Don Genova's Blog

Dear Mike, our kitchen and bath reno is starting to look more and more like an episode of Holmes on Holmes.  Every time another step forward is taken, there is a little discovery that adds to the time taken to do the job, and usually more time = more money.  After having the insulation sucked out of the attic to make it easier for the electrician and the carpenters to run new wiring and construct new walls, I thought they were just going to take down the ceiling in the kitchen and put a new layer of wallboard to cover the stippled ceiling in the dining area.

Imagine our surprise when we returned home from Drum Roasting and shopping to discover the entire ceiling in the kitchen and dining and bath and hallway had been ‘disappeared’. (top photo)  But for good reason.  The ventilation in the attic is so poor that the plywood panels in the roof are getting moldy.  On the left is a panel that is in good shape.  That’s what the wood is supposed to look like.

This photo shows board that has been growing mold.  It has turned black with the stuff.  This weekend the wood is getting a chance to dry out, but when the guys arrive on Monday we are going to ask about whether the wood needs to be treated at all to get rid of the stuff or whether proper ventilation will take care of it.  The crew will be cutting new vents into the soffits, installing baffles that will help air move from the soffits to the roof vents, and eventually new insulation will be blown in.  Monday is shaping up to be a big day, with the electrician scheduled to rough in all the new wiring and the gas fitter arriving to rough in the pipes from our new propane tank and the barbecue.

In the meantime here is a shot of the new bathtub, and our reward when all of this is over will be to sit in the tub, lounging away in hot water with a view of our backyard forest out of our new, enlarged window.  Here’s a minute-long video of the latest destruction…enjoy!

Dear Mike…I like it how on your show you diagnose the problem, bring in your crew, gut, renovate and finish, all in one hour.  I should realize, having done some television production myself, that an hour-long reno on TV can stretch over weeks or even months, and that the construction site isn’t a beehive of activity 24/7.

The demolition is just about to morph into the renovation.  But today seems to be a day off for our project.  One guy showed up early this morning just to clean up a bit of the mess left by the insulation guys yesterday.  Nothing else has been happening so far and it’s 2pm.

Apparently there are just four companies on all of Vancouver Island that will come to your house and suck out all the old insulation that has been blown into your attic.  Here they are getting ready with their machine, they ran the hose through the now non-existent living room window and then up to an opening Gerry and Jesse cut through in the indoor gable end of our vaulted extension.  Apparently they were in there for 4 hours sucking out the stuff.  I wouldn’t know.  I had work to do and I knew it was going to be noisy so I went to my favourite little cafe down the road.

When I returned later in the afternoon the vacuum guys had left behind some of what wouldn’t fit in their van, three bags full of insulation.  They were supposed to come and pick it up today, but no sign of them yet.  Oh, and the plumbers were also here in my absence, and roughed in the water supply, drains and venting for the kitchen and bathroom.  The new bathtub has arrived and is in the bathroom, but there is cutting to be done to fit it in and we have a slight controversy on the go regarding the placement of the new window of the bathroom.  More on that later…once it gets resolved.
Wishful thinking?  Who knows…but in the midst of all the demolition I take comfort in the fact that our Romnyea, or ‘fried egg flower plant’ has blossomed.  Here’s a close-up of one of the blooms, which is about 6 inches across.  Tell me again how I need to be patient, Mike?

Dear Mike;  I don’t want to say that this kitchen and bath reno is going to proceed at a snail’s pace, but the term ‘Slow Food’ does come to mind when I think about when the project will be completed.

That’s not to say that there hasn’t been progress.  On Saturday morning, while we were out shopping, a crew came by and finished ripping out the walls of both the kitchen and the bathroom, leaving behind the toilet, the stove, and quite ironically I think, the kitchen sink!  They also taped up the doors to the two bedrooms upstairs with plastic so dust will not infiltrate those rooms as drywall is being taped and sanded.

The waiting game comes with problems in the attic. (entrance pictured at left)  There is blown insulation in the attic, which needs to come out because we are having so many new lights put into the ceiling and they can’t work around the insulation.   There also wasn’t enough of the stuff to begin with to do any good at preventing heat loss, and there also isn’t enough ventilation, which allows moist air to be trapped and eventually cause mold. So…some guys are coming next week(Wed. or Thursday we hope) with some sort of giant vacuum cleaner to suck out the insulation.
I get the feeling not much else is going to get down until that next step. Patience, patience.  Here’s a video walk-through of the latest destruction:

Dear Mike:  Take a good look at this.  It’s the last existing photo of the kitchen in its ‘before’ stage.   The demolition started in earnest yesterday….with Gerry and Jesse knocking down the wall, electricians Rod and Cal removing all the light fixtures, heaters and outlets and shutting down various circuits.  I haven’t mentioned how our cats, Mugsy and Nebbia, are handling this.  I’m keeping them inside, downstairs, while the workers are here.  They’ve been spending time sleeping. Mugsy hiding when someone comes down here, Nebbia trying to make friends as usual.

When I drove down to Victoria yesterday for a dentist appointment, I also purchased a new toy…a little video camera called a Flip Video Ultra. This is a very simple camera that is basically a point-and-shoot, with built-in editing software and an easy way to share the video online through YouTube, email, or even a greeting card.  The photo you see on the left is actually a snapshot from the first video I shot with the Flip. Not bad, eh? Very easy to use…you don’t even need a cable to connect to your computer, a USB connector ‘flips’ out of the camera and you just stick it in a free port.

No Cappuccino? When I returned home from Victoria, the guys had left for the day and I discovered that all the power to the outlets and lighting in our makeshift kitchen and the guest bedroom where we have taken up residence had been cut off.  That includes power to the espresso machine!!!  I made tea for this morning, but when Gerry arrived I told him what was going on and he dialed Rod who came over and was able to restore most of the power I need.  Thank you Rod!  I will be running an extension cord into the bedroom so we can power our bedside lamps.  Oh, and here is the Flip Video of Kitchen Demolition Day One, a less-than-one-minute snap of the work so far.