Knobs, Pulls or Handles

After checking a couple of the local hardware supply stores we settled on a "look" we both liked for the cabinet doors and drawer knobs/pulls/handles (you pick whatever works for you!). I should say that there are a ton of choices out there, and prices range from less than a dollar to more than twenty dollars each. We didn't really like the chrome or brass look of some of them so that narrowed down the selection. We both wanted something that was comfortable to put your fingers around or into. Some of the handles leave a space that is too shallow for the chubby sausages that pass for fingers on my hands to easily slide into. Some have uncomfortable edges that make using them akin to a Chinese finger trap. Anyway, the one we settled on is a dark, hammered pewter look that is very pleasant to touch and looks great, too, at least in our opinion, and that's the one that counts! We chose the same handle for both drawer pulls and door knobs.
They look even better once they are installed on the doors. We can't wait until they are all on as Alex has commented that the "soft-close" drawers are awkward to operate without pulls of some sort in place.

One small step for man...

Kitchen Cabinets

We've had our kitchen cabinets stored in our basement for the last 4 weeks, taking up valuable space and doing nothing to de-clutter the great room and kitchen. We have a variety of cobbled-together tables, stands and counter tops, littered with everything that would normally be inside the kitchen cabinets - pots, pans, dishes, cutlery, food, toaster, and...well you get the idea. We started work on the drywall in the kitchen last week, and although the ceiling still needs doing, we managed to get the walls mudded, sanded and painted with primer-sealer by noon last Saturday. Finally, we could actually put up the cabinets and get rid of some of the mess!
 I had purchased a B&D Crossfire laser level to help me keep everything level and plumb, and it worked great! Marking lines on the wall that I "knew" were level is a huge confidence booster to a first-time cabinet installer. 

As per many of the DIY sites, I started with the upper cabinets, specifically the upper corner cabinet. I worked out from there tackling the 3 boxes that run above the fridge and over to the corner first, and then the long run of cabinets out above the stove and finishing with the wine rack by the window. I had to do a little shimming, but for the most part the walls were plumb and flat.
With the uppers on the wall I could focus on the lower cabinets. Starting again in the corner I followed a similar program working along the walls. The corner base cabinet is a big one with a single bi-fold door that opens to an enormous cavern that fills most of 8 square feet to the left of the stove. It was here that we came across the first "glitch". The stove has to be about 3" off the back wall in order to clear the gas inlet and valve which comes up through the floor. This makes opening that cupboard door a bit of a challenge so we had to move the drawer cabinet (the one directly to the right of the stove) another 3/4" to the right. The bi-fold door now easily clears the side of the stove. 
 Our plumbing vent comes through the wall into the back of the drawer box, so we had to cut an access to that. It is going to be a challenge to turn that 2" pipe 90* and still maintain adequate clearance for the drawers. I managed to place the big "2-door with a drawer" cabinet that opens into the dining room after cutting a hole for the feed to the outside tap, and that's where I ran out of time yesterday. After all, my BC Lions were playing in the Grey Cup (the Canadian Football League championship game) and I couldn't miss that! (BTW, we won the game!)
Today, we are going knob shopping. Carol is going to Ontario for a couple of weeks and her flight leaves tomorrow morning, so if she wants input as to what handles/knobs we're getting, today is it!

Tractor going again

No pics today, but just an update. Our tractor had run out of fuel on the upper part of the driveway and had remained there for a few days while I waited for some warmer weather to "bleed" the air out of the fuel system. It is not a difficult job, but does require "bare hands" to do effectively. Yesterday, was quite warm so we figured this was our chance. We played hooky from work after lunch and zoomed home to try and perform the fiddly task. After getting into my space suit - okay, not really a space suit, but it feels that way, the overalls, heavy jacket, giant sorel -100* boots, elbow length insulated gloves, and touque (sp.?) and/or balaclava make you feel the way the moon astronauts looked on the moon walks - I drove the car down to the stranded tractor and had it running within a couple of minutes. It was almost too easy.
I then proceeded to plow the entire length of the driveway...twice, to ensure as wide a road as possible. The local neighbours tell us that the road width narrows as the winter progresses. The plows experience lots of difficulty moving the big frozen berms that form on both sides of the road from previous plowing sessions, so each time is slightly narrower than the last time, hence starting as wide as possible.
Anyway, this morning we woke to an inch of fresh "heart attack" snow, and drizzling rain. Ahhhhh, winter in Kamloops!

