My project - The stairs

Well, we have the first coat of paint on the walls.  I have to say the second storey is really taking shape!  Next week is going to be even more exciting with the dressing room closets, bathroom built ins and flooring going in.  After that will be wall touch ups, another coat of paint, the installation of the rest of the mill work (12" baseboards, crown moulding, the archway between the bedroom and dressing room and window and door casings) and finally all of our lighting and plumbing fixtures going in!   Marv, the brick dude from Allied Masonry, has also been hard at work fixing the two giant holes in our foundation to look something more like rough openings for windows. 

In the meantime, Kurt and I have started on our own individual projects.  Kurt has been sanding down all of our existing window trim to get it ready for painting.  After that will be prepping the main floor stairwell spindles and our wainscoating for a paint touch up.  He's also learning about how to build a railing around a stairwell opening and installing a handrail.  The last part is in support of my project... making the stairwell to our half storey look and feel welcoming, attractive and safe.  At present, it is none of those things! 

It will be interesting to make this:

 (The Sneak and Smudge enjoying our stairs shortly after we bought our house)

(Our stairs as of yesterday)

Look something more like this!

(Stairwell via Door Sixteen)

Right now, I've removed about a third of the carpet, underlay, staples and those strips of horribly pokey wood they use to apply carpet to stairwells - that is totally the technical term for this just so you know.  The stairs underneath are in really good shape!  The screw-happy homeowner of years past also went to town on the treads but luckily didn't split the wood like s/he did to the fir plank flooring on the second storey.  Really, it's going to require some minimal application of wood fill to cover up the screw heads and a sand down to get it all ready for some white paint.  We've also picked up some adhesive tape with grit to make the painted surface less slip and fall friendly.  I know those strips may not add to the beauty but, as someone who has bit it down this particular stairwell on more than one occaision, I'm going to acquiesce a bit of style for safety. As for the risers, Kurt is going to friction fit 1/4" plywood to clean it all up and then I'll either apply wall paper or hand made paper to give a pop of visual interest and colour.  The walls are also being painted out a fresh white and we're attempting to figure out how to install a handrail up the left side.  Last but not least, I need to figure out how to light the area a bit better without actually having to pay an electrician to install a new light as that's not in the budget right now.  D'oh!

Time to break out the Benjamin Moore Aura Paint

Oh but things are coming along in the second storey.  We now not only have banished all knob and tube, completed the plumbing rough in, reinforced the half storey joists, framed out the new walls, installed the rough opening for our arch way, installed the new sub floor and installed drywall.  We (and by "we" I totally mean the most excellent crew from Stubb's Construction and not actually myself in any way shape or form) have also now completed mudding and taping (and sanding and clean up!).  Next we (and now I really do mean me and Kurt) will be putting the first coat of Benjamin Moore's Aura paint up on the walls.  This way, they'll be able to see if there are any inperfections on the skim coat or new drywall that need to be addressed.  The second coat will be done after the flooring goes in as laying the hardwood and tile will likely result in a few dings so there's no point making it perfect just yet.  And after that, our closets get installed and it is on to flooring.  I have to admit, I'm dying to see how the millwork on the closets have turned out.

In other news...  The contractor we hired last year to repour our basement floor and refinish the basement (Garth Daku) may have created a serious structural issue to our house.  He had been contracted to create two rough opening for windows in our basement.  According to the gentleman who owns Allied Masonry, the two holes created in the foundation for the windows were done so poorly he's surprised the side of our house did not give way.  The one side of our house is currently being supported by our floor joists.  I'm absolutely sick about what could have been.  Thank goodness Allied Masonry has fit us in and are putting in steel lintels and other supports right now and the windows are being installed shortly after.  With the foundation comprimised, it's possible our house would not have survived the thawing of the ground and the shifting this causes in Regina's soil gumbo.  When the lovely gentleman from Allied Masonry is done, our home's foundation should be exceedingly stable once more.  And we'll have great natural light in our basement and the space will be ready for development sometime in the future.

I used to think that we were unlucky with finding contractors.  Now, I'm thinking that we were more than lucky.  Considering how utterly catastrophic the damage could have been, a derelicte chic front porch and trashed front and back yards is pretty minimal.  Also, Stubbs Construction and Allied Masonry are reaffirirming our faith in contractors.  Take home message:  Do your homework before hiring anyone.  And just when you think you've checked out someone enough, check them out some more.  You can never be too careful who you hire.

