Well, a hole in the ground

Now normally I would never be one to be anything but thrilled with a long weekend, but this Victoria Day weekend was a bit painful.  Sure, the weather was OK.  We did some fun family stuff and relaxed, but the whole time something was eating at me.  We had a huge hole in the backyard and I was impatiently waiting for something to appear in that hole.

I got my wish today when the foundation company showed up and got to work.

They had to pump out the water that had made its way into the hole first, but now we have footings.

  Our project manager was on site this afternoon and told me now the concrete will have to cure for a few days.  You can guess what that means...another weekend of waiting.

No going back now!!!

It is tempting to just put in a swimming pool in this giant hole in our backyard, especially as the days get warmer.  You may have noticed that in the last post from about a month ago, I felt that we might be getting a permit any day and the digging was soon to begin.  Well, the digging finally started yesterday.  

Patience is a virtue, and certainly one needed when entering into a major renovation.  Permits were held up, at least two different permits were submitted to the city for our project (we were hoping to use a new product but the city wasn't sure what to do with it...) and we waited. We are just accepting that we have little control at this point.  The city, weather, manufacturers, sub-contractors...  Any of these can disrupt our schedule.  

The permit is posted, we are official and there is no going back now!

Our neighbours are being very supportive and understanding as the big trucks arrive on the street around 7 AM and start the noisy process of digging up our backyard and driveway.  We are so fortunate to have such a wonderful community, the main reason why we are renovating and not moving. A friend of mine suggested that I start baking regularly to keep my neighbours happy.  So street, what should I start with:  muffins or chocolate chip cookies? 

Hard to believe

Post from April 23- forgot to post it then.

I am channeling all of my positive energy into believing that a big digger will arrive in my backyard sometime next week.  The deck is now gone revealing all the stuff we had stashed underneath over the past 11 years :)

This space should be a hole in about a week with any luck, and then a foundation and so on...  It was over a year ago when we started meetings to determine the direction for the renovation-addition.  I don't want to count the hours of meetings, discussions, magazine cutting and packing we have done in that year.  Nor do I want to count the white hairs that have ensued.  

It is weird that we have done so much work for what will be going into a renovated home when we don't have the permit yet.  (Keep your fingers crossed - we should see it this week!)  We picked plumbing fixtures and appliances, worked with a designer on the kitchen layout, did some initial shopping for goodies to fill the place.  All fun!  Tile shopping this past weekend provided the toughest choices to date.  When I mentioned this to people they all nodded - yes, picking tiles was the hardest part!  So many gorgeous choices and huge range of prices!!!  We have picked tiles for the main bath and the kitchen back splash but are still working on the look for the entry and mudroom and the master bath.  


Here is one of the drawings to look at to show you what many of hours of meeting time have resulted in. More to follow.