Permit and The Home Depot delivery bill

Here's the permit and site plans in case you wanted to see what they look like. Click on it to see the PDF of the permit and site plans.





I also thought you would like to see the order for delivery that I placed at The Home Depot. I will have to pick up the rest of it but if I put my seats down I should have no trouble. Delivery is only $60.00.


The Home Depot bill


It's getting delivered tomorrow. YAY

Please post in a conspicuous place

So I did get a chance to drop off my application for a building permit and my $80 late on Thursday before I had to leave Ottawa.

On Tuesday I received an email that my permit was ready for pick up. I asked my girlfriend to pick it up for me while I was still in Toronto that way I could start once I returned. She had to initial a couple of the notes on my design plan and she left with permit in hand. There were very few notes:

• minimum door width requirements
• minimum headroom (although it was already in my notes)
• heating and cold air return
• foundation insulation requirements
• something that looks like a halfmoon with 5A above it (I'll explain later)

All of the notes made sense to me however I didn't realize they needed to see it on the design. I would have put those notes in there. I had no clue what the 5A symbol represented and even after hours of searching for building design symbols I still couldn't figure it out.

There was also a note on the permit that stated I needed to call my building inspector (BI) before starting.

I left a message for BI on Wednesday afternoon and BI called me back early this morning (the very next day). BI grabbed a copy of the design plan and explained that the halfmoon 5A symbol was actually an "SA" or smoke alarm symbol. Because I already have one at the bottom of the basement stairs BI said I don't need one in the rec room. I also asked BI about how to tie in the existing insulation and the new insulation and BI said just tear down the old where you need to and "do what you need to do to make it work". BI also noted that I need to leave a one inch space between the foundation wall and the interior wall.

Everything is now green lighted and I'm ready to get this party started. I'm going to The Home Depot tonight to order all the stuff I need for delivery. It should be about $1000 in total. That will include:

• studs
• plates
• plywood
• pocket door frame
• insulation
• vapor barrier
• drywall
• corner bead

I will also need to buy the Tapcon screws, the framing nails and a hammer drill before starting. I am planning on scanning in the building permit as well as my stamped designs.

Before pictures and video

Looking at the pictures objectively I can honestly say that on their own they won't mean much to you unless you've actually been in my basement. Hopefully they will have more impact when sitting next to the "after" pictures. Please ignore the hockey gear, exercise bike and personal items (crap) lying around. That's as tidy as it's going to get.














360 degree video in my basement

It's going to be a pretty small space in the end.

Design and building materials update

Tuesday night I spent 2 1/2 hours in The Home Depot trying to get costs for all my building materials. I found prices for everything I need and got a little bit of help while in the store. I needed help finding a can light that would work with a suspended ceiling and I also needed some advice regarding insulation.


I needed to price things out so I could estimate the costs for the building permit application. It turns out that according to my budget the project should cost me $3,755.60. I've also categorized the materials according to phase of the project so I could estimate how the cashflow will work. The Home Depot will deliver any amount of materials for $60... so I'm going to get as much delivered in the first load as I can handle (money wise and space wise). Here's my building materials budget (pdf).


I also polished up the designs and they are ready to be submitted to the city.
















































I was going to submit my application at City Hall this week but I have some unplanned travel for work that had recently come up. Maybe I can sneak in after work today.

BMR sucks

So last night I went to BMR to finish pricing out my building materials. I need to price out everything because the building permit is based on the estimated cost of the project $13.25 for every $1000. I had been to BMR before and didn't like it. This time around I thought because I was doing more "construction-like" work it would be better than a do-it-yourself" store.
WRONG. BMR was tiny and didn't seem to have what I needed. To top it off the layout of the store sucked. For those that don't know BMR (Building Materials and Renovations) is a builder's supplies store in the Ottawa area... trying to be like The Home Depot and Rona.

FYI I sent in a second note to Rona hoping to get some help with my cost list but I still haven't heard back... and I sent in emails for "Project Guide" support to two different stores now. Why offer the service if you don't actually do it.

All this means is that tonight I'm going to The Home Depot to finish off my building materials list. I hope to get my building permit application into the city office this week.

I also cleaned up the basement and took some pictures and short videos. I'll post them another time.

Electrical Permits

This past weekend I deep fried a turkey and picked up some tools from my dad. I picked up a chop saw, a reciprocal saw, a compressor, a finish nail gun and other odds and ends. Some of the big tools I still need to get are a framing gun, a 4' level and an impact drill.

I found out that electrical inspections in Ontario are done by the Electrical Safety Authority. Their fees schedule is nice and complicated for someone who isn't in the business. I think the cost is going to depend on how many outlets I have. I think it will cost me $320.

Tonight I'm putting up my new dish (totally unrelated to the reno). This weekend I'm going to develop my cost list.

FYI last Friday I sent a request for assistance to my local Rona, hoping their "Project Guide" would help me figure out what I need. It's been about a week and I haven't hear back from them. Today I submitted a request again to a different store. I couldn't find a similar service from The Home Depot.

First post

Welcome to my blog. My name is Dave and I’ve decided to write a blog that details my basement renovation project. I’m writing this blog for a few reasons:

• This is my first reno and I will be doing most of the work myself.
• I would like to keep track of my progress so I have something to look back on with fondness.
• A blog just might motivate me to keep on track and not take too many breaks.
• I’m hoping I can provide enough detail to inspire others to do the same.

