A Different Kind of Labour

On Saturday morning, I woke up at 6 a.m. I hate waking up early on days that I don't have to work. Eventually I got up and got to work putting a 2nd coat of paint on the kitchen wall. But my mind kept wandering to my friend Denise who was labouring away at St. Mike's hospital. Around 9:30 a.m., with a paint roller in my hand, I heard the exciting news from Ally, the labour co-coach, that the baby had finally arrived! William (Liam) Elliott Brodie Brown was born around 6:20 a.m. to proud parents Denise and Ian. Weighing in at 7 lbs and 13 oz, he's a healthy little baby who took his time arriving.

I got to see Liam when he was less than half a day old. I was there for his first bath, first feeding and also took his first movie. I was there to help out but also to get some details to report to the world. After two days of labour, the new family needs a rest and requested no visitors. So, I am very honoured to be the family spokesperson. It is such a joy to be the bearer of such wonderful news. Everybody loves to hear about a new baby.

Child labour -- it is quite something. It is hard to believe that women keep doing it. You see the new mom's in the hospital and they all have that weary look of shock on their faces. I am a proud Aunt, but I am BBC - Barren By Choice. (I must credit my friend Kara for coming up with this term. We're planning to get t-shirts too.) And there are a few BBCers in Denise's circle, which is quite handy, cuz that adds up to more well rested babysitters and errand runners. I've even offered to do light housekeeping. Heck, anything but pushing out one of those kids. Yikes.

I'd like to dedicate this post to Ally, Denise's birthing coach. Denise was fortunate to have her on the team and stood with her thru the days of excruciating labour. Ally likes it when I blog about something beyond my kitchen which I think she finds boring. So now I have little Liam to write about and photograph, which is good, since the kitchen is almost done and Ally loves babies.

Mayhem on Montrose - The Ditch Witch

I think that it is a bad sign to come home from work and find an abandoned trailer loaded with a roll of yellow pipe sitting in front of your house. It makes you wonder what the city is up to now.

Our short time on Montrose has been rife with construction. The day that we moved was the day that they decided to tear up all the pavement and dig around in the sewers or water main. I'm not entirely sure what they were doing, but I did have to pay my movers for an extra hour while they sat at the end of the street watching the construction, since the could not get their truck past the work. The de-pinking of the door and pillars was delayed while waiting for the street to be repaved. Then the day before I left on my canoe trip, they dug an 7' deep hole in my garden, destroying all the back breaking work I'd done cultivating and planting. So you can imagine my worry when I see spray painted lines all over the sidewalks, and now this!

I was shuffling off to work this morning in a near blizzard, listening to the roar of machines in the near distance. There were 8 big trucks parked at the south end, all of them up to different destructive behaviour. One machine was drilling holes in every body's yard and then the guys covered it with a plywood square. Then a backhoe passed by. All this to replace the gas lines, I guess. Right now they are working on the east side of the street, so my tulip bulbs and lilac bush are safe for a few more days, but will they survive this next attack?

I got to the end of the street to see the biggest and meanest looking machine in their crew: the Ditch Witch. I wanted to take a photo, but I was intimidated by the half dozen men standing around it. So I went online and found this image which is even better. What does a construction crew need more than a shapely woman perched on a shovel, flying past an orange moon? Maybe the fellas were staring at me wondering where my shovel/broom was, not because I had a camera. But better than the name and sexy logo is the fact that they offer a platinum card for their customers with 3 months at no interest. I mean, how many people actually buy this equipment?

I am scared of the Ditch Witch and what it might do to my garden. Lord only knows what they are up to right now. All that yellow pipe may be in the ground already. Only time will tell. Let's just hope that their isn't a gas explosion like there was last week up at St. Clair and Mount Pleasant, where a house was destroyed and a woman lost her life. Compared to that, losing a few plants is not really that big of a deal.

Grouting: It is like learning the Cadbury Caramilk secret

I previously looked at tiled surfaces with very little interest. I had no idea what grout was or how it was placed so neatly into the spaces between all the tiles. Was it put on when you install the tiles to keep them evenly spaced, or was it just the extra adhesive stuff that oozes out when placing the tiles? Well, I can tell you that finally learning the grout mystery is akin to learning how Cadbury gets the caramel into the Caramilk bar - enlightening but trival.

My friend the internet taught me how to grout. I purchased the powdered grout and mixed it up in my own kitchen, then spread it on to fill the spaces using a basic tool called the "grout float", which is nothing more than a rectangle with a handle. Then you wipe off the excess with a damp sponge and wait for it to dry. Yes, it is that easy. But, it is time consuming, as my 24 square feet of glass mosaic tile represents 3,456 individual tiles. So we had to smear the grout between all 3,456 tiles and then wipe each one off a few times, to make sure that the grout does not ruin the sparkly appearance. I must say we because Dan got into it pretty heavy with the grout float, ensuing that each and every crevace was filled, giving himself with a nasty blister.

