A bed, a fridge, a washer and dryer, and some curtains... defeated by a shed?
I know you’re probably thinking – another post – so soon? Crazy, right? I’m learning to find other things to do once I start my computer because upon opening it, one of my software programs immediately starts a scan and until that is done, it takes forever to do anything else. So usually I clean my desk or organize stuff or play solitaire. Today, I thought I’d start a post.
Let me start by saying I am exhausted. It was a solid 5 plus hours outside for me – weeding the garden and then continuing to tear down the shed. Yep – you heard right – we have finally gotten around to tearing down the shed. There has been some good news. There has been some bad news. Good news – there looks to be concrete under the shed. We say looks because we haven’t quite finished the tear down. This is good because the fear was how much would it cost to prepare a base (cost in both money and brain power to figure this out). Bad news – the shed was much more rotted than we thought. The reason we thought there was soil under the shed is because the whole bottom layer is rotted including what was probably insulation. The area where it joined to the garage – rotted. Not just the fascia, but also the ends of the roof boards as well as the garage roof deck. Also, Bob the bee has let us know that all our efforts a few years ago were for naught as he has set up his nest under part of the shed floor. This could be fun… not. To be fair, we have only seen Bob recently. There was a Steve, but I think he might have been the injured looking bee I found in my weeding bag.
So it has taken us: 8 hours on Monday where we tore off the exterior walls, the shingles, and roof deck (well all but a foot) and cleaned the site; another 5 plus hours today where we tore off the rest of the roof deck and the side walls and cleaned the site. We probably have another full day tomorrow to finish tearing apart the third wall and then the base (hopefully not getting stung by Bob or his counterparts). What is takin the longest is us pulling out the nails and cleaning up afterwards. That is also exhausting work. My arms totally feel it. What’s funny is that doing all of this pretty much kills the battery in my fitbit. My guess is because I’m moving and jolting my arms to much that it keeps setting it off.
Once we get everything down, then we need to regroup and figure things out. I have money for a shed and doing a base. Not sure if that is going to cover the repairs to the garage roof, fascia, and the new shingles required for the garage. Part of me really wants to just rebuild the shed as it is. Part of me wants to buy a shed and install it. Teehee. That could just be the exhaustion setting in. I guess we’ll see how the rest goes.
I know – you’re probably thinking why didn’t we do anything Tuesday through Thursday? Tuesday we had a person give us an estimate for new shears. It was less than I thought, but not by much and still really expensive. Then we had the cars in for the afternoon – D’s due to leaking oil since the oil change two weeks ago and mine as I was finally reaching the 42K mark and it was due for some big service. What was interesting is that technically the new list says I’m not due until 48K. We put it in anyway. D decided we should look at toys while we waited for the oil leak to be fixed and then we’d go do some shopping. Instead we spent three hours talking to a guy about cars. The salesman was wonderful – I would totally recommend him. The problem came at the end when we said we’d like an approximate price, just so we can start planning. I also said this at the start – we are just looking to get an idea of price since my car is getting older (she’s 14, but in good shape and only 42K). Of course, then the manager got involved and after back and forth and back and forth and back and forth, he finally got the hint that we were not buying today. At one point, D just wanted to say something nice to the manager about the salesperson and the manager took it as another opportunity to try a new price.
Take into consideration – we were up early that day; I had breakfast at 9. At 4:30, I had a granola bar because I was getting pretty hungry. By 5 I was really hangry, tired, and getting annoyed: the manager would not take no for an answer, D was being way too nice, and for some reason, even though this car would replace mine, they kept pandering to D, even when D said they should talk to the accountant and pointed at me. So overall, great salesman, not too pleased with the manager (who vaguely remembered us since our last three cars we bought from them), did not buy a car (but D promised we’d consider it), and my car needs additional work on it due to its age (not enough to justify a new car).
So Tuesday night was spent recovering from a frustrating, hangry afternoon.
Wednesday is Ndie day and we all went to Ikea, South Edmonton Common, and Warp One. Then came back home to eat, watch Sausage Party and Sully (an odd mix I know), and just hang out.
