Skip to content
The beaver is a proud and noble animal

The beaver is a proud and noble animal

Notes from a bemused canuck

  • Home
  • About
  • Bookmarks
  • Pictures
  • Resume
  • Wine
  • Random Recipe
  • Toggle search form

Tag: house

DIY – Day 2 (a.k.a God, I ache all over!)

Posted on March 3, 2006 By admin 3 Comments on DIY – Day 2 (a.k.a God, I ache all over!)

We're dead on our feet. The enormity of the scope of the job we've taken on is starting to sink in. Thinking that we could ompletely repaint a 2-story 3 bedroom house in 3 days is hubris. Our schedule was particularly blown out of the water today because we realized that we'd need to give 2 coats of paint to most of the surfaces. What's not helping also is that we were supposed to have another pair of hands to help out, which has subsequently fallen off the map rather suddenly.

The house is also making its displeasure felt at being given a facelift. As I was masking walls to prep them for paint, I needed to reposition a length of tape – only to be faced with a long line of paint being stripped off the ceiling when I took it off. The paint is so old and so layered that it's falling off in chunks if you pull at it. I ended up having to cut in by hand, without taping. Results are mostly good, except for the odd oopsie that I'll need to correct. As a side note, the oopsies mostly happened at the end of the day when we both were tired, hungry and rather fed up :)

Anyway, at the end of today, we can say that the living room is done and sparkling, and we have two coats of the light shade we're putting in the bedroom and guest bedroom. What's on the menu for tomorrow is:

– putting two coats of light color in the office (2 walls)
– fixing the ceiling oopsies in all the rooms
– putting two coats of dark (1 wall)
– putting two coats of dark color in the office (2 walls)
– putting two coats of single color in the kitchen

The bathroom and the trim/baseboards have been pushed off the schedule for now, because they can be done after we've moved in with a minimum of fuss.

A long, warm shower is now called for to get rid of all the paint that has managed to make its way in the various nooks and crannies of my body.

uncategorized

DIY – Day 1

Posted on March 2, 2006 By admin 4 Comments on DIY – Day 1

We have the keys, huzzah! huzzah!

Got up this morning and loaded up the car with the paints, brushes, supplies, vacuum and stereo and headed to Hinxton. We stopped by the office to photocopy some paperwork and met the agent at the house. I signed my soul away (or so it seems, that rental agreement was chock full of legalese. For all I know, I'm now Bill Gate's towel boy…) and got the keys.

The agent took an inventory and we'll be getting a copy of that shortly. The good news now though is that we can now start to paint. It's going to be a tight schedule. We need to sand, prep and paint rooms in 3 days. We got all the ceilings done today and we're going to start on the walls tomorrow. Finally, the plan is to do the trim work on friday and move on saturday (assuming that we're still alive and have more than an iota of energy).

I don't know what kind of people had the house before us, but dayum, they left it in a state. Nails and screws in the walls, when not actual holes. The place will really benefit from a slap of paint. The bedroom ceiling itself was the most in need of help.

For a while there, I thought I was back in Montreal. Untold generations of paint overlaid on top of each other until the windows won't even open anymore and a half-assed job all around. Gave me a warm feeling in the bottom of my heart.

We're back home now, complaining about our jackasses of neighbours and libreally speckled in paint and covered in dust. Going to be an early night tonight.

uncategorized

YASP

Posted on February 27, 2006September 5, 2008 By admin 7 Comments on YASP

Sunday saw us going to Comet/Curries/Argos to get a washing machine and a vacuum. After much faffing around, we selected a Hotpoint washer-dryer unit that will be delivered to the new house this friday and a Hoover vacuum with more certifications and acronyms than you can shake a fist at. We chose it because it's red and can handle pet hair. Hopefully, it won't choke with Katy hair, but we'll have to test that.

We were welcome home with noise from upstairs. Joy. I can't wait to be rid of those people. The agency notified us of another visit tomorrow. I hope they're not frightened off by the massive amount of boxes that are slowly taking over the flat.

I'm confirming the people from work who are going to be helping us this weekend, and I think I might have sold the TV. More details to come during the week.

Oh, as a side note, I'm still hurting from that workout last thursday. I'm going to give it another go today to see if I can't shake the last of the stiffness muscles with a fresh dose of pain.

