Getting the basement floor done. Getting closer ... Week #19 Renos

Saturday morning started out sunny. We went into town to the Farmer's Market to get my massage and Ray wanted a new belt. Stopped and Home Depot and picked up some towel racks etc for the new bathroom downstairs as well as the mirror. Heading back home it had clouded up and even sprinkled for a few minutes. What's up with that ... it was supposed to be sunny all day!

This afternoon we are meeting up with some friends at the local Legion for the meat draw. Apparently the membership of this Legion has a lot of middle aged people not just oldsters. lol We shall see.

Ray and I had a great time with Andrew and Mona  for the meat draw. Of course we did not win anything ... neither did they and they had won twice last Saturday! We must have passed on the "no win" part of being with the Kyles lol Most of the crowd was older than us but really friendly. It was nice to meet them. Apparently there was less people there today than last Saturday. At five we all took off and went to Jakes at the Lake for dinner. A great outing but hard on Ray's back. :( Back home for 6:30 pm what a late night. lol Freya happy to see us. Sorry no pictures.

This is a picture I took of Mona and Andrew when they stayed for dinner after painting the basement in December.

Heard from Dave Coulson via email ... the deck crew will be here on Monday to fix the deficiencies on the deck and rock work.  Tomorrow morning, the floor guys should be here to start on the main area of the basement floor to fix it.

Sunday woke up to a very foggy morning. By 9am the fog was drifting in and out as the strength of the sun burned through.

Ken, from Jones Coatings, arrived at 9:10 am or so without his helper Junior.  Jr.is apparently in bed throwing up at home. This flu has been going around so hopefully it passes soon for him. The plan today is Ken will do some concrete grinding to prep the floor where there is still yellow paint Then he will put the first coat of gray sealant on the floor. The "noise" begins again.

Ray took Freya for another walk over to the park. This is his happy place walking amongst the trees, especially when the sun is filtering through.

Lots of sticks for Freya.

I spent the morning making a "turtle tart" for dessert and prepping dinner. Kristi and Jason are coming for dinner after visiting a friend here in Lake Cowichan, so it will be roast beast on the BBQ. I changed up my menu with them coming. lol By the time I was finished it was noon so Ray took me out to Jake's for their Sunday Special "fish and chips" and a beer. 

I can't believe I ate the whole thing! (Ray) As you see we took a table where the sun was shining on us. lol

At 2:30 pm Ken is still painting the floor downstairs. What a job for a guy who is 10 years older than us!  He has the exhaust fan on so there is no smell coming upstairs. It must be pretty bad as I noticed him wearing a respirator. Ray and I were going to have a campfire since it was such a nice day but we cannot get to the axe or fire starter with the floor being painted. lol I tried to have sit down on the deck but you could smell the paint being exhausted and the fire ran out of propane ... so back in the house it is. It was time for Ray to have a "toes up" anyways so he laid down and watched football. 

He has almost finished painting himself out of the room.

Kristi and Jason arrived briefly at 3:30 to drop off their two dogs with us and then went off to visit Robyn and her new baby here in town. I got the beast on the barbecue at 4pm. They were supposed to come back for 5pm

Ray took the dogs out to the back yard for a little play with Freya's stick.

Talk about cutting it close! The kids arrived back at 5:30 and dinner hit the table about 10 minutes later! The beast turned out beautifully. This is one of Jason and Kristi's favourite meals. We had a great visit and they left back to Nanaimo about 7:30 pm. 

We turned off the exhaust fan for the neighbours benefit and a little of the smell came upstairs ... I slept with our bedroom window open all night so I would not smell the paint. Poor Ray froze himself this morning until he got the fireplace fired up. The floor looks great peaking at it through the basement door.

Monday morning was cold and foggy at -1C Burrr. Supposed to be a wonderfully sunny day though. The deck guys are supposed to come back this morning to fix the deficiencies ... we shall see as Ray sent an email to make sure they bring "supplies" as Roger took everything back for a credit.

Ken should be here around 10 to work on the basement floor after he deploys his other staff to their various jobs this morning. Hopefully Jr. is feeling better and can come. Today Ken is putting on another coat of the poly and adding the flakes. 

