Christmas to Ourselves

Do you follow my tradition of buying ourselves something special for Christmas?? It’s a make yourself feel good moment to treat yourself to something nobody else would think of. It can be wacky or just so utterly breath taking, only you will know what it is.

This year is a bit of a change. Normally we don’t do gifts to each other, we stopped doing that ages ago. With all we do through the year and just being together, it just can’t be topped by gifts.

This year however, we outdid ourselves, broke the rules and it’s a one time thing, never to be repeated. We certainly didn’t rush to do this, but with good reason. Expense of course, but more importantly, when choosing a person to take charge and create something for you, you just have to wait until that perfect person comes along.

We lucked out in a huge way. After checking out 5 other options, our 6th one paid off. We had/have the best contractor you could hope for. I have to give praise where it’s due. Time management, attention to detail, a crew of tradesmen and worker bees that know their craft and left us knowing all was well in the world of renovations/rebuilds. We only had to choose our flooring and window coverings people and I went back to those I dealt with before and it all came together so perfectly.

Why am I waxing on and on about these trades people??? Because with all the problem ones out there who have bilked people out of more money that can be imagined, I just felt I needed to add my voice to say that there are amazing people out there who do what you ask them to do and do it well. I will list the three main businesses at the end of this post. 

When you think of differed gratification, this is what you get. You wait patiently to reap the bigger reward. A small sampling from beginning to end. It started in September 2017 and ended just before Christmas, just in time to decorate….. we have our new sunroom.

In the beginning, a sad state of affairs. A mess created by original owners, wanting to perhaps save money, but in the end, a mess for someone else was created. It’s even difficult to post pictures like this. There was also a big tin shed behind this structure that was also taken away.

But it’s all uphill from here. ;o))  I won’t bore you with picture after picture of the journey along the way, just a few pictures as it came together to the end.

Demolition Day

Framing it up

New Roof (over the whole house)

Outside view. Big bright beautiful windows…. siding and window framing.

A new and proper landing, with a railing. A safe and secure door.

New hardwood flooring that matches what we already have, so now the room extends from the living room, way out to the other side of the sunroom… I chose the colour for the walls to match the kitchen and over time, the rest of living space will be done to complete the look.

The finale was to have the blinds installed. Picture perfect. The cat seems to love this room so much, I find him in there all the time, just sitting as though meditating. Must be all that good karma from everyone that worked on this project. Now we can relax, enjoy our new space. Wishing all those tradespeople who helped us during this process and all of you who follow my blog, all the best for the holidays and the year ahead. Thanks for stopping by… ;o) Please check below for contacts.

Chris Marsh Construction     1198 Marchant Ro. Brentwood Bay, BC  (250 544-1051)

Allard Renovations  www.allardrenovation.com  Guy (250 896-3027 (wood floor ref.)

Carriss Window Fashions  www.carrisswindowfashions.com  Marlene  (250 658-4206)

Quiet Repose

I have peeled myself off the floor after all the reno’s and will make up a slide show if you want to see what we’ve been up to. A little bit of finishing up, but mostly we’re done.

With my morning coffee the other day, I also enjoyed the view. Isn’t nature amazing. It’s becoming frosty and cold and some teasing moments by Mother Nature that we just might have snow for Christmas. Yes, it’s time for my yearly rant about wanting snow for Christmas, and the evil eye from everyone I say it to.

In the meantime, I will enjoy my favourite season, Fall…………and the beauty it brings. The light coming through from the morning sun, lit up the whole yard next door.

The colours of miniature trees to brighten up an otherwise lonely garden.

My favourite plant in the garden is my Heavenly Bamboo. Evergreen and changes colour to match the season. Green from Spring to Fall, and Pink/Orange/Red from Fall to Spring, what more could you ask for. And with frost on the leaves, even prettier.

And across the street are these birch trees with their bright white trunks that glow with the morning sun and make a statement all their own.

Bathroom Reno

My reno’s may not be a hot topic for some people,  but when I look around me, I am quite surprized at the number of people that are doing them. Maybe it’s because of the summer weather because we all know it’s not going to last, so get done now what we can before the rain starts and we can’t have doors and windows open. Maybe my reno’s will inspire or help someone out there. I will have dollies to show soon, but this is what’s happening now.

The next phase of the updates was to change the lino in the bathrooms. The main bathroom lino had developed a bubble and I just knew there was going to be trouble. However, everything we’ve done so far, has been without problems, so this is good.

