random reidings: Out with the old, in with the new

I sat and contemplated things yesterday in the erie silence that was our house. No distant hum from lights to colour the background; no constant furnace fan whirring around me everywhere I went; none of those everyday sounds that we've learned to ignore as we go about our days; nothing but the sounds of productive work echoing from the basement laundry / utility room.

Except the rumble of a gas-powered generator outside on the deck, as the electricians worked to remove the old electrical breaker panel that has served this house since 1962, and it's newer companion, the sub panel I had installed a few years back when I brought the Delta cabinet table saw back home and set up a scaled down woodworking shop space in our small single car garage.

I brought in a company to handle this aspect of the renovation, a company I use on a regular basis for electrical work commercially in the course of my regular life as a contract project manager for a commercial general contractor. The guys are almost like family - I see them regularly, know their stories and their natures, and they know me - so it's not your typical residential job for them, it's different, it's easier in a lot of respects, but more difficult at the same time - for while they know I'll give them free reign to correct and fix what they see, and I won't hover and stand over their shoulders while they're working, they also know that I'm not a one-off customer they won't have contact with again. The stakes are higher to produce a quality product.

But that's why I asked for the lead electrician I did, because I know he'll clean everything up like it's his own house and make it right; even more than right when possible, and he knows I appreciate his knowledge and his attention to detail.

Sure I dropped in on them now and then and checked their progress as they went about tagging, cataloguing and tracing the existing lines to make sure each one was accounted for and able to be installed in the new service properly and orderly, but I gave them space to work required, and they knew if they needed clarification on any aspect of the job I'd be there to assist them, and when they needed some 2x4 cut offs to attach the new plywood backer board, all they had to do was ask.

I think its important to give people space to perform their work, and not micromanage what doesn't need your input. It's a lot like raising children, sure they need boundaries and discipline and the knowledge that actions have consequences, but you have to let them grow and learn on their own for best results.

With this first tangible step in the renovation process underway, it struck my how much our lives are going to change this summer, and while I'm comfortable with the amount of upheaval that's headed our way, I'm not sure Karen or Riley is aware of what's barreling down the tracks right at them. But that's how we roll, I'll try and keep them comfortably unaware of the multitude of things going on behind the scenes as we approach that day when we can finally swing a hammer and start dismantling those past chapters of our lives tied into those doomed walls; like a good parent, protecting my crew from unnecessary stress and uncertainty, while at the same time, preparing them for the positive things coming their way.

Out with the old, in with the new.

Here's what was powering the house before: