Deregulation

I should back up a little here and explain that here in Ontario, our natural gas market was deregulated back in the eighties.  That means that while the local gas company is still responsible for delivery, the consumer has the option of purchasing the commodity from a marketer.

We gambled and won

Ten years ago, we signed a five year contract with an energy marketer.  Their rate was higher than the current utility’s rate, but the rate was guaranteed for the life of the five year contract.  By halfway through the contract we were paying substantially less than the current utility’s rate.

We gambled and lost

Five years ago,  we signed a new contract with the same marketer.  The price was much higher– about double what we had been paying.  But because we had done so well on the previous contract, we figured it was a no-brainer.  After all, the price of natural gas would only go up, right?

Wrong!

In fact, about three years ago, I went to the utility’s website to see what the current prices were, expecting to feel good about how much I was saving.  What I found was the price had dropped abd we were paying double the current rates.

We should have taken the salesman’s advice

When we signed the new contract, the salesman let us in on a little secret.  There was a loophole to get out of the contract should we ever decide to use it.  We wrestled with the ethical implications a couple of years ago as we watched money flying out the window.  And I made a couple of phone calls to see if it was indeed possible to get out of the contract.

It was.

The local utility seemed to frown on it, which I found odd since they were going to get more money from us.  The marketer actually walked us through the steps we needed to take if we wanted out.  Unfortunately, we never took advantage and simply waited for the contract run out.

Glad I read the fine print

A few months ago, we received the offer to renew our contract again.  I almost tossed it aside without reading it, since we had no intentions of re-signing.  But for some reason I decided to read the document, which serves as an important lesson.  The contract would have auto-renewed for our convenience at a new variable rate for a minimum of one year if we did not sign a five year deal or indicate that we were chosing not to sign at all.  Had I just igored the offer, we would have been stuck in another contract.  And it would have been costly because the price of natural gas has fallen even more since then.

The loophole

Yes, there may be a way out of an expensive long-term contract.  According to the salseman five years ago, all we had to do was take the bill out of my name and put it in my wife’s name.  Simple.  So simple that I am questioning why we didn’t do it when we first looked into it a few years ago.  Both the utility bill and the energy supplier’s contract were solely in my name.  Here are the steps we needed to take that would have saved us a couple thousand dollars:

1. Contact local utility and cancel the account for our address that was in my name.
2. Wife would have to contact local utility to open account for our address in her name.  Because she was a new customer, she would have had to pay a rather large deposit. Plus there would be the usual connection charges for opening the new account.
3. Submit to the marketer proof that I was no longer responsible for the utility bill at that address (ie the first bill in my wife’s name).

The process could have been completed in a couple of months. Whether it was laziness, procrastination, or a simple case of only thinking about it when the bill came in and forgetting about it the other 29 days of the month,  not taking advantage of the loophole cost us some serious coin.

A question of ethics

Is it okay to get out of a contract that you signed in good faith when its terms no longer benefit you?  The only reason for changing the name on the gas bill would be to get out of the contract.  We were not splitting up.  Our job situations had not changed.  The money to pay the bill would still come out of the same joint bank account.  Did we end up doing the right thing by riding out the contract, or were we stupid for throwing money away when we had a way out?

We had house guests the week before Easter.  During the two weeks leading up to their arrival,  we shifted our spring cleaning into overdrive.  Sadly, general house cleaning is not as high on the list of priorities as it should be, but we will go on a cleaning blitz before things get too bad.  And we were due for a cleaning blitz.

Room by room, furniture was cleaned, stuff was organized, mattresses were flipped and dust bunnies were vacuumed out of their hiding places.  We disposed of old worn bedding and broke out new sheets and comforters.  We made impressive progress, but ran out of time before we could give our daughter’s room a thorough cleaning.  It wasn’t in a terrible state.  It appeared that she had been doing a relatively decent job of putting stuff.  I gave it a quick clean– the heavy duty spring clean would have to wait until after Easter.  The stuff under the bed, for example, remained under the bed.  The dust bunnies would live to see another day.

Fast forward to the week after Easter.  Time to tackle our daughter’s room.  Over the course of a few hours, we accumulated a box of stuff suitable for donation (or yard sale) and a bag of garbage.  We encouraged her to purge the stuff she no longer played with, used or needed.  We forced her to ask herself WHY she was keeping what she chose to keep.  And while I would have liked her to get rid of more stuff than she did, she is only ten.  I figure the big purge will come in  a couple of years when we give her room an age-appropriate makeover.

