Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Looming potential to screw-up our home

[Steven's first visit]

Some people might look at the picture above of our beautifully drywalled interior and see a blank canvas - a metaphor for endless possiblities an allegory for new beginnings...or maybe that's just me.

On Friday, Brendon and I will be given the keys to our home and with that the green light to 'create' our living space. I've had many dreams about this day and have excitedly looked forward to learning (with Brendon) how to install floors, match paint colours, tile a bathroom, source kitchen cabinets and find green products. But more recently I've been having nightmares about it. Last night I dreamed that a Peruvian supermodel was trying to kill me. She was chasing me from island to island in a world that closely resembled a cross between the board game Settlers of Catan and the set of Lost. Now I won't begin to attempt analysis of what this means but I do know that part of my stress is that Brendon and I aren't what you might call handy. Artsy - yes. Creative - for sure. But technically adept and knowledgeable in home renos we are not.


Now don't get me wrong. We've done a lot of research and we can fake our way through a conversation, but the truth is that 90% of what we'll be doing over the next two months we have never done before. From now until mid-March Brendon and I will be tackling the following:
1. Installation of hardwood flooring
2. Tiling the bathroom and sourcing the vanity.
3. Sourcing and installing kitchen cabinets, countertops and appliances.
4. Painting all of the interior walls and ceilings.
5. Putting casing around all of the windows and doors.
6. Buying lighting fixtures



We are inheriting a shell that has been drywalled and wired. We're also starting out with words of encouragement and support from the team at Smallworks. To stave off future dreams with latin assasins, the next thing we have to do is to reach out to people like you for help. Do you love home renos? Are you experienced in handy home projects? Have you been itching to get involved? We are recruiting helpers of all kinds and if you can spare a day or two we would be eternally grateful. If you want to help us NOT screw-up our home send us an email or post a comment letting us know what you'd like to do.

3 comments:

  1. HI, i know you can do it...as you both have paths that show that. Gidu and baba built their own house in 1955 and it still stands strong in northern Saskatchewan. your Uncle Len is a wealth of information and your own dad has 'best practices' on hard wood floors which are beautiful in our house. Aunt Gayle is presently designing their kitchen and has the latest on more than you need to know. stand on these shoulders and others and the house will discover itself.

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  3. I was testing system earlier so now I get it. My recommendation is for you to find that skilled man or woman who can train you on the tasks that need doing so the house is beautifully finished. I would not suggest trial and error as you will want to get it right the first time.

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