Adios reno contractors

While I was writing some notes for the blog, Stacie came upstairs. I started brewing coffee as the guys gathered to enjoy a few cups accompanied by toast and jam before they prepared to depart for the city at 10. Today, we loaded the truck, which unfortunately left Harley feeling dejected because she couldn't join us. Hopefully she will get out with Britt later on her day off.

S sold his water ski and stopped to inquire about shipping costs before we headed to Rona. There, we returned a few items, purchased another smoke alarm, vanity light bulbs, and a new door sill for the garage's man door. Meanwhile, at the rental, contractors were addressing the list of touch-ups we provided, although the stair installation once again posed a challenge. Each step had one square side while the other was uneven. Together, we devised a solution: cutting a notch beneath the irregular edge to fit it properly. S and his fellow made a quick trip to Canadian Tire to acquire the necessary multi-tool.

My initial task involved hanging the freshly painted mirror and replacing the vanity bulbs. Next, I reassembled the ceiling fan and painted the edges black, fitted the kitchen's blank plate, and cleaned the interiors of the kitchen cabinets and drawers. I managed to blend paint into the tile cracks, which appeared effective. However, my effort to apply white paint on the ceiling turned out too vivid and failed to conceal the stains adequately.

S installed the smoke alarm and worked on the garage door sill while the front door was removed to scrape off the urine-soaked inner edge, which was then bleached and treated with a deodorizing spray. As luck would have it, a light rain began to fall just as the door was taken down, so we quickly hung it back up and secured the sill. The day remained cool and gloomy, punctuated by occasional light rain.

The stairs proved to be a challenge for the contractor, definitely not his prior absolute 1000% confidence. After cleaning the main bathroom, it was disheartening to discover that the entire side of the cabinet had bubbled and grungy looking. Now, I'm considering whether to repaint it white or just leave it as is. Meanwhile, the basement bathroom has been thoroughly cleaned, and I've left bleach on the shower caulking, hoping to whiten it. In a pinch, I resorted to using the toilet plunger to scrub the bowl—quite the unconventional approach!

I popped across the alley to pay Stan for the saddle work, and then S and I went for a late lunch/ early supper at 3:30. We chose Chinese food, and afterwards, returned to the rental where work was still ongoing. I carried the taupe paint upstairs for touch-ups to expedite the process after completing the header in the basement. S managed to repair the door under the stairs that wouldn't close. We gathered the trash and cardboard from the garage, loaded it into the truck, and took it along with our household plastics in the back seat to the recycling center.

This is the rental house at the end of the contractors leaving and after all our cleaning

I waited as the contractors finished sweeping and loading their last items, finally departing just before 5 pm, leaving our project nearly complete. However, the bottom stair remains unfinished, and some backings are coming loose, so they've left behind a tube of silicone. I'm not satisfied with the stairs, but S insists that's just how they are. They also didn't apply a bead of grey silicone at the bedroom door gaps. These tasks have been now added to our list, along with thoroughly vacuuming and washing all the floors. I did a final walk through for tonight's 7:30 pm showing. Regrettably, we missed the dump by five minutes, unable to dispose of the truckload of trash on our way home.

At the ranch, S took a nap with big brown since he has a rodeo meeting tonight. Meanwhile, I tackled the accounting to pay the contractors, finished and published June 30th blog and continued to catch up on the blog, which is three days behind again. Once he woke up, he headed to town for his meeting, and I continued with the blogging. Wrapping it up at 9 pm I headed out to see my over grown garden. Most of the radishes have bolted so I picked them and ended up tossing most. Spinach bolted as well so pulled allot and washed for S to taste once home. I checked rain gauges but nothing there. I toured my pretty peonies in the gorgeous golden hour. Sooo pretty.

the little potentilla is blooming

S was home after 10 as I was back working on accounting. He tested the spinach and kept what he wanted then went for a hot tub 

Rental cleaning and projects continue

The day began with a gloomy, overcast sky. After feeding the animals, we loaded additional tools and headed for town. At the gate, S jumped out and cut down the tall Canada thistle with tin snips seeing we keep forgetting to bring weed eater or shears down.

The customer wanted a photo of her pieces in better light so I opened the garage door

Our initial stop was at the flooring store to inquire about a remedy for the LVP transition gaps, which they suggested be a $40 tube of caulk. Next, we went to collect some free furniture, which unfortunately did not meet my expectations. I settled for taking one piece, which was even questionable. We also moved the other piece to the curb for the lady, a kind gesture indeed.

it is actually a file cabinet

I picked up cleaning supplies from the dollar store, which ironically doesn't sell items for a dollar anymore. The next stop was Rona for new weather stripping and a tube of grey caulking costing $6.50 vs $40 from flooring store. Fingers crossed that the color matches. Hunger pangs hit with just coffee in my stomach. S enjoyed PB toast before we left. We swung by Tim's for an iced coffee and a muffin for me, while S opted for a chicken wrap as well. Now, off to the rental to start the day's work; it's already 11 am.

For over five hours, we were diligently tackling our to-do list. Cleaning was the priority, with numerous areas receiving attention - every ceiling fan, window including tracks and frames, further adjustments to mirrored doors, and the installation of a new sill and weather stripping on the back door. However, drilling new holes for the front door's sill unexpectedly reactivated the smell of dog urine. Plan B or is it C for this door is needed.

one of the good baseboards he replaced

but some are still questionable don't you agree?

