Yes, you too can EXPEDIT into the ABSTRAKT with this handy tool; extra abstrakt in my case. All my PLANs come out with these funky floating cupboards (or is that FLÖRTing?) Perhaps I just need to ABSORB the new FORMAT.

You can download it from here or have oodles of fun with their online version here, or have even more fun with IKEA speak at IKEA A-Z.  Yes, to me, this is fun, but maybe I do need to get a GRIP but I’m having a hard time STOPPing!!

Lessons in asbestos remediation… Scraping popcorn

Remember, your city/province/state/universe may have different rules for how you must handle asbestos. Check them out to see if you can do this yourself or if you have to hire the pros (and their price tags.)

Steps.

1.       Buy equipment

2.       Prep area

3.       Wet & scrape

4.       Clean

5.       Dispose

1.       Equipment – Respirators, Painting Suits, Glasses, ,Gloves, Plastics, Scrapers and Sprayers

Respirators. A simple paper dust mask will not do. Asbestos kills by getting into your lungs. It’s not so bad to get it on your body because you can wash it off but it’s impossible to hose out your lungs. Purchase an approved asbestos mask with a few spare filters. At the end of every day remove the filters and wash the mask with warm mild soapy water and rinse.

Painting Suits. Like I said, you can wash yourself off. The suit takes most of the brunt and is disposable. I vacuumed myself; took off the suit and hung it up; and then removed the mask last. Two or three suits should do the trick depending on the size of your project.

Eyewear. Safety glasses worked for me but in hindsight, I should have gone for goggles. They can be a hassle with fogging up but believe me, popcorn in the eye stings; the lime in it goes straight to your tear ducts and smarts.

Gloves. Good old rubberised gardening gloves with elastic cuffs to keep the stuff out and give you a fairly good grip on the scraper. Cheap too.

Plastics. For my first go around with drop sheets, I bought nice heavy stuff. It was expensive and easy to layout, but turned out to be a waste of money. For my 2^nd go around, I bought lighter, cheaper plastic which was a bit “fluffy” to lay-out, but more compact and easier to dispose of than the thick expensive stuff.

Plastic bags were another area where we saved a bit. Check the code in your area but for us, it only required the asbestos be double bagged and well-marked. When we dropped the bags off at the disposal depot, they even supplied stickers to mark the bags as asbestos. Places online will try to sell you the hugely expensive “6 ML” plastic bags which have “Danger Radioactive Asbestos Waste” all over them. I purchased nice and heavy black construction garbage bags which did the job just fine. On the other hand, don’t go too cheap. It would be a shame to spill popcorn all the way out to car because you bought cheap dollar store bags.

Scrapers. I cannot imagine doing the job from a ladder with a hand held scraper. My hat is off to those of you who have done it. I hope the tennis elbow has gone away.

I ended up making my own; a nice 6” wide flexible scraper on a pole did the trick. I took and old aluminum shower curtain pole and beat it up a bit to jam the scraper in the end. Worked like a charm as long as the popcorn ceiling was unpainted. (Read on…)

Spray bottle or bug sprayer? Since I did the whole apartment over the course of a week I used a bug sprayer, the type you get from a garden supply store to apply insecticide to your plants; this was much easier for water application but I found it very easy to over wet an area of the ceiling before scraping. The drywall for our ceilings is coming down and being replaced, so over wetting wasn’t my concern but be aware that too much water will take the backing paper off. If you’re keeping the drywall, you’ll have to work that much harder for that smooth ceiling look before painting.

2.       Prep area

Prep, prep, and more prep. Make sure that you have a plan in place; check your local code and have the right supplies; equipment; and setup before you start.

