The Most Beautiful Porch... Ever.

Our foreman, Scott, suggested that the rather ancient siding that covered the porch be taken down.

The first photo shows the whole family in the overgrown backyard back in May - you can see the original white siding on the porch.

It'll be easier to tie in the new steps to more secure siding. Scott figures that the porch is nearly as old as the house itself, which we guess to be nearly 90 years old. Lovely and vintage, to be sure.


We love that those wee wooden sticks that are currently holding up the porch leave so much space for the kids to play. That'd be a great place to put a sandbox or something, to keep the kids nice and shaded when they play outdoors.

And More Drywall - a Feast for the Senses

The main floor is really coming along - the drywall looks fantastic. If only we could nail some drywall over the technicolour paint on the upstairs bedrooms...




The main floor powder room is coming together nicely, and the upstairs bathroom is progressing nicely.

Ready for Cork!

The kitchen floor was in rough shape, once the green ceramic floor tiles were pulled up. The old floorboards have given way (not literally) to a fresh new plywood floor, all ready for the cork flooring to be installed.

The word from our contractor is that the floor will be installed after the appliances arrive from the heavens on July 23rd.

Grey Water!

After much soul-searching, we have decided to put our money where our mouths are, and buy in to a grey water system from Ecoshift.ca. Grey water comprises up to 80% of water waste from homes. It is neither fresh water, nor "black water" (i.e. water with feces, chemicals, etc.). A grey water system diverts the water from your shower, bath and bathroom sinks, filters it, and uses it to flush the toilets. While we won't save any money by doing this - there are no incentive programs just yet - on the bright side, we'll have a lovely 250L tank in the basement, and we'll flush our toilets with water that otherwise would have just gone down the drain. We aim to do our part to avoid wasting water, because we don't want to make David Suzuki cry.

While our contractor Mark admitted that we were the first house that he had outfitted with grey water, it's been a cinch to re-plumb the house in order to make it work. Our plumber has labeled the "grey water" pipes going into the toilet with "do not drink", which should make things clear, right?

A Celebration of Drywall

We've never been so excited to see drywall! From the sunroom, you get a good view of the front door on the right, and the living room window on the left. The walls and ceilings of the living and dining rooms are just about up - it's starting to look like a real house!!

Keeping the Heat In

This past weekend Patrick slipped over to the house to wire in some ethernet cable - his last chance to tinker with the exterior walls before the insulation went in. The fact that we're ready for insulation means that anything having to do with the exterior walls is finished - even the venting for Patrick's amazing cooktop is all set and tucked in.

We opted for the non-toxic insulation, even poking holes in the plaster in the mudroom, and spraying insulation through the wall going up the stairs. Even though it looks like we've had a shoot-out in the front hall area, it's going to make things very warm and cozy when the snow flies.

The Walls are Coming Up!

This week things have sped along with the renovations. The electrical is finished, and the drywall is going up! When you walk in through the side door, you can still see through to the living room, but now there's drywall!

It's a Pre-Existing Window.... Really!

When José took the plaster down in the sunroom, we were all surprised to see that the room originally had two enormous windows. After some discussion (do we really want to look out over our neighbour's driveway while we're having breakfast? Yes, we do!), we have opted to return the house to its original state. The only hitch is that we'll have to smash out the bricks on the exterior wall. Once you haul down the ivy vines, you can see where someone bricked over the window. It'll really be a sunroom when the new window is installed! If anyone from the Heritage Board is reading this - the pictures clearly show that this is not a new window we're installing, but we're merely restoring the house to its original, former glory! No new construction here.

Requiem for the Sunroom Hardwood Floor

Sometimes the latest news on the house is good (yay, hidden window potential!), and sometimes it's very, very sad news.


These photos show the state of the sunroom hardwood floors when we bought the house in March. Our contractor, the omniscient Mark, seemed unsure whether it could be salvaged, and we were foolish to have ever dismissed his concern. It's not only going to cost more (always a sad occasion), but we hate to oust something original if we can help it.

Upon closer inspection, Scott has echoed Mark's concerns: it's warped, water damaged, and sadly, it cannot be. Goodbye, original floor - we hardly knew ye.

The View from Here

Ah, the fresh smell of lumber makes the house feel like a new build. And, without walls, it looks enormous!

The workers have been busy and working hard - they have taken out the Three's Company arched doorways, reinforced weak joists, and the woodstove and bricked chimney in the living room are long gone. The electrical is in in the living room - you can see close to the windows, where the wall sconces will go in.

Beam me up.... Scott

In order to take down the mystery column of bricks separating the kitchen from the sunroom, our foreman, Scott, co-ordinated a temporary support before putting in a 15-feet long steel beam.







The beam will keep the house from falling down, which is a plus. The second and third photos are taken from the kitchen, facing into the sunroom. The fourth photo is taken from the sunroom, looking into the kitchen. Finally, we have a render of what the kitchen will look like, after adjusting for the steel beam, which apparently won't be hidden in the rafters, as we first thought it would be.

It's Almost like an Ensuite Bathroom

With the upstairs bathroom under construction, the cast iron tub has been temporarily moved to the master bedroom.



Finnian checks out the cavernous, empty bathroom, complete with a little opening to the master bedroom closet. We presume that's temporary. It's difficult to imagine that someday, perhaps he'll experience successful potty training here. It's all coming together; the subfloor is now down, and the electrical is in.

The Back Porch: Built-in Air Conditioning!

Finnian: in the sunroom closet (future porch), March 2009.




At the very back of the house, a small porch of sorts is attached to the back, left-hand side of the sunroom. Years ago, it was a closet, when what we call the sunroom was a bedroom. It looks as though someone took some leftover shelving wood, and built the porch onto the back of the house. Our plan is to put a proper door there that will lead to the back yard. Currently, the structure allows for lots of air circulation, and fabulous views of the ivy vines outside, through the holes in the roof.

The Upstairs Bathroom - a Work in Progress

The only things that are staying are the original medicine cabinet, and the cast-iron tub. The rest is going to be refreshed and replaced!