The last area to clean was the closet.  And that is when we found out how she decluttered.  Stuff, stuff and more stuff had been shoved into closet.  Open the closet and everything looked fine.  But poke your head into the closet and look to the right, and oh the horror!

With that a four hour job doubled to eight hours.  Instead of being finished the same day, this turned into a two day project.  It got done, but as we sorted through the mountain of stuff, I started day-dreaming about following the lead of Adam Baker of Man vs. Debt who, with his wife, decluttered in an extreme way:  they sold off everything down to two backpacks, paid down debt and traveled through Australia, New Zealand and Thailand.  I don’t know if I could go that extreme, but the thought of the freedom that comes from not being tied to “stuff” is definitely enticing.

The great philosopher, George Carlin, got it right when it comes to “stuff.”  (Minor language warning, but nothing too offensive in this clip, though some may find the final punch line a tad tasteless).

Where does all this stuff come from?  Why do we accumulate things?  Why are memories and sentimentality tied to objects?  I don’t have an answer and I am definitely guilty of not wanting to let go of certain things myself.

I have books that I have read once and will likely never read again (my daughter may read them someday).  I have CDs  that I haven’t listened to in years (I may listen to them again).  I have stuff that was given to me as gifts (don’t want to offend the person who may not even remember giving the gift in the first place).  And then there are the things that were treasured by my mother or father– some can be justified as family heirlooms, but the rest is just clutter that holds no value for me other than the value it held for them.

My daughter has Webkinz that she outgrew long ago.  She started with one.  She now owns more than thirty.  Many were gifts.  Others she bought with her allowance.  Some were impulse buys.  She no longer goes on the website, nor does she play with them any longer (much).  But they are a “collection” and for that reason, she isn’t ready to let them go.

What about the rest of her stuff?  Where did that mountain in the closet come from?  I started thinking about all the places and occasions where the kid received something:

• Christmas
• Valentine’s Day
• Easter
• End of school year
• Birthday
• Souvenirs from vacations
• Purchases from allowance
• “Treats” from Dentist or Doctor’s office (prize box)
• Winnings from amusement parks, fairs, arcades
• “Gifts” from vendors at flea markets or yard sales (this actually happens quite a bit– she will be looking at something, we will make her think about whether it is something that she really wants or not, and the vendor will let her have it for nothing (or at a greatly reduced price that is impossible to turn down)
• And I’m sure this list is incomplete

Thinking back to George Carlin’s observations about a house being a place for stuff, with less stuff, we could live in smaller houses.  Smaller houses are more affordable to build.  They are less expensive and easier to maintain.  We could pay down our mortgages faster if we didn’t spend our money on other “stuff.”  We would use less energy, have more green space, and less pollution.  And spring cleaning would be a whole lot less work.

Last year, we learned that the addition and garage would have to be built at the same time because of the limitations of our property.  I was determined to save enough money so we could pay for the construction with our savings without going further into debt.  I figured it would take about five years to save the majority of the cash needed, with the realization that we would most likely be refinancing our mortgage to make up any difference.

By last fall, we were about 15% towards our goal.  Or at least we had 15% of the cash.  We also had debt.

Cash is king.

That’s what I kept telling myself as I built up our savings.  However, at the same time, our debt was also increasing.  But I had a plan.  The debt could be paid down over three years while increasing our savings at the same time.  And in a perfect world, everything would have gone according to plan.  But anyone with a family knows the world is not perfect.

Kids cost money.

Three words:  uninsured medical expenses. Nothing too serious.  It was a totally elective quality of life thing.  But it was something that cost us a significant chunk of change out of pocket.  And that was in addition to the variety of activities you expect a ten-year-old girl to be involved in.

Pets cost money.

Our beloved lab had a bit of a medical issue of her own last summer.  Surgery was required and she made a full recovery.  But veterinary care ain’t free.

Cars cost money.

Faced with another large repair bill for our aging minivan, we decided that our money would be better spent towards a new vehicle.  That decision made no difference to our existing savings, but now we have a weekly car payment, an obligation that will hamper our ability to build our savings at the rate we hoped.