Thursday was supposed to be a quick check into a couple places for appliances and such and ended up being 5 hours of shopping research. You see, my main appliances (washer, dryer, fridge, and stove) are 15 years old. We’ve fixed the washer and fridge once already, but I’m a little nervous about the fridge going when it is full of food. Because most of my food is prepared at home, I tend to have a full fridge and freezer. So I wanted to start some research so we can be prepared if there are any awesome sales or if, gosh forbid, something dies before it is replaced. When the furnace died, we had known exactly what furnace we wanted and it just made the stress of replacing that a little less. Plus the province has rebates again. If I can save some money, then I’m happy.
So I have been dabbling for awhile and then got D involved and then it just exploded. Let me add – we have a number of things that need replacing. We’ve been in this house for about 15 years. The appliances were purchased at the time we moved in (except the dishwasher which was replaced a few years ago and the compactor – which is doing fine). The bed was bought a year afterwards when we discovered too many leaks in my waterbed (yup, you heard me, I had a waterbed – a king-sized water bed kept at 34 degrees – let me tell you how much I miss that waterbed, especially in winter!) The window dressing came with the house and I have slowly been replacing them. The shears had recently ripped in a few places and now need replacing. We are in the middle of replacing most of the light fixtures in the house. The carpet desperately needs to be replaced and the living room floor needs sanding or something. The house and our stuff are showing their age.
So I have been dabbling in research and every year something gets moved up the priority list. This year it was a few things. So out we go along 137th ave where there are several stores we can visit. Now, last Friday, we had stopped at Sleep Country to do some bed research and each of us had some internet research we had done and we were coming off of the fight at Ikea because certain people were being moody and not helpful for our research. (Seriously moody – like getting upset because I said no to the 14.99 shears at Ikea – they looked like they were $14.99 for two panels and not understanding why I kept touching all the fabrics.) Now that we had talked it out some more and everyone understood where the other was coming from, we were able to do some good groundwork. It just took a long time to get it all done.
Let me tell you how it went. The Brick was first – a guy met us at the door and started going into the beds with us and then suddenly left us with someone else who was not really a salesperson with answers. Thankfully, we already had a slight clue about beds. The appliance guy was fabulous. Really nice, talkative, funny, helpful. Unfortunately, we looked at so many fridges, I honestly couldn’t tell you which ones I liked. He gave us info on a couple he remembered, but I think after a bit more research, I’m going to go back and look at them again. They have a great finance thing going on which put them in the lead.
Home Depot – when we finally had someone offer to help us, she was great, though not the most knowledgeable. She was learning and you could tell it was interesting to her. Prices were about the same. The one washer/dryer combo was $100 cheaper, but the fridges were more expensive.
Best Buy – does not sell appliances in their stores – only online. Well, we assume since our car salesman told us they had a good sale going on, but there was nothing in the store and no one said hello. As usual, they are at the bottom. I only use them occasionally for sale movies/tv shows.
Sears – So today in the news it was announced the store on 137th is closing. I can see why. No one approached us at all until near the end, supposedly a guy did approach D and apologized for not helping us (I was in the bathroom). Washer/dryers were cheaper; fridges were more expensive, but they had a good variety and they are organized by height (for the most part), which makes it easy to look at. Did not impress us overall.
Leon’s – D and I split up because we were both starving and it was getting late. Both had good salespeople: I got some great information and have pretty much narrowed down which washer/dryer I want. No big sale on though – everything I wanted was regular price, which I know has to happen occasionally, but… they were better than the last three we looked at, so they get second place.
After that, we stopped at Mt Fuji because I was craving some Japanese food and home to recover.
Add in that D was quite sick all last week and hence why our holidays are coming to an end and yet it seems very little has been done. The shed has depressed me a little bit. We were actually feeling like we could get some of the other stuff replaced and keep on our track for paying the debt down. Then seeing the actually damage on the garage makes me reconsider everything. To say I am super happy we didn’t get the car is an understatement. Gosh, I can’t even imagine what my stress levels would be otherwise.
