Open House

Click on the image below.

The Beacon

I can already see my electrical meter spinning with the exterior lights! The switch for the soffit lights was completed yesterday so now the house truly glows. Who needs street lights on this side of Mohawk! The pictures are a bit fuzzy - I didn't grab the tri-pod and snapped this with the point and shoot camera. That being said they show the house lit up at night.

Over the past few months (year) I have consistently tried to take this same picture at the different stages of construction. One of this times I will have to create the image scroll of the same perspective at all of the different stages.

The ghetto 32 is still showing on the side of the chimney. The corrugated metal will be installed either over the winter or the spring. At this stage what is another couple of months! The garage / barn really stands out now.

This back corner shot is still one of my favorite shots of the addition. I connected the soffit light tonight so I could wash the back windows before it snows. No excuses now! The scale of this back is really apparent when you look at the BBQ to the lower left of the picture!

We've been under construction for How Long??

Last year at this time the foundation walls had been poured and the ground was back filled so that you could see the house. We blockaded the yard with caution tape and had the self serve Halloween candy dish at the end of the yard. This year we still had caution tape around the front yard perimeter - more so because we didn't want any kids tromping through the freshly spread top soil. Looking back at the pictures - what a difference a year makes!!

Exterior

What would abarn be if it wasn't a red barn!! The weather has finally co-oporated and the siding is almost all installed. There are still a few question marks as to what we are going to finish the exterior with but I would say we are 90% there. I have installed the exterior lights and the house glows at night. All that is missing above the barn is the basketball net and then we are ready to go!


The "bird house" otherwise known as Sarah's room will be getting a corrugated metal verticle finish - probably some time over the winter. In the spring we will also be building the deck that will extend from the double doors at the left to the single garden door off to the right.


The bird house corrugated metal will extend to the cedar shakes and wrap the entire second floor. The posts for the Pergola from a previous post have been removed - we needed them for landscaping and I am not sure what the deck will be. We are thinking of an exterior fireplace now...


Finally just another shot of the front looking south.

It's been awhile

I haven't been as diligent in updating the house renovation of late - partially as there isn't as much to show or tell and partially because I am getting lazy!! That being said here a re a few random images

The first image is on the south wall in our existing living room. I had come accross a leather look commercial vinyl that one of my Rep's generously provided a large 9 yard sample. You can barely make it out but there is a grid pattern on the wall.


We are still trying to find the right furniture for the family room but the piano fits in nicely. The two white tables were from IKEA this summer - not sure when we will find the sofa.

The two doors are to the Pantry and the Dining room. They are both solid core doors that were milled with frosted glass inserts.

And finally behind door number one is the pantry closet. I am not sure how we have lived so long without one. We are still organizing where everything goes but it is great having the storage space.

The Driveway

Finally after what felt like the entire summer mother nature accommodated us and allowed for the driveway to be poured. Tomorrow looks like a sunny day supposedly close to 30 degrees so we will be in good shape for drying. It looks like next week we might even be able to park the van in the garage again.

The sidewalk and approach to the front door was widened. It should make this easier to shovelin the winter as well allow for some extra space to practice the 3 point shot (once the basketball net goes up.

FInally the view from the street. Hopefully now when the neighbors drain their pool the water will not form Lake Mohawk at the end of the driveway and will continue to drain down the street. Just need the city to come by a fill the pot holes!

Niakwa Park wake up call...

I am sure that everyone in the close proximity of the renovation were happy to be awoken by the jack hammering of the driveway this morning. It is a sound of progress however.

Our garage pad will probably be poured tomorrow (it's enclosed and not weather dependant) and the drive way and sidewalk... soon?? The extended forecast looks to be nice so we may have a driveway by the weekend which would be nice. It will be an end to the lake that forms at the street when ever a neighbor drains their swimming pool or it rains.

Hopefully there will be pictures soon!

Hardwood Floors

We vacated the house for two weeks on a summer vacation and we had the hardwood floors completed when we were away. The existing hardwoods in the living room, dining room and main hallway had been originally completed in 1955. Since then the were covered with carpet until we exposed them in 2002 when we bought the house. Over the past 7 years the finish coat has experienced some damage and the floors need refurbishing.

For the new addition family room and connecting hallway we were able to continue the same 1 1/2" red oak flooring from the dining room. It is a seamless transition between the spaces - as if it always has been that way.