Debt costs money.

We could have stuck with Plan A:  build savings while paying down debt at the same time.  But I was beginning to grow comfortable carrying debt– something I swore I would never allow to happen again.  Plus, with the surprise expenses added to our low rate credit card, our minimum monthly payments were on the verge of becoming unsustainable.  Or at least our three year plan to eliminate our debt was in serious jeopardy.

Repairs cost money.

Some repairs simply cannot wait.  Our back dormer was leaking around the window.  Our architect suggested extending the roof which would not only add protection for the window, but also allow us to solve ventilation issues.  Although I intended this repair to be added to the addition and garage project (sort of a “while you are at it” deal), waiting a few years to fix a water issue is a recipe for disaster.  So we had this work done in January.

Good-bye savings.

The dormer repair wiped out what was left of our savings.  The rest of our savings had gone towards getting our ballooning debt back down to a manageable level.  So we return to Plan A:  build up our savings while paying down our debt.  But I am looking seriously at refinancing our mortgage in a couple of years to get the addition and garage done sooner.  I don’t want to wait another four or five years. 

Tired of being “that house”

I admit it.  Our house is the neighbourhood eyesore.  Frankly it’s embarrassing.  The sooner we rebuild the addition and build a garage, the sooner we improve our curb appeal and start building some goodwill with the neighbours.  That’s something that is difficult to put a price on and if it means postponing my retirement for a few years to pay off a larger mortgage so we can get it done sooner, then so be it.

My preliminary Internet research backed the food leakage theory.  I got out the owner’s manual and found out how to remove the bottom of the oven (just undo two screws and slide it out).  Inside was a small pile of insulation in one corner, and a black chunk of coal-like substance near the burner.

The small pile of insulation was clearly nesting material.  We live in the country and it isn’t the first time I uncovered a mouse nest.  And the black coal-like chunk?  Upon closer inspection, it bore an unmistakable resembance to a small rodent, though thoroughly cremated.

The lesson learned from this bizarre incident is that food spillage is not the only cause of excessive smoke coming from the oven.

The back dormer-- no ventilation and a leaking window.

Looking at the photo, the leaking window is the one on the left.  Apparently, due to the lack of a drip edge, water is getting in behind the siding and running down the window inside.  This alone might be a DIY job except that I have never done any siding work and I certainly don’t want to go through my usual trial and error approach twenty feet above the ground.  I would rather pay someone who knows what they are doing who can probably do the work in half an hour.  And therein lies the problem.  It’s a small job and most contractors are presently swamped with big jobs.

Even with the added roof work– extending the roof to create an overhang and adding soffit ventilation– this is still a small job.

Get three estimates, they say

When I first discussed the issue with our architect and he suggested the solution and offered to draw up the detail, I was willing to go with any contractor he recommended.  However, none of his contacts were available to take on such a small project.

That led me to contact  roofing and siding companies, including the one that did our roof when we first moved into this money pit.  Of the three companies I contacted, one declined to come out at all, and of the two that did, only one provided an estimate.  Roofers usually don’t get involved with framing, so they have to bring in subcontractors for that part of the job.

The estimate we received was within the range that I expected, but was at the upper end (a little over, if you include taxes).

After sitting on the estimate for a while, I considered calling general contractors.  I figured that we could get estimates for the interior work (enclosing the stairs and repairing the tile grout) at the same time and maybe take care of everything at once.  I  called one company that has a reputation for being expensive, but having high standards.  In fact, we had contact with this company before, about seven years ago when we first learned of the deficiencies in the addition.   Their receptionist suggested that I directly contact the contractors to whom they would subcontract these jobs.

I called the exterior contractor and we had a pleasant conversation on the phone.  I explained what we wanted done and he seemed willing to do it.  He said he would call to set up a time when he would be able to come out to take a look and provide an estimate.  The next day, he called to say that he was just too busy and that he would not be bidding on the job.

One thing I don’t want to do is start throwing darts at the newspaper classifieds.  There are probably plenty of talented weekend handyman type guys out there who could do this job and do it well, but having dealt with shoddy workmanship in the past, I don’t want to take the chance this time.

So yesterday, we signed the contract with the roofing company that provided our only estimate for the job.  We are now in their production schedule, but it will be a few months before they get to our project.  But at least our project will be “gotten to” by someone I trust.

