Rennovations
Here are some of the projects we have been working on.
The latest is the fireplace. As you can see from this photo, the before shot isn't pretty. This is supposed to be the focal point of the living room.


We got the idea of cultured stone from Karen's brother's new house. After searching around the lower mainland I found a company called Rocky Mountain Stoneworks in Aldergrove that manufactures and sells a variety of cultured stones. We chose the Whistler Custom Fit Ledgestone.
The first step was ripping apart the old mantle structure which was easy as it was just particle-board. Next was framing, drywalling and mudding the 4" strips of angled walls that the ends of the corner stones would abut. After that I had to prime and paint the walls. I also wanted to raise the fireplace so had to get a flexible vent piece which was rather expensive.
Then came the framing of the structure followed by tar paper and chicken wire. Next I cut and installed the stone beneath the mantle. Then came the mantle piece and cutout above which was fairly simple. I made 1 mistake on cutting the mantle but salvaged it at a cost of only $5. After the 3rd coat of varnish I slowly installed the stone from the mantle to the ceiling. Then I cut and installed the stone below the hearth. Next I painstaking measured and cut the filler pieces that abutted the walls and fireplace. Lastly I cut and installed the hearth stones.
Here is the finished product.

It was a worthwhile project as now the fireplace is now a focal point rather than an eye-sore. It took about 5 weeks of on and off work to finish. As for tools I only had to buy a grinder blade that could cut concrete. The only other equipment needed were tin snips and framing tools. This is a farily easy project that just takes time and a lot of patience.

Before the fireplace was started I rennovated our bedroom. It is a large room and had nothing going for it. I have a before shot that I will post soon.
Firstly I painted the upper walls a deep navy and the lower 3 feet a glossy white. Then I replaced the baseboard and added chair rail. Next I cut and installed trim boxes inbetween the mouldings. Now with most of the moulding complete I installed a ceiling fan to replace the central light fixture. Then I installed pot ligths around the perimeter of the room. I made a costly mistake of cutting a hole before making certain there were no joists in my way. So I had to move the hole a few inches and was left with an unsightly cut in the ceiling which would not be easy to repair. So I decided to do a drywall drop ceiling detail around the perimeter of the room to hide the cut and add an architectural detail. Each aspect of that job from installing the drywall and metal edging to mudding and sanding was a chore and very messy. I was glad when it was done. The ceiling then looked dirty next to the glossy white of the drywall detail so I repainted the ceiling. The walls also got dirty from dust, mud and white paint so I had to clean and repaint them. Lastly I had to fill nail holes, caulk all the mouldings, and paint everything in between.

Now the room looks inviting and feels cozy, a far cry from where I started. Crown moulding is all that remains to be done in this room.

The Grand Wall
Sept 10, 2005
The last major route on Ryan and Dave's tick list. I had been anxious about getting on this route for a long time. Finally we just booked a day and did it.
We started up Merci Me after walking along the ledge. Then we traversed over to the base of the Split Pillar.















Here is Dave red pointing the Pillar. A great job on a sustained pitch.

With some well needed beta I managed to red point the Sword.

Here are a couple of pics of Dave seconding up the sword.



After a painful stint in the awkward hanging belay we ascended the bolt ladder.

I was sure glad we had brought the aiders.

Next was the fun and strenuous Perry's layback. Dave was pretty bagged but valiantly took the lead. The ascent wasn't pretty with lots of yanking on draws and stepping on hangers but he got the job done. Unfortunately Dave had the camera so I didn't get any pics of him.
I followed and made a good effort but fell half-way up. Some arm endurance would have helped.
Next was the 5.9 - 10b face. Somwhat dirty but no problems.
Then came the Flake. I took the honours and managed to onsight the pitch with a lot of rope drag.

Notice the number of cams without draws.

The final trial was traversing Belly Good Ledge. Dave actually did a belly slide on this section. Again he had the camera so I didn't get a shot of that.

The exposure was intense and I can see why you could be tempted to do a belly crawl.
After that section it was a nice easy jaunt back to the parking lot. We ran into another party who had dropped a pack off the 5th or 6th pitch of Millenium Falcon. I was belaying Dave up the sword when it happed. Luckily it missed a party on a lower pitch. Needless to say they weren't impressed. The Arc'teryx pack was surprisingly in good shape. The contents were rather battered and crushed though.
The climb warranted a fancier dinner that Wendy's so we made a stop at Quiznos before camping for the night. We had a fantastic time.