Ha!

I found this over at Elements of Style Blog.  Awesome!



We have many of these kinds of furniture stores in the Regina-area.  We love UGLY FURNITURE here in my home town.  Conversely, and not surprisingly, there are very, very few nice furniture stores.  This would lead me to believe that most people here then prefer buying ugly furniture instead of surrounding themselves with things that are nice to look at.  We do have a coded idea in our little simian brains that tell us if something is pretty verses ugly.  It's not like these people don't recognize the junk they're buying is eye-rapingly awful.  So, what is it about living in Regina that seems to compell us to surround ourselves with homeliness?

I'm still having issues!

I'm still having issues trying to figure out the landing/office area. I know I need some kind of large storage area and spot to put our computer. I also would prefer a really comfy place to lounge, wrapped in a throw blanket instead of some fancy ergonomic office chair. I also really want a lovely art wall as well as bulletin board to keep track of my writing projects. Other than the feeling I want to create, I'm rather stumped with what layout will work best for how I want to use the space. Hopefully my trip to a few antique/second hand stores, etc this weekend with help me figure out a jumping off point.

I DO love this room and am definitely leaning towards something similar in terms of feeling. I does need to feel like a creative, exciting space that sparks imagination.

House of Turquoise via La Maison Boheme

We're already at drywall!

Holy snot! Drywall is being installed today. DRYWALL! Already!

This is the best reno ever.

Yayness!

I am filled with squee.  Oodles and oodles of squee.  A little over two weeks ago, we left on a jet plane to paradise while contractors began gutting and fixing our woebegone second storey.  We came home to find the work had progressed very quickly.  I have taken the aforementioned awful before photos and, this weekend, will take and post a number of progress shots.

Let me first just say that I LOVE Gord Porrit and Norm Stubbes.  LOVE THEM!  They do this amazing stuff like call us, do what they say they're going to do, problem solve and take pride and care with their work.  They are actually ahead of schedule, if you can believe it.  After doing through a renovation nightmare last spring and summer, this experience with Stubbes Construction has been so completely and wonderfully pleasant and worry-free, that I almost feel like I'm leaving in a dream.  A dream of renovation bliss.  I honestly don't even mind having our temporary toilet installed next to the kitty litter boxes in the basement (the trick is not to make eye contact with the cats).

Right now, everything has already been gutted, the sub floor is in, the joists for the half storey have been braced, the knob and tube is gone, the plumbing has been roughed in, the beam and supports are installed to collapse the two bedrooms into one, the framing is complete on the pony wall and powder room and the electrical is going in today.  The Neptune Space shower was brought in to help ensure the lines were installed appropriately and I had a chance to stand on the base.  It's absolutely ginormous. 

In the meantime, once I get home, I am going to post a few photos from one of the rooms we booked at Casa Takywara on Isla Holbox.  It was absolutely gorgeous - my exact idea of what an island retreat should be.  A lovely little garden, white washed walls, bright pops of colour and not one but two hammocks so we didn't even have to share!  Also, a coffee maker and electricity rounded out the features... fresh ground yuppy organic fair trade dark roast from the Kootenays throughout our stay brewed deliciously strong every morning along with More's fresh baked bread or croissants and ripe, juicy fruit...   Mmmm. 

  

  

  

 

 

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Busy Weekend

What a busy weekend!  We spent a good chunk of it cleaning out quite a bit of the second storey to get it ready for demolition and setting up the main floor as an apartment.  It actually looks attractive and comfortable.  We also got the drapery my mom lengthened for us hung up in the dining room/bedroom area..  One of the things I've learned from living through a few renos is that you can't put a price on order and comfort when you're up to your ears in drywall compound. 

Here are a few photos.

 

 

 

 

Smudge doesn't seem to mind it at any rate.  Oh, and on a positive note, setting up the bed in the middle of what should be the dining room helped to settle the question of whether or not we should drop a chandelier into the middle on the canopy bed.  While it's a pretty idea, our bed is just way too high.  We don't have a lot of clearance at all at present so we've adjusted the bed to put the fixture closer to our feet so we don't sit up into the thing in the middle of the night.

Also, I am in love with our new bed.  I feel so cocooned and snugly in it.