Jason is coming this morning and we will meet for breakfast at the Country Grocer. Kristi and Jason forgot to bring with them last night, Ray's prescription that had been delivered to Kristi's office, so Jason is bringing to us this morning. That was the original impetus for coming to Lake Cowichan for the visit and manage to see Robyn as well. lol

After breakfast with Jason we headed back home just behind Ken and his worker. They will have to put another coat of the grey on to get the desired thickness before they can put on the flakes apparently. So another smelly day with the exhaust fan on.  They spent some time fixing some bubbles. The floor sure is shiny. Second coat was on and they were done by 1 pm.

Peaking in through the window where the fan is installed.

Here is a look through the patio door.

It's going to look great with the flecks added to the next coat.

We had received an email this morning from David that Chris would be here later as he is working on some stuff for us at the shop and that Derick's rock and deck crew would not be here today as they had to finish another job and would be here tomorrow. Imagine our surprise to find 2 guys here cleaning the concrete! Of course the supplies we need for the deck are not here and supposedly Roger is researching it right now instead of last Thursday and Friday after our meeting. Unbelievable. They may get the rock work done ... who knows. Aghhhhh. Ray called David and he never even read our email that Ray sent to him on Saturday regarding the deficiency list that they had discussed at the meeting here on Wednesday and what we expected to be done. Wow. Roger is apparently making something for the transition to the stairs ... not what Ray wanted. This is not looking to be a great outcome. It ended up that Ray said he would go with whatever they planned as David is warranting all the work.

Take me to my happy place! The lake this morning is absolutely stunning when the fog burned off.

After back and forth stuff with David but who should show up Roger at 11:40 am and of course the deck guys have already left to pick up stuff I think??? Roger took off right after that without talking to Ray as he had asked.  OMG let me pull Ray off the ceiling ,,.

The deck guys came back ... I saw them parked on the side of the road on Point Ideal waiting for what I don't know when I came back from the post office. They came back at noon and began zip cutting and who knows what else. Ray tried to show them what he wanted done and one guy started arguing with Ray and said "I don't know if you're trying to pick a fight with me?" Ray phoned David and he phoned them. Work is being done and everyone is quiet. Ray locked himself in our bedroom to calm down. Hopefully the right thing is being done.

I had some "retail therapy" and ordered the rug for the bedroom downstairs.

More deliveries today, my night tables and dresser as well as the bed frame for downstairs. About 12:30 pm one guy showed up to install the gate. Great news. Did not take him too long to get it in.

While the other guys worked around him

The new post, installed. The railing guy is not happy with the transition between the two railings and is fabricating a cap to match all the other joins in the railing.

About 1pm Chris showed up and put in the new floor transition in the pantry and then went upstairs to install the transitions up there.

Pantry transition, the other one was too short with the new doors.

Kristi's closet

Garrett's closet, beautiful work.

At 2 pm Ray went out with his camera for some "nature therapy" with the dog. The pictures below are of the public boat launch which we use that is just on the other side of the lake ... a little hard to get to the dock from shore.

Photo bomber!

Matt, Derick's the "rock guy" site supervisor, knocked on the front door and apologized for their employee swearing at Ray. He said it was totally unacceptable, well yeah! Anyways he was unaware he would need their tile saw so will be back tomorrow with it to cut some of the tiles that need to be fixed. All the tiles tight up to the house need to be trimmed back for space for water to drain. The rest of his crew (2 guys I think) will continue to get rid of all the tabs sticking up. Matt also said that the rock mortar is fixed. I am having Chris check it out. (It was not done all that well!)

This part was okay.

This certainly does not look much different just more mortar.

They even left the hole that Ray specifically asked to be filled.

Ray checked the deck tiles and they have scraped paint off of our new curb flashing and bent one, and made a mess of the tiles with the angle grinder! I guess that is why Matt is bringing the tile saw tomorrow. Ray sent a photo to David and he replied he will have any metal that is damaged replaced. They have to trim the tiles because there is not space for water to drain as per manufacturer's directions. Poor installation.

