I Think I'm NUTS...

okay, so I've used that as a title before... perhaps it really is true. LOL!

The countdown is on and all off a sudden I'm feelin' like there aren't enough hours to get complete everything I need to get done. I was supposed to switch the boys' rooms around since we're now having to have two kids share one room. We're puttin' the two youngest together in the large bedroom so that they have enough room to move. The oldest will go in one of the other two rooms and of course, the baby will get it's own room so that they others are not disturbed by the baby in the night. I guess I'll get that done after the baby arrives. My reasoning is that the baby will be in our room for the first month anyway (it makes the night feedings a little easier on us). I think I've convinced Marie. ;)

The biggest task I have right now is finishing our basement. We finally had everything fall into place on the financial side of things and so we decided to take a run at having the basement finished before the baby is born. The problem I had was with the cost of paying someone to do the work versus doing it myself. I mean, a little more than half the cost was going to be labour and that was kinda hard to come to grips with. This is all work I can do myself so I decided to have a go and see how far I'd get. Well, the entire perimeter of the basement and all the rooms are framed, the shut off taps for the outside faucets have been moved to a more appropriate place, and all I have left to do is the boxing in of the various beams, ducts and pipes on the ceiling.

What have I learned so far on this job:

• I can work much faster with wood framing versus steel
• The new flexible water line is much cheaper and quicker than copper piping
• The new nailgun I bought is much faster than hammering and it can help when you're working solo 'cause you can fire a couple o' nails in to tack something up real quick
• You really can't underestimate the importance of having the right tools for the job as well as quality tools
• I don't particularly like plumbing
• I really like workin' with my hands which I don't get with my day job sittin' at a bloody computer all day
• I sometimes over-think things and should just go for the simple solution more often

I'm hoping to start the electrical work this weekend and then I can insulate next week after work and then perhaps I can get the drywall done the following weekend or week. I'm having someone come in to do that since I'm too slow and get frustrated easily doing the dryall mudding and taping. I don't like to see the seams in the finished product. I'm still toying with hanging the drywall and then paying someone to jsut do the taping... we'll have to see. If I do hang it, I will be renting the jack or hoist or whatever it's called to lift the drywall onto the ceiling. Jim can attest to the fact that I struggle with puttin' up the drywall on the ceiling. :} He was present and assisting during my last attempt and I'm sure he was thinkin' "what the hell is this guy doing thinkin' he can hang drywall..." or perhaps "am I safe workin' next to this guy?" LOL!

Ya know, when I worked in the trades (as an apprentice electrician), I said I wouldn't mind workin' in an office and I really liked the idea of workin' with computers. Now I've done that for 12 years, I find myself enjoying doin' more trade-like work. Perhaps it's because I'm workin' on my home and makin' it a better place. Maybe it also 'cause I can see progress everytime I finish for the night, unlike my job where things can move so slow that sometimes it almost feels like I'm regressing. Who knows... I'm gonna enjoy it while I can.

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Well, I've had this update sittin' for a couple o' hours without being able to get back to it so I'm gonna publish it and come back later if I get chance.

Have a good day!

g.