Who knew weather stripping was so easy? Why is ours at home been scratched for years??

And the contractors painted the door header trim after I shared how stark the new side trim looked with the header, thank you, much better!

this is one of our door trims

So it turns out the cracked tile piece was thrown out so the contractor went and broke one off one of the few we had in basement to fill the hole!! I went to work trying to make it look less cracked.

end of day progress but will do more tomorrow

This is wiping the inside of the master centre window!!! Can you say never cleaned??

S hauled all the wire shelving upstairs and washed them in the bathtub. Afterwards, he reinstalled them in the bedroom closets and the pantry as good as new.

closet shelf installer

I've begun repairing the kitchen cracked tiles too. The new registers have been installed and they complement the new flooring well.

spray painted register vents in place

cold air vents too

Wax was scraped off the fireplace tile

Beneath the edges of the fridge shelves and door... disgusting. The basement bathroom shower was a complete disaster with a broken shower head. The list of damages left by the previous renters continues to grow.

this is looking up from the floor at the fridge door!!

The entry closet door has addressed and the new knob I brought was installed. However, the internal baseboard prevents it from closing, so it requires adjustment tomorrow. I filled the screw holes around the window frames to make them match the white frame.

After completing most of the top floor, we proceeded downstairs. While we were diligently cleaning, the realtor we selected came over to share her insights on selling. She was quite taken with the work we had accomplished and described it as a beautifully move-in ready home with appealing neutral tones, suggesting a listing price of $350K. Hearing this was incredibly gratifying; it affirmed that our hard work would indeed be rewarded.

The window tracks were all thick black gunkified, this one also had shards of broken glass in the runner too.

After she departed, we resumed our tasks. I spray-painted the top of the dryer, which was scratched and rusting, to improve its appearance before leaving, to avoid the unpleasant smell. We wrapped up for the day just after 4:30. 

storms a coming

looking so much better, right? Below is the colours of $40 silicone next to the $7 one we picked up. Think we will go with our tube.

The grout samples were returned promptly, followed by a quick grocery run. Britt mentioned an impending storm, with the skies darkening to the west. Exiting the store after a ten-minute shopping trip, we were greeted by the onset of rain. It was time for dinner; the effects of our Tim's muffin and wrap at 10:30 had long since faded. We opted for Origin's brisket, accompanied by a couple of refreshing drinks.

Returning to the ranch, we found puddles everywhere. I fed H, and then we hopped into the hot tub. Before doing that, S checked the rain gauge and found it had collected 7/10ths of an inch, and it kept raining as we relaxed in the tub. Post-shower, S went to chat with Dave, who had helped B with the feeding today. Meanwhile, I prepared some snacks and remade the bed in Kaylin's room. B joined Dave, who was now in the house playing crib with Sheldon. Dale and Stacie arrived shortly after 8 pm. B and D had a brief visit before heading home. We spent the rest of the evening catching up until midnight. Our visits are always enjoyable.

Happy Canada Day

It's a damp and gloomy Canada Day here in Alberta. While I welcome the rain, it's unfortunate for those attempting to celebrate. Today, I worked on the custom pieces, applying the dark wax as requested. 'S' began mowing the lawn when it seemed sufficiently dry. The sun emerged around noon, followed shortly by Britt and her pets. She trimmed Roo's feet opting out of riding due to back pain. S had a hankering for hot dogs for lunch. Sounds typical Canada fare right?

Canada Day lunch fare!

the tops were all clear waxed too as the customer is not a matte finish fan and likes s

Five + hours later, I finished the dark waxing at 4:30, just as Sharon and Darren arrived to put on Timba's mask. Sheldon was off to mow an area he had missed, and Darren tightened a hose on his old Chevy. Then, we all enjoyed a cold beer on the deck. Dark skies rolled in from the west, prompting us to move inside for another round. It was a good decision, as the rain soon poured down again. They were about to head home just before 6 when we received the call to come and see the completed rental projects done today.

Amanda peony ready to bloom

She is the smartest little girl, look at her problem solve

We were both anxious about this meeting, but it turned out surprisingly well. It appears that the wife and daughter installed the baseboards while he was away at another job. The guy acknowledged that once he saw their work, he realized it didn't meet our standards and redid 95% of it to our satisfaction. What a relief!

The discussion about the stairs was extensive, as he still insisted on being paid for the installation despite them not fitting even with his admission of full responsibility for the mistake. Once we were convinced he would install them accurately (he says he's 1000% confident), ensuring the stringer edges were cleaned and painted, we gave him the go-ahead to complete the big job. We discussed the remaining tasks that needed to be done and left after 8 pm. After finding two restaurants either closed or closing, we finally stopped at the Roadhouse for yet another late dinner.

The grossness never ends!

We returned to the rental to clean behind the washer and dryer. I had no idea the linoleum was torn; otherwise, I would have suggested extending the vinyl throughout. S concurred, but it's too late now. Beneath the appliances, it was disgusting. I vacuumed and mopped the floor to prepare for the completion of the baseboards and painting behind them tomorrow. S affixed the one wire shelf above leaving the other to have holes filled as  even big plugs won't work and put am old door stop in place now the new baseboards are on. After that, it was time to head home and get some rest following a hectic day.