Finally

It would be completely untrue to say that the reno has take until today to finish. Of course there will always be a few little things here and there that we need to fine tune, but we have been "done" (in my mind) since sometime in September - I think it was the day the sinks were installed in the master bathroom - followed soon after by the mirrors. There was a dark time when I thought we would be in the running for the world record of longest renovation in human history (that reference is for the media groups that like to use that term).

A few weeks ago we had small open house for some clients, as well as a few of the trades who worked on the house (the ones we're still speaking to). It was great to be able to finally use the large front room for entertaining. Instead of hanging out in the kitchen (hard to do with the caterers there), a large number of people seemed to take turns hanging out in our ensuite - it might have had something to do with heated tile floors.

The day before the party we were moving pieces of art around the various rooms trying to find the best place. There are still a few walls that need a punch of colour - primarily over the sofa in the living room.

The night before the party I was finding and printing prints of photos from various cities we've visited over the years. These three pictures found their home (for now) over our bed.
We have now pictures of the new storage room or Spence's bedroom in the basement. Since they were finished they have fully evolved into the intended purposes and not fit to share broadly.

Admittedly, it was nice to be able to sit on our new sofa and watch the occasional show on a TV larger than the 15-inch one in the kitchen. If I never sit on the barstools in the kitchen again, it will be too soon.

We are excited to finally have a place where friends and family can stay if they are visiting or have had too much wine with dinner. We've got a top-of-the-line mattress, guest robes and slippers. What are y'all waiting for??




And here is where we hang out - this is what made it all worth it:

Home stretch

The doors are in (all 17 of them). The bathrooms are tiled.

We are at the stage now where things are beginning to look amazing - the tile work in both bathrooms is something to behold. Rather that put in pictures, you will have to wait until the grand reveal. For those of you who aren't able to stop by when things are done, we will create a virtual tour of the new spaces. Stay tuned.

We are going to be away for the last part of the renos. When we return (around June 6) we should have hardwood floors and everything should be fully painted. The outside of the house should also be fully stucco'd. I expected that by the end of June we should have the furniture in place and ready to show the place off.

Moving along

All the drywall is up and the bulk of the mudding and taping is done. The crew is set to come back Tuesday to do the final sanding (we are preparing for the dust). We have the painter lined up for later in the week to do the priming, followed by the final touch-ups on the drywall. Once the drywall is done we can get the electricians back to install the lights.
Later next week, the storage room will be ready so we can move much of the furniture piled high in the basement and get back to some semblance of order.
The dumpster arrived shortly after the last post and the backyard is clean and tidy.
Not much to show in the way of pictures, other than drywall in the rooms. I'll post some pictures once everything has been primed.

What a difference a week makes

Things have ramped up. Electrical and gas work finished and passed inspection. Hooray!
Drywall installed in two day. Attic insulation blown in (R60 - we are toasty now). The forecast is for a bit of snow this weekend, but we don't care. Our ears are pleased with the silence of not having the furnace running non-stop.

Next week, the mudders and tapers will arrive to prepare the walls and ceiling for paint. The painter was here yesterday to look over the project and give us a quote. The stucco guy was also here to gather what he needs to quote on doing something with the exterior.

We remain hopeful that a dumpster is delivered soon because the backyard is a mess with all the scrap drywall pieces and other bits of construction material.

Long time, no blog...

...and very little activity to speak of - but now we are on a role.

We had a large setback in February with the original plumber we were using on our project. It turns out he was/is inept. After taking what seemed like forever to get the plumbing installed, his "handy-work" failed the plumbing inspection, TWICE. And he didn't seem to be in any kind of hurry to fix it. Worried that we were likely to have more problems down the road, we fired the plumber and hired a new guy - the veritable "Mike Holmes" of plumbers. The new plumber saw fit to rip out what was installed to start from scratch. Fingers crossed, that the plumbing inspection planned for tomorrow passes.

