Jen and Dave's Reno View RSS

One Step Forward, Two Steps Back 18 Sep 2011 12:28 AM (13 years ago)

It turns out that having a baby cuts into blogging time!  Although we haven’t managed to update the blog in the past six months, we have managed to work on a few projects around the house. 

When we last left off, our subfloor was complete and we were anxiously awaiting the installation of our carpet and built-ins.  After the subfloor was laid, Dave painted the walls and finished the trim work.  Lowes installed our new carpet and our basement was finally ready for use!

We found a couch from Ikea that would fit down our tiny stairwell (a common problem in many of the old houses in Toronto!)  We also installed the custom built-in cabinets we had ordered from the same person who designed our kitchen.  At this point, our basement was pretty much complete, aside from a few minor things that we decided to leave until the fall while we focussed on building a deck in the backyard. 

All throughout our renovation, we always considered ourselves lucky that we never had any major setbacks.  Well, it seems that our luck had finally run out…

Shortly after we finished the basement, here is how it looked:

Yep, that’s right.  Our beautiful, newly finished basement was all torn apart.

One morning, Dave flushed the basement toilet and it didn’t sound right.  He looked in the floor drain and noticed the water level was on the brink of flooding.  Luckily he caught it in time and we immediately stopped using water and called a plumber.  The plumber checked our drain pipes with a camera and discovered that an old clay pipe had shifted, causing a blockage. 

This is when we were really kicking ourselves.  Two years ago when we started our renovation, we replaced all the plumbing in our house, except for about 25 feet of old clay pipe under the basement floor.  At the time, it was a decision we made to save some money.  Obviously, we regret that decision now!

We could have fixed shifted pipe by just digging up a small section of the floor, however, we didn’t want to end up in this situation again down the road.

And so, the built-ins were removed, the carpet peeled back, the subfloor ripped out and the floor dug up.  The pipes were replaced, giving our house 100% new plumbing.  

Now, we’re in the “rebuilding” phase.  The subfloor is back down and the carpet installers will be here next week to re-install the carpet.  Hopefully we can show a picture of completed room soon!

Basement Floors 4 Mar 2011 7:18 PM (14 years ago)

Before the arrival of baby Logan, we got started on finishing the basement.  The first step was to deal with the floors.

In the laundry/utility room, we decided to paint the concrete floor to clean it up.  We used a concrete primer and paint to finish the floor.  This will brighten up the room and make it easier to clean.

Here’s the transformation:

In the rest of the basement (the area that will become our family room) we plan to install carpet.  To prepare for the carpet, we needed to install subfloor.  Dave did some research and found a new product that has a half-inch profile which will save headroom. 

The product is called Tyroc.  The base of the subfloor panels are rubber, made from recycled tires.  The surface is magnesium oxide which is resistant to moisture and decay. 

Although it was hard to find in Toronto, it was worth searching for.  It was relatively easy to install and, so far, we’re happy with it.  Here are the before and after shots:

We’ve chosen our carpet from Lowes and will have it installed once the painting and trim is done.  Progress is much slower now that we have a baby who we’d rather spend our time with.  However, Dave is starting to find some time to work down there, so hopefully Logan’s play room will be ready soon!

Basement Interrupted 21 Feb 2011 7:57 PM (14 years ago)

Finishing our basement has been an ongoing project over the past couple of months.  However, our work was interrupted on January 31 by the birth of our son, Logan! 

We’ve been busy getting settled and enjoying our time with our new little man, but will be getting back to work soon.  Hopefully we’ll have some basement progress to share with you in the coming days.

The Nursery 22 Jan 2011 1:56 AM (14 years ago)

As we mentioned back in November, we’ll be welcoming our baby boy in the next few weeks.  To prepare for his arrival, we’ve been busy working on a few key projects.

Of course, the most important project (or at least the first priority) was finishing the nursery.

We decided to use the smallest of the three bedrooms for the nursery.  It’s a pretty small space, but we’ve managed to make it work.

We painted the walls a pale aqua (Benjamin Moore’s Icing on the Cake).  The curtains and crib bedding are Sweet Kyla.  The crib and dresser are by DaVinci, ordered from CSN Baby.  Our Dutailier glider was passed on to us by our generous neighbours who no longer needed it… what a treat!

