Projects – Page 7 – projects on the go

old outlets, floor holes, trim boards, grass

2026101520260824 by Allan

The fridge outlet was an original and badly in need of swapping out.

I’ve been avoiding the holes in the floor. This is where the original back door was. The framing had been cut through and patched several times over the decades and wasn’t doing anything but weighing the house down at that point, not supporting it. New load-bearing framing was put in with the right size of header and whatnot. In the mean time, the floor still had the hole. I added floor board and sub-floor and mounted everything to surrounding structures. Finding the best match for flooring was not easy, but I think the pieces I chose were a good compromise.

faceplates, door, floor, linoleum

2026101520260823 by Allan

Some of the outlets in the bedrooms were still the old off-white (yellow) type. I switched the remaining old ones out for new, modern looking ones – but not the square ‘decor’ type as these were much more expensive. They all needed faceplates.

The one in the middle of the south bathroom wall holds the motion sensor dimmer switch for the toilet light and a timer and a humidistat for the fan.

To complete the trim boards, the bedroom door must be put in. To complete the door, the chimney floor hole must be repaired.

weeds in walkway

2026102320260822 by Allan

After working at 1403, we came by 520 to pull the weeds out of the future rear walkway.

pull weeds
level ground
add landscape fabric
add gravel
add sand
place pavers
level pavers

However, my right arm seems to be showing signs of stress, so I must take it slow.

floor chimney hole, doors, cracks

2026102320260822 by Allan

The floor chimney hole levelling compound seems to be cured.

In haste, I’m thinking we measured the door rough framing incorrectly, likely from the unfinished floor. Now the door has to be altered to fit. I cut the bottom off, saved the insert, and re-inserted it with wood glue.

A door guy at Home Depot suggested using these door hangers, saying it was way easier to hang doors this way than the conventional way. He was right. However, as will be shown later, the tabs stick out too much beyond the trim boards and need to be cut with a grinder.

trim, mud, doors

2026102320260821 by Allan

We continued with the window, door,and floor trim.

The floor levelling compound is showing signs of drying.

The crack mud is also drying.

And now … the bedroom doors. The problem is that the bedroom 1 door is too tall. Why? Was the framing done incorrectly? Likely. I’ll continue measuring tomorrow.

There is work to be done at 520.

veranda gap, cats, floor levelling compound, mud, trim

2026102320260820 by Allan

I bought some plywood for flooring, but, as it turns out, this is not needed. I will likely use it elsewhere.

There seem to be lots of cats in the neighbourhood.

The gaping hole under the veranda that leads to the basement needs to be plugged up. Too many cats go in there and mark and s#^% everywhere. Because there is a surplus of lumber, I found the right size of pieces to fill the hole.

update – pics before reno restart

2026082020260819 by Allan

Someone online asked to see pics of the upstairs suite. It is posted for rent online at Kijiji.ca. For now, there really isn’t much to see. (Also found at properties.allansplace.ca/1403-up.)

Entrance:
file error – will show you later

Staircase:

Bedroom:

Living room:

Kitchen:

Bathroom, Laundry:

trim, chimney floor hole

2026082020260819 by Allan

The first screw-up for today was the 1x2s from Home Depot.

They are most certainly not 1x2s. A one-by-two, of course, is not 1″ by 2″, but 1-1/2″ x 3/4″. However, these are not 3/4″. They’re 5/8″. I’ll be taking them back tomorrow morning. More shrinkflation.

I needed to rip 1x2s down to 3/4″ square to act as filler between the window frame and trim. Instead, I ripped some old 1x6s down.

showing, more electrical

2026102520260818 by Allan

I’m using the laundry room as an admin office. Someone is coming by to see the place. However, the dang printer doesn’t work; too much dust is messing up the sensors, I think.

More electrical work was done today along with putting in faceplates. The one without is the 120VAC line-voltage thermostat for the mudroom. It is the only baseboard heating in the suite, so I went with a simple 14-2 wire 15A 1P line.

For some unknown reason, the front exterior lights stopped working. As it turns out, the neutral (white) wire was not fastened properly. But it works now.

switches, trim boards

2026102520260817 by Allan

The buying of electrical supplies never seems to end!

Neighbour Dave suggested green would be a good colour for the front door since the house evidently was trimmed in green long ago. I got this green from Home Depot. I can’t wait to paint the door! But I have to wait to paint the door as there are lots of other priorities to complete the suite.