So with that mystery solved, I decided to ask my all-knowing friend the internet what it knows about the Cadbury Caramilk secret. Alas, I found a posting from 1996 with a simple yet cool animation and full explanation that unlocks the mystery, and has a wonderful artist's rendering of a Mikrovert ™ chocolate shell moulding plant. This is all very cool but it would be better if I could do it myself, like grouting. Now since the Cadbury plant is only a few blocks west of us, and our neighbour's son works there, maybe a trip to the factory is not really beyond grasp. But will they let me put the caramel into the chocolate shells myself? Doubtful.

Installing Glass Mosaic Tiles

Step 1: Buy 50 lbs of white thin-set and 9.48 litres of mortar admix, because that is the smallest quantity that you can buy it in. (This will cover 120 square feet - we are covering 24 square feet. I think we'll have a bit left over if anybody needs some!)

Step 2: Measure the amount of powder thin-set that you think you'll need by weighing it on your bathroom scale. (We opted for 10 lbs.)

Step 3: Put on your dust mask, goggles and rubber gloves, pour the toxic liquid admix into the power and stir like mad. Avoid inhaling deeply. (note: goggles provide better protection when they are over your eyes, not your hair!)

Step 4: Using a putty knife, smear the thin-set onto the wall where the first tile should go. Using a v-notched trowel, scrape the thin-set so that it creates ridges.

Step 5: Try to steady your shaking hands while you grasp one of the 12x12 tile sheets (that's 144 little tiny tiles per sheet) and place it on the designated spot. Slide it gently to get it level both horizontally and vertically. Press it down gently so that each little tile makes contact, but not too much so that the thin-set oozes between the tiles. (Thin-set between tiles is bad, because that is where your grout is supposed to go.)

Step 6: Repeat steps 4 and 5 until the surface is covered in tiles. Use tiny plastic spacers in attempt to keep the sheets uniformly spaced and level.

Step 7: Throw out the remaining thin-set before it hardens in your bucket. Wash off your brand new counter top and sink, removing all the stray thin-set, and wash all your trowels and tools.

Step 8: Marvel at how good it all looks while enjoying a victory beer. Worry about the next step, when you have to peel the plastic layer off the surface of the tiles without pulling the tiles off the wall (but do not attempt this for several days, when you believe that the tiles are permanently adhered to the wall). Also worry about the upcoming grouting process.

For detailed instructions, read this website. This is where I learned everything that I know about glass mosaic tiles.

How to Cut Glass Tile

Do you know how to cut glass tiles? Well, neither did I -- until today. In the tile store, they told me that all I needed was a glass cutter, which I have. I figured that it couldn't be that hard, until I was standing there with a ruler and cutter in my hand and an inventory of priceless tiles. Despite my internet research, I had no idea how to get started. After two failed attempts, and a few fruitless phone calls to hardware and tile stores, we hit the road looking for the ultimate tile cutter.

Everyday on my way to work, I pass by a small store on Dundas St. W at Manning Ave. (just west of Bathurst) that does Mirror and Glass. Why not try there? An unassuming storefront full of tacky mirror is just a front for a busy back room, buzzing with activity. A very friendly woman greeted me and then taught me how to use the glass cutter. She took out a scrap of glass and showed me to score and then snap the glass. Humm. It really was as easy as it looked on the internet. But, she took it to the next step by getting me to try it myself. She corrected my technique, showed me again, and then it was my turn again. After four tries, I pulled out one of my coveted mosaic tiles, and she took a try at it. The key to cutting a tile that is smaller than one square inch, is in the pliers. She had these great 1" pliers, which worked perfectly, but she would not part with them. I offered to rent them for the day. I explained that I pass by there every day on my way to work, but she refused to part with her #1 tool at any price. While I already had the exact cutter at home, I thought that for the lesson I should buy something. So, I settled for the glass cutter which set me back a full $3.50.

Armed with my new technique, I returned home ready to cut those glass tiles. Just like she said, I dipped the cutter in vegetable oil and then did a quick firm score, and then snapped the tile with pliers. Much to my surprise - it worked!!!

I spent the rest of the day marking off the horizontal and verticals for the tile sheets, and cutting the tiles for the edges and around the outlets. So, we are ready to go. Tomorrow will be the day - the day that we stick the tiles to the wall. Will it be as low tech and nerve wrecking as the tile cutting?

#1 recommendation: if you need any glass or mirror cut, go to the place on Dundas West. She was very helpful and extremely affordable.

Montrose Ave: The Movie

Do you ever walk down the street and think that you're in a movie? You look around and you find yourself surrounded by characters brimming with life, and you think - hey, isn't that one of the guys from the Soprano's? It's like taking a walk through central casting on MGM's backlot. Or better yet, like being in Nanni Moretti's film, Caro diario. Moretti's movie is a whimsical love letter to Rome, containing three vignettes from his own life. It inspires you to book a flight to Rome, or to try making your own film.

Today it is -15C, so neighbourhood life is stunted to a brief hello when you're out shoveling snow. But I remember back to those warm summer evenings, when the ice cream truck would roll by every night at exactly 5:10 p.m., blaring that ice cream music that delights children, yet gives adults shuddering memories of horror movies. My front porch was like a movie screen, where I could sit back and watch the drama unfold. It is like a drive-in without the car. Neighbours stand at the end of their walkways and chat with one another, or shout take it ease from their front porches to passersby. But since this movie has no subtitles, I'm not really sure what's going on, because all the dialogue is in Italian or Portuguese. So, I just make up my own version of what's going on.