The tile has been cut with angle grinder on partially and they have totally dented and scraped of the paint of our brand new aluminum edge caps

Tile only partially cut, what a mess!

Another horrible day with renos! Arguments, yelling, incomplete jobs done, and smells from the basement so we cannot turn on the furnace. Now instead of seeing the "rear end" of these people they are back tomorrow! This is only Monday ... Yikes.

The only upside is that we have the gate installed but the guy is unhappy with the railing transition and is making a piece to bring back to cover it up so the gate installation is also "not quite done"!

The lake is down though so when the rain comes again later this week the lake has room for it. :)

Tuesday ... hopefully a better day. Fortunately with the fireplace on all night the house is warm. It is -4C outside! Last night it rained all night in Quartzsite Arizona and is still raining this morning according to my friend Dianne Colibaba. There is even a "small stream flood advisory"! Saw a posting from Steve later on that the big wash behind them filled suddenly with water and then a short while later diminished to a trickle! 

Well that makes not going to Arizona this winter a little easier to take. According to pictures from friends, the desert is quite green this year with flowers already blooming. The temps have been cooler too. It was like that in 2012/2013, the first year we went south and the next year when we did not get to go due to Ray's surgery it was the hottest. Hopefully next year will be back to normal when we get to go.

Well this morning the saga over the sundeck continues. Ray went out and investigated the supports under the tiles this morning. Our neighbour also carries products like this and he had been over last week.  He told Ray that these long tiles needed to be supported at the ends and in the middle as per the manufacturer's directions. Ray found that the middle supports were cut in half so it supported the joining tile but not the middle of the length! A call was made to Dave Coulson and Dave told Ray that he had talked with Matt, Dericks site supervisor, and that all of the deck tile was to be lifted up and redone so it would be supported properly. Shortly after this call, Matt shows up with a helper to do the work and has no knowledge of this decision! He was just going to fix the edges! More drama!!!! Matt leaves to get more supports in Duncan and then come back. No wonder there were about 12 bags of supports left over on the job. The guy that swore at Ray yesterday is apparently probably going to be fired, as Derick does not tolerate that behaviour. Matt told Ray the guy was somewhat "mouthy" so I guess this was not the first time. All of this and it's not even 9am yet! Matt arrived back at about 10 am ... all of the supports were sent by Roger back to Victoria ... so Matt will have to pick them up tomorrow before returning, so nothing done today. Too bad David did not give him our phone number so he did not have to drive all the way back from Duncan just to tell us that!

Ken and his helper from Jones Coatings arrived at 9:15 or so to apply another coat and flake the floor. Looking forward to seeing the colour. The paint job from yesterday was a "little bubbly" so Ken had his helper lightly sand the whole floor. They did not start to put the paint and flecks down until 12:30 or so in the bathroom. I went down to approve the amount .... I asked for more. Anyways I suggested they use Ray's battery grass seeder for a more even spread of the flakes. They discovered it was much easier. Glad I watched videos. lol Took this picture peeking in from the basement door. Pretty shiny, the pot light reflect off the floor.

When they were finished I went to the outside door and took a picture. The floor looks darker in colour that it actually seems.

Ray headed out to Duncan to do a little shopping ... his "retail therapy" and was back at about 12:45 pm. It was good for him to get out of the house and see some sunshine.

Chris arrived around 12:30 or so and finished putting on all of the door hardware and did some caulking of the baseboards that were replaced during construction. I tried to sit outside on the dock for half hour or so enjoying the sunshine until the wind came up. Pretty cool out there in the slight breeze. Nice to get out for a bit though. Freya sure enjoyed it with me throwing her stick.

Bedrooms completely finished now. 

After the caulking, Chris moved outside to put the "bulkhead" on the stair transition to the tiles so you cannot see underneath the tile. He put some supports under the tile so it cannot tip forward.

Chris headed out about 3:30 pm and won't return now until Monday when he can go on the basement floor to install the kitchen etc.

And that ends our "Tuesday".