†Yet Another Shopping Spree

uncategorized

Ikea shopping spree

Posted on February 25, 2006 By admin 2 Comments on Ikea shopping spree

My Ikea jones is satisfied for the next little while. We got all what we wanted, plus some unexpected stuff (as this is a trip to Ikea after all), for what'd we'd allocated money-wise. Also, shockingly, all the items we wanted were in stock in the self-serve aisles. That's never happened to me before.

For the kitchen, we got:
LEKSVIK Gateleg table and some cheap folding chairs until we have a bit more money to get some nicer ones. We did get some cool cushions to put on them though. I also bought a magnet board where I'll be able to put most of my collection on. As per the tradition, I also bought some cooking utensils – a pierced ladle that I can use to deep-fry things.

For the living room, we got:
EKTORP Three-seat sofa (in white) as well as a nice multi-toned beige rug and a really nice tryptich of a landscape printed on canvases. It's really pretty.

For the master bedroom, we got:
LEKSVIK Chest of drawers with 4 drawers for my clothes.
LEKSVIK Wardrobe with 3 doors for Katy's clothes, with extra storage for towels and bedding.
ASPELUND Bedside table as cheap and nasty bedside tables.

Choosing the bedroom furniture was the worst of all, because the chest of drawers I originally wanted wouldn't have fit in the place we wanted to put it, and then neither of the original two choices for the wardrobe ended up being suitable. In the end, we found an acceptable compromise with the LEKSVIK furniture.

We also bought a nice duvet cover that'll match the paint scheme and feels really, really nice, as well as some plain white muslin drapes. I'll need to measure up a proper curtain rod but that's no biggie.

For the office, we got:
MIKAEL Corner work station (in birch) which will really help with the organization of the loose paperwork and bills :)

All in all, it came to just over £1000, which is what we'd budgeted. When we have a bit more cash to spend, we're going to get a shelving unit for the kitchen (GORM) and see if we can get a storage chest for the bedroom, as well as another bookshelf (either the second bedroom or the office – probably NORREBO).

uncategorized

Houston, we are go for paint!

Posted on February 24, 2006 By admin 2 Comments on Houston, we are go for paint!

As you are aware, the property is part of the Wellcome Trust's Hinxton Estate. It is usually the case that all properties under my client's ownership (not just those in Hinxton) are painted internally in Gardenia, with white on the doorframes/windows etc. However, following your submission of paint samples, I am satisfied that the proposed works are in keeping with the character of the property.

We how have the blessing of the estate agent to start the painting as soon as we have the keys. Happy dance!

If you're curious, you can take a look at our colour palette.

uncategorized

Housing situation update

Posted on February 22, 2006 By admin 2 Comments on Housing situation update


Click on the picture to see a bigger one.
You'll see just how close the new flat is to work.

Things are finally settling down for the house. I've contacted the agent and we'll be allowed to install a Sky dish provided we take it down and plug up the connection holes if the landlord doesn't want it there after we leave. Normally, we'd be asked to give a bigger deposit but since we've already done so because we want a cat, that's ok.

To date, I've already :

  • contacted BT to get a new phone line
  • scheduled the Sky installation
  • updated my insurance policy
  • informed Cambridge City Council (for tax)
  • informed Cambridge water

I still need to :

  • inform Natwest
  • inform National Geographic
  • setup a mail forward from Royal Mail
  • update my mail forward from Canada Post
  • inform IG, Caisse Populaire, McGill, Solutions Bancaires

We get the keys to the property on the 1st of march, and as soon as that happens, we're going to start prepping and painting. If all goes well, we're moving on the 4th of March. Next weekend will see us going to Leicester and Ikea, where we are scheduled to buy about £1000's worth of furniture. Yay, Ikea!

Here's hoping everything goes well between now and then.

uncategorized

Oh that's no good!

Posted on February 18, 2006 By admin

I just found out today that our broadband/cable TV distributor won't be able to provide service to our new flat.

Though they serve the street, they “can't get a connection into the house” – whatever the hell that means. From what I could extract from the customer service monkey, there's an engineering problem that they can't/won't fix. I'm going to call the department on monday (as it's closed for the weekend), but I am not a happy bunny.

I'm a TV junkie and I want home internet.