Kevin of Kevins Flooring was able to sand out and stain the two floors so they look as one. If one looks really hard you will be able to see the transitions but you will have to look. Below are three images of the new "dusty" hardwood floors.

Family Room Area

Existing Living Room

Back Foor hardwood and tile transition

THE KITCHEN!!!!!!!!!

After being without a proper kitchen for over a year, the pieces are finally coming together and the end is in sight. Electrical and plumbing connections are happening in the next three days and we will soon be able to enjoy the luxuries of a double sink, proper taps, a dishwasher...

Regarding the taps I have posted about the Kohler Karbon set before but the image below shows it in all of its glory. It truly is a unique designed piece.

The Quartz Countertops were installed on Thursday and are as Christy keeps saying the frosting on the cake. The simplicity of the white counters is making us re-think what we want to have as a backsplash.

Missing from this image are the light fixtures for above the breakfast bar. We haven't found the right lamp yet but I am sure we will know when we see it. Does it have a splash of colour? clean lines life the counter, a white shade... only time will tell.

Exterior Finishes

It's not a dramatic change but the cedar style shakes on the top of the "Jetson Wing" almost make the house look smaller. It yet again defines the angles of the house and provides another unique finish on the house. I will have to retake this shot with the sun at a different angle.

Below the red barn is taking on some colour. The red siding will eventually wrap around the full of the house but for now this is it. The transition between the siding and the shakes is on the second floor only.

Finally below is a close up that removes the brightness of the sun so you can see the full colour of the siding materials..

Bedroom No 3 - The Home Gym

The last flooring material went in this week - 3/8" Replay Rubber Sports Flooring from Johnsonite. It is a 24" x 24" interlocking tile that fits together like a puzzle. Joshua enjoyed putting the floor down - though all the puzzle pieces came together the same way. The floor is comfortable on the feet and will be a great floor for working out on.

Below is a close up of the floor.

Water Leak fixed

Turns out the drain to the tub was not tightened 100%. Go figure, why would we want to tighten it all the way. Much more fun to the homeowner when water presents itself where it isn't supposed to!! We now have a new access panel in the back of Sarah's closet so that we can access the tub drain as required (hopefully never).

Upstairs bath tub, Downstairs shower

The upstairs bath tub is in. The tiles are set and grouted, the floor is finished, cabinets installed, toilet works... WE ARE READY!!! Only issue now is that when the water is run in the bath you can have a shower in the Kitchen below. Is it because the drain is not connected? Did one of the water lines come loose? Is a connection not set? Only way to find out is to rip open the walls and take a look. Ideally it is the drain as we can access that from the Bedroom closet behind. If it is a pipe connection - that means that we have to rip up the tiles and redo the bath tub.

I am not impressed.

Upstairs Bathroom

This is it - Phase I must be livable this week. We are having company from Calgary this weekend and the Bathroom and guest rooms MUST BE READY. Not like adding additional stresses and pressure to a project that has taken extra time already. Today the tile installer was here until 9:00 pm trying to get the last tiles in the bathroom so he could grout tomorrow. He didn't make it but came close. The results are spectacular - and this is the KIDS bathroom! When we redo the main bathroom we will have to find something as flashy. A picture is worth a 1000 words so I'll quit typing and let you look!

Full bath - it is 36" wide and 5'-6" long. A typical tub is 30" wide and 5'-0" long. It is also 18" deep - a few inches deeper than a regular tub.

We also have the full 8'-0" height in the tub area itself. There is a little black dot (or what looks like a dot) where the shower head will come out. This is at the 6'-6" height.

Originally the wall behind the toilet was just to be painted. When we found this wall tile however the decision was to TILE THE ENTIRE WALL. It really makes a statement.

This final shot looks back at the vanity counter and you can see all of the colours and finishes in the room. The tile just ties everything together.

Kitchen

It's the final push but as always this feels like it will never be completed. We will be celebrating the 1 year anniversary of starting the demolition and 9 months of actual renovations. It is amazing what happens when you have Contractor issues..

The kitchen is almost completed. We are waiting on the Quartz countertops right now. The company was supposed to have someone out to template the base cabinets last week but their installer had an accident so it has screwed up the time lines. I am hoping that today or tomorrow might still happen but we shall see. It won't take long once they template things, it is just the wait on this.

