the contractor yesterday to tell him his work at my house is at an end, and that I'd mail him a cheque once I had calculated what I owed.  I honestly don't know if he set out to take advantage of me, or if things just got out of control.  As he is the spouse of a coworker, I am hoping it is the latter.  Either way, he has caused huge problems for me.  Having somebody come in to take over - fix his mistakes - is going to cost a lot more than it would if he'd just done the job right the first time.

A friend's husband is a contractor.  He is one of the three that I interviewed before the job started.   I was leaning towards going with him, in fact; but his quote came in quite a bit higher than this one's.  I realize now it was a more accurate, honest reflection of what the job should cost.   He's on vacation right now, but has agreed to call me when he is back.  At this point, I suspect I'll just hire him to finish the room and get it up to code.  The millwork (the highlight of the room) will probably have to wait until I've recovered from this financial hit.

Whew

A representative came around today to check out the tile with the wrong coloured grout on the newly tiled basement floors.  It's white, and is supposed to be dark brown.  She confirmed that the problem is caused by crystals that are produced when too much water is used to wash the grout off of the tiles after it is applied.  She did a spot check and luckily a diluted acid removed the crystals, leaving the grout in the colour I wanted, so they won't have to rip anything out and replace it.  No word on when they'll be around to do the cleaning, though.

In other news, I was told today that my couch will be arriving ahead of schedule.  It should be here by the end of January... whether the basement will be ready for it remains to be seen.

Mistake

I discovered on Friday that a mistake had been made on the electrical in the basement.  I had asked them to wire two of the  outlets to be on a switch so that my laptop (stored and to be plugged in above a shelf over the desk) and my monitors, (plugged in below the desk) can't drain any power at all while powered off.

I could have continued to use the power bar that I use now, but I would rather not have the clutter around the desk.  On Friday, I discovered that only the outlet above the shelf was put on the switch.  So, now, I have to have the power bar for the monitors AND use the switch to power on/off the laptop.

The alternative would be to have them cut out the drywall and fix the outlets, which then means that the drywall would have to be fixed and repainted as well.  Lord only knows how long this will take.  Considering that all they've accomplished in three months is the framing, electrical and drywall, I don't have high hopes for a quick turn around.

I'm pissed, is about the only was to sum it up.  This six week job really doesn't need any more delays, but it doesn't  make sense to pay extra for something that not only doesn't do what I want, it complicates what I had in the first place.

Let there be Light

Painting is now done, and the electrical was (supposedly) finished up in the basement.  It's progress, but there are a few issues.

There are lots of LED pots, which I am very happy with.

The semi-flush to the left - the one that is not turned on - was a surprise, because when I ordered it, I thought it used normal light bulbs (that I could replace with LEDs)... turns out it only takes teeny tiny Christmas light sized bulbs.  I'll be out tonight looking for LED bulbs that come that small... really won't be happy if I have to end up using incandescents.

And finally, you might notice the lonely pendant light hanging at the back/centre of the room.  There were two of those pendants.  Those were my splurges for the lighting, and were ordered from the US. One has been broken.    I'm awaiting word from the vendor to see if they'll replace it.

This picture isn't hugely important, other than to show you the bank of switches to turn the many lights on and off.  You might notice that none of those switches are dimmers... two are supposed to be.

You might also notice the gaping hole around the electrical panel.  There should be a whole-home surge protector in there, but it was forgotten.  Ditto for the intercom to the front door so that I don't have to run upstairs to tell people No, I don't want to buy their magazine, sponsor their trip to Europe or otherwise give them money I don't have.  I think the surge protector will be installed next week... I suspect I'll give up on the idea of the wired intercom, and may pick up something wireless on my own.

Something else that you don't see are the tv or internet outlets.  Wire was run for those, but a plate was slapped over where the outlets would/should go.  The electricians tell me it's the responsibility of the internet/tv provider to do this.  The internet/tv provider tells me it's the electrician's job.    I'm thinking I'll just avoid the fight and offer to buy beer & pizza for a friend of mine who does networking as a career.

A lady arrived today to measure for the tile installation, but had no idea when the work would actually be done.

