1403 3 Ave N main – Page 2

security cam

2026011820260106 by Allan

Someone asked me if I thought anyone would break into the house and steal all my tools.

One, most of my tools are old and not worth anything. The rest are all registered by serial number.

Two, there are motion sensor security cameras there. They’re all over the place, recording all motion. The inside cams alert me to any movement. Here is the living room cam.

Three, I have good neighbours who keep a good eye on the neighbourhood.

Four, the recyclers who come by to collect cans and bottle know that, if I see them in the alley, I will generally give them what I have. No use in breaking into the house and breaking up the goodwill.

insulation, cleanup, vapour barrier

2026011120260105 by Allan

We finally insulated around the electrical panel.

I thought we were going to add another outside receptacle billed to the second floor, but I decided against it. 12-2 wire is expensive. (No, I’m not running 50′ of 14-2 to plug in a vehicle block heater that uses close to 15 Amps.)

Lots of clean-up and organization of tools, materials, equipment, etc. I only had three hours between other work, so not a lot was done.

But we did manage to put up the first vapour barrier in bedroom 1, so that’s a little progress. No pic for some reason. Probably in a hurry to get out the door.

more electrical, more removing partition walls

2026010420260102 by Allan

So today was mostly about prepping for 6-mil poly (plastic vapour barrier). No time yet to put it up – prep was kind of time consuming. We wound the kitchen circuit wiring (a 20-Amp kitchen counter and a 15-Amp microwave) through the furring strips.

That done, we all stood around the 2nd storey stairway to determine the best plan of attack.

mostly electrical, some walls

2026010320251231 by Allan

I generally take pics of everything I do to keep a record of stuff. Today’s big task was re-routing electrical wires. The previous person had 16 objects on one 15-Amp circuit. To me, 10 is about maximum, and they would be mixed within various rooms. These 16 were mostly in one bedroom, the living room, and the bath. As well, they mixed lights with receptacles (outlets), a no-no in today’s practices. I cut the circuit in half, ran a new 14-2 wire from a new breaker to the second half of the circuit in question (living room, now total 8 items), added four extra receptacles to the original one (total 9 items), and cut the lights from this circuit, adding them to another light-dedicated breaker. Sorry, no pics. Maybe later. Late night. I got home 15 minutes before the New Year celebration on TV (CBC, I think).

Also, a partition wall between the hall and the stairway leading to the 2nd story suite was taken down. Not to code! A fire-rated wall will be put in its place.

I also found my notes from the last renovation four years ago.

lights installed, stairway partition gone

2026010320251230 by Allan

Lighting was the main reason for starting first-floor renovations.

Bedrooms 1 (front) and 2 (middle) had no lighting. Well, that’s not entirely true. Long ago, it had lighting. It seems that when panelling was put up to hide the plaster, they simply paved over the light fixtures. (Boneheads.) I’ve had the house for about four years now, and this has always been a sore spot. Now? Let there be light!

re-moving BR1 window

2026010120251221 by Allan

The insulation of the first floor has begun.

From the looks of the framing, there used to be a west-facing 30″ x 60″ window in bedroom 1 (front bedroom).

They framed it in and paved over it with rock-dash stucco during the stucco craze. In its stead, they added a south-facing window. I’m not sure if the front porch was built before or after, but this new window opened onto the porch (a.k.a. sun room). So, if in the middle of the night you wish to get some fresh air, you can’t, unless you wander outside and open the screen door window. No other window in that porch opens.

dump run gone wrong

2026010120251220 by Allan

“The trailer’s a bit heavy,” I said.
“I think it’ll be fine,” HFT said.
“Looks heavy to me,” D said.

We didn’t make it more than 5 blocks when a tire blew. We stopped along 13 St N, hazard and overhead lights blinking. I put out my safety triangle 10 paces behind the rig. Luckily, I decided to bring the spare trailer tire this day. Yay! Except…

electrical and structural supplies

2025123020251219 by Allan

More work must be done to raise the 2nd floor back to its rightful elevation. The load-bearing partition between the living room and laundry / bathroom is, by my measurements, two 2 1/8 inches too short. The floor dips that much from over 28 inch span across the hallway. The installers of this wall didn’t really care enough to make it the same height as the other interior partitions. So, it has to be removed and another put in its place.

pile o’ bricks, pile o’ plaster

2025121620251213 by Allan

Nearing the end.

So is my back.

panel, furring, plaster, lathe, brick removal

2025121620251208 by Allan

Today was pretty much devoted to pulling panelling, furring strips, plaster, lathe, and bricks from the walls. The exterior walls all had bricks inside. These are not structural but, rather, meant as a heat sink, barrier from wind, fire block, and insulation. We have better quality insulation that acts as a fire block (like Rockwool) available now.