Our goal with the nursery was to create a room with some fun colours, without using a really boyish theme.  We’re really happy with how it looks so far and hopefully our little guy will like it too!

The only thing left to do is get some artwork for the walls.  We think we’d like to incorporate his name into the art, so we’ll wait until he arrives to choose something.

Checking in on the To-Do List 24 Nov 2010 12:57 AM (14 years ago)

It’s been one year since we moved into our house, so we thought it might be a good time to check in on the status of our projects.  After moving in and getting settled, we put together our to-do list – a list of the projects we hoped to tackle (or at least begin to tackle) in 2010.

Let’s see how we’ve done:

Green – Project is underway but there are a few obstacles.
Red – Project is not a priority and we decided to put it on hold.
Black – Project is completed.

1. Finish installing trim on the main floor.
2. Finish caulking and painting all trim.
3. Stack the washer and dryer.
4. Hook up the phone connections.
5. Finish all the data wiring (internet, cable, etc.)
6. Apply for a permit for a front parking pad.
7. Paint interior doors.
8. Order glass for basement shower.
9. Install kitchen backsplash.
10. Deal with the garage.
11. Build a fence in the backyard.
12. Landscape the front garden.
13. Build a deck.
14. Refinish the front door.
15. Install closet systems in the bedrooms.
16. Purchase a dining room table and chairs.
17. Figure out storage/display solution for living room.
18. Hang artwork.
19. Purchase a dining room chandelier.
20. Finish cold storage room.

While we’ve managed to complete quite a few things, we’ve decided to leave some of the projects for next year.  Of course, along the way, we also ended up adding a bunch of new projects to the list (which we also managed to complete!):

• Tear down and rebuild the front porch.
• Purchase and install the air conditioner.
• Waterproof the front of the house.
• Replace the eavestroughs.
• Install a carpet runner on the stairs.

As mentioned in a previous post, with a baby on the way, we’ve shifted gears and are working our way through a new, shorter list of projects.  After we finish those projects and get settled with our new family member, we plan to get back to work on the projects listed above!

Stair Runner 10 Nov 2010 6:47 PM (14 years ago)

No more slippery stairs!  We finally got around to purchasing a carpet runner for our stairs.

A few months ago, we showed you our refinished stairs.  While we loved the way they looked, we knew that adding a runner would help us avoid slipping and falling.

So, we went ahead an ordered some berber carpet from Lowes.  It took a couple of weeks after we placed the order for the carpet to be cut and bound, but last week it was ready to be installed. 

We’re really happy with how it turned out.  It looks great and it definitely provides some extra grip on our stairs, making them safer.

Putting on an Addition 6 Nov 2010 2:03 PM (14 years ago)

After finishing most of our home renovations we thought it was time to put on an addition.  No, not an addition to our house… to our family.  We are expecting a baby boy in February!

Of course, with a baby on the way, our renovation priorities shifted and we’ve had to decide what projects need to be completed before he arrives.

Here is our current to-do list:

• install a carpet runner on our stairs
• paint and furnish the nursery
• finish the main room in the basement, including:
  • ordering a built-in bookshelf/desk unit
  • paint
  • install subfloor, carpet and trim

With three months to go, we’ve got lots of work ahead of us.  Hopefully we’ll be ready in time to bring home our little man!

The Completed Shed 17 Oct 2010 10:08 PM (14 years ago)

We finished building our new backyard shed.  We primed the trim and installed the window and doors. 

Earlier this summer, before our interlock was laid, we ran wiring underground to the back corner of the yard so that we could have power in the shed.  Now it’s a perfect storage and work space!

Building the Backyard Shed 26 Sep 2010 5:24 PM (14 years ago)

When we tore down our garage, we knew we’d need to get some sort of shed to store tools and garden accessories.  However, since building the fence was the first priority, we were stuck with an ugly storage container for the summer.

We found an 8x12’ pre-fab shed at Lowes that would work perfectly in the back corner of our yard.  Unfortunately, it came in a million pieces (you can see the pile of shed pieces hiding under the blue tarp in the photo above!)