On other positive notes, over this past week, the electrical and insulation is finished enough to drywall. The drywall is set to be delivered on Wednesday and I should have more to report with pictures next weekend. We expect to have two full weeks of drywall work (including the mudding and taping).

There are a few walls that already have drywall because that was necessary to contain the soundproofing insulation for all the bathroom walls. We expect our place to be extra toasty warm next winter given the spray-foam insulation in all of the new exterior walls.

Stay tuned for more next weekend.

All systems go

Since jackhammering open the wall for the heating ducts, things have been running quite smoothly with the reno. Fingers crossed, knock on wood, rabbit foot in pocket, and salt over right shoulder (or is it the left).

Now, we have heat in every area of this house - old and new. Next week, if good luck prevails, we will have insulation to hold the heat in. The past week has been a real test of the furnace. It has been running 24/7. Thankfully it isn't our electricity bill that has been spiking or the authorities might have thought we have a hydroponic operation going on inside.

It is hard to show the heat in pictures, but you'll just have to take my word for it. In fact, I wake up at night and it seems so hot to what we've had that I feel like I'm in a desert.

This weekend we have had a very talented guy here cleaning up the loose ends before the insulation and drywall. He is reinforcing the walls that will hold the giant folding wall. And, as it turns out, the ceiling in what was the old master bedroom was made 60+ years ago with two by fours and didn't take kindly to the added weight of the new roof - nothing that a new beam can't fix (cha-ching).

The electrical work has past inspection and the plumbing just needs a few quick fixes to comply with the eagle eye of the plumbing inspector.

On Tuesday, we will be rolling out the red carpet for the king of insulators. Some of the pictures show that a few walls have been drywalled. We needed to do this so the insulator can spray the foam insulation on these walls, which will provide a high-level of sound proofing in the rooms that have shared walls with the two new bathrooms.

After insulation, we will expect to have the drywaller - we're expecting him a week after the insulator arrives.

Some of these pictures were taken with a wide-angle so they are a bit distorted - but then again, so are we. (If you hold your mouse over the picture, there is a description of what you are looking at.)

Turn up the heat

Let's begin with the hard work of the weekend, and the photo to prove it! After lamenting about having to create an opening in the wall for the new heat ducts, we now have the opening. We started with a concrete saw that weighted about 30 pounds. We blew the breaker several times, leaving us in the dark as the spinning blade came to a rest. That adventure was short-lived.

Our second attempt was more successful... a handheld jackhammer. Not quite as heavy as the saw, but a whole lot safer. After an hour and a half of "rat-a-tat-tat," we have an opening sufficient for the ducts (I hope!). On the back side of the hole is the existing basement bathroom. This hole comes in right above the mirror. When the heating guys return, they will run the ducts across the ceiling in the bathroom, through the hole in the wall to all the necessary points that will heat the addition.

At the risk of being optimistic, the insulation guy is booked for the week of February 12.

Day 264

We heard from the heating guys last week that they were primed and ready for the project. The only "but" was that there might be just one other job that they would have to do in tandem with ours. They were all teed up to start earlier this week, which they did.

For them to balance the heat evenly throughout the house (old and new) they have to adjust the ducts that currently provide heat to the existing parts of the house. How do they do that? Well, first you have to expose the main heating ducts. Then they replace all of those ducts, making sure that the size of the ducts allow just the right amount of airflow. More information than you probably need, but it explains the photo in this entry. We had to remove a portion of the ceiling in the basement (one of our only places of refuge from this ongoing renovation saga). That required moving all the furniture in the basement to the middle of the room, rendering the space unusable. We are now relegated to kitchen and half of the living room (the other half is covered in plastic from when we moved the windows about four or five months ago.) The upside: sleeping just steps from the fridge makes it very easy to satisfy those late night cravings.




With less than a quarter of the project complete, the heating guys returned this morning to pick up their materials. There is some concrete that needs to be removed before they can continue to carry the new ducts to the new parts of the house. Let's recap... They have, thus far, reworked the exiting heating lines. You know, the ones that were already providing heat to the existing part of the house. That's it. They say they will call on Monday, which means sometime next week - if we're lucky. In the meantime, we need to cut through a six-inch concrete wall. Many factors at play - in a few months we won't need heat. At least that is something to look forward to.