Well, you can only imagine my delight when I recently discovered that there already is a film called Montrose Ave, and it is all about my Montrose Ave. A friend saw a post card for it at a film festival and grabbed one for me. I checked out their website and see that there are two people in my neighbourhood who love the street even more than me. They have created the most charming hommage to the place that they've called home for over nine years. I just love it! The pictures on the website are reminiscent of my front porch summer drive-in. You can visit the Montrose Ave webpage to read all about the film, the filmmakers, and even better, to view a clip. (www.tincanforest.com)

How cool is it when your Money Pit is located in such a great neighbourhood that somebody has gone and made a film about it - a time capsule of the Montrose Ave before full on gentrification takes over. I can't wait to see it.

(Photo Credit: Montrose Avenue ©2006 Pat Shewchuk, Marek Colek)

Is the Kitchen Done Yet?

If I had a glass mosaic tile for each time that I've heard this question, I'd have a complete backsplash by now!

OK. The kitchen no longer looks like this, but it is still far from finished. I have quit running home from work at 5 p.m. to get banging on the floors and walls to get stuff done. Afterall, if you have running water and a stove, do you really care if you have tiles on the backsplash? We now use the kitchen for cooking.

But one of these days we need to do the following:

1. Install the glass mosaic tiles.
2. Grout the tiles.
3. Install the under cabinet lights.
4. Remove or repair the wainscotting.
5. Replace all the trim.
   
6. Paint the whole room.
7. Move the power tools out of the mainfloor bathroom and return the majority of them to Matthew.
8. Plan the kitchen warming party.

Friends, family and loyal readers, the kitchen is still not done. But we already have the tiles, so one of these days, the room will actually get done.

Tiles and Tribulations

It seemed like a good idea to tear down the old backsplash tiles and replace them with new glass mosaic tiles. They do it on TV all the time. How hard could it be?

One month ago, we went to the mecca of tile stores, Olympia Tile, to choose some tiles for our backsplash. We selected some nice glass mosaic tiles at their outlet store at a greatly reduced price. The clerk set us up with the adhesive and grout too. I asked an installation question and she replied – “I don’t know, I’ve never installed tile”. Well, I’ve never given birth, yet I give parenting advice all the time. So, I guess that I should trust her.

Finally it is time to install the tiles. On Saturday, I found this great mosaic site with a photo tutorial, and I studied every word of it. This is how I learned that you should not use mastic adhesive on glass tiles under any circumstances. They even explain the danger of ignoring this advice: mould, discolouration, etc. Well, I don't want that! I looked at the stuff that Olympia sold me, and guess what - it is mastic. Well, maybe this website is over cautious? I know that you can’t trust everything that you read on the Internet. So, I called the store, and they confirmed that indeed I cannot and should not use this product to install glass tiles. Without apology, he repeated that it was the wrong product and that I should exchange it.

We trek all the way up to Lawrence Ave on a snowy Sunday, noticing en route that we were charged for two tubs of mastic, yet only received one. We walk into the showroom, and there is our sales rep, who flatly denies that it is not the wrong adhesive. Her attitude sours, so instead of an exchange, I request a refund, deciding to shop somewhere that the staff has experience installing tile. She made me wait for some other guy, who after a few glances at the crowded showroom, decides that they don’t do refunds on Sundays. That is when I lost it. I had one of those out-of-body experiences when I realized that the shouting person demanding a refund was actually me. Next thing I knew, I had the princely sum of $10.41 in my hand and we were out the door.

While Hardware shopping, we discover that ThinSet with the additive is a whopping $60 and comes in HUGE quantities. But what can we do now? We have the damn tiles, and we need to stick them to the wall somehow, so we lug the powdered thinset and liquid additive to the cash and with the swipe of a plastic card, they are now ours. A few days have passed, and they are still sitting in the same spot on the floor. Now all we need is a big bucket, a mixing paddle and the courage to start cutting those glass tiles. I’ve got to stop over thinking it and just do it.

Don't Give Harper Too Much Credit For the New EcoENERGY Program

I was sitting next to the programmable thermostat in my dining room when I heard the news: the Harper government announced that they were investing $220 million over 4 years to help Canadians retrofit their homes to make them more energy efficient. I am a huge supporter of energy conservation, so I was very happy to hear that they had finally brought back the program that Harper had cancelled on May 12, 2006.

In December 2005, I wrote all about my introduction to the EnerGuide for Houses program. It is a brilliant way to incent people to invest in making their homes more energy efficient. The initial evaluation, partially subsidized by the program, was the biggest education that I've ever had as a homeowner. We learned what improvements would give us the best overall efficiency, so that we wouldn't waste money. Plus, we learned how to do it properly. Needless to say, I was crushed when the Harper team announced the program's demise. I had vowed to write to Stephen Harper and tell him exactly what I thought of his short sighted plan for the environment. But while rushing to get my retrofit work done before the deadline to qualify for the rebate, I realized that of course, they quietly cancelled the program (along with the One Tonne Challenge) so that they could relaunch a similar program and re-brand it with a blue Tory stamp. This way they can have a big press launch and tell everybody what they are doing for the environment. But, they don't tell you that they simply took the program from the Liberals and renamed it.

