In my defense though we were away for two weeks in March on our annual pilgrimage to the sunshine state of Florida. Boy McG and I really love it there. It was cooler this year than it has been in the past, but we still manage to soak up every bit of sun we could. Poolside is where we stayed the majority of everyday.
We had hoped to bring the sun and warm temperatures back home with us, but alas, that was not the case. We actually had snow here earlier this week...and if you can believe it, Thursday night we had a small earthquake that registered 3.6 on the scale. It didn't last long, but let me tell you the china shook in the cabinet when it happened.
That's not something that happens around here. But the weather really does seem to be changing here. Last year at this time, the magnolia tree in the front was in full bloom. This year the buds aren't anywhere near opening. In fact, I'm pretty sure they won't even flower because we had an ice storm last weekend. If they do open I will really be surprised.
Here's what it looked like last year on this day (you gotta love Facebook for sending you reminders...)
And here's what it looks like now...
The sun is out today and it's finally made it into the 50's today. Spring is definitely late around here!
As for the family room, this is pretty much the state right now. Flooring is next up on the to-do list.
This week we installed the 68 inch ceiling fan that we bought in Florida last March when we were there. It's been sitting in the spare bedroom waiting for this project to come up on the list!
Last weekend we purchased the flooring for the family room at our local Home Depot. We had $200 in gift cards that we used to help offset the cost of this. We decided to go with tile from the back door to the stairs leading to the kitchen and laminate for the rest of the room.
They were having their spring Black Friday sale last weekend. We purchased this 12mm laminate with attached foam back for just $1.37 per square foot. A STEAL of a DEAL!!
We bought it in "Sanded Oak" which is a greyed brown. The planks are 6 inches wide and it comes with a 35 year residential warranty and a 5 year for heavy commercial so we are thinking it will be more than able to stand up to the wear and tear.
McG pulled up all the carpet and backer this week and also removed the hardwood flooring that was laid from the back door to the stairs. Our decision for taking this out was purely for water reasons. We use this entry quite often in the winter and it was hard to keep the snow and water off the floor. We also have a pool and we use this entry for coming in after a swim. We both felt that tile here was the best option. It also allowed us to put laminate into the rest of the room, since we didn't feel that the transition from hardwood to laminate was the best choice and we didn't want hardwood in this room.
So far we have completed the following projects in this room.
* pulled out the brick from behind the fireplace
* pulled down the existing panelling and took out the old insulation and installed new, higher R value
insulation
* installed new electrical outlets and switches, along with adding 5 new pot lights to the ceiling and
upgrading 3 pot lights that were already in the room
* added vapour barrier and new drywall to the room
* spray painted the fireplace with high heat BBQ paint in flat black
* took the old insulation and added to the attic insulation above this room
* sanded and painted the drywall and painted the ceiling as well
Next up on the list is:
* Removing all the nails and staples from the sub floor
* Screwing down the sub floor to help re-inforce it (it was originally only nailed down)
* Adding a waterproof membrane from the door to the stairs
* Tiling that section
* Installing the laminate flooring and adding a transition piece from the tile to the laminate
* painting and installing the crown molding, window trim, and baseboards
* Adding ship lap to the walls around the closets
This really has been our largest project to do and we are hoping to have it finished up in the next few weeks. Stay tuned for more progress!!
Cheryl
