Continuing the Closet Saga

Work continued this weekend on the closets. All of the drywall is up and the first coat of mud is complete on the new closet. While the new closet is very small at only 33" wide by 61" long, it is filled with seams so the Queen kept quite busy. It will make an awkward closet by the time we are done, but small spaces call for creative solutions. For now the plan is to install the Antonius closet system on the 33" wall (back of the closet) with clothes bars,



and float one or two Billy Bookshelf units on the 61" wall. It will be very tight, but we'll work with the space we have. In the end this will be my closet, and the Queen will get the second much larger closet.



This weekend I focused my attention on completing the wiring in the closets and running electrical for the bathroom. The plumbing rough in is done, and once electrical rough on the wall is done on we can mount the vanity.

Also, we are starting to get bids on having someone finishing the bathroom upstairs. I'm not pleased about having someone else do the job, but work has been crazy lately, leaving us with little time for renovations. We've been plugging away at things but at this pace the house will be done in 2015. Hopefully the bids come in low, as we have done a fair amount of the work already and are willing to help out more as work continues. I'd really like to find someone who is willing to work with us on this in order to contain costs. With the housing market the way it is it just isn't wise to go overboard with home spending.

Happy Birthday to Me

With my birthday coming up next week momz called to let me know a package was waiting for me at the Fed Ex distribution center. She said it required a signature. That's when you know something is good - when it requires a signature. Just like earlier this week when I got a notice that I had certified mail, and I went to the post office to sign it and get handed a $110 fine for the city for junk in my backyard. Well, I guess not all things that require a signature are good.

I went to Fed Ex and there waiting for me was a fancy new speaker system. The Sony HT CT-1000. I have been ogling speaker systems for the past week in search of teh uber system.



Living in a rowhouse with an exposed brick wall 6" behind the couch means surround sound speakers don't work too well. Also, I didn't feel like running wires for a bunch of speakers so a single speaker and sub is really nice. I'd looked at soundbars before so was pretty damn pleased to have the 'rents and g-ma get me one for my b-day. I have it hooked up now and it sounds good, but I need to run the wired through the wall all nice and fancy. I'm a sucker for seamless designs, so I don't want to see any cables. Funny how cables bother me, but the house is still a hovel. Go figure!

Building a Carrie Bradshaw worthy Closet

Since the Queen has moved in she has been constantly sick with wheredoiputmystuffinthisgodforsakentornaparthouse-itis. The whole upstairs is in disarray, so finding room for her stuff has been a wee bit of an issue. In trying to cure her ailment we've destroyed more stuff, namely one of my closets, and are in the process of expanding it so we have two walk-in closets in the master bedroom.



In this picture I am looking to the almighty for help. We need all the help we can get.

iRenovate

Life has been busy the last few weeks. The queen moving in, the new dog, a week vacation at my parents cottage on Lake Huron, and this weekend we are in Chicago for my cousins wedding. It is on Sunday afternoon on a rooftop deck overlooking Wrigley Field. During a Cubs game! It's great to be here in the summer and I look forward to being at the wedding and spending some time with the family. Renovations will resume at the normally slow pace after we return.

P.S. This post is from my new iPhone. It rules.

Meet Wally

After seeing Wall-E we knew that's what his name had to be. He's a five month old rottweiler (with maybe a splash of some other breed too) that we picked up from the SPCA. He is the most chill dog ever and follows the Queen around everywhere. We've already grown quite fond of him.

Ding Dong the Toilet's Gone

The Queen is all moved in. Renovations are nowhere near done. Boxes fill the second bedroom and furniture overflows the house. With things piling up I tackled the project of removing the throne in the basement. A toilet sat in the middle of the room with no walls around it. The plumbing wasn't built into the floor causing the toilet to hover over the rest of the space like a holy throne. While it was a lovely sight to behold, it took up valuable storage space. After 3-4 trips to the hardware store to get the correct plumbing supplies the toilet is gone and the plumbing is all capped off. I'll build some benches in the back and this will be an extra area for storage.

It is so difficult to live in a rowhouse while renovating it. The small space, coupled with an open floorplan mean keeping the place clean and tidy is near impossible. When more than two people are working, it's almost mandatory for people to be in at least two rooms. This means tools, building supplies, and messes are scattered through the house. Also, nobody tells you that when you are doing a DIY project the amount of stuff you have to buy. Not just tools. The house is filled with 3 different kids of drywall, 5 different plywoods/OSB, and a plethora of drywall, painting and miscellaneous building knick knacks. All necessary and all taking up precious space.

Tonight I am picking up even more building supplies - 15'ish sheets of plywood. Joy!

In all honesty, this post was just made to move the last post down the page and out of sight.

Goodbye Loki

Dear Loki,

Thank you for the short time you were with us. We loved the way you spooned with us when we slept, the way you chased the ball in the park, coming home to you after a long day of work, and waking up to your (sometimes annoying) wagging in the morning.

Making the decision to put you down was one of the most difficult decisions we've ever had to make. We tried so hard to work through your issues and wanted to keep you so bad. 99.5% of the time you were the perfect fit for us. We were worried when we saw your aggression towards kids, knowing they must have done something to you before we got you, but we took you to a behaviorist and worked through it. We were worried when you bit my parents puppy, but thought we could work through this too. After you nipped the dog walker, your increasing aggression toward the dog walker, and toward your dog-buddies you walked with we came home dreading the dog walker's note because we didn't want it to say anything bad. We understood you may have to be a sheltered pup, but we accepted that. I wish you hadn't lunged at me the other night. While you didn't break the skin of my neck you scared me. It scared me, but I still really wanted to keep you. The vet and the behaviorist disagreed. I could deal with your issues, but we were afraid that eventually you'd hurt somebody else.

We're so sorry, and we miss you so much. Wish you were here.



-Corey & The Queen

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