Yes the EcoENEGY program is very similar to the ENERGuide program, with one major change: they are no longer subsidizing the initial evaluation. I read online that the Tory's are not funding it because it "devoured" the program's budget, since only 30% of people who underwent the initial evaluation went on to apply for the retrofits rebate. I paid $175 for my initial evaluation, which was a very thorough 4 hour consultation with an energy efficiency expert. There is no way that his time is only worth that for four hours! I was happy that the government subsidy for the objective evaluation was subsidized. Had it been $300, I likely would not have done it. And in reality, the $2000 that we spent on insulating our house, and then the $50 final evaluation, will not be covered by the $605 rebate that we will be getting this year. It does not even come close. But it was a good incentive for us to do something about the energy efficiency of our house. Yes, we will save on energy every year which will slowly pay off the investment in the house. But even better, we are saving 1.5 tonnes of green house gas emissions every year by reducing our home's energy consumption. It is a win-win situation.

I am thrilled that the Tory's brought back the program. I'm even happy that it is making the news, because hopefully more people will hear about it as a result and they will jump on the retrofit bandwagon with me. But it annoys me that they have to trash one program and rename it, just to make themselves look good in the eyes of the voters. Imagine the wasted money on administration. They had to fire all the competent people who were running the old EnerGuide program, giving them generous severance packages. And then they had to hire new people who need to be trained to understand all about running such a program. Maybe they are even hiring the same experts back, so those individuals will be paid both the severance plus their new salaries. And I don't even want to get started about all the paper materials that were printed with the EnerGuide name and logo. I received numerous pamphlets and books that explain how homes are heated and insulated, all produced for the EnerGuide program. All the leftovers will be sent to recycling while graphic designers and copy writers will get to work preparing all the printed materials, with the new logos and name. Get those presses rolling. Is this really saving the environment?

All programs are riddled with overhead costs that eat into the program's real goals. I guess that is a fact of life that I need to accept. I just hope that when the Liberals take over from the Tory's next, they don't continue the waste by cancelling and renaming the program again, just so that they can hold a press conference. I really hope that the next government will create and fund a truly unique initiative that they can be proud to call their own. Hopefully Stéphane Dion and his dog Kyoto can come up with a program that justifies the overhead investment and expensive press conferences, and really makes an impact on energy conservation in Canada.

Size Does Matter!

When it comes to simply replacing the doors of your old upper cabinets with some new doors, one size does not fit all. Maybe we should have just painted out the pine strip on the old doors and then rehung them with new handles. I've seen that done on TV. But I thought that it would be easier to get new doors. What I learned is that most people don't want to sell you just doors, or at least that's what an IKEA staffer told me. Their doors are all just slightly off, so we couldn't go with their line. We tried both Rona & Home Depot for the DIY options. I wanted to go with Rona to support the "Made in Canada" option, but unfortunately, they did not make the near-useless 6" base cabinet that we needed. After many trips to measure, I had decided that the HD doors would fit our existing upper cabinets, although I did realize that the round countersunk hinge holes were in a different location from our current doors, so all the hinges would have to be moved. As usual, I figured this was no big deal, and as usual, I was wrong.

At first I planned to reuse the old hinges, but they wouldn't line up with the pre-drilled screw holes on the doors. So, we went to HD on Xmas Eve morning to get a whole bunch of hinges, thinking that they were the exact same ones that came with the Mills Pride cabinets. Bad assumption. They were not. And the new hinges did not line up with the pre-drilled holes either. In fact, they were just millimeters away, so it was very easy for the screw to shift into the neighbouring pre-drilled hole making the hinge crooked! Not fun. So we devised this method with a square and some clamps to keep the hinge square with the door while we drove in the screws. Then we had the same problem with the cabinet side. The new hinge needed to be placed a few inches lower, but one of the holes was only a few millimeters from the old one, so again, same potential for crooked hinges and crooked doors. Sigh.

Like all parts of this kitchen project, once it is complete (see photo on the left) it didn't seem that difficult afterall. With all the cupboard doors on last night, I spent today moving all the dishes and food from the dinig room table into the cupboards - a much less cluttered look. We just have one more upper cabinet to hang but it is a custom job, as we have to cut out a wedge for the heat duct to pass through. That we shall leave for another day. There's been enough swearing for one week!

Open Concept Shelving: You will also note that the centre cupboard does not have a door. This is because the door was 3/16" too wide. HD does not make a door that is 14 1/8" wide, so I'm afraid that we are out of luck. So, until I take that woodoworking class at Central Tech and learn to make my own doors, I guess we'll have to live with this open shelving idea. And if asked, I will explain that it was all a part of the original plan.

Oh yes, and the dishwasher is now working. We did a test cycle tonight and no more drips.