The back dormer has a history of problems.  Back in 2004, we discovered significant water damage from a long-term water leak.

The water problem should have been solved when we had the dormer resided.  The contractor we hired to fix a structural problem with the dormer also moved the window to center it, so we are not sure whether he is to blame, or if it is the fault of the siding contractor, but we continued to have water infiltration.  However, we were unaware of the extent of the problem until we had our house extensively renovated.  In the intervening years, we did not use the upper floor.  Out of sight, out of mind.

It was our architect that noticed recent water staining while doing an initial walk-thru with the contractors who extensively renovated our house in 2009.  Once we knew of the problem, we expressed our desire to have it repaired.

To this day, I am not sure exactly what the contractor did, but whatever it was did not work.

When we recently re-hired the architect to start preliminary plans for the addition, I mentioned the dormer leak.  He took a look and recommended extending the roof (there is currently no overhang) and he also noticed that there was no drip edge above the window.  He said that he would “work on a detail” for us.

The last time we met with the architect was at the end of August.  He again reiterated that he would “work on a detail.”

At the beginning of October, I sent him an email indicated we wanted to take care of the dormer ASAP and also wished to have someone build the stair wall for us since I just can’t seem to find the time.  As it turns out, there have been technical issues with the contractor’s email and telephone service, so my repeated attempts to contact him failed.

Earlier this week (Thursday afternoon) we finally received the details for the stair wall and dormer.  However, because the jobs are rather small, he does not have any contacts who are willing to do the work.  Had we known that, we would have hired a roofing / siding company months ago and had the problem fixed once and for all.  Now, we are beginning to experience winter-like weather, whcih is not optimal for working on dormer.

Given the track record of water issues with the dormer, I think we will probably wait until May before carpeting the stairs, making sure the repair of the dormer passes the “April showers” test.  We’ll probably get a better deal on the carpet if we do the living room at the same time, so it looks like it will be five or six months before we are “finished” the old part of the house.

Painting finished

While I was still holding out hope of finishing things by Christmas, I managed to get the living room painted.  At least something has been accomplished recently.

]]> http://thumbandhammer.com/blog/2011/11/the-dormer-saga/feed/ 0 http://thumbandhammer.com/blog/2011/10/moving-thermostats/ http://thumbandhammer.com/blog/2011/10/moving-thermostats/#comments Sun, 02 Oct 2011 08:29:41 +0000 Thumb & Hammer http://thumbandhammer.com/blog/?p=889 On paper, it seemed like a simple task: move two thermostats. In reality, I knew it would not be so easy but I never expected it to turn into a multi-day project. Then again, almost everything I attempt to do takes far longer than it should, so why would I expect this to be any different? Read on.]]> On paper, it seemed like a simple task:  move two thermostats.  In reality, I knew it would not be so easy but I never expected it to turn into a multi-day project.  Then again, almost everything I attempt to do takes far longer than it should, so why would I expect this to be any different?

Why move the thermostats?

Our house has zoned heating, so there are half a dozen thermostats throughout.  The two thermostats in question are located in the front hallway– one for the in-floor heating in the bathroom, hallway and kitchen, and the other one for the baseboard radiators on the rest of the main floor (except for the family room) and air conditioning for the entire house.

Location of the thermostats was not ideal for a number of reasons.

The first problem is that these two thermstats have a tendency to cancel each other out.  If the in-floor heat is on, it warms the other thermostat so it will not kick on the baseboards resulting in warm tiles, but cold bedroom and living room.  In order for the baseboards to kick on, the in-floor usually has to be off resulting in a warm air, but cold tiles.  It took a lot of experimenting to find a “sweet spot” where both thermostats functioned, but maintaining a comfortable temperature should not be so complicated. 

The other problem is that the thermostats are located on a wall that was designed by the architect to be a feature, since it is framed nicely by the living room archway.  On his last visit to our house, he lamented the poor location of the thermostats, indicating that “There should be a picture hanging there.”  This was something I hadn’t really contemplated until now.  I wanted them moved for the first reason, but this second reason now gave me even more incentive.

Better Location

After some careful thought, I decided that the thermostats would be better located on the wall dividing the livingroom and hallway– the AC/main floor heat on the livingroom side, and the in-floor on the tiled hallway side.  The new locations are closer to the boiler, so re-routing the wires for the heat would be relatively simple. The AC wire, on the other hand, would be a little more difficult, but still do-able.