After seeing how much water pools in our backyard during heavy summer rains, we decided to pour a concrete pad as a base for the shed.

Last weekend, we finally got started building it.  Dave built all the walls and then got some help from our neighbours to put it all together (thanks Jim and Jose!)

  
Finally, we put on the roof and added shingles.

 
Next, we’ll paint the trim and install the window and doors.  Then, we’ll build the shelving inside the shed.  Soon, we’ll be able to finally get rid of our storage container!

Porch Railing 20 Sep 2010 12:34 AM (14 years ago)

When we last showed you our new front porch, all that was left to do was get a new railing.  After wandering through the neighbourhood and checking out the different styles of railings that people have, we decided to go with an aluminum railing.

While we had some issues with the quality of the installation, we were happy with the look of our new railing once things were corrected.

It’s definitely an improvement over the rusty old railing.  Here are the before and after:

The Backyard Fence 1 Sep 2010 8:18 PM (14 years ago)

Our new backyard fence is complete!  The fence runs down one side of the backyard, where the garage used to be. 

As mentioned in a previous post, our official parking spot (which we will use as a patio) is located in our backyard.  Eventually, our deck will connect to the driveway end of the fence.  The patio is still a bit of a mess of supplies for future projects, including the shed that we plan to build in the back corner of the property.

We built the fence out of cedar which was a mutual decision with our neighbour. At each step of assembly, to protect the wood, we finished it using Behr Cedar Natural Tone weatherproofing wood finish.  It was a very time consuming project, but we’re really happy with the result. 

Interlock and Asphalt 19 Jul 2010 11:36 PM (14 years ago)

As part of this summer’s exterior work, we decided to get our driveway repaved at the same time we were getting our interlock laid in the backyard.

When we made the decision to get rid of our garage in the backyard, we decided to turn that area into a patio.  By laying interlock, the area will still meet the City’s zoning requirements for a parking space behind the house, but we’ll use the space as a patio.  Eventually, we plan to build a deck that will step down onto the patio.

Once the fence posts were installed, the contractors came and laid the interlock.  And then we finally got the new asphalt on the rest of the driveway.  Things are starting to look really good out there!

Fencing 1 Jul 2010 6:53 PM (14 years ago)

While the workers were busy building our new porch in the front, we turned our attention to the backyard.  Once we tore the garage down, Dave and his friends installed the 6x6 cedar posts for our new fence.

The fence will run along the east side of our yard.  Since our “official” parking space will also be in our backyard, we decided that we will install a gate to fully enclose the backyard space.  Dave decided to dress it up a bit with a decorative piece across the top of the gate.  Finally, he stained the posts with a natural cedar-coloured stain.

Once the fence posts were completed, the paving company was ready to come and start prepping the backyard and driveway area for interlock and new asphalt.

Thanks to Chris, Rob, Stu, Shawn and Guy for all your help!

The New Porch 25 Jun 2010 1:17 AM (14 years ago)

We have a front porch again!  Once the porch was rebuilt with cinder blocks, it was finally time start making it look nice.

Inside the cold storage room, the walls were parged to leave a smooth surface.  Now it looks much cleaner and there isn’t anywhere for ants to live!  We also decided to get a window installed in the cold storage room, which will bring in some light and help us control the humidity during the summer.

Outside, we selected a faux stone to face the porch with.  We chose a greyish colour stone.

Once the stone was applied to the porch, the guys built the formwork for the concrete slab and stairs.  We decided to go with a bullnose on the stairs to dress it up a bit.

Now all that’s left to do to finish the new porch is to choose and install a railing!

Porch Progress 11 Jun 2010 11:21 PM (14 years ago)

Once the waterproofing was done and the trench was backfilled, the guys got to work replacing our old front porch.  You can see from the picture below how badly the brick was crumbling behind the stairs.

They tore down the old porch, leaving us with a nice big hole leading directing into our basement.

Finally, they rebuilt the porch with new cinder blocks, including a space for the new window.

The next step is parging the inside of the cold storage room and facing the new porch with faux stone.

Not in the Plans 7 Jun 2010 1:51 AM (14 years ago)

We’ve learned that it’s almost impossible to get through any major renovation without running into some unplanned, unexpected problems.  You may recall that our problems came in the form of ants in our cold storage room.