At this rate, there's a good chance this 6 week job that started in August might be done before Christmas.  I've decided that'll have to be good enough.

Echo

Something I didn't expect during this construction project is the echos in the house.  Ever since the basement was opened up to the main floor, noises echo throughout.  This is especially bad when the dogs start playing/barking and it sounds like there's a whole dog pack in here.  Suddenly, I'm a single person - very used to peace and quiet - living in a very noisy environment.

When the work is done, there will be a wall of books, rugs on the floor and upholstered furniture to absorb the sound; the echos will be gone.    I want that.

This six week job started in August.  Three months later, it's only half way finished.  I'm impatient for this job to be finished for a whole lot of reasons, but lately the echo is the biggest reason I want this done.

Whew

My built-in vacuum has been broken for about a month.  Although I haven't vacuumed the construction area, that dust is hard to contain and is pretty much all over.  So, when it started to be really quiet and lost suction, I figured the construction dust had done it in.   I tried replacing the filter and a bunch of other things, but had no luck.

So, I rolled up the area rugs and went old school for a few weeks with a dust mop and a broom.  It does the trick, I guess; but just doesn't work nearly as well.  I really didn't (don't) want to have to buy a new vacuum but it was getting to the point that I figured I wouldn't have a choice and was deciding what part of the basement project could be postponed until after the vacuum repair/replacement was paid off.

Then, I had an aha moment while at work Friday, and remembered a connection that had been taken apart a while back to make room for the drywall.  I ran downstairs and checked it out, and sure enough, it hadn't been put back together yet.  I put everything back and tested it out; thank gawd it's working again.

You won't hear me say this often, but what a relief to be able to be able to vacuum again.  The dust bunnies and cat hair tumble weeds had gotten so bad, I was starting to think I was camping.

Moving forward...

The basement is almost ready to paint.  The drywall mudder/taper guy was here every day for two weeks.  The job went slowly for him, as their are lots of angles from the bulkheads, etc, and the mud didn't want to dry.  Finally, he finished on Friday and recommended that I not paint until at least today.

I've vacuumed the room from top to bottom twice, but there is still a layer of dust all over everything.  So, now I am taking a short break between washing the walls and ceiling with a slightly damp cloth.  It's not a lot of fun, this task, but either I have to do it or I have to pay somebody else to do it.  I think I understand now why it costs to much to paint a new room - it's not the actual painting that takes up all your time.  It's the prep work.

In other news, I finally picked out my new sofa for this room.  I wanted a sectional for lounging, and I think leather is the way to go because of the pets (specifically - the white angora cat).  However, I had trouble finding one that wasn't all puffy like its mother had mated with the michelin man.    When I did find one I liked, I could only get it in black or special order it.  So, the order goes in this week and the new sectional should arrive in March.  I hope it's worth the wait.

Finally,  Winter got something new himself last week.  He's been showing a lot of signs of age lately, particularly in his hips.  I don't know that he's in pain all the time, but he's lost the ability to jump very much.  This is a cat who loves to go as high as possible.  I felt bad for him, particularly since I've introduced a puppy that the cat just wants to stay away from.  So, I bought him this little dresser that converts into a mini set of stairs.    

It's beside my bed right now.  Of course, Winter hates it and won't go anywhere near it.  Suddenly, he's making flying leaps onto the bed and sticking his landing every time.  I'll give him some time, though.  Hopefully the catitude will wear off before long.

Redemption... almost

There has been progress in the basement this week, every day.  The corrections I wanted were made, the ceiling was insulated (making it seem almost dead down there, with the lack of sound) and they started putting up the drywall today.

There is a big beam that hangs overhead of where my desk will be.  I don't like it - it blocks the window - but I never considered that it could be removed.  The contractor has also disliked it from day one.  He's complained about it a number of times, but I never expected him to do anything about it.

Yesterday, he surprised me by arriving with both an engineer and the city building inspector to discuss removing the beam.  Much measuring and mumbling occurred, and they left with the general understanding that the beam could go - they'd just need official signoff from the building inspector.  Today, they arrived with cheers of "The Beam is Going to Go!", and I heard sawing and hammering start up right away.  Shortly after that, his phone rang, the hammering stopped and the contractor called me downstairs.   Sadly, the beam has to stay.  The inspector had signed off on the removal of the beam, if the room was 16 ' wide, but they remeasured one last time before they pulled it out and discovered that the room is 18' wide.