Winter has arrived

We've had a few small dumps of snow over the past couple of weeks, but this weekend marked a shift toward full-blown winter weather. We have 8"-10" of snow on the ground now, and temps dipped to -20*C on Friday night. 

The house looks pretty with its backdrop of fir trees and a blanket of snow below. I've had to put the ladder up outside so I could clear the snow off the solar modules. We found a sort of backwards snow shovel on an 18ft. extendable pole that allows us to clear the lower 4 modules from the deck. I have to be on the ladder to get the upper ones cleaned off.  For the most part, they do stay fairly clear of snow due to the steep 45* angle of the roof. 

We did discover a problem with our new generator. While it does an awesome job charging our enormous battery bank, its automotive-style alternator has failed and is not charging the on-board battery used to start the generator. We have taken to removing the battery after starting the generator and then moving it indoors to a small trickle charger to keep it ready for the next time. 

I managed to run the tractor out of fuel on Friday night, leaving it stranded on the driveway. Of course, after filling it with fresh diesel it needs to have the air bled out of the system, meaning that it will have to wait until the weather warms a few degrees. 

This is Ben's first winter and at first he didn't know what to make of the snow. He didn't want to actually touch it! However, all the good smells are buried under the fluffy white surface and it didn't take him long to get into it, bounding around like a jack rabbit, sticking his nose in the snow every three or four bounces. Now, as soon as we let him out he's off exploring this new, white universe, oblivious to our calls for him to come inside. Well, at least until one or more of his feet get just too cold and he hobbles in and lays close to the fire to warm up. Joey fares better with her thick undercoat and stays out for what seems like a long time - sometimes an hour or more, checking out all the new deer and coyote tracks that criss-cross our property. We sure must have a lot of wildlife because there are tracks everywhere!

We finally got started on the kitchen, installing the framing for the small bulkhead above the stove where all the plumbing from the upstairs bathroom travels down to the basement. We even  managed to get a few sheets of drywall up before running out of light and energy yesterday (Sunday) afternoon. I need to get a few strips of corner bead, more drywall mesh tape, and a proper drywall knife. We are hoping to have the rest of the kitchen drywall up tonight and we can then tape and mud it. Hopefully, within a few days, we can start installing the cabinets!

Tiling the bathroom

OK, we have the insulation (on the top two floors) done. Now we need to finish the tile installation in the main floor bathroom so we can move on to the kitchen.
On Sunday, I had installed a cleat on the wall, exactly 1 tile height above the bathtub. The idea is that you install the cleat perfectly level and then simply lay your first row of tile on the cleat. After you have filled in the rest of the field, you come back and install the bottom row last. I had started the row atop the cleat before realizing that I was going to need 1/8" spacers. I thought I could do it by eye, but it was more difficult than I thought.
Carol picked up the spacers on Monday and we left work early so I  could take advantage of the light. As you can tell by the pictures, I managed to get quite a lot done in the 2 hours before darkness put an end to it. We chose ceramic tiles and a marble mosaic for the accent, in colours that best matched our vanity sink top. Now that it's on the wall, we're both very pleased with how it looks. There is probably 5 hours of tilesetting left before we get to grouting the whole thing to make the shower usable. That will cut down on the trips to the local pool to use the showers there!
We have been exposed to some winter weather lately, with a few cm's of snow on the ground at the house. The PV modules are completely white with snow and frost so I will have to go up and sweep them off if they don't get lose their wintery patina over the next few days. Up 'til now, we have been doing pretty well with power generation and haven't really needed to supplement the solar power with our diesel generator.

With the snow, I have another couple of jobs to add to the pile - secure tarps to protect the spare dimensional lumber and the skids of Certainteed siding, and insulate and protect to the top of our water well to keep it from freezing. We don't want to be hauling water during the cold winter months!
I had to include a pic of the two dogs. Because we have all our food in boxes on the floor, Joey had taken to eating anything she could get at while we were at the office and she was home alone. We have been putting her in Ben's crate during the day while we struggle to get the kitchen cupboards installed. She goes in quite happily as we give her a dog cookie, so Ben has taken to joining her in the mornings on the off-chance that he might get a cookie too!