Friday, August 17, 2012

Home Improvement 101

Well, it was time to energize the construction power tool batteries and ready to tackle another home improvement project.

The Objective:  Replace the kitchen nook window with a new French door:

New French door from a local building supply store.
Jeanette and I found the ideal French door last Monday.  It has the 'in window' venetian blinds that we were keen on.   The motorcycle trailer was ideal for delivery of the door back to our  home.
Tuesday morning:  Let the renovation begin!
Using my Fein saw, I began by cutting into the gyproc.
It didn't take too long before the gyproc (sheet rock) was off, the polythene rolled back and the insulation removed.
Electrical: It was quickly apparent that an electrician would be required.  As I had thought, the computerized sprinkler system had to be moved, a new circuit would be required for our improved electrical needs and a few other touches were required too.  I phoned our best contact Mathew, the electrician, and he agreed to leave his current jobs to accommodate us on Thursday morning.  That suited us well because I could complete the install of the French door, take Wednesday off to have lunch with a long time TV Producer friend before hitting the links for our regular Wednesday Men's Golf Night.
Late Tuesday afternoon.
Once his work day was over with, son in law Trevor dropped by our home to help me move and install the French door.  By the time he arrived, I had removed the existing 2X6 framing studs, rebuilt the framing to accommodate the new door (which was considerably wider than the existing window) build and install a new header, and cut the opening on the sun room side of the project.
It took very little time to place door, level, shim and secure it to the new framing.
OK.  This project is taking shape. Following the needed electrical work, the finishing work will commence.
Good improvement.  The sprinkler system control unit has been moved and it now needs electrical intervention to clean it up with new wiring.
This renovation will open the sun room to the kitchen/family room/nook on nice summer days.
The sprinkler system had to be moved and re-wired.
Two electrical plugs/circuits were relocated.
Mathew, the electrician, was at our home early Thursday morning, as promised, and the work began in earnest.  He made quick work with some complex re-wiring and within three hours, his work was done.
Turning off the required breakers to move a couple of circuits.
Electricians are like magicians, especially in renovation work.  They can make complex installs look magically easy once the tough work is done.  Mathew is especially gifted at complex tasks.
The last circuit is nearing completion.  This is one of the new receptacles in the sun room.
With the electrical completed, I began the task of finishing the install of the French door.  That required some fitting tricks to allow the doors to open and close easily.  Once that was accomplished, the door was secured.  The insulation and vapour barrier were replaced.  Now it's time to focus on completing the finishing. 
Out on the back patio working the table saw.
It is now Friday morning and I am soon to run off to the local building supply store for one sheet of gyproc (sheet rock), mouldings, brick mold, door locking hardware, paint, and other necessities to complete the project.

Door works perfectly.
It seems I chose the hottest summer days to work on this project though. Our temperatures hovered between 28 and 33 degrees.  I ingested buckets and buckets of water while sweating away working.  No regrets though!  It's fun to accomplish another of our planned home improvements.

Thanks for dropping by.

16 comments:

  1. Now this is the kind of project I love as well! Congratulations on a very nice looking, professional job! This new door will allow your sun room to get a lot more use. It will make a huge difference.

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  2. If your ever bored you could always get in the home renovation business.

    Be Safe and Enjoy!

    It's about time.

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  3. nice job!..you sure work quickly!!..now for the nice breeze through those lovely new doors!

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  4. That was a pretty major undertaking, Rene and the finished job looks very professional.

    I like the idea of those Venetian blinds in the window.

    Must feel good to be able to complete a project like that - it looks great.

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  5. Wow... Good job! You make it look easy!

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  6. Rene' You do such a nice job on all your projects. Wish I was half as talented as you. Beautiful choice of doors, and what a nice addition for your kitchen and family room.

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  7. I like this page so much on the the other hand I like also painting contractors auburn, so better to keep on posting!

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  8. Fantastic blog, Thanks for sharing. Keep posting like this.

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  9. Thank you for this post. It's wonderful. Love the information that you guys put on here.

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  10. Well this list really can help us on how to find good things for our home.

    home improvement list

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  11. “Electricians are like magicians, especially in renovation work.” – I couldn’t agree more. Electricians can simply make every single thing homeowners ask them to do. They guarantee efficiency and they always surprise us with getting all the electrical works done. You are lucky you have Matthew and a lot of family members who are willing to help you with your house renovation, my friend. All the teamwork and cooperation have led to the improvement of your home. 

    Mariam Freame

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  12. Hi, you make mind blowing ideas and a spectacular article here. Last time, when I saw your site this was a little good but today I visit the web site again and find that you guys making a very smart work on the site. Today Web surfing is run very fast and a huge competition over the web is spread. So it is quite interesting. Thanks…
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  13. I think the doors look better, I prefer it to look that way rather than having a full-on glass pane for doors with a small frame. It's just way better looking. Lovely work you guys have done to the whole place. It's amazing! Add a few more lighting to the place then it's all good to go.

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  14. Thanks for the Information, thanks for this fine Post. I will subscribe to your feed for updates.

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  15. Before venturing into electrical stuff, I must say your dark blue walls are looking really great! Kudos to your hard work, Rene! Electrical work is a delicate and critical task to do, so safety measures should be taken and implemented. For example, make sure that the power is turned off. And that’s the spirit! No regrets indeed! :)

    Tyrone Speelman

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  16. Kudos to Matthew for doing a wonderful job with those wires! It could be very dangerous if the wires were not secured in place. The wires could cause short circuit if it’s not connected properly with the right switch. Safety measure should always be the priority, when we're dealing with electricity.

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