Monday, November 28, 2005

No Rest for the Wicked

This last weekend passed by in a blur. Both mornings, Jason and I awoke to the ever-present call of renovations. This weekend, our friend Jeff's wife was out of town with their newborn. Lucky for us, he's an experienced renovator, construction dude and all around nice guy with an extensive electrical knowledge. He offered up his services and we couldn't refuse!



Our neighbour Neil also joined the fray to battle the evils lurking within the walls of our downstairs. We ripped out shoddy aluminum wiring, separated the downstairs and upstairs circuits, and reran new copper wiring, installing new services up to the new electrical codes.



Coming from a family of plumbers, I know how valuable good tradespeople are... after this weekend I have a whole new respect. I also learned a lot in the process. Being the only pregnant lady on the job, I learned all the codes for planning circuits, stapling wires, running lines, wiring the different box types and tying pigtails. By the pain in my lower back, I think I probably shouldn't have spent so much time on the ladder, or bending down. But it's hard not to caught up in things when there's so much going on!



I also fed the workforce - hungry men make for full lunch tables!



I think we have one more day of wiring left before we need to get the inspectors in. Hopefully getting our new 100A service to the house and the fuse box installed will be a go.



In the meantime, we had our first real frost this morning and there is NO insulation in the outside walls downstairs. I can feel the gas bill quadrupling as I type this. We have to wait for an inspection before we can insulate though, silly rules.



So if anyone is looking for something to do in the next little while, please visit! We can offer yummy lunch, dinner and beer in exchange for your services!!

1 comment:

  1. you definitely wouldn't want my construction help, but if I were closer I'd offer to help you make lunches for those that know what they're doing!

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