Ah, the weekend! Two days away from the daily grind of work. Time to spend with family and friends. As the days grow longer so too does the list of projects to be done around the house: fertilize and cut lawns, clean gutters, and wash windows. These chores are in addition to the regular household chores such as laundry, dishes, and general cleaning. Add to is growing list any renovations or home improvements in progress, and there simply isn’t enough time to do everything that needs to be done. Something’s gotta give….During the last month or so, I have done a lot of nothing. I really have no excuse for this other than family being a bigger priority than the house. One weekend was spent visiting family. Another weekend was spent with family visiting us. And coming up in the next couple months, there will be trips to the zoo, two out-of-town weddings, and a short family vacation.
That is why, on a weekend such as this one, when we have no other plans or obligations, it is so important that I work my butt off to get stuff done.
A decent start
I got an early start Saturday morning. I drilled holes in the stumps of some trees that were cut down three years ago and packed them with salt. By the fall, they should be ready to be taken out with the help of a hatchet and shovel. I was on a roll. Later in the day, I planned to cut the lawns, once the morning dew evaporated. In the meantime I went around the back.
Leftover projects from 2005
It was autumn last year by the time I finished the railing and stairs on the deck last year, and the weather was too cold to apply the water seal. That needs to be done this year, before we get the furniture out. I turned the outside tap on so that I could hose off the deck after sweeping the leaves (it needs to be washed again before it gets sealed). But before I started sweeping the leaves, my daughter came to the patio door. We ended up playing tag on the deck for the next half hour. Then I made an error in judgement and followed her into the house.
The next six hours are a blur
Somehow, I started by sitting on the sofa for a few minutes. At some point, I must have laid down, because six hours later, I was waking up from a deep sleep. I don’t get much sleep during the week, so I kinda needed this nap. It was just bad timing. The sky was now overcast, and it sure looked like rain. It was now five-o’clock and dinner time was approaching. At this point, I wrote off the rest of the day.
The in-laws are coming, the in-laws are coming
My father-in-law is retiring this year. Once he does, my wife’s parents plan to split their time between us and their son’s family who live about nine hours away. We were expecting this….we just weren’t expecting it this year. That puts a real deadline on finishing certain projects quickly, although they did say that they are willing to “camp out” in other rooms of the house for a while, until we finish the basement for them.
Holy crap, this is a long complicated list
So here it is, in all it’s glory, the list of stuff I want to get done in the near future:
1. Finish the workroom and build some closets to organize the stuff that is currently spread around the basement.
2. Gut the basement to the block to allow the heating guy access to all the plumbing for the hydronic heat, which needs to be upgraded.
3. Upgrade the hydronic heat. New plumbing, new rads…
4. Replace the basement window. A lintel needs to be installed over the window. The window is level with the ground now, so we will probably have the masonry built up rather than go through the hassle of digging a window well.
5. Install a bathroom in the basement.
6. Finish the bedrooms upstairs: prime, paint, complete the wiring, patch the subfloor, install flooring, doors, and trim. Whew!
7. Finish the basement rec room (aka the in-law suite): waterproof the walls, install the framing, insulation and vapour barrier, install and finish the drywall, prime and paint, and install the flooring. Keep in mind that I spent five years finishing the basement in our other house…
8. Gut the master bedroom and bathrooms on the main floor. Finish a new bathroom, laundry room and master bedroom.
What do you think? Should only take me a couple of weekends to do all this, eh?