So that’s where we are at for now. Guess I should actually do the stuff I need to do on the computer now.
Let me start by saying I am exhausted. It was a solid 5 plus hours outside for me – weeding the garden and then continuing to tear down the shed. Yep – you heard right – we have finally gotten around to tearing down the shed. There has been some good news. There has been some bad news. Good news – there looks to be concrete under the shed. We say looks because we haven’t quite finished the tear down. This is good because the fear was how much would it cost to prepare a base (cost in both money and brain power to figure this out). Bad news – the shed was much more rotted than we thought. The reason we thought there was soil under the shed is because the whole bottom layer is rotted including what was probably insulation. The area where it joined to the garage – rotted. Not just the fascia, but also the ends of the roof boards as well as the garage roof deck. Also, Bob the bee has let us know that all our efforts a few years ago were for naught as he has set up his nest under part of the shed floor. This could be fun… not. To be fair, we have only seen Bob recently. There was a Steve, but I think he might have been the injured looking bee I found in my weeding bag.
So it has taken us: 8 hours on Monday where we tore off the exterior walls, the shingles, and roof deck (well all but a foot) and cleaned the site; another 5 plus hours today where we tore off the rest of the roof deck and the side walls and cleaned the site. We probably have another full day tomorrow to finish tearing apart the third wall and then the base (hopefully not getting stung by Bob or his counterparts). What is takin the longest is us pulling out the nails and cleaning up afterwards. That is also exhausting work. My arms totally feel it. What’s funny is that doing all of this pretty much kills the battery in my fitbit. My guess is because I’m moving and jolting my arms to much that it keeps setting it off.
Once we get everything down, then we need to regroup and figure things out. I have money for a shed and doing a base. Not sure if that is going to cover the repairs to the garage roof, fascia, and the new shingles required for the garage. Part of me really wants to just rebuild the shed as it is. Part of me wants to buy a shed and install it. Teehee. That could just be the exhaustion setting in. I guess we’ll see how the rest goes.
I know – you’re probably thinking why didn’t we do anything Tuesday through Thursday? Tuesday we had a person give us an estimate for new shears. It was less than I thought, but not by much and still really expensive. Then we had the cars in for the afternoon – D’s due to leaking oil since the oil change two weeks ago and mine as I was finally reaching the 42K mark and it was due for some big service. What was interesting is that technically the new list says I’m not due until 48K. We put it in anyway. D decided we should look at toys while we waited for the oil leak to be fixed and then we’d go do some shopping. Instead we spent three hours talking to a guy about cars. The salesman was wonderful – I would totally recommend him. The problem came at the end when we said we’d like an approximate price, just so we can start planning. I also said this at the start – we are just looking to get an idea of price since my car is getting older (she’s 14, but in good shape and only 42K). Of course, then the manager got involved and after back and forth and back and forth and back and forth, he finally got the hint that we were not buying today. At one point, D just wanted to say something nice to the manager about the salesperson and the manager took it as another opportunity to try a new price.
Take into consideration – we were up early that day; I had breakfast at 9. At 4:30, I had a granola bar because I was getting pretty hungry. By 5 I was really hangry, tired, and getting annoyed: the manager would not take no for an answer, D was being way too nice, and for some reason, even though this car would replace mine, they kept pandering to D, even when D said they should talk to the accountant and pointed at me. So overall, great salesman, not too pleased with the manager (who vaguely remembered us since our last three cars we bought from them), did not buy a car (but D promised we’d consider it), and my car needs additional work on it due to its age (not enough to justify a new car).
So Tuesday night was spent recovering from a frustrating, hangry afternoon.
Wednesday is Ndie day and we all went to Ikea, South Edmonton Common, and Warp One. Then came back home to eat, watch Sausage Party and Sully (an odd mix I know), and just hang out.