Crappity crap crap.

uncategorized

Housing update

Posted on February 14, 2006 By admin 2 Comments on Housing update

Katy and I went to see the Hinxton place again, and though it does need a bit of TLC, it has the potential to be a very nice place. We're encouraged by the fact that the walls are full of holes because that means that we can finally put up pictures and such. The agent is ok with us painting the apartment, as long as it's not anything garish. I've already asked to have a few days off so that I can start the DIY when we get the keys on March 1st.

I think we scared the agent today though because we took full measurements of everything. And I do mean everything. We're going to make scale diagrams of the rooms and see where and how our furniture can fit. Fun Fun Fun!

uncategorized

Update on the housing situation

Posted on February 13, 2006 By admin

The Katygirl and I have started packing boxes for our impending move. We're meeting the agent on tuesday to get the last paperwork that needs to be done for the house in Hinxton. Apparently, it's owned by the Wellcome Trust (who also own the campus where the EBI and the Sanger Center sit on), so they're happy that campus people will be renting the house. We're one final credit check before signing the last of the contract. Things are progressing in a positive direction and barring any unforseen trouble, we should be able to get the keys for March 1st. After that, it's a question of doing some cleaning and painting and we're set to move.

As part of the packing process, we've been putting stuff aside to go back to Leicester and to go to a charity shop. We're already up to 2 boxes of charity stuff, mostly old clothing and bedding that hasn't been used in forever. We're also starting to take stuff off the walls. The place is looking a bit barren now. We even packed away the fridge magnets, which turned out to be more of a chore than expected. I don't know what's wrong with that fridge, but damnit, some of the magnet backs had melted and bonded to the fridge door. I mean, WTF?

On a completely unrelated note, the landlords have paid a visit to our upstairs neighbours. We both would have loved to be little bugs on the walls for that meeting :) I know it's bad karma, but still. We noticed coming back from town yesterday that they've nailed stuff to the walls, which is a serious no-no here. I wonder what sort of hell will break loose. In the meantime, they're still well on their way to drive us nuts. Katy thinks they're taking the mickey, because nobody needs to walk or talk that loudly. Buttmonkeys.

I've make bagels this weekend, as well as a shrimp and chicken curry, and I'm making another maple syrup glazed ham tonight. The usual :)

uncategorized

I hate the waiting…

Posted on February 3, 2006 By admin 5 Comments on I hate the waiting…

The cambridge property market is insane!

The property we went to see on monday has already been let. It was taken off the website this morning. There was another, identical, property that was listed yesterday. We went to see that one too to see if the view was better. Since I'd noticed that the one we were interested in had already been taken, we'd filled in all the forms, gotten a reference from the HR people at work and brought our checkbook.

At the time of writing this, there are at least 2 offers on the table, ours and another dudes. As we were leaving, I think that somebody else was also there to see it. What really pisses us off is that the agent was running late and the first dude visited the apartment with us. He stayed behind to fill in the forms and pay the fee because he saw us leave all the kit to the agent. If she'd been on time, I don't think he'd have made an offer today. Damn…

Anyway, I think the odds are in our favour (unless the oily little bugger of a man bribes the agent). We're a professional couple that both work within 5 minutes of the flat. He's a single parent who just wants a weekend place to have his kids around.

We should have an answer by the end of the day.

*finger crossed*

*toes crossed*

*bites nails*


Edit: Damn! Shit! Crap! POOOOOO!

We didn't get it. The landlord went with the other dude. Fucker.

uncategorized

Posts pagination

Previous 1 … 4 5 6 7 Next

Power to the beaver!

Show me the beaver!
May 2026
M T W T F S S
 123
45678910
11121314151617
18192021222324
25262728293031
« Mar    

Quote of the day

"Today Is A Good Day For Someone Else To Die!"
--(Terry Pratchett, Feet of Clay)

Random Posts

  • Travelogue day 4 : finally, proper English weather
  • More goodies
  • For people who have more money than common sense
  • Harry Potter Movie
  • More news for the stupid
reading leopard

Tags

bobble the little blue owl boobies brought to you by the fda cats chonk christmas comics computers are evil covid-19 dealing with idiots dilbert dog ducks galleries geek god bless the land of the free holidays house I am Canadian land of cheese and chocolate linked news lolcat london news from the stupid not my dog nsfw pets pictures potd2014 qotd random shit re-member recipes relationship shrill slice of life stress Tao the british way The Peanut things i miss travel video wine work

Archives

Meta

  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org

Copyright © 2026 The beaver is a proud and noble animal.

Powered by PressBook Premium theme