Gone “fishing”

Thermostat wiring is low-voltage– no device box necessary– and require only a small hole drilled in the wall.  Smaller holes make fishing wires a bit of a challenge.  This is where a chain comes in handy.

• Drill a hole through the bottom plate from the basement.
• Drill a hole in the wall where the thermostat is to be located.
• Feed the chain into the hole in the wall and let gravity take it down to the bottom plate.
• Somehow find the chain from below and pull it through the hole in the bottom plate. I cut out a small piece of drywall at the bottom plate and fed the chain into the hole from the main floor.
• Attach the wire to the chain and pull the chain back up.

Feeding the chain through the hole in the drywall. Notice the hole at the bottom for feeding the chain through the bottom plate. This hole will be covered by the baseboard molding.

Wire is attached to the chain, ready to be pulled up through the hole.

Aside from taking time to measure carefully, and running up and down stairs a few times, this was not a terribly difficult task and I was able to do it without any assistance and the in-floor thermostat is now wired up.

Then progress grinds to a halt

The boiler is in the basement.  The basement is unfinished.  Working from below the main floor is relatively easy.  The air handler for the cooling, on the other hand, is located in the attic and the thermostat wire is buried behind finished walls.  Fortunately, several years ago, before the big renovation, while some walls were opened up, I had run conduit from the attic to the basement for cat5 wiring from an exterior wall mounted wireless Internet receiver. Subsequently, that receiver was moved to another location and has since been abandoned after we went to a 3G hub.  Fortunately, we did not remove the conduit during the renovations so I have a means of running wires from the basement to the attic.

Working in the attic is not comfortable.  There isn’t much room for crawling over the air handler, the numerous ducts and the drain pipes, and I’m a pretty big guy (even though I weigh about 50 pounds less than I did a couple of years ago).  But I managed to cut into the conduit and used the old cat5 wire to fish the thermostat wire up to the attic.  I routed the new wire over to where the old wire was connected to the air handler.  And that was where my forward momentum ceased.

The existing connections were encased in electrical tape.  When I unravelled the tape, I noticed two wires that were not connected to anything.  The end of one was capped with a connector.  The other one was not, so the question is whether it had been connected to anything or had just not been capped.  Uncertainty is not a good thing when it comes to a such a sophist-i-ma-cated mechanical contraption.  At that point, I made the decision to call someone to make the necessary connections.

I figured I would at least get the thermostat wires roughed in, but when I went down to the basement I discovered a second problem. There wasn’t enough thermstat wire left.  The time was approaching 6:00 (the thermostat wiring was not my first project of the day).  I rushed over to Canadian Tire, hoping that (one) they did not close at 6 and (two) that they had the wire I needed to finish the job.  Unfortunately, I got to Canadian Tire about two minutes before they closed.  Not wanting to be that last-minute shopper store employees loathe, I didn’t bother going in.

I could have gone to Home Depot, which closes later and which I know has what I need, but that’s a half hour drive away.  That meant that it would be between 7 and 7:30 before I would return home.  Before I left on this errand, my daughter was already making noise about wanting dinner so I made the decision to delay the Home Depot run until the morning.

Thus a project that should have only taken a couple of hours will span a couple of days, and I’m still going to call in the heating contractor to make the connections so I can be confident that they are done right, adding an expense that I had not anticipated.  But at least once everything is finshed the heat will work better, and we will have the feature wall that the contractor envisioned.

Our Time Frame

We started this process with the expectation that it would be broken into two phases, with phase one being the garage and phase 2 being the addition.  We expected the garage to be built in the late summer or early fall next year.  However, with the constraints of the existing structure and our lot size this would be impossible.  The existing addition has to come down first.  This leaves us with three options:

1. Tear down the addition.  Build the new addition and garage at the same time.  This is the most cost-effective.
2. Tear down the addition.  Repair the existing house as necessary.  Build the garage.  Build the addition at a later date.  I get my garage, but we lose the room where we spend most of our time.  We would also be patching holes in the exterior wall of the house only to open them up again in a few years.
3. Tear down the addition.  Build the new addition.  Build the garage at a later date.  This is also more expensive in the long run.  It makes sense to build both structures at the same time, while the heavy equipment is already here.