I'm beginning to plan the one-year anniversary (May) of the start of this project. You are all invited. BYOI (bring your own insulation). Even when we get the heating sorted out, we don't currently have a line on the expanding spray foam insulation that we will need to keep the much coveted heat in the house.



Signing off for now from the table in the kitchen/living room/dining room/den/bedroom.

In keeping with the theme

I need to squeeze one more entry in before the end of the year. And it's also time to renovate the blog - hence the new look for the new year.

Despite the lack of postings this month, there has been some activity. The electrician guys have been and gone; and actually completed their work. It is amazing how much wire goes into all the lights and plugs - upstairs and down.

Our most recent 'wait' has been for heating guys. Getting the heating right is critical. They've told us that we can do it all with the furnace we installed with the last reno. The trick is to balance the output so that the heat is evenly delivered to the old and new parts of the house. Anyway, we are expecting the heat guys to give us the plan early in the new year. Then insulation. Thankfully, we have had a run of nice weather (except a few weeks in November, which pushed our natural gas bill over $300 for the month).

With the basement floor in and the framing completed downstairs, we can store some of the furniture in the new storage room so we aren't so cramped.

Stay tuned and I'll try to post some new pictures soon.

A hush falls over the reno: AKA Day 214

Yes. Basement floor. That's it. Zip. Zero. Zilch.
We've have freezing weather and had to build a temporary wall upstairs to keep the -30C weather out.
Rumour has it that a new and improved framer is going to be here on Saturday to frame the basement. Hoping that the electrician is coming next week.

and a pair of cement shoes while we're at it

Getting the basement floor has been the least painful of the renovations, thus far. However, when I made the first call to the concrete guys it sounded a bit iffy. When I asked when they could come and pour the basement floor, I was told "after eight days of bad weather."

That didn't sound so good, since we were, at that time, basking in above seasonal temperatures and the concrete guys were busy trying to get in as much outdoor work (sidewalks, driveways, etc.) as possible before the inevitable bad weather hits.

For once I was grateful to the weatherman. Last we had a bit of a cold snap, and true to their word, I got a call and we were inching to the top of the list of indoor (cold weather) projects. These concrete guys have it down to a science. One group comes and dumps the gravel, the next group comes a day or so later and lays the rebar and forms the step, then the next day the concrete truck shows up (@6:45 a.m.) and a few hours later we had a perfectly poured basement floor. Magic! Not to mention that we were able to walk on it the very next day!

Now, instead of having all of our belongings stacked up in corners around the house, we can move some of that stuff to the extra 500 square feet that just materialized.

Next up: framer guys to make a return appearance to frame the rooms in the basement; electrician guys to get us wired; and plumber guy to finish off the work he started weeks ago. The last I saw of the plumber was when he came by to install some of the water lines - I made him coffee, ran to the store for about 10 minutes, and returned to find that he disappeared. My guess is an alien abduction.

New fence

... and it's very sturdy. We're looking forward to having a similar one that will run across the back of the yard.

Grand opening

No, we're not finished. We do, however, have a large opening that now joins the old basement with the new. Concrete cutter guy and helper came by on the weekend and made a large opening. We created a bit of a stir with them after they began to cut the opening, because they got the measurements wrong. Good thing we noticed before they got too far or we would have had a not-so-grand opening. We wanted a 38-inch door, but they heard 30. After a bit of cursing on their part, we got the 38 inches. Whew. Come on guys - 30 inches isn't even to code.

Concrete cutter guy was nice enough to leave us a concrete threshold that I had to remove. A trip to Home Depot, one jack hammer and a few hours later, the opening was complete. Now we are ready to have them (not sure who) pour the basement floor.

In exterior news, we have a new fence. Photos will be posted when I can get outside during daylight. It's a beauty.