The main bathroom and ensuite have the same lino so I’ll just show you one of them. I went out to do some errands while the gentleman was here working on the bathroom. When I got back I heard a voice from upstairs saying, “we have a problem”. whereby I called back, “I knew you were going to say that”. It wasn’t as bad as the pictures with show, more work for the poor guy than anything else. On his hands and knees scraping off this unholy black mess of exploded particle board. So glad he wore proper stuff to work in with all those potential mold spores floating around… Eww, poor guy.

Old Lino…… thank goodness it’s gone to the great beyond. I know I’m waffling on about the colour, but seriously, the floors, the counters and even the carpet was/are either gold or yellow. 

Water damage. It was restricted to the particle board under the lino and didn’t go further. My persistence in getting the floors changed paid off because the workman told me if we had waited much longer we could have had much worse trouble.

There was a layer of particle board on top of the bottom layer of plywood and why anyone even back in 78’ thought that particle board was a good idea for a bathroom is beyond me. The water damage only got part way along and thankfully didn’t require taking it out from under the tub and cupboard….that would have been a huge extra cost and time factor, so I’m counting my blessings.

Once the rest of the particle board was taken out we had a week of waiting for it dry out and for the company to reschedule him to come back and finish the job.  A new slightly thicker  piece of plywood replaced (NO PARTICLE BOARD) the floor could be finished.  So much better and of course those same baseboards. (aka framing wood ;o~)

My final touch was on the weekend. After finishing the kitchen I started scraping away at the old grout around the tub. A bit of mess mostly near the faucet, but not to bad when I got it all off.

The part where the mold was starting to show, didn’t go beyond the surface, so it was quick and easy to scrape away. Dried off well, new silicone and the job is done. No plans to paint the bathrooms, maybe just a wall washing in my future…

Kitchen Redo

I love makeovers, especially when it’s for the house. Where we live is our sanctuary, so I like it to feel cozy and comfy. I painted the kitchen a long time ago and loved it at the time. But, it’s always bugged me that I didn’t take the care to do it right. You know wash down the walls, fix up rough spots etc etc.

We also had new lino put in. The old one was the original from 1978. I think there were only 2 patterns at the time, and we have both in our house. Just kidding of course, but in all fairness, the old one held up very well, just got tired of looking at it. We also did other rooms and as each room is finished I’ll show you the changes. today it’s the kitchen.

This time it took me three days, but I really took my time plus it’s a small kitchen and I had to work in stages, do one corner put things back and so on. Not like big spaces where you could shove everything into one area and go for it. Our cupboards don’t go to the ceiling either, so it was a lot of climbing up and down the ladder and onto the counters to be able to reach up there.

Anyway, it’s done. It went from periwinkle blue to a really light dove grey, the colour is called Cry A River, The man at the store added a touch of purple to the mix and  he was right, it just gave it that extra something. You can’t tell from pictures, it’s one of those “you have to see it up close” things.

Before and after. First the old lino.

Then the new lino and and you can see the old paint colour. We also changed the base boards to these white ones. Apparently, showing our lack of knowledge about what is baseboard and what is actually wood trim around window and door frames, we chose the later… Ooops, oh well, I like the wood and it is only for the baseboards after all.

Next came the painting. The lino in the next picture looks very dark, but the picture above is accurate. Of course, no new paint job is complete without changing the plugs and light switches to match. The white is so much nicer to look at.

I also had a basket of dried grasses on the top of the cupboards. Hubby put those in the compost and I pulled out my stash of silk flowers that were in a corner being neglected. I added them to the basket and there they are.

While I was busy with all that, hubby got busy and gave the gazebo a brand new paint job. We’ve had so much rain these past couple of fall /winter/spring seasons, that the paint was in pretty bad shape and some boards needed replacing on the floor.

He decided to prime the wood this time and bought marine grade paint as it’s the high end type that will cause the water to bead off. Expensive, but given the amount of rain and the damage it can cause to wood structures over time, it was a necessary expense. It looks like a plastic gazebo now, but also looks brand new again. Amazing what a coat of paint can do. For a 20 year old structure exposed to the elements year in and year out, it certainly has held up well.

It also looks like we might stand a chance of getting some corn this year after a couple of dismal showings…. Can’t wait. The raspberry canes on the right, are overflowing with berries and so sweet this year. Maybe it was the cold start to the growing season???

Other Reno’s

The last of the windows is done. This is the one in the front door we decided to change after the rest were underway. I think it’s the right choice. The original window as you’ll see what an amber colour and single pane and tended to keep the entrance way quite dark.

Apparently at the time the house was built in ‘78, it was legal to have the single pane, or at least there was no rules around single