The first option is what we want, but we are about five years away financially.  Our architect has already put out some feelers to see if we would be able to obtain the necessary variances, and the indications are that we would.  However, some of the players could be changing within the next few years and we may not get the same level of support from future administrators.  We best strike while the iron is hot, so to speak.

Strategies

We are considering a couple of options.  First, our architect is going to see if we might be able to get permits that are valid for five years (it’s a long shot and, I think, not very likely).  Failing that, we can get the permits in order now, and go back every year to apply for extensions. There would be a certain amount of expense associated with this and the building department may get a little impatient.  Applying for an extension doesn’t necessarily mean on will be granted.

Our tentative plan is to move the project up to four years or less.  Although I did not want to increase our debt burden, we can either finance a portion of the project on our mortgage when it comes due (four years) or take out a secured line of credit.  In the interim, I’ll just keep stuffing as much money under the mattress as possible.

The plan for the stairs

The architect liked my idea for replacing the existing railing with a windowed wall (see “A step in the right direction?“) and gave me a good idea of how to finish the area off.

The architect’s vision

By building a wall with two doorways– one for the stairs and one for the back landing– we separate the front entrance from the back part of the house.  The doorways would be framed the same as the other doorways so everything ties together.

The architect's idea: separate the stairs and back landing from the front entrance

The downside of this idea is that the existing tile would be disturbed where the wall meets the floor at either side.  There is also a headroom issue at the stairs if the bulkhead is brought down to the same level as the other doorways.

My modification

I like the idea of creating the two doorways and intend to accomplish that with arches rather than framed openings.  That way, I can keep the bulkhead higher so there is no issue with headroom.  It also avoids disturbing the tile at the sides and eliminates the corners on the floor where dirt would inevitably accumulate.

Archways accomplish the same separation as the framed doorways.

Photo modifications were done in quickly but you get the idea….

Time Crunch

We plan to spend Christmas at home this year (for the first time in three years) and my wife envisions the Christmas tree in front of the picture window in the living room.  To get to that point, there is much work to be done:

• Finish repairing the living room walls.
• Relocate thermostats for heat and AC.
• Construct wall and arches for stairway.
• Have the back dormer repaired for water leak.
• Have contractors regrout tile as necessary (repair).
• All priming and painting.
• Have carpet installed in livingroom and on stairs.
• Install all trim.
• Install (or have installed) window coverings.

Most of this work should be done by US Thanksgiving which gives me ten weekends.  Procrastination is no longer an option.

Handrail height

The height of the existing handrail is only 28 inches.

According to the Ontario Building Code, the height of the handrail is required to be between 800 mm (2 ft 7 in) and 965 mm (3 ft 2 in) measured from the stair nosing. Technically, this banister serves as a  guard, which is covered separately in the building code.  Minimum code requirement for a guard for stairs is 35 inches.

A handrail issue could easily be resolved by installing one on the other side of the stairs at the proper height, but that would not solve the stair guard issue.

The handrail is obstructed

Another reason this banister cannot serve as a proper handrail is because it is obstructed by the second flight of stairs.

Ontario Building Code requires that the handrail be graspable along its entire length with no obstruction on or above it to break a handhold.  Again, this issue can be solved by installing a handrail on the other side of the stairs that meets code.  If this railing met the requirement as a guard this obstruction would be a non-issue.

Guard Height

The barrier around the stairway on the second floor is only 33 inches high.

The Ontario Building Code requires that this guard be a minimum of 2 ft 11 in high.  The guard falls short by 2 inches (which could lead to a more dangerous fall.

Openings in Guards

While the majority of spindles are properly spaced, there are a couple that exceed the four inch maximum.  Just imagine the amount of work to remove and reinstall all the spindles to meet code…

The Ontario Building Code requires that openings in guards “be of a size which will prevent the passage of a spherical object having a diameter of more than 100 mm (4 in)….  Exceptions can be made, if it can be shown that a larger opening would not represent a hazard.  Perhaps I could win the argument in this case, but it would be up to the inspector as to whether or not to allow an exception.

Aesthetic issues

Beyond the building code issues, it was the general aesthetics that led me to take a closer look at the stairs in the first place.

