Friday, May 4, 2012

Habitat for Humainty - ReStore - Mississauga Grand Opening

Ever since I moved to Canada and discovered it, the ReStore has been my go to place for the odd stuff that I need to get my 'Hacks' up and running and even light fittings, tiles etc. Most of the stuff I've bought was BNIB (Brand New In the Box). Some, open stock. while I would get excited at the prospect of getting a great deal, imagine if you would, those that benefit from the sale of these products.

HfH chooses homeowners according to their need, their ability to re-pay the no-profit mortgage and their willingness to work in partnership with Habitat. HfH is a hand-up not hand-out program designed to break the poverty cycle by helping individuals and families help themselves. They build simple, decent and affordable houses for families that would otherwise not be able to purchase their own home.

This Saturday, the 5th of May, the ReStore in Mississauga will have it's Grand Opening Celebration. Located on 1705 Argentia Road, the store will be open for sale from 10.00AM to 4.30PM. I had popped in yesterday as I was in Mississauga and saw a lot of great stuff for sale. Please do go if you have the time and support their cause.

I do my bit by donating most of the leftover building material as well as light fixtures, vanities etc. that I have replaced in customers houses, to the ReStore. If you do have new or gently used building material, do drop it off to the ReStore. One man's trash will always be someone else's treasure!!!

 Habitat for Humanity's Mississauga ReStore. 1705 Argentia Road

 Cabinets, Light Fixtures, Chandeliers (from CAD 50.00)

One of the many vanity sinks

Dhiraj

If you are looking for solutions for your home, contact us about our design, build & decorate services.

Thursday, March 8, 2012

Basement Build - Oakville - Done

Just finished the entire build this afternoon. Touched up all of the paint on the walls, baseboards and ceilings. The biggest part was getting all of my tools out of there. Here are the pictures of the basement as I left it this afternoon.

The build-out housing the Electric Fireplace, Centre Channel alcove and the TV. All cabling has been routed from the left corner to the back of the TV and along the walls to feed speakers and the subwoofer. Dual RJ45's were dropped from the Living Room above to feed the TV and Media Center.

Looking from the far end towards the 'Media Room'. In Ceiling speakers will keep tunes local while others watch TV. This space will eventually house a Pool Table.

Looking towards the 'Pool Table Area'. I built a shelf at the far end upon which the 'boys' would set down their drinks.

I played around with the bulkheads and even added a dummy one on the left to equalise the space and made a sort of coffered ceiling.

Two sets of doors in the Main Room lead to a smaller closet on the left and the access to the crawl space on the left. I installed a pair of double doors to increase the opening width to accommodate the homeowner's treadmill when entertaining.

Access to the Electrical Panel above and Storage below

Really shaky picture showing the detail of the 3 5/8"chair rail that I used as trim for the chunky 'Bar Shelf'. That little detail on the end is called a Return. And when it comes out just right it makes me happy. That's probably where the term 'Many Happy Returns' come from. NOT!!!

Looking into the Laundry Room and Furnace Room

Laundry pair & Freezer. The homeowner will be installing a sink in the area to the left of the washer. A Laundry box was installed behind the washer to streamline inlet and outlet piping. The  dryer connects to concealed ducting that vents to the outdoors.

Two pairs of Double Bi-Fold doors enable the Furnace Room to be opened completely for service work and storage.

Furnace Room with both sets of doors open

This is the bulkhead that houses the Main Water Shut Off. I made the entire top piece (trim and all) removable to access the faucet.

Round ceiling diffusers. I do not like the original builder installed grilles and replace them whenever I get the chance.

Dhiraj

If you are looking for solutions for your home, contact us about our design, build & decorate services.

Saturday, February 25, 2012

Basement Build - Oakville - Update

Just had some pictures on hand of the build progress. This build has taken longer than anticipated on account of the additions to the scope of work as we progressed. Besides that, I am working alone and I think that I overestimated my own capabilities.

However it is progressing well and should be quite the basement when completed.

 All framed, insulated and vapor barrier installed. Cabling for front, rear and centre speakers were installed along with the HV wiring  

This is the build out for the Television, Electric Fireplace and Centre Channel speaker. I took care to build it out in line with the bulkheads. This way everything is streamlined. Also visible in the picture is tubing that was installed to pull cabling from the Media Cabinet that will be installed in the left hand corner of the room.

I tried to minimize the impact of the bulkheads in the room. This one in particular, I got my plumber to reverse the piping, thereby maintaining a smaller bulkhead instead of a tall one.

Looking towards the Laundry Room. 

Drywalled. The left side bulkhead is a dummy installed to maintain symmetry. The resultant look is one of a coffered ceiling. Dedicated circuits were installed for the heater and the television.

 Looking toward the rear of the basement. Double doors at the top and bottom of the visible openings will offer access to the Electrical panel as well as storage at the bottom.

Looking into the Laundry Room. This room will also house the freezer in addition to the Laundry Pair and the Laundry sink. Mike, my plumber, installed a laundry box that streamlines the inlet and outlet of the Washing Machine.  Not visible in the picture is the Utility room that houses the Furnace  and the Water Heater. I built this tight, but the entire space is accessible via 2 sets of Double Bi fold doors.

That's Peter, who's done the taping in most of the basements that I've built.

 And that's Anthony working the Bazooka. If you're into tools as I am; the woody is understandable....

Dhiraj

If you are looking for solutions for your home, contact us about our design, build & decorate services.

Thursday, February 2, 2012

Basement Build - Oakville

Today is the first real day that I've had at home alone since the beginning of December. And that's because the Tapers have taken over my build. I've not had much time to blog as I would generally make it home after 8 on most days.

So here are pictures of the basement as it was on the day that I started the build. Pictures are from my phone and hence the poor quality.

The stairwell into the basement. I built out the wall to the right to equalize both walls. The area under the stairs will be a double door closet to accommodate the Home Owner's treadmill when entertaining. The little alcove will be a small coat or storage closet.   

Looking towards the Pool Table area. The alcove at the far end will hold a 'Bar Shelf' for drinks to be set down upon. 

The Basement Washroom rough plumbing. This was in the worst place possible. We dug out the floor and removed the existing plumbing and sealed the pipes.

 Looking towards what will become the Media Wall in the Home Theater Area.

The existing laundry room and furnace room. The plan is to build a dedicated laundry room complete with concealed plumbing and ducting and a counter top above the laundry pair, thereby giving the space dual functionality when entertaining. 

Dhiraj

If you are looking for solutions for your home, contact us about our design, build & decorate services.
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