Wednesday a balmy -3C. Ray and I have a doctor's appointment in Nanaimo this morning. (Get our Shingles booster shot.)  Told Chris our carpenter yesterday, not to bother coming back until Monday as he cannot access the basement until then. We want to make sure the floor has cured completely this time before anyone goes on it. We plan on putting some old rugs down to put the cabinets on to unpack them to prevent any marks on the new floor.

Well, Ray talked with David this morning and there was a delay on getting the proper supports for the deck so Matt and crew (apparently the guy the swore at Ray as there is nobody else!) will come tomorrow and Mike is expected to say "sorry" to Ray personally. Ken put another coat on the basement floor with more sprinkles and will come back tomorrow for the final coat. Getting there. So tomorrow being Thursday, I am guessing the deck will take time to fix into the weekend. FYI ... the second shingles booster did not hurt going in but both Ray and I have sore arms tonight!

Heard the sound of heavy rain all night but it seemed to taper off by 7 am. Today first thing we took  motorhome back to Revy RV have the hot water tank installed, and a  new awning cover for the large slide. At the same time they are replacing the seal on that slide. They tried to have this done before Christmas, but the technician inadvertently changed out the passenger seal instead of the drivers. Ray told them we will pay for the extra seal just not the labour. We should have it back tonight. There were 2 thefts in the Revy RV lot over Christmas, stealing TV's and batteries and also another break-in January 2nd overnight. Glad we can take our unit home.

Back home for 8:30 waiting for the deck crew to arrive. Ken and Darren came back for another coat of Poly on the floor. He said he would be back tomorrow to check the floor. It might need one more coat .... Wow, the never ending smell of paint. Fortunately the fan dispels most of it.

Matt called Ray at 10:30 to say that the supports were not in and would be expressed from Vancouver today so they would come tomorrow and fix the deck ... another delay. :(

Restoration guys were at our neighbours today removing his gangway for repairs, quite the process.

Back to Revy this afternoon to bring the motorhome back. The propane line was leaking so we had to leave it overnight ... too bad they did not figure this out before we drove into town. Oh well, we would rather they take their time and fix it properly than slap it together so we could take it home, Hopefully it does not get broken into tonight as they had another break-in in their yard last night and a TV was taken. They have the individual and his car on video but the police won't do anything!

Friday. It poured rain all night and was quite windy. My Shingrix shot has made me feel like I have no energy and ache all over so I especially my arm that received the shot.. I was in bed at 8:30 last night. Took some cold and flu medication to ensure a good night's sleep and it worked as I slept well.

Ken arrived at around 10 am. We all decided that the floor is great and does not need another coat of poly. It is a little rough in spots where he added a second spray of the flecks but not really noticeable. Other than a touch up in the bedroom doorway where the masking tape pulled some of the yellow paint off in the doorway that he fixed today. Boy this floor was expensive at the end of the day, but is now done. It is now a go Monday for Chris to start putting the kitchen together, doors hung and the baseboards.

We also received a call from Revy RV this morning ... our motorhome got broken into last night. The thieves broke the passenger side window with a big rock to open the door. They did not take anything that we can tell. They emptied our Big Buddy heater out of it's bag, and placed the bag on the front seat to take their loot. The only thing in it before they were disturbed was the cheap lamp I had on the dash! :)  As they have increased the police patrols in the area we think that they were scared off. They had dumped all the drawers onto the floor ... not that there was much in there at the moment as we have no personal belongings in there at present. They did not take the TV's or batteries.  I think they were looking for a safe with money or jewelry to sell. So now they are taking out that window, sending it Vancouver to be fixed and taping up the side of the coach before Ray drove it home today. Arghhhhhhh. Now they will call us when the window is ready to be re-installed.

Pretty Classy eh!

Matt and crew will start on Sunday to redo the deck tiles... suggested to Mr. Coulson that maybe they should start on Monday so there is a Coulson representative here to oversee this job .... nope he was not interested ... just get the job done. Okay then. In the picture below the left deck tile support is the one they used and had to angle grind the tabs down as they were higher than the tile. The support on the right is the ones they should have used apparently that arrived.

Well this is the end of the week and we have a day off from people here tomorrow. Sunday starts up again with my housecleaner that is having trouble getting staff to fulfill her commitments and deck guys that hopefully will do it right this time.