| DIY:装修儿子的bathroom |
2010-09-06 15:56:15 |
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我们半年前搬入新居。地大，区好，价廉。可天下莫有免费午饭 --- 进门再看，“新居”不新， 满眼 60 年代。因此我们决意装修改造。不过，饭要一口一口的吃，就从儿子的 bathroom 开始吧。费话少说，请看片片： 这是 before ，儿子的旧 bathroom 没有存照，但与我们 master bath 几乎一模一样， 黄色的薄铁皮浴缸，墙上是黄色花纹的薄瓷砖，地上是老旧的愬胶地板，加上 80 年代的 vanity ，实在乏善可陈 。
开始 Reno: Gut out the old, 一片狼藉 ;
Put in the new: 贴 glass tiles 。 The Air bubble tub has just been put in
贴马赛克 , the center piece:
这是 after : some leftover grout not being cleaned up completely --- too tired or lazy to finish it off J
自制的 nature marble tile countertop with glass inserts:
  Nature Onyx stone sink, 还有点半透明啦。
 Money talks: Air bubble tub from HomeDepot， Special priced: $690 Faucet from Rona: $186 Mirror stolen from my son’s bedroom: $0 DIY 成就感: priceless 钱是省了， 时间确实花了很多。且不说其他建筑才料都是过去几年鸡肋的， 单单装修就花了我3个星期 full time。我的 DIY skills 誰着我的 renovation process 以日俱进. 以前我总是怕做plumbing work. 这次我自己焊水管，自己装bath tub 下水道，联接电线到 air bath 的 motor. 到了我最后换 toilet的时候, 我已经觉得是轻而易举的事了! 下一个木标是我们的master bath. A frameless glass steam shower? 嘿嘿… |
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| 精品 |
2006-10-11 00:32:27 |
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[IMG]http://i9.tinypic.com/33m62x5.jpg[/IMG]
A friend of mine came over one night and we chatted about the 精品. We were certainly not talking about Porche for man or diamond for woman, which were too industrialized and impersonalized. There are certain things so well crafted or technically precise that they make you fell smarter just for owning them, others so wonderful to look at that holding them in your hands brings a smile to your face, and some so simple and useful that they become part of your daily life, even part of your identity. No matter it is a watch, a pen, or simply a tool, have you had ever owned one of these in your life time? |
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| in Western Canada |
2006-10-10 15:03:23 |
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| The autumn in our city is very short. The most beautiful season of the year usually just lasts a few weeks. The color is so delicate that you just have to slow down in fear of disturbing its peace and natural balance. |
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| A Moment in the Autumn |
2006-10-09 23:48:27 |
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In the early morning on my way to the work, I drive my car on a curved road. Through the shadows of the high-rise trees, the rising sun shines into my eyes. A cold breeze starts to shake the trees slightly; the colorful lights seem to dance with the trees in reflection of the moving leaves. Some loosing leaves are slowly falling down like snow, of cause, not in white, but in bright yellow. A thought strikes my mind: I should jump out of my car to catch this moment with my camera.
The horn blows. Of cause, some inpatient driver behind me reminds a day dreamer that it is the morning traffic time. I slightly press the gas pedal and keep myself up to the traffic.
Nature often shows her best at your most unprepared moment. You don't have to possess it, just appreciate it.
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| Home Insurance Cost Soar |
2006-09-12 16:46:52 |
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(copy from www.homegenies.com)
The skyrocketing cost of residential construction in Alberta has sent home insurance premiums in the province soaring, the biggest such increase seen in Canada in more than two decades.
Builders in Calgary, and to a lesser degree Edmonton, have been complaining for more than a year about the rising cost of building materials and labour. Inflation in the industry has spiralled to such a degree that many firms have simply stopped building residences for fixed prices.
That phenomenon is now biting even those homeowners who have no plans to move. Premiums in the province jumped by more than 40 per cent between July, 2005, and July, 2006, roughly pacing the rise in the replacement cost for private residences over the same time.
It is the biggest jump in premiums seen since a 47-per-cent hike in premiums in New Brunswick in the early 1980s. Alberta's increase far outpaces the rest of the country. Saskatchewan, with an 8-per-cent increase, was a distant second, while fees actually fell 5 per cent in Newfoundland.
The Insurance Bureau of Canada says the increase in Alberta is the inevitable outcome of price inflation in the housing sector, and the near-ubiquitous feature of policies that specify an insurer will replace a dwelling rather than simply pay out a fixed amount of cash. Jim Rivait, vice-president of the Prairies, Northwest Territories and Nunavut for the IBC, said homeowners are actually getting a respite from inflation, since year-long terms mean that price hikes could be delayed for months.
Insurers, on the other hand, must pay today's prices for reconstruction while receiving, at least in part, revenue based on the past's lower prices. However, he could not say whether profits from home insurance are falling because of inflation in residential construction.
www.homegenies.com |
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