Be prepared to make a mess. This is NOT a clean job. During the process, your walls will get wet and need to be repainted. Even if you spend the time to nicely tape up a plastic barrier wall (can you tell that I did?), the popcorn will fall on the wrong side. The popcorn will fall where it may…

Don’t be cheap or in a hurry. Fully cover the area with plastic drop sheets (took me about 15 minutes) and be prepared to throw them away after you’re done each section. I tried to reuse/recycle my first sheet – what a mess. I first scooped up all the popcorn I could and put it in a bag. Then I tried to move my plastic drop sheet. All I ended up with was a sticky and drying asbestos laden piece of plastic and the more I moved it, the more it shed the bits left behind. At the end, I rolled it up and disposed of the whole mess.

3.       Wet & scrape

Spray an area about 4 feet square with water. Let it sit for 5 minutes. While you are waiting the 5 minutes, spray your next 4×4 area. After you’ve finished scraping off the first 4×4, spray the third 4×4 and then scrape the second while it the water soaks into the third. This leaves you with one area soaking while the other is being scraped. Plus, it gives you a little break every 5 minutes.

Painted Ceiling? Well, you’re not completely screwed. One of the rooms in the condo had previous water damage, and the ceiling had been painted. It was by far the hardest space I had to deal with, so I saved it for last. I still sprayed it with water, but because of the paint, it didn’t soak well and as a result, much of the scraping was “dry”. Dry scraping was much slower and dustier. Speaking of dust, keep that small mister bottle handy. A few pumps into the air and everything falls to the plastic.

4.       Clean

Remember that drop cloth you spread on the floor before you started? Roll it up and tuck it into one of those heavy garbage bags. After you fill each one, double bag it and tape it closed.

After all the ceilings are scraped and asbestos bagged, give the place a good vacuum and wipe down the ceilings.

5.       Dispose

Contact your local waste disposal service and find out where they take asbestos garbage. Ours 40 minutes away. We drove in, stated we were disposing of asbestos, got some fancy stickers to paste on the bags, threw them in the marked dumpsters, and then drove out $40 poorer. A bargain compared to the thousands professionals would have charged us.

Et Voilà!

Now stand back and bask in the glory of a job well done. Popcorn is gone and asbestos is remediated. Was it harder than you thought? Not really but the preparation was the key. A little elbow grease and you’ll have nice smooth ceilings that will give you an updated look and style.

Congratulations; now; what’s next on the job list……

Too many nuts to fit in the kitchen. Yes, I AM talking about myself.

Do I have OKPD?  Obsessive Kitchen Planning Disorder?  Is planning a pantry out on graph paper with little cut outs for every item  too much?

I think not, if it it shows you in black and white you don’t have room for tomato paste or salt!

The online exhibition is fantastic, especially some of the advertisements from the 20′s and 30′s encouraging everyone to get electric in their kitchen (which would have a slightly different meaning today) and a bunch of stills featuring movie kitchens over the past 80 years (including John Candy in Uncle Buck, at the MoMA, who would have thunk)?

It really makes me want to fly away to New York and check out the actual exhibition IRL. Sadly, up to my ears in renovating, so for now, savouring (yes, I couldn’t help myself) the website will have to suffice, including this fantastic poster, which I am seriously considering sourcing to put in my own kitchen. Wouldn’t that look fantastic with the red Marmoleum. Oh, haven’t I mentioned the Marmoleum yet? 

The 100 mile diet, not such a new idea...

per·mit  (pr-mt)

Here is my elevator pitch about why I love it so.

How do two people work on the same floor plan, budget, and all manner of renovation related stuff when they live on opposite sides of the world?

How do you make sure that changes and updates are automatically copied and shared?

How do you show those same floor plans and progress pictures at a dinner party to your ecstatically interested friends using THEIR computer?

How do you bring those files with you on your iPhone when you’re shopping for tile and hardwood floor?

Dropbox.

Did I mention it’s FREE?  One of my favourite four-letter words…

We folk who live in condos are essential masters of … decorating. Yes, we can hang shelves to our hearts content or stucco our walls like meringue pies (no lie, when on the real estate hunt, I was almost mortally injured by leaning against said wall – pointy in ways a wall should not be.)

Pointy peaks of death

However, any changes that might fall outside of hanging a shelf or laying an area rug, that go beyond mere decor, become quite complicated indeed.