The spindles encroach on the steps.  Cladding the stairs in hardwood, or even covering them with carpet becomes a challenge because whatever material is uses has to be trimmed around the spindles.  Not a good look.  Cleaning the spaces between the spindles is a lot of work and naturally those are the areas that attract dirt and dog fur.

And finally, the pain in the proverbial butt that started it all:  The guard on the main floor is awkwardly close to the balustrade on the first flight of stairs.  Painting each spindle around its entire 360 degree surface– and doing a good job– would be especially difficult.  I got a taste of that when I was applying stripper to the surfaces to remove the previous owner’s finish.  And just like on the stairs, the spaces between the spindles are magnets for dirt and tedious to keep clean.

Can’t wait to break out the sawsall…

Once I get the architect’s opinion and ideas, and finalize the design of the wall, it will be time to break out the implements of destruction.  Demolition is always my favourite part of any job, although in this case I will probably try to salvage as much of the materials as possible.  The main floor guard will come down first.  The wall can be built before removing the balusters on the first flight of the stairs.  Up on the second floor, a new guard will have to be installed.  I’m not sure whether I will be doing that myself, or hiring someone else.  It might be worth hiring that job out, as whoever does the balustrade around the second floor can also install the hand rails. 

The first order of business was to strip the old finish off the railing and spindles.  I had scuff sanded everything two years ago, but decided to go the extra mile and completely strip everything down to the bare wood.  I spent about $60 at Canadian Tire on stripper, brushes and sanding supplies.  I then spent about 6 hours stripping and sanding 20 of the 60 spindles and a section of the railing.  At the end of the day, I came to the conclusion that I had wasted $60 on supplies and 6 hours of my time.

Issue:  not enough space to work

The stairway consists of one ten-step flight up to a landing, turning 180 degrees and continuing up a few more steps to the second floor.  On the main floor, the railing system turns 180 degrees and continues to the steps leading to the back door landing. There is precious little space between the railing and each of these segments.  Painting spindles is tedious work to begin with.  Getting the  brush between the main floor section and the first flight section to slop on the stripper was difficult enough when neatness didn’t count.  Actually doing a neat paint job would be a daunting challenge.

Issue:  not quite up to code

The building code state that the hand rail going up a flight of stairs must be continuous with no obstructions.  On the first flight of stairs, the railing is too close to the stringer of the second flight.  Now, building codes change and no homeowner can be expected to continually renovate his home to meet the new standards.  But it is hard for me to justify spending a lot of time and effort to prettify something that just ain’t right.  You can put lipstick on a pig, but it is still a pig.

Issue:  Holy crap, that’s a lot of work

Okay, I’ll admit it.  My propensity for laziness has taken over.  It took me six hours to strip a third of the railing and spindles. That means another twelve hour investment in time and effort to complete the stripping.  Painting multiple coats would also require a significant amount of time and effort.  My thoughts turned to hiring this job out,  but there would still be the issue of the railing not quite being up to code.

The idea: build a wall

As much as we like the open look of the stairs, I am thinking that building a wall between the first and second floor may be a viable solution.  The stairs would not be closed in completely;  there will be “window” openings.  The concept looks something like this:

Closing in the stairs

The spindles are attached on top of the tread on the inside of the stringer, so by getting rid of them we would actually be gaining an extra inch and a half of useful stair width.  The front post/column will receive some fancy architectural detailing since it will be the dominant feature visible from the front entrance.

I will be asking our architect for his opinion on this idea next time we meet with him, but I see some positive aspects to this plan:

• It solves the code issue by eliminating  obstructions.
• It solves the painting issue.  Granted, painting the spindles may only be a one-time occurance in my lifetime, but getting rid of two thirds of them will simplify the renovation.  Framing a wall, installing and finishing drywall and painting will probably take less time than painting the spindles, and the results will likely be a lot better.
• It solves an on-going maintenance issue.  Fewer spindles to keep clean.
• It allows more options for finishing the treads, since the spindles will no longer be encroaching on the treads.  Installing hardwood treads or carpet would  both be simplified without having to cut around the spindles  The proper way would be to remove and then reinstall the spindles, but the way the railing ties in from the main floor to the first flight makes that solution nearly impossible without causing damage.

The only downside will be loss of openness, but at this point I think the trade-off will be worth it.  But I will wait for a professional opinion before I embark on this project.