Electricity and summertime slow-down...

Hey all!

I  have been working... not so hard on my renovation projects lately. It is hard to stay focused in the summer as there is just so much else going on and it is easy to get distracted. As I am presently working on the basement, it is not a primary living area. That means it is not a priority and tends to be left aside for other more urgent things...
In any case, last week I finally finished up the pot-lights in the ceiling. As previously stated, I have split them on two circuits and didn't do my wiring properly. Three lights were fed in series instead of parallel. That means the power was split between all three lights instead of being split before the lights and having full intensity in each.
I found a useful little tool for planning out your home electricity work: http://phet.colorado.edu/en/simulation/circuit-construction-kit-dc. This saved me many headaches!!!
On to the sub-floor!

Flooring materials

Being that this is a basement that I am presently renovating, I made sure to chose appropriate materials for the room. I wanted to make sure the floor was properly insulated before I installed the finished flooring on it. For this exact purpose, instead of building a traditional sub-floor, I bought some Delta FL. This is a big roll of hard plastic with dimples in it. It acts as a moisture barrier and lets air circulate underneath it. It should properly insulate the floor. On top of that I will put 5/8" plywood and then laminate flooring. I got some 10mm laminate on sale and think it will be just fine.
I can't wait to see if this will make for a warmer floor. One thing is for sure, it will be better than the old linoleum tile that was directly on the concrete!

Pot lights!

So I just finished up doing all the wiring for the ceiling! We previously had two light fixtures and I am converting these junction boxes to put in pot lights all over. I am installing a total of 9 halogen pot lights and they are rated at 50W each. I hope it will be enough. In any case, there will be two floor lamps in there too.
Additionally, where the previous lights were on one single circuit, I am splitting these up to put them on two separate dimmers so I can control the three that will be closest to the TV independently. This way, I can dim them if they cause too much glare. Should be nice; I'm really excited to close up the ceiling and put them in!
Do you think this will be enough lighting?

Basement

Hello fellow homeowners!
We've just recently started a HUGE basement renovation. Basically, we are gutting the main room in the basement and re-doing the whole thing. This includes the linoleum tiles that were stuck directly on the concrete floor, the wood panelling that was on the walls and ugly suspended ceiling that was falling to pieces.
We've planned to put sheet rock all around and on the ceiling. I like the look a lot more and I find it looks more finished. We are also re-insulating the exterior walls since we'll have them open already. While we're at it, we are gonna run wiring inside the walls for a home theater system. When this room is finished, it will make all the difference on the rest of the house too. I figure it will also add liveable space because the way it was before really wasn't comfortable at all so we didn't want to spend too much time down there.
Tomorrow I'll tell you about flooring and lighting!!!

Long-awaited update!

So it has been just over a year since we moved in and we have been incredibly busy ever since. Of course, we do have a lot to show for it. Major projects we've accomplished are a remodel of both bathrooms, new window and door in the kitchen and the basement is currently gutted!!!
The bathrooms were a lot of trouble but very worth it. Actually, one way I've found to save a little money on materials is to buy the faucets and fixtures off eBay. You can find some quality pieces at very reasonable prices and with quick shipping too.
In the next post, I'll let you know a bit more what the basement reno entails. This is another big one!

Home security?

I've been looking into home security systems and have found a few examples of free system with service contract type offers. This is the one I'm looking at.
Get your home protected today!!! Receive a free ADT Home Security System.
Looks pretty good to me, I'll let you know how it goes!

Garage flooring

As I may have previously mentioned, this is a rather old house. 1964 construction.
I'm looking at options for garage flooring... or covering.
Without spending large amounts of money on a professional garage outfitting company like Garage Outfitters, there are other professional-looking options like do-it-yourself 2-part epoxy coverings.
Although I hear longevity is a problem, especially on cracked, older concrete floors like mine.
Another option is to paint the concrete... nice and easy to clean. Not as much of a wow factor but still functional...
Still studying the possibilities.