New Contract

I don't have all the details (Marc is in the depths of Quebec right now and I only had a quick chat with him today), but after talking with the engineer and Benoit (the beam guy), JF has come up with a new proposal to take into consideration all the extra work. Time, cost, scope all increased, but the goal and quality of the project have not been compromised and there will be an even bigger rock cutting machine involved! So we're still ploughing ahead, but have to reevaluate what this does to the budget for the less critical areas.

The next question is, when does the work all start back up? We've been told either Friday or Monday.

No News

We've no furnace and it's a high of 4°C today. Fortunately we have a small electric heater so we don't turn into blocks of ice. However don't try running anything else in the house at the same time; the fabulous wiring in this place keeps causing the breaker to blow.

We expect to have work resume early next week. But I feel quite out of the loop and have concerns ranging from the work crew having been reassigned, to of course... money.

Subsidy: Approved!

While no work may be going on at the building site (formerly known as our home), we did receive some good news today...

We have been approved for the City of Montreal subsidy for the restoration of the front brickwork of our home. It amounts to one third of the cost of the repairs (approx $10k). As we've discovered during the process, it's not just about renovation, it's about restoration to the former glory and original look of the triplex. Currently the top of our home has a straight edge with no defining features, but we'll be adding back a "cornice" (or "parapet") to the top of the house, which will crown the façade.

Highs and Lows

The sleep inducing machines of yesterday are gone, replaced by serious digging machines! Despite the rude awakening, this is good news. Or at least it was, until the engineer arrived and it seemed like one piece of bad news after another...

• The beam is not accurately placed on the plans, which means the window needs to be moved. Budget scale: 2/10
• The sous-oeuvres (no idea of the English word - it's the cement wall around the basement) will be needed, despite the rock. We'd basically expected this, so budget scale: 4/10
• The front wall is damaged (not sure why this wasn't spotted earlier... anyways). This is almost funny, because part of the reason for starting this project was that the home inspection (from before we bought the house) had noticed issues with the back wall, which have turned out to not be serious. Budget scale: 8/10

So, work is on hold for the next 2 days while JF is sharpening his pencil to see what this does to our budget. It's going to take a lot to dissuade Marc and I from pursing our renovations. Perhaps we'll  have to slow down the project time-line (just two weeks!) so our cash flow can handle it. Maybe there are some areas we can cut costs. Not sure of the options right now, so let's see what JF comes back with...

In the meantime, the digging team did make great progress today on the right (north) side of the basement which had been a big pile of earth yesterday.

BEFORE



AFTER

Brown Stuff

It was a strange morning. Not only was I not rudely awakened by the digging machinery, I actually found that the deep growling sound of the machinery was lulling me back to sleep. However, this lie in was to be short-lived; the doorbell rang, and in my half-awake, barely comprehending French state, I think the man said something about being here to remove the furnace today. This means progress!

Of course, I was to miss it all while at work today. I came home, turned on the light, but no cigar... breaker blown. Turned on the tap for a glass of water... and it gurgled out brown. Fortunately, it was easy to reset the breaker and after a minute of running the tap, clean water prevailed. I ventured downstairs to take photos and ran directly into a new pipe crossing my path. One big achievement for today, the large sewage pipe that had been running directly through the middle of the basement (impeding the digging on the northern side of the house) had been moved to the side. It also looked like all the pipes had been cut from the oil tank and furnace.

If you happen to like looking at photos of dank, dark places with pipes, you might enjoy the following slideshow from today:

Rock 'n' Roll

In case you were wondering how JF's team was going to remove the rock (after cutting it), watch today's episode...



As for how much more this is going to cost us, well, it all depends on how long it's going to take. We'd had a fixed cost quote, but after Marc spoke with JF on Friday, we're going to time and materials (T&M). So part of the digging has been removed from the quote and replaced with T&M rates, and as long as the digging/rock removal can be completed within ~3 weeks, we're still on track. Currently, this looks doable, but until JF gets a little further with the rock, it's hard to tell the velocity of the work and get a better idea of how long it's really going to take. It's early days, but we'll be watching the budget burndown carefully.

Roll on Monday!

Day 6 - Quiet day

Quiet day on the working site this morning, like a regular Saturday, except the back garden looks like a missile test site. It was haircut day down the street for me and Joanna and also I took a Bixi to go to the bank and the post office. Today was the first time I heard from my tenant and my other neighbor. My top floor tenant is complaining about the smell of gas in the house. I have that problem too so that is why I am bringing Hiram (the doggy) to my brother. For my other neighbor, he is concerned about potential damage to his house since we share a wall. I will talk to JF from Mini Excavation Beloeil about it Monday so we can find a satisfactory solution for all those issues. Like I say “On ne fait pas d’omelette sans casser des œufs” or You don’t make an omelette without breaking eggs.