My Current Nemesis

Pictured here on the left is my nemesis. It is the one thing standing between me and a functioning dishwasher. It is a brass elbow fitting and for some reason, it keeps leaking. Curses!!!

I spent most of yesterday on my stomach on the kitchen floor. Installing a dishwasher is not as easy as I thought - which seems to be the same as all the other projects on this kitchen project. I read the installation manual a few times and it seemed pretty straight forward. I installed the electrical supply that the electrician had roughed in. Then I ran the water supply and drain, as per the manual. I tipped the dishwasher onto its back (with the help of Big Bad) and inserted the copper fitting as instructed. Then I spent about an hour trying to fish the electrical supply, water supply and the drain hoses under the dishwasher, and then installing them in a space only 8 inches tall. Trying to get my wrench in there was a challenge. But finally I did achieve the goal and everything looked great. When Dan returned from work, we turned on the hot water and instead of rejoicing, I spent about an hour laying on the floor, watching water drip from this copper fitting. I turned off the water and tightened it some more, but it still leaked. More tightening, more cursing, and more leaking. Argh!!!

It was such a pain getting everything connected that I didn't want to disconnect it all, pull out the dishwasher, put it on its back and try putting the elbow in again. So, I spent another hour laying on the kitchen floor, watching the elbow leak. Then I thought that none of our projects have gone right the first time. It took three tries to get the kitchen sink in properly. The microwave range hood - three attempts too. So maybe the third time is a charm. Should I even bother trying to get it right on the 2nd try?

Finally I admitted defeat, disconnected it all and tipped it on its back. With a clear view of the copper elbow, I could stand above it and really give it hell with my wrench. (Although it deserves more of my aggression.) And in the end, still a tiny bit of moisture is felt on the fitting once it is all back in its tiny opening and reconnected. I admit defeat again. I will deal with it later. For now I will relish the success of having the sink working properly and I'll go make some coffee using the water coming from the new faucet. Hopefully the third time will be a charm in this installation as well.

Who Needs A Plumber?

In October, I took a 9 week plumbing course at Central Tech. Looking back at my blog entry after the class, I see that I barely mentioned the kitchen, except for the installation of a dishwasher. Yet here I am, under the kitchen cabinet, installing the faucets and drain. Good thing that I can fit under there.

Plumbing itself is not necessarily that difficult. Working in a small space with bulky tools, that's often the biggest challenge. How do you get your hands in there? Not to mention firing up the propane torch under your newly installed counter top. Well, I decided to go with compression fittings so I left the torch in the basement, and the counter top is still intact. But I must admit that there was a considerable amount of cursing as Dan can testify.

In the class, our teacher Paul was very encouraging and often told us to just do stuff. I would take him photos of various plumbing questions and he would tell me what parts I needed and an overview of how to do it. We also did two projects: copper soldering and ABS waste plumbing. So I do have about 2 or 3 hours of hands on practice, so why shouldn't I be able to do this project myself? Paul did discourage me from doing the rough in plumbing myself, so I did hire him to do that portion. But the finishing was all up to me.

Yesterday I went to the library en route to Home Hardware. I picked up the Illustrated Guide to Plumbing (which I had previously borrowed for 9 weeks) and then re-read that section for the fifth time. But as my friend Matthew says: the only way to really know how to do something is to try it yourself. So by following the directions in the book and on the various product packages, I put the sink, faucet and drain together. We turned on the water and alas, only a minor leak on the hot water supply. So I got out the wrenches and tightened it up, and no more leak. And better than that - running water in the kitchen. Oh joy. You know, it really is the little things that can give you so much joy.

Countertop Victory

It is safe to say that I've been a bit preoccupied by the kitchen counter top lately. But it is hard to ignore it when it is leaning against the wall in the living room. I can't even watch TV without the damn thing taunting me. The one thing standing in our way was a belt sander. I asked everybody I knew if they had one to lend out, but none materialized. My father had one that he inherited from my Grandmother's boyfriend. Unfortunately it was a table mount one, so not the correct tool for this job. Yesterday I was going to go rent one from Stephenson's Rentall for $35, but thought - why not try the palm sander first? We put the counter top in place and made pencil marks in the places that needed to be sanded, so that the counter top would meet the wall better. I got out the #60 grit sandpaper, and away we go. Alas, it worked just fine. I'm sure that it was more time consuming, but it did the job. It was hours of putting the counter top up, marking, taking it down, sanding and repeat. But, I think that we're finally ready to bolt that sucker down. Just a few more hours with a variety of levels and some shims, and hopefully we'll be done.

But wait. What about the sink? I guess that now is the time to really use that jigsaw that I got for my birthday last year. We got some special laminate blades, and re-read the internet instructions. I traced a practice curve onto a scrap of counter top and got Dan to try his hand with the jigsaw. I figured that I'd get him to do it so that I could take the photos. He did pretty well, so we figured it was time to move on to the big leagues. So, I traced the template for the new single sink on the counter top and then drilled a 3/4" starter hole. I'm sure that the neighbours were happy to hear us firing up the saw at 5 p.m. on New Year's Eve. The photo gives away the ending of my story, but I have to say that Dan did a fab job staying inside the line, and the new sinks fits in perfectly. Now it is my turn to put that plumbing course to use and get us some running water in that kitchen. That and get that dishwasher running. And tile the backsplash, install the under counter lights, install new doors on the cabinets, move the dishes back into the kitchen, and paint the wall. Yeah, I guess that we are not almost done. Oh well, for now I will celebrate the victory that the sink hole was cut out on the last night of 2006. Happy New Year!