There are options to beef up the joists that will mean the beam can come out, but that would cost a lot of money.  Since I was satisfied to keep it a week ago, I decided to keep the money and live with the beam.

Oh well.

This is what the room looked like when they went home today.  Suddenly, it seems a lot smaller, but it'll stretch out once the furniture, etc is in place.

They'll be back tomorrow to finish the drywalling.  Mudding and taping is next week, and then it's over to me to paint before the floor goes in.

Slow progress

I left town last week with a long to-do list for the contractor.  He was quite sure that he could get it all done plus do the drywalling, but I was adamant that drywalling didn't start until I gave the go-head.  It was a wee bit of a battle, as he seemed to think my being away was a good opportunity to motor ahead and that my not letting him drywall was micromanaging.

Unfortunately, my instincts were right.  I came home to see that they'd missed doing about 5 jobs that would have been covered over if they drywalled before I got back, and they'd have had to rip it all out.    There are a few silly things, that I shouldn't have had to add to the list in the first place... making the closet door opening the size of a standard door from the big box stores... moving the vacuum outlet to outside of the closet... And, a few requests that have been long standing but so far unaddressed, like lowering electrical outlets that had stickers on them stating the proper heights (that they vapour barriered over them, stickers and all!!).

So, the contractor and his team will be returning on Monday to do what should have been done long ago, so that we can finally get the place inspected and then close it up.  He and I are going to have a talk soon about lighting a fire under this project.  I am starting to run out of patience, and I want to start seeing workers here every day towards that end.

Some shots of the progress they have made...

This is the before of the stairwell

This is how it looks from the top looking down

And this is how it looks from the bottom looking towards the stairs

(I didn't think to take a before picture from this view)

Sadly, that's it.  There is no other progress to show you.

Looking at it now, I think that nook under the stairs would make a great built-in bench or day bed for reading.  Unfortunately, I need that area for storage.  I can't decide yet how I want it done (cupboards, drawers, or just a door so things can be tossed in), so he'll be drywalling over it for now.

Back at it

Renos on the basement are set to start again, after the city finally deigned to give us the permit.  It was kind of frustrating to have a three week delay over something that had never changed about the house, and shouldn't have been an issue in the first place.  (You have to have windows that are big enough to escape through in basement bedrooms, but we are not building a bedroom.  This will be an office/rec room with two large-ish windows... kind of hard to explain what they were thinking.)  Anyway, we should be back on track again on Monday.

I'll be heading out of town for a bit with Lewis, and Tallulah and Winter will be moving over to my parent's place until I'm back.  Winter tends to get a wee bit curious around the men working, and can get in the way.  I also don't want another repeat of the chalk incident.

Winter walked through and lay down in the middle of a chalk line while they were framing the walls last month.  His feet, tummy and whole back end turned red... rather horrifying for the first few seconds that I saw him, until I realized what must have happened.

Oops - think I posted this before.  Oh well, It's probably worth a re-post

This is what he looked like a week later.

A month later, he is pretty much the same, only maybe a wee bit whiter.  I'm guessing the hair will fall out before he is white again.  Luckily for him, he sheds buckets every day.

Women have paid hundreds for a lasting red hair colour.  If only they knew about red construction chalk.

Christmas in August

I've had three deliveries from couriers today.  It felt like Christmas, with all these packages arriving... except that I had to pay for them all.

One of the packages was my new light fixture, one was the hardware for my secret door (which I really, really hope works) and the other one is an art piece I took something of a chance on.  Even better, each of the packages contained generous lengths of bubble wrap.

I won't go into details, but things have been... hectic at work.  I can use a little bubble wrap therapy.

The light fixture I got was a happy find.  I was looking at quite a few in this style, and they cost $160-200.  This one, which I actually like better than the ones I'd seen earlier, cost $95.

It's actually made of chrome... not sure why it seems so yellow in this picture.

I won't show you the hardware for the door.  I posted a link to it a few posts ago.