Our cold storage room is located in our basement, directly under the front porch.  We didn’t plan to do any work to it, since we intended to use it for storage.

When we discovered an infestation of carpenter ants last summer, we decided to tear down the walls and ceiling to see how bad it was.  It was bad.

While tearing everything down to get rid of the ants that were living there, we could see that there was a moisture problem.   After getting the house sprayed for insects, we decided to leave the cold storage room unfinished for the winter and spring so that we could see if/how water was getting in.  When spring came, there were definitely signs of moisture and mould forming in that room. 

The exterior of the cold storage room (the front porch) showed signs of major deterioration when we bought the house.  We did some tuck pointing last summer to try and correct the problem, but moisture was still getting in.

Another issue was that the porch stairs were built without a footing, so over the years they had shifted and were falling away from the house.

The only real solution to all of these problems was to deal with our crumbling front porch.

We called some experts to get some ideas and quotes.  Ultimately, we settled on the following plan:

• dig up along the whole front of the house, including around the front porch, to waterproof below ground level from the outside.
• tear down the porch to ground level and rebuild it completely.
• add a window to the side of the porch, to allow for some ventilation in the cold storage room during humid summers.
• build new concrete stairs with proper footing.
• face the porch and stairs with faux stone.
• parge the inside of the cold storage room.

It is a big project and not something that we had budgeted for.  But, in the end, we would rather have it done properly the first time.

New parging of exterior foundation walls:

Sealant applied to foundation walls:

Waterproofing membrane wrapping front of house:

 
Old clay weeping tile removed:

Now that the weeping tile has been replaced and the waterproofing is done, work is underway to rebuild the porch.  Hopefully we’ll finally have a functioning cold storage room this summer!

Living and Dining Room: Before and After 2 Jun 2010 11:05 PM (14 years ago)

The one thing that kept our main floor from feeling complete for the last few months was the lack of a dining room table.  Once we found our table, the space was pretty much done.

The main design changes to the living and dining rooms include:

• removing the archway
• installing pot lights
• adding the sliding door walkout to the backyard
• installing new hardwood floor throughout the main floor
• adding shutters to the living room windows.

Before:

 Looking towards the front hall from the living room:

 Looking at the living room from the dining room:

Looking into the dining room from the living room: 
After:

We spent a lot of time looking for a dining room table that would be narrow enough to fit our space, but extendable so that we could seat a larger number of people.  The table search was harder than we expected.  After a couple of months of searching, a neighbour suggested we try Decorium, where we found a table that we were able to customize to fit our space and our style.

In the living room, we chose to get our old couch reupholstered and we were able to use most of our other living room furniture.  We painted the entire main floor, including the living room and dining room, Benjamin Moore’s Ballet White.  We’re still looking for some art for above the couch, which we hope will bring some colour into the space.

One of the biggest changes to the dining room was the fact that we removed the wall between the kitchen and the dining room, opening up the space.  We’ll share the final kitchen photos in a separate post.

Master Bedroom: Before and After 28 May 2010 10:56 PM (14 years ago)

The bedrooms didn’t require many changes.  In the master bedroom, we increased the size of the closet by taking some space from the second bedroom closet.  We installed shutters in the windows, purchased a new light fixture and painted the walls Benjamin Moore’s Athabaska.

Before:

After:

Upstairs Bathroom: Before and After 25 May 2010 10:06 PM (14 years ago)

The upstairs bathroom (which was the only bathroom) was in pretty good shape for being fully original.  While we chose to redo the bathroom, we ended up going with a similar look and colour scheme. 

Before:

After:

We tiled the walls in the shower area with white ceramic subway tiles with a 3” insert of grey glass mosaic tiles.  On the floor, we used 2” hexagon white carrara marble.

We kept the original cast iron tub and had it refinished.  We replaced the toilet with a Toto Aquia dual flush toilet, painted the walls with Benjamin Moore’s Sweet Innocence, and added a new vanity and mirror.

Stairs: Before and After 15 May 2010 9:58 PM (14 years ago)

To update the look of the stairs, we decided to re-stain the stair treads and banister in the same colour we stained the upstairs hardwood floors.  We chose to paint to the risers and spindles white.