Gender Bias at the Hardware Store

The only thing still keeping our new range hood/microwave off the wall is a toggle bolt. I told Dan that I would run to the hardware store to pick one up, because I know that he never will. I can tell that my comment offended him, but it is true. He's not that great at getting hardware. He often comes back from such an errand saying that they didn't have it. When I enquire if he asked the staff if they knew where it was, he says no. Why is it that men can't ask for driving directions and they'll rarely ask for help in the hardware store? Is it a sign of weakness to admit that you don't know where the 1/4" x 4" toggle bolts are? Are you admitting failure when you ask which silicone caulking can be used below 10C? Instead, you save yourself time and often money. If I browse around the store looking for the correct caulking, I end up buying all kinds of extra stuff that I didn't really need. (But I do like that circuit tester I got a few weeks back. It is just like the one home inspectors use!)

Maybe it is easier for women in the hardware store. Maybe the gender bias works in my favour. When I walk into my new favorite Home Hardware, they ask me right away if I need help. Is it assumed that as a woman that I wouldn't know what I'm looking for, or is it because I'm always trying to make eye contact with them, so that they will help me. Or is it that they just want a break from all those contractors? I find that they also share all kinds of useful tips too. Are they as willing to share their knowledge with another man? Does a female customer give them a chance to show off their handyman knowledge?

I have to admit that I do love hardware stores. I particularly like the old ones with a slight musty smell and the warped wooden floor boards and big boxes full of screws that you buy by weight - not an electronic scale, but a gravity scale with the little sliding weights. And I love the smocks that they wear, and how everything is so organized. Bolts, copper pipes, light switches, big spools of chainlink, slug poison - all neatly stacked up to the ceiling. I love it. I can spend hours in there, just looking at all the stuff. But usually I'm in a hurry and want to make sure that I am getting the right thing, so I take their help whenever they offer it. Now I know this is a generalization, but why can't men do that too, rather than coming home claiming that they didn't have it?

I'm starting to get to know all the staff at my fav HH, at least by face anyway. And today, while waiting at the cash, I noticed a poster in the window. Attempting to read it backwards, I slowly figured out what it said: Apply Today. It was a Home Hardware recruiting poster. It showed four different people in those red smocks and with big smiling faces. They ranged in age from 20s to late 60s. There was even a grey haired woman. And then I realized that when I'm supposed to be retired but forced to keep working because I don't have a pension, maybe the Home Hardware would be the perfect place for me. It would keep me out of trouble, and I'd be able to ride my bike to work. Sounds perfect! I worked retail in high school and hated it, but maybe I'll soften to it in my older age. Afterall, by then, the gender bias should be almost completely gone. And I can help young men figure out which silicone caulking would work on day like today, even if they don't have the courage to ask.

All We Want For Christmas...

Installing an over the range microwave/fan seems like it should be easy enough. I read over the instructions twice. I assembled together all the necessary tools. We were ready to go. Over a month ago, I had an electrician run a dedicated wire from the panel to the correct spot in the wall. I bought the necessary supplies at the hardware store and put in the outlet at the correct spot. We cut a hole in the back of the upper cabinet for the outlet. We taped the template to the wall and cabinet to drill holes as described. The harder part is finding studs for the metal bracket to be afixed to. (Is there a stud finder that really works?)

The range hood ships as a top vent, so we had to convert it to back venting. This involved some sort of vent adaptor to be attached with two screws that were not included in the kit. 1:45 p.m. on Christmas Eve, I head out on my bike looking for two #4-10mm screws. We had started our day at Home Depot getting hinges and cupboard doors, and I just didn't want to drive up there again for two tiny screws. Five hardware stores later, I had found the screws -- no charge. (Three stores were closed, one didn't have them.) I picked up some veggies in Kensington market and was home about an hour later, only to discover that they were the WRONG screws. So, we jammed in some that were closer to what we needed, and everything seems fine. But at 4 p.m. we realized that we needed a toggle bolt for the upper cabinet, so we are stuck with the microwave still off the wall, as there wasn't time for another hardware store trip.


For christmas morning, we cleared away most of the power tools to whip up some waffles with fresh strawberries and some coffee. Yum. Sadly, the new dishwasher (pictured here, behind the white chair) is not yet installed, so I had to schlep the dishes downstairs and wash them up in a red plastic bucket. Good exercise, I guess.

Just think how much fun the plumbing for the sink and dishwasher will be, if the microwave is proving to be this much of a challenge. Too bad that Santa doesn't deliver gifts to big kids too.