The art was a gamble, and to tell you the truth, I think it may have been a miss.  I had a photo printed out on a very large sheet of metal, with the intention of using it to make a cover for the electrical panel.  Although I like the effect (it reflects a tonne of light), I don't love the photo the way I thought I would.  It's cute, but I don't know that I want to look at it every day for years and years.

You really can't tell how much light it reflects from this picture, which is a shame, because that's what I like best.

Oh, and Lewis needs his bangs trimmed... the appointment for his first grooming session has been made.

Regardless of what I think about the photo, I feel like I need to give a shout out to Posterjack.  When I ordered the print, their website said it took an average of 12 days to do them (maybe longer) and then they'd courier it to you so you get it in 3-4 days.  You could pay to have the piece couriered faster, but there's nothing to do to speed up the process of having it made.

I ordered this on Sunday.  On Tuesday (yesterday), I got a message from FedEx, saying that they'd picked up a package for delivery to me.  The FedEx tracking info showed my package as being much, much smaller than the one I ordered, so I emailed Posterjack to ask if they could intercept it before it was shipped across Canada.  Within minutes, they had checked it out, confirmed the right package had been shipped to me, and reassured me that I'd just gotten lucky with a quick turn around.  Then, the package arrived today, before lunch.  This company really knows how to do customer service.  I've actually ordered from them a few times, and I've always been very happy with the work they did.  And no, Posterjack has not sponsored this post in any way.

Construction is on hold for a bit.  Even though there are no bedrooms yet, the city got concerned about egress (means of escape, in the event of a fire) so they are withholding the building permit.  We had to prove that the windows were big enough to escape out of, which they all are, but now it's going to take a week or ten days for them to process the paperwork.  Yahoo.  I'm trying not to get frustrated over the delays.  In the long run, it won't matter.  Whether the basement is built in a month or six months, a few years from now, it'll all be the same.

Undecided

I've pretty much made up my mind about everything for the basement room being built.  I've finalized colours, fixtures, flooring and layout.  What I can't decide about is what to do under the stairs.

I've tried very hard to plan this room (and eventually the entire basement) with storage in mind.  You can't ever have too much storage space.

I've always known that the space under the stairs would be used as a place to store things, but I don't want them to look like angled, under the stair cupboards.  The stairs are closed off on both sides (ie with walls, not railings) so the wall on the other side of the stairs goes from floor to ceiling in the basement.  Any access to the space under the stairs needs to be from the room I'm building, because future plans will have that area blocked off in all other directions.

Options that I've considered for under the stairs are a built in dog nook like this:

I don't know if the dogs would like it, though, since they won't have a whole lot of visibility.  And, as much as I like the gate/door, it seems like it'd get in the way.  (My dogs aren't generally crated, once they grow up and earn free roam of the house.)  Without the gate, this would just be a hole in the wall... without the lights.

More importantly, I want storage cupboards.  Lots of cupboards... except those would be pretty darned deep cupboards (48") and things might get lost in the back.  

I love these, but I'll already have  a 20' wall of bookshelves.  I don't really want to give up any more floor space to bookshelves I don't need.

Eclectic Staircase by Palo Alto Architects & Designers Tali Hardonag Architect

So, I talked to the contractor about something like these, only with fronts that look like cupboard doors and are straight across at the top.  

Something about them doesn't seem right, though.  I'm worried that they'll make my OCD go off the charts if they don't fit perfectly and spaces are visible between them.  Somehow, I'm not entirely convinced that they will look like built-in cupboards.

I've mulled it over.  The contractor has mulled it over.  We haven't come up with a solid conclusion, and we're getting close to crunch time.  

Today, two things occurred to me.  One, that while I may take a time to make up my mind, I generally know when I've found what I want.  I don't feel like I have found it yet.  More importantly, it also occurred to me that I don't have to do anything right now.  I can have him frame that area with the idea that I'll be adding cupboards below down the road, but cover it with drywall for now.  Not all of the basement will be finished right away, so the stairs will be accessible from the other side for a while.

It's kind of a relief, actually, to have one less thing to worry about.

Electrical

No big news or pictures to show any significant difference today, but they worked all day.  Electrical was wired in for the basement.