In a condo, any changes that impact the commonly owned building, such as moving a wall, relocating a sink, or adding a pendant light to the dining room must be approved by strata.  Generally, this is a straightforward process; however, some Strata councils epitomize the nosy interfering neighbour stereotype and relish the sound of the word “No” as it passes their lips. At the word “No”, I will not pass go, I will not be able to renovate my condo.

In a reasonable world, the approval process should look something like the following:

1. I write a letter to the Strata explaining the changes I want to make. Upfront, no renovation by cover of darkness approach here.
2. Strata council reviews said request, and asks me any questions.
3. I respond to questions.
4. Strata approves the changes.

With courage in my heart and clinging to a carefully constructed naiveté, I wrote my request. Now if you were on a Strata council, would you say yes? Please say yes…

Dear Strata Members,

As I noted in my earlier letter of introduction, I am hoping to complete renovations to my suite. Thank you for sending me the City of Vancouver site regarding condo renovations, (http://vancouver.ca/commsvcs/developmentservices/general/homerenovation/condo.htm).

Both it and my discussions with the City’s Development Services Department have helped me get organized and start my planning off in the right direction.

As promised, I am sending you my renovation plan for approval, in the hopes my fiancé and I can start coordinating the work.

Requested Renovation Plan

1.      Asbestos remediation. In preparation, we had the presence of asbestos in the strata unit confirmed by ACM Environmental Corporation (results available upon request). All asbestos-containing material will be removed using the safety procedures as outlined by WorkSafe BC.

2.      Suite renovation. The following changes are planned:

a.     Swapping of dining area and kitchen locations.

b.     Increase size of sliding patio door from 2 panes to 3 panes, similar to other 3-paned patio doors already in the building.

c.     Update of bathroom fixtures only, no changes to plumbing locations.

d.     Update fireplace to a CSA-approved model.

e.     Installation of hardwood floor, using high-quality sound-deadening materials and underlay.

All renovations will be completed according to the registered bylaws of the Strata Corporation as well as meeting all City of Vancouver development, permit and inspection requirements. We will also work with our selected general contractor, our building’s resident caretaker, Strata Council and other residents to make sure the work is completed with the least impact possible, in the safest and most efficient way.

Next Steps

We have begun screening general contractors and have a shortlist of two; both are bonded, insured and have a solid reputation for quality, City-permitted work on similar strata units.

With your approval, we will move forward with contractor selection and have them forward you their professional paperwork, followed by confirmation that the required City of Vancouver permits have been obtained so that we can begin our project.

Thank you very much for considering this proposal, and we are looking forward to your reply. If you have any questions, please ask!

Sincerely,

Me

The posts are coming, I promise.

Until that inspirational day, how about some ocular pacification in the form of project progress pictures? Each is worth 1000 words, right?

What was once a kitchen became a sad waiting area for appliances on the way out.

Carpet party

Kitchen "wiring"

Mirror mirror, no longer on the wall

I'd hate to be that squirrel.

Luke, I am not your contractor...

Bring on the engineer!

After a lovely match of voicemail tennis that set a record at 3 weeks, my phone rang and had an actual human representative of the Vancouver ReStore on the other end. To my delight, they wanted the kitchen I had described on one of the many messages (guess I know how to leave an alluring voicemail, waxing poetic about maple plywood cabinets).  Yes, they wanted the whole kit-boodle, EVERYTHING from oven to cupboards. Even more amazingly, they would be here in ONE HOUR to pick everything up. Luckily we had just finished pulling out the last cabinet yesterday!

After some speedy final disconnecting, dissecting, and dusting followed by some Olympic calibre dollying, two fantastic fellows (thanks Tom and friend) trundled away in a truck packed full of the old kitchen. The condo is now a wonder of open spaces I simply want to frolic and remediate in.

Yes, there were stairs!

THANKS ReStore! You rock. Plus a nice added bonus is that what they carted away will help raise money for Habitat for Humanity.