Background

I’m currently 35 years old with very little construction experience. I'm moderately handy and did some roofing (shingling and rubber roofs) with my dad as a part time job during some summers and weekends. I'm a pretty motivated guy but I can be a little lazy at times. This is my first home and I’ve owned it for 4 years. It’s a small two story detached house in Ottawa, Ontario. That means this blog should describe some of the building code requirements for finishing a basement in Canada and will cover how to finish a basement in a cold climate.

Over the years I’ve done a few small projects to improve this living space. To be completely honest, just about every project I’ve done has been focused on improving the resale value of this house. I don’t expect to live here forever and hope to buy a larger home in the same area in a few years. Some of the projects I’ve done so far are:

• Tile in upstairs main bathroom (first ever tile work, done on a 45 angle)
• Tile in main floor (subcontracted out the hardwood floor)
• Painted the outside siding trim
• Installed a new screen door

Again, this is just to give you an idea of my experience level... or lack of.

Work to date

So far I haven’t done much actual work. I’ve been doing some research on the internet and recently moved some of the existing shelves and rebuilt them to be able to clear space for this project. I still have quite a bit of stuff stored in the basement and you might see some of my crap in the upcoming pictures.

I bought one basement reno book that came highly recommended and so far it’s been a great investment. It’s called “Remodeling a Basement (Build Like A Pro)” by Roger German and I bought it at Chapters.

http://www.chapters.indigo.ca/books/Remodeling-Basement-Tauntons-Build-Like-Roger-German/9781561586592-item.html?pticket=nkhhup55c3fvnkjel5ttg0550QfmOzT9xiF9i1JoehvZglCezsU%3d

It walks you through a complete basement renovation of the project and includes some good detail too. Only $13.00.

I’ve also researched building permit prices and consulted the sample design plans available from my municipal office. A basement building permit for the city of Ottawa will cost me $13.25 per $1000 of the total project costs (minimum of $80). Because I’m building a very basic basement with no plumbing I will probably be pretty close to the minimum. With my permit I get separate inspections for framing, insulation/vapour barrier, and one final inspection. I don’t see any info about electrical inspections on the city Web site and I’m not sure how that will play out. Although I expect to be doing most of the wiring myself and will probably have a licensed electrician add it to the main circuit.

Based on my research I’ve been able to put together a design layout that includes the current layout and the proposed layout. After trying a few different applications for design, I decided to just use Visio. It’s pretty basic but should be good enough for me to print my plans and have them approved by the city.

Here's a PDF version of the layout:
http://www.webtuned.net/basement/New%20Basement%20-%20October%209%202008.pdf

The Plan

I hope that at the end of this project I will have a somewhat warm rec room that I can use to watch TV (football), workout (just an exercise bike) and use as a second computer room. I’m into FTA (Free to Air) TV and I’m a bit of a geek. That means I’ll have extra outlets for coax cable and network plugs.

I'll be working on this project during the evenings and on weekends. I would love to be done in time for Superbowl but I’m not going to rush to get it done by then. I think if it’s done by the spring I would be happy. Another thing to note is that I will be paying for this project in small increments as my disposable income permits. That means I might have to delay work if I don’t have the extra money. This project isn’t top priority for me and I’m hoping to get it done cheaply.

My plan is to do a regular 2X4 wall construction with bat insulation (not sure of the R value yet) with a suspended ceiling and carpet/underpad laid directly on the concrete from. I plan on doing all the work myself (with no help at all) except for three parts. I'll be subcontracting the drywall (taping and sanding only), the electrical (connecting to the main circuit) and laying the carpet. I’m contracting out the taping and sanding because a skilled professional will do a much better looking job than I could. I’m contracting out the electrical because I don’t want to electrocute myself. And I’m contracting out the carpeting because it is going to continue from the basement and up the stairs, and I don’t want to do stairs.

For interior design (or lack thereof...) I'll be consulting Ikea. I will be restricted on what I can buy though... the stairs in my house have a corner landing and getting stuff down to the basement will be tricky. I had to give away my last sofa because it was too long to get down the stairs. Maybe I'll just get a bunch of beanbag chairs.

Next Steps

I don’t have a formal workplan yet so everything is still in my head. Here’s what on my internal “to do” list:

• Finish clearing out the basement
• Take some good “before” pictures for the before and after
• Set up a supplies cost list (building supplies and tools) by visiting Rona or the Home Depot
• Pick up some tools from my parents in Hamilton
• Prepare a detailed workplan
• Finish designs (including electrical)
• Get the permit from the city.

So this thanksgiving weekend I’m travelling to Hamilton to pick up some tools from my dad and visit. My dad has a decent stockpile of tools (chop saw, reciprocal saw or hopefully more) that I can borrow indefinitely. Before I buy any tools I’m going to check with family and friends first. I’m also going to stop in Toronto to buy a new satellite dish. This new dish will be able to connect to at least 3 birds (satellites) at once. I'm might also bring my deep fried turkey kit with me so we can have a deep fried turkey this weekend... my brother has never enjoyed the deliciousness of deep fried turkey.

How’s that for a first post?