Mostly, I'm excited about the light fixtures going in.  They took away the junction box/fixture that used to hang at the base of the stairs, and ran the wires to replace it with a couple of pot lights.  Pot lights aren't necessarily very exciting, but these ones are replacing a boob light.    There used to be one of those fixtures in almost every room; but with this change, I am only one away from this house being boob free.

Progress!

The contractor touched base with me yesterday to say that he'd been delayed in finishing up his last job, and was ready to start my basement today.  Once he started, things seemed to go fast.  Framing is up, electrical goes in tomorrow.


Looking at it now, I can see that there's a long ways to go, but I'm still excited about the progress.  The wall to the left of this picture was extended about 6 feet, and then the wall at the end was framed in.  There will be a "piano" window there, like the three on the main floor of the house.  The door opening will hopefully be the secret door we have planned.  Other than the window and door, the rest of that wall will be floor to ceiling bookshelves.

This part is hard to tell, but it's at the base of the stairs.  The stairs basically go down the middle of the basement - we'll be opening up the wall to the right of the stairs quite a bit, and then closing things off on the left to keep the unfinished parts separate from the room we're building.  To the right is a 5' linen closet that is going in.  On the left is a temporary door and wall that will be removed when the basement is finished.

Framing and electrical inspection is in a week or two, when they can be arranged.  Heating will also be updated, to move the registers to the base of the walls instead of the ceilings.    Drywall takes about a week, I'm told and then it's up to me to paint before the tiles go in.

On a different but related note, Winter was curious about the activity in the basement.  The guys hadn't been there 5 minutes when walked past him and did a double take... and then another.   It never occurred to me that they'd be using chalk lines.  It never occurred to them that the cat would check it out so closely.  His feet were died completely red.  His legs, back and tail had a smattering of chalk that I was mostly able to brush away.  The red feet, however, will stay that way for the foreseeable future.  There's no washing that stuff out.

Radio Silence isn't so bad in some ways...

I still haven't heard from the contractor.  Odd, because radio silence was the one thing he promised he wouldn't do to me if I hired him.  Huh.

Oh well, at least there's no deadline for this project, so I guess it doesn't matter when it gets done.  It's hot and humid this week... the kind of hot and humid that makes it hard to sleep... and I keep telling myself that this time next year I'll be able to work and hang out (possibly sleep on a couch) in a nice cool basement.

Also, I'm trying to pick my battles.  If I don't nag about being here all the time, hopefully he'll be more receptive when I go all OCD on him over other things.

I am back to the drawing board with lighting.   I wanted a chandelier in one corner.  I was leaning towards a whimsical, mobile-like fixture that had frosted glass bubbles hanging from it, but couldn't find pendants for above my desk to go with it.  I had a few other chandelier options in mind, but could never seem to find pendants that went with any of them.

Then I found these pendants, and the angels did sing.  They don't go with any of the chandelier options I had in mind, but I've decided that these are the pendants I have to have, so now I need to start over with all the other lights.

One of these will hang on either side of my monitors, over the built-in desk.

(psst, those are loose crystals at the bottom of the glass)

And then, after all that, I realized last week how low the ceilings are.  With all the natural light that shines in there, I never caught on to how low the ceilings are; but for some reason, the boob guy who built this house made the ceilings only 7'9" in the basement.   So chandeliers won't work unless I want to frequently bonk my head.   Like I said before, back to the drawing board.

Tonight, the dogs are taking an unscheduled nap.  In another room.  I can't sit for 5 minutes without jumping up and dealing with one pet or another lately. Tallulah won't stop barking at Lewis.  It's a friendly "we're playing and having so much fun!" bark, but it's been going on for days and she won't stop.  And, she's bloody loud about it too.  If I split them up, I have dogs on either side of whatever door is keeping them apart, scratching and whining to let them play.  If that wasn't enough, Winter is mad at the world, hissing and spitting aggressively at the dogs every chance he gets and needing to be separated.  I know there are all kinds of training tricks to deal with these things, but the truth is I'm tired.  I just want it to stop, without any effort on my part.  