A roof with a view

Roofer guy (actually brother of roofer guy - long story) came through and finished getting those shingles on the roof. He even went the extra mile (1.6 kilometres) and installed the two skylights. SWEET. We are now protected from the elements.

While we were up on the roof inspecting his handy-work, it became evident that we should have added a second floor. That's right, from the comfort of our roof, we have a downtown view. The roof also provides an excellent vantage point from which to watch the installation of our new fence. It's quite the mammoth fence. 6"x6" posts. Over six feet high. Our own little gated community.

Stay tuned for more details and pictures of the inside. Framer guys returned today to continue building the interior walls. Too dark right now to take pictures.

Windows in - Roof on

The inside of the reno is really starting to take shape. The process of ripping out the old is pretty much complete. On Friday, we crossed another big milestone: framer guys removed the wall between the existing house and the addition. The bedroom is framed and next on the agenda is the two bathrooms. It looks like a huge space when you're standing in the middle of it all.

If we thought it looked big on the inside, that pales in comparison to how it looks from the outside. Standing in the alley, the addition looks like a monster - it doesn't help it is wrapped in white Tyvek (screams to the neighbours "LOOK AT ME"). I'm sure that it will grow on us - we hope it grows on the neighbours, too.

We have great weather in the forecast. The roof isn't quite complete: Hey shingle guy, where are you? You said you would be here yesterday!!!

As if by magic

A few weekends behind us and what we have in the backyard is unarguably a larger-than-life addition. Each day that I return home from work I'm pleasantly surprised at what awaits me. The forecast has been for rain on and off and thankfully it has been more off lately.

Although these photos don't show it, we are at the roof stage. A few more boards to go up tomorrow and then roofer guy can come and work his magic with the shingles. We're close to the "buttoned up" stage. The interior shots are of the master bedroom's east wall (high window) and south wall. Hopefully we'll have some actual windows in the next shots.

We are floored!

We've had great weather this weekend and the framer guys have been busy sawing and hammering. Alas, the fruits of their labour:
They'll be back tomorrow to finish the floor and start getting some wall-action happening...

Day 131 - but who's counting?

As depressing as the title of this entry sounds, at long last, the materials needed to build up from the foundation are piled high in the backyard. That's right folks - joists, trusses, and all things wood.

Framer guys were here for the past two days. The trusses showed up on Tuesday, but the delivery didn't have the joists. Yes! They delivered the material for the roof but not the essentials for the floor, on which they build the walls and then the roof (rocket science, I know). If they were going to deliver anything, why they wouldn't have started with the flooring material is beyond me. Framer guys kept themselves busy with the demolition of the rooms at the back of the house. Thankfully, the joists showed up this afternoon. Tonight, I shall pray to the patron saint of construction that framer guys come back tomorrow. Day 132 looks like it might be a winner.

Glory be to lumber

Before you faithful visitors thought the renovation had moved ahead and I'd left you in the dust, let me say that August has been a big miss. Nothing - and I mean NOTHING happened in August. Unless you count aggravation due to lies from the joist and truss guy. Don't get me started...

Framer guy (actually, framer guys) did show and arrived bearing gifts. I'm happy to report that there is a nice, neatly bundled pile of lumber in the yard (no photo, take my word for it) - so I guess some stuff did happen in August. But the delivery of the wood is about the extent of it. The problem was that without joists, it is hard (impossible actually) for framer guy and his buddy to build the walls. Jump ahead three weeks.

Just today, we've had another promise of the joists and truss delivery, so I'm hoping that we have something to report after Labour Day. The fact that joist guy is going so far as to say the joists and trusses are (finally) prepared and ready for delivery is a gigantic step.

Stay tuned.

Will tomorrow ever come?

Still waiting for framer guy. Was last weekend. Then last Friday. Now tomorrow (Monday). Stay tuned....
Not even a new picture to share. Every time we drive up the alley into the garage, we joke that we are in the Clampet's place (before they moved to Beverly Hills).