March Madness

The month of March just flew by! For several reasons, but the two main ones being:
1) Schoolwork piled up and,
2) It was crunch time in terms of getting renovations done to qualify for the eco-energy government grants.

Here are some highlights:

We made great progress with insulation, door replacement, and toilet replacement.  This house is now officially insulated! It feels much warmer and cozier, and we hope to see a real change in the heating bills in the future. Although, we got lucky this year, as we didn't have a very cold or long winter.

Living in chaos

Hole-y walls

We were thankful to have good friends to provide their expertise and skills when needed.  Specifically, Ryan Franks was a huge help in installing our new side door. We got the door from Home Depot - a basic steel door with a venting window. We bought one that we could paint ourselves since the difference in cost was about $500! We chose a dark charcoal grey colour that Behr titled "Intellectual".  (Whose job is it to name paint colours anyway?) It is now installed and looks so sharp against the red brick of our house. We just need to do another layer of paint at some point and finish the brick mold around the door (which Andrew has made with the help of his very knowledgeable brother and father).

We got a dual flush toilet from Home Depot as well (we have been keeping that place in business!). It was amazing how it all went down: We were planning on getting a dual flush or low flush toilet to meet the standards for the government and city of Guelph grants, and had accepted that we would likely have to spend around $300 for our toilet of choice.  Andrew called me one afternoon after work saying he was going to go pick up a toilet in Kitchener, and I suggested that he should go to the Home Depot in Guelph instead - in case there were any problems, the return would be easier.  So off he went to Guelph's Home Depot, and low and behold, there happened to be just one dual flush toilet on sale for $150. Andrew inquired as to why this toilet was on sale and the salesperson told him that it had been a top seller the year before and that someone had returned it to the store just recently.  The salesperson didn't know why the store accepted a return for a product they no longer carry (they now carry the updated version), which explained why there was only one and why it was on sale.  The toilet was still brand new, in an unopened box, and we were lucky enough to be the proud new owners later that afternoon.

Thanks to some moral support and guidance over the phone from future brother-in-law Tim Harnack, as well as some hands-on help from the talented Benton Brown, Andrew successfully installed the toilet and we are now enjoying the dual-flush toilet each and every day!

The final audit, done on March 27th, went really well.  Although we don't have the final report just yet, the auditor was really impressed with the immediate results.  He commented that we went from 15 air exchanges an hour to around 5 or 6 - which is a much more ideal number.  He also complimented the beautiful and air-tight attic hatch that Andrew made.  It sounds like we will get the full grants from the government!

Now that our own March Madness is done, we are taking things a little more slowly. Andrew continues to work diligently at finishing up the basement (drywalling, making shelves, dusting, dusting, and more dusting) and I continue to work sporadically diligently at the last of my schoolwork. We are also planning our trip to Europe, which is fast approaching (we leave near the end of April).

If this post were to have an all-encompassing and concluding point, it would be this:
We feel so grateful and blessed to have friends and family who are quick to offer up their skills and expertise with regards to our home renovations.  It has made this process so much easier, we (Andrew) have learned a lot, and we want you to know that we will joyfully repay the many favours in any way possible (food).  Thank you, thank you, thank you.

- a&a