On top of that, the dogs keep wanting to go outside.  They are like bobbsey twins, so wherever one goes, the other follows... but they haven't synchronized their potty schedules, so they're in and out like yoyos.  I'd be OK with them hanging out outside, but there is a pair of gigantic crows that moved in nearby and who keep looking at Lewis like he's lunch.  He's doing so well at his house training, I feel like I have to let him outside when he asks to go out; but the crows mean I have to go with him until he gets a little bigger.  

It look me three hours to watch a 1 hour tv show last night.  So, tonight the dogs are in their crates, Winter is somewhere else - away from the dogs - and I'm giving serious thought to getting a spray collar to see if that will convince Tallulah to play quietly.  

And a scarecrow.  Apparently, I need a scarecrow.

Delays

The basement construction was supposed to start last week, and then it was supposed to start today.  I keep reminding myself that there's no reason it needs to be finished right away, but I am feeling antsy already.

So far, I've purchased a few things in preparation.  LED recessed (pot) lights,  which set me back a pretty penny up front but will hopefully pay themselves off by saving electricity.  I still need a couple of flush-mount light fixtures and a couple of pendants for over the desk area... am struggling with the decision of going whimsical (feminine) or something a little more classic (of course, the classic options I've selected are more expensive).

I'm also trying to decide if I need/want a fireplace.  I can't get a gas or wood fireplace because I've maxed out on allowable natural gas usage in this house, and I don't have room for a real chimney.  I did find a very nice electric fireplace, but I can't quite decide if it's necessary.

The most exciting find/purchase for me (which I suspect makes me an uber geek) has been the hardware for a legitimate secret door.  This will be hidden amongst a wall of bookshelves... I can hardly wait to see it in place.

Am still stewing over colours.  I'd made up my mind a long time ago, but now I'm questioning my earlier decisions.  If I'm smart, I'll stick with the plans.

What's up

In renovation news, although the primary reason why I decided to finish the basement room was to make space for the Boy when he moved in, I've decided to do it anyway without him.   I'm looking forward to having a dedicated place that's larger than a shoebox to work in each day.  The contractor was supposed to start today, but today's a holiday so I wasn't surprised when he was a no-show.  I'm guessing he'll be here tomorrow, or we'll have to have a talk.

These are the before pictures... it's basically an unfinished basement, but I thought it'd be fun to keep a photographic record of the progress.

From the stairwell, the left hand wall and door will be opened up in the foyer.  The floor will be changed out on the basement level of the foyer (the stairs won't change) to match the brown porcelain tiles that will go down throughout the basement... haven't decided what pattern it'll be laid in yet.

This is pretty much half of the basement.  We'll be finishing 2/3 of what you see here.  

A wall will go in at the far end of the little bump out on the right.  That wall will go all the way to the other side of the room on the left, closing it off, and will be floor to ceiling bookshelves.  There will be a window built into that wall, to avoid blocking off all the light that comes from the window at the end.  ... And we're mulling over possibilities for a hidden door amongst the bookshelves for untraditional access to the room behind it (which will be finished at a later date).

The bump out on the right will be my new office area, with a built-in desk and shelves.

This view is from me standing where the wall of bookshelves will be, looking forward.  The bump out/office area is to the left now, stairs to the right.  I am planning a sectional couch in that front area, with the tv on the front wall.  I know what couch I want (a down sectional) but I don't have plans to buy it right away.... maybe in the new year.

In other news, the wee beastie is growing like a weed.  He's trouble and he's bad; but he's all sorts of cute so I suppose I'll keep him.  I like the shaggy look, so I comb him every day, brush his teeth/clean his face most days (to prevent the goopy eyed look he's got in that first picture), and give him a bath every week.  He's *almost* house trained, and he's *almost* leash trained.  He can sit on command, and knows to come to me when I call (but isn't quite 100% reliable yet.)  I've been teaching him to lie down on command, but I've also been teaching him to shake his paw and to imitate a zombie.   He's quick, but not nearly as quick to pick up new commands as Tallulah was.  I think maybe he's getting confused by learning the three new commands at once, so - as cute as the zombie is - we will be focusing on his lying down on command until he masters that and then moving on to the funner tricks.