The House That Christmas Forgot

Unless you consider drywall scraps and old kitchen cupboards as Christmas decorations, then our house is pretty much the only one on the street that has been overlooked by Christmas cheer. Christmas lights illuminate all the walk ways. The city could save some money and turn off the street lights until Jan. 1. Some of our neighbours even have little electronic songs playing at their front doors. I have seen some illuminated snowmen, and even a few polar bears - despite the 11C weather we had last Sunday. Candy canes, Santas, and nativity scenes are also very popular. Our next door neighbours have so many strings of lights that we don't even need to turn on our living room light in the evening. I wonder what the neighbours think of us. "What, you no like Christmas??" It is almost as bad as the time that I was weeding the garden on Easter Sunday.

I thought that I'd seen it all, until I saw this on my bike ride to work. (click on the photo for an enlargement) Only a few houses down is this festive, inflatable merry go-round that actually rotates. Santa, and some cold weather animals (penguin, polar bear, etc.) are spinning around inside their weather protected plastic dome.

I'd like to blame my lack of festive spirit on the renovation, but I cannot. Beyond the Swiss Chalet Festive Special, the holidays are not that special to me. Although, I do love the parties and getting to see all my family. Tonight, Dan & I are going to the Home Depot/Rona/Canadian Tire Super Centre at the Toronto Stockyards where we will pick out each other's Christmas gifts. I am going to get him a stainless steel sink and he's getting me a washerless faucet. So maybe Christmas hasn't forgotten us after all.

Point Counter Point

The countertop has got to be one of the most stressful parts of this kitchen reno, despite my belief that it should be so simple. I keep thinking of the Aldous Huxley novel that I read in high school: Point Counter Point. The intellectual characters in this novel would never worry about something so banal as a countertop. I'm sure that none of them have ever even been in a kitchen, let alone soil their hands doing manual labour. Yet I manage to have long, Huxleyesque conversations with all my friends about this damn countertop, as if we are debating human nature, like the characters in Huxley's novel.

Problem #1: Choice. I can easily become paralyzed by too many options. I spent a lot of time looking at the different surfaces available: granite, marble, engineered stone, etc. I would love to go with the high end stone, but it is at least 4 times the cost of laminate, plus you can't install it yourself. In my urban reality of a small kitchen, I assumed that a new laminate countertop would not be too expensive. I budgeted the $17 per linear foot that the Home Depot quoted me, but alas, I was foiled. That figure does not apply to the corner sink. (Damn the corner sink again!!) The cost doubled because we had to get "flatworks" or else have two seams next to the sink. So now stone is only about 2 or 3 times more expensive, yet still a ton of dough. For me, more options = less decisions. Argh. If I were living back in Huxley's 1920's novel, the choice would have been easy, but not in our modern world.

Problem #2: I decide to keep it simple and just order through the Home Depot. Dan & I made another appointment specifically for this. We were both sick with colds, but kept the appointment, with dreams of a new countertop before 2007. Unfortunately our guy at the HD is not that experienced with quoting countertops - he has never quoted a corner sink. And since it is a Saturday, he can't call the supplier. Nobody else there can give us a quote. We leave defeated again. He promises to call on Tuesday with a price. We never hear from him again. Enter the Internet. A Google search leads me to two companies: Triplast and Norwill. I fax them my sketch with dimensions and they fax me back quotes. Triplast seems very professional and they have the best prices. They tell me that my order must be in by December 1, or we won't get it before their holiday closure. We go to Triplast before work to choose the laminate, place the order and make a deposit. Decision made!

Problem #3: On the way out of Triplast, I ask to confirm the delivery cost. They do not deliver. WHAT?!?! Everybody else that I called delivers for $50. How did I overlook this question on the phone? Triplast usually works with contractors and installers, not the uneducated public. Hence the factory direct prices. They ask who my installer is, and laugh when I tell them that it's me. They can't help me. Finally I get the name of an installer. He agrees to deliver my countertop for $60 (a rip off, but am I going to take time off work and rent a truck?). He tries to talk me out of installing it myself and offers to do it for $200. I decline. I review the installation instructions on the web, reassuring myself that it won't be that bad. Now all that I need is a belt sander.

Problem #4: There are too many types of laminate. I was confident in my decision until my coworkers started to question it. "White shows stains", etc. "Even Dover White", I ask? But that was it. I was doubting our decision. I called Triplast & they had not yet ordered the materials, so I put it on hold. We made a late evening trip to HD to look at the Formica samples one more time. I spend hours talking to friends and getting their opinion on all the samples. The results are inconclusive. In the end, we must decide on our own. On the morning of December 1, the absolute cutoff date, we go with Pionite's Rock Of Ages, despite being a premium laminate and costing $100 more. I know, it is a crazy name and the song is stuck in my head too!

Problem #5: The installer goes to the wrong house. He calls me and it turns out that he's off by 100 in the address. He asks me what to do. It seems obvious to me: drive around the block and come to the correct house. I'm sure that I didn't tell him to go to #26 since I live at #126, yet he is blaming it on me. I remind myself that I must be nice to him or maybe he will scratch my countertop. When he finally arrives, he says: I hope you know what you are doing. If you make a mistake installing, it is a very expensive mistake. Well, at least it is in the correct house. I re-read Rona's website instructions which say: Installing kitchen countertops is quite an easy project for most do-it-yourselfers. Maybe I will write this on the wall for encouragement.