Thursday was supposed to be a quick check into a couple places for appliances and such and ended up being 5 hours of shopping research. You see, my main appliances (washer, dryer, fridge, and stove) are 15 years old. We’ve fixed the washer and fridge once already, but I’m a little nervous about the fridge going when it is full of food. Because most of my food is prepared at home, I tend to have a full fridge and freezer. So I wanted to start some research so we can be prepared if there are any awesome sales or if, gosh forbid, something dies before it is replaced. When the furnace died, we had known exactly what furnace we wanted and it just made the stress of replacing that a little less. Plus the province has rebates again. If I can save some money, then I’m happy.
So I have been dabbling for awhile and then got D involved and then it just exploded. Let me add – we have a number of things that need replacing. We’ve been in this house for about 15 years. The appliances were purchased at the time we moved in (except the dishwasher which was replaced a few years ago and the compactor – which is doing fine). The bed was bought a year afterwards when we discovered too many leaks in my waterbed (yup, you heard me, I had a waterbed – a king-sized water bed kept at 34 degrees – let me tell you how much I miss that waterbed, especially in winter!) The window dressing came with the house and I have slowly been replacing them. The shears had recently ripped in a few places and now need replacing. We are in the middle of replacing most of the light fixtures in the house. The carpet desperately needs to be replaced and the living room floor needs sanding or something. The house and our stuff are showing their age.
So I have been dabbling in research and every year something gets moved up the priority list. This year it was a few things. So out we go along 137th ave where there are several stores we can visit. Now, last Friday, we had stopped at Sleep Country to do some bed research and each of us had some internet research we had done and we were coming off of the fight at Ikea because certain people were being moody and not helpful for our research. (Seriously moody – like getting upset because I said no to the 14.99 shears at Ikea – they looked like they were $14.99 for two panels and not understanding why I kept touching all the fabrics.) Now that we had talked it out some more and everyone understood where the other was coming from, we were able to do some good groundwork. It just took a long time to get it all done.
Let me tell you how it went. The Brick was first – a guy met us at the door and started going into the beds with us and then suddenly left us with someone else who was not really a salesperson with answers. Thankfully, we already had a slight clue about beds. The appliance guy was fabulous. Really nice, talkative, funny, helpful. Unfortunately, we looked at so many fridges, I honestly couldn’t tell you which ones I liked. He gave us info on a couple he remembered, but I think after a bit more research, I’m going to go back and look at them again. They have a great finance thing going on which put them in the lead.
Home Depot – when we finally had someone offer to help us, she was great, though not the most knowledgeable. She was learning and you could tell it was interesting to her. Prices were about the same. The one washer/dryer combo was $100 cheaper, but the fridges were more expensive.
Best Buy – does not sell appliances in their stores – only online. Well, we assume since our car salesman told us they had a good sale going on, but there was nothing in the store and no one said hello. As usual, they are at the bottom. I only use them occasionally for sale movies/tv shows.
Sears – So today in the news it was announced the store on 137th is closing. I can see why. No one approached us at all until near the end, supposedly a guy did approach D and apologized for not helping us (I was in the bathroom). Washer/dryers were cheaper; fridges were more expensive, but they had a good variety and they are organized by height (for the most part), which makes it easy to look at. Did not impress us overall.
Leon’s – D and I split up because we were both starving and it was getting late. Both had good salespeople: I got some great information and have pretty much narrowed down which washer/dryer I want. No big sale on though – everything I wanted was regular price, which I know has to happen occasionally, but… they were better than the last three we looked at, so they get second place.
After that, we stopped at Mt Fuji because I was craving some Japanese food and home to recover.
Add in that D was quite sick all last week and hence why our holidays are coming to an end and yet it seems very little has been done. The shed has depressed me a little bit. We were actually feeling like we could get some of the other stuff replaced and keep on our track for paying the debt down. Then seeing the actually damage on the garage makes me reconsider everything. To say I am super happy we didn’t get the car is an understatement. Gosh, I can’t even imagine what my stress levels would be otherwise.
So that’s where we are at for now. Guess I should actually do the stuff I need to do on the computer now.
posted by Taryn at 10:15 pm
0 comments