In the meantime everything is coming together in the kitchen. The flooring went in on Tuesday, the rest of the pieces (handles glass doors valance etc) should be done this week. Then we wait until the counter. Until then...

Flooring Installation

Though it appears nothing is happening from the outside the inside has been a flurry of activity as of late. We are pushing to have Phase I completed by the middle of July so we can take a slight break and visit with friends before we begin in earnest and complete the renovation.

One of the activities has been the installation of the flooring. Saturday saw the stairs from the top floor down to the main floor get carpeted as well as the hardwood flooring (HWF) in the two upstairs bedrooms. By the end of this week we hope to have the sheet vinyl down in the kids bathroom, the sheet vinyl in the kitchen installed and the HWF extended from the original house through tpo the kitchen and family room. We also picked up the ceramic tiles this week so hopefully that will be installed as well.

Below are a series of images of the work completed to date.

We have a kitchen... at least the start of one.

Grade A Millwork started the kitchen installation yesterday.  The base cabinets are almost all in they should have the balance of the installation completed by Monday.  Next will be the countertops and all other accessories but the big room is beginning to feel like a kitchen.  Last night we were mentally planning what goes in what cupboard and drawer. 

Below the Breakfast Bar Counter and wine rack can be seen.  The space to the right of the counter will be for a small wine fridge cooler.  The camera really picked up the red undertones of the wood - it is a maple veneer with a spiced walnut stain.

Here you can see the you of the kitchen a bit better.  We will easily be able to have 3-4 adults in the kitchen without everybody tripping on each other.  With how we have been living for the past year this will definitely be a luxury!

Attic Insulation

This is one of those posts that won't have any pictures but is probably one of the important ones.  Lockport Insulation Ltd. insulated the attic of the addition with R50 of loose blown fibreglass pick insulation.  The impact was immediate as the heat in the attic is now trapped in the attic and isn't transfering down into the house.

Exterior Details

This back elevation is still my favorite view of the house.  I love the way that the planes interact and the building volumes.  Once the exterior siding is up it will take on yet another look but the overall shape still appeals.  The soffits and fascia boards are up - eaves troughs by next week or so.

The remainder of the soffits and fascia has been installed and it really finishes off the building.  We can hardly wait for the siding and landscaping and everything to be completed but the house is pretty well enclosed and still moving forward.  There hasn't been many physical changes happening but bit by bit the house is coming together.  

Painting!!

The drywall was completed and walls were prepped.  Next step is to paint the walls out and get ready for the flooring and finishes.  This should be the easy part right??  Not so much.  It took a while but we eventually were able to come up with the full colour palette for the addition and the rest of the house (Phase II) and were ready to go.  Dino and Greg Kalaitzakis of Minverva Painting and Decorating were given the finishes schedule and scheduled us in.  Benjamin Moore Paints have a new product that offers zero VOC's (off gassing - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volatile_organic_compound ) that they wanted the company to try so we were selected to be the guinea pigs.  So far so good the paint is apparently going on smoothly.

Image of the BJM paint cans.

This wall is in the bathroom.  the bottom 8'-0" of the room is a fresh green.  The bulkhead above and around the perimeter of the room is a lighter shade of the green series.  The window wall will be a rich blue - all three colours will be picked up in the glass tile accent that will in installed within the room.

The walls of the Family Room have been primed and will have colour in the coming week.  The far wall will be the same blue that will be found in the bathroom and the rest of the walls will be our off white field colour.  

The kitchen walls will just be painted out the field colour above - the backsplash and cabinets will be all of the colour and character.

All I can say is that Sarah picked here room colours.  There is a previous post that shows all of the finishes but here they are in all their glory!

Though this looks like a subtle colour shift, the one wall is definitely purple and the other a bubble gum pink.  It is bright an vibrant!

Joshua's room was a challenge.  When given the choice to "design their rooms" Joshua wanted Star Wars.  Though he is 7 - how long would the Star Wars theme be appropriate?  We tried talking him out of it and subsequently into other "ageless" rooms but he was insistent.  So with that we focused on Luke Skywalkers home world of Tatooine - the endless desert.  We are hoping to have life size tegos (www.mytego.com) of key Star Wars characters along the headboard wall and then a mural of the two suns and the surrounding landscape.  We shall see what it turns out to be!