Some friends came by last night and they admired the countertop resting against the wall in the living room. We had lengthy conversations about countertops and backsplash tiles, which from a distance likely sounded like the deep, intellectual debates that Huxley's characters droned on about in Point Counter Point. Can kitchen renovations really be good fodder for fiction? HGTV: what have you done to drama?

Cabinet Maker

By now you must be tired of seeing my kitchen from this angle, but when you live in a narrow house and you don't have a wide angle lens, your options are very limited. But this picture holds the proof that 1) the drywall is finished; 2) the wall is primed; and 3) our first base cabinet has been assembled and installed. That new corner unit will eventually house our new sink. Very exciting.

I feel that there is not that much being done cabinet-wise in this project. We are just changing a few base cabinets, and changing the doors on the uppers. Although, we did have to modify the old pantry cupboard to make it a base with upper, creating an additional 18" of counter space next to the stove. So on the theme of "not much", I decided that we should assemble & install ourselves. As usual, I have seen people do it on TV and I think that I should be able to do it too. I love to read instructions and assemble stuff, so this is actually turning out well. So far. What I did not count on was the leveling. I do have a box of shims, and they are currently one of our fav tools.

While the cabinets are on holiday, all of our dishes and glassware is vacationing in our dining room. It is quite handy because you can select your glass or mug on your way into the kitchen, only to discover that there is no running water in there still. Oh well, it is all part of our Christmas decor: garage sale shiek. You should try it.

And speaking of Christmas: all of these holiday parties are keeping us from making any real progress on this project. But at least the martini glasses are always close at hand.

Kitchen Unplugged

For some reason, the Nirvana unplugged album seems to stick most in my memory, but it seems that every musical performer gets into this style at one point or another. Sadly, Kitchen is not a new band. It is our woeful kitchen. Unplugged for 26 days now. Well, the stove that is. And the sink. And what is a kitchen without running water and the cooking machine? It is just another room. In our case, a room that looks like a tool shed.

Last Saturday, after the sub floor was replaced, Dan was so excited about the return of the stove that he took a pork tenderloin out of the freezer. He did not realize that we needed to finish the drywall first, or else we'd be pulling it out again and again. Tired of the takeout food scene of late, last night he pulled together a gourmet feast of glazed pork tenderloin with green beans - cooked in the toaster over & microwave. The carving was done amongst the tape measures & tools, on top of the new dishwasher box. And since that newest appliance is also still unplugged, I took the dishes into the basement and washed them in the laundry sink. I know that I'm not the first, nor the last to do this, but it still makes me laugh.

I have to say that I'm quite pleased with the drywall project so far. It did take a considerable amount of time for us to do all the cutouts for the plumbing & electrical stuff, but they fit together well in the end. As for the taping & mudding: it wasn't that bad. The green plastic tools that Matthew lent me, along with the tape & mud, plus the instructions that I read on the internet - it all worked fine. Dan did have to make a late night dash to Canadian Tire buy more mud. The biggest surprise was the amount of mud reqired for the job. Maybe I used too much and have a hellish amount of sanding to do. Hopefully not. Tomorrow morning is operation sanding. Can't wait to get that dust all over the house again. But even more exciting is that very soon, our stove will no longer be unplugged. Another leap forward in this crazy project.

Learning How to Install Drywall

When I made my kitchen reno plan, drywalling wasn't even on the list - or the budget. But, when I removed the backsplash tiles, the wall came out in chunks, which I was planning to simply patch. I went to my plumbing class that night, complaining about my predicament and a fellow student said: don't scrape off all that old adhesive. It's not worth it. Just replace the drywall.

Easier said than done. But now is the time to learn how to drywall. My friend Matthew says that the best way to learn something is to do it. He's right.

Another kind classmate at plumbing turned out to be a drywaller, and offered to bring me some scraps from his job site. He followed through and actually delivered them to my house. We kept the drywall screws from the damaged sheets that we took down. And I bought a little drywall handsaw, which was only $4.99 at Home Hardware. Now we are left trying to figure out how to do it. Measure twice, cut once. Instead I measured three times - but it still didn't work out the first time. We tackled the large sheet that goes around all the plumbing pipes first. It was definitely the hardest and made the other rectangular pieces seem easy. But tonight we must cut out the drywall on the exterior wall, replace the perforated vapour barrier and then replace the drywall with a few smooth sheets. (Oh yes, and install the electrical box for the rangehood microwave and move the rangehood vent by 1/4". Installing the bloody rangehood is another adventure that I wasn't expecting!)

Putting up the wallboard is one thing, but what about taping & mudding? People talk about it and I just go along with them, like I know what they are talking about. I've used plyfiller, but not mud. The aforementioned friend Matthew has offered up some leftover tape & mud, so we are doing very well in the material cost of this part of the project. But technique, we're just making that up as we go along. Fortunately, all this drywall will be hidden by new backsplash tiles and cabinets, so it doesn't need to have a perfect finish. I guess that what I should be worrying about more is how to install cabinets and tiles. But, that is a worry for another day.