Before:

After:

The original walls in the hallway and stairwell were stucco.  We replaced them with new drywall, which really helped make the space look more modern.  We hung some coat hooks at the bottom of the stairs and added a small bench where we can store some shoes.

The Exterior: Before and After 11 May 2010 10:21 PM (14 years ago)

First up for the final reveal is the front of the house. 

While we loved the style of the house and the colour of the brick, we did not love the green paint around the front door.  We dealt with it for a few months while we focused on more important things, but it was definitely a happy day when the green was gone!

Other work on the front of the house included changing the house numbers, adding a mailbox, replacing the porch light with a pot light and installing a new storm door.

Before:

After:

Revealing the Rooms 11 May 2010 10:12 PM (14 years ago)

Although it’s been a year since we started renovating our house – and five months since we moved in – we’ve only recently started to feel like some rooms are complete.

We’ve learned that, once the major work is done, it’s easy to move on with your life without completing the smaller projects.  It’s some of these little projects that have kept us from revealing our completed rooms to everyone.

As any homeowner knows, a house is never 100% complete.  But now, as we shift our focus to dealing with the backyard, it’s time to consider most of our house complete. 

And, with that, we’ll begin to share the before and after shots with you.

Stumped 8 May 2010 2:30 PM (14 years ago)

Before we got started on the backyard, there were some old, prickly bushes growing through the fence behind the garage.  Since we will be building a new fence along this side of the yard, we needed to clear the area.  We cut down the bushes and removed the old fence before demolishing the garage.  This left us with a bunch of stumps to deal with. 

 
The stump removal job called for a serious piece of machinery! 

With a rented stump grinder and a couple of hours of work, the stumps were shredded and the back of the yard was nice and flat…

No More Eyesore! 24 Apr 2010 11:38 PM (14 years ago)

This week, we tackled the garage demolition.   Like last year when we gutted the inside of our house, Dave gathered a group of friends to help.

We lucked out with a nice, sunny day.  A little bit of muscle, two dumpsters and several beers later, the garage was gone!

For now, we’re left with the concrete pads that were beneath the garage. It certainly opens up the space and allows us to get a good feel for how we want to layout our yard.  Thanks to Jim, Rob, Dave, Chris, Guy, Becca and Ron for all your help!

Here’s the transformation:

Next up: breaking up the concrete and installing the fence posts.

The Great Outdoors 21 Apr 2010 1:00 AM (14 years ago)

When we got started on our home renovation this time last year, we knew that most of the yard work would have to wait.  Since we weren’t living here, a nice backyard just wasn’t a priority.

You may remember that our backyard is narrow and deep.  Last summer we put in some cedars along the back fence line and removed the old wire fence along one side of the yard.  Other than that, we pretty much left things as is back there.

Now that we’re heading into our first summer in the house, we’re ready to start focusing on the backyard.  Deciding what to do, however, was a bit of challenge.

The garage (which is a double garage that we share with our neighbour) is in pretty rough shape.  Since the garage is at the end of a very narrow mutual driveway, we don’t use it for parking.  After discussions with our neighbour, we decided that we’d rather tear down the garage and replace the storage space with garden sheds at the back of our properties. 

We did some research and discovered that the municipal bylaw requires that we each maintain one parking space behind our house.  Currently, the garage meets that requirement.  So, to allow us to remove the garage but still meet the requirements, here’s the backyard plan we came up with:

• Remove the existing wire fence, bushes and stumps behind the garage.
• Tear down the garage.
• Create two parking spaces with interlock in the place of the existing garage (which we will actually use as patios).
• Put up a fence between the parking spaces and all along that side of the yard for privacy.
• Replace the asphalt on the mutual driveway.
• Build a garden shed in the back corner of the yard.
• Build a deck that will step down onto the interlock patio area, increasing our outdoor living space.

It’s a bit of an ambitious plan that will not get fully completed this summer, but will definitely make our backyard a lot more attractive and functional. 

We started the work last week, ripping down the old fence and ordering a storage container to hold our lawnmower, etc. while the garage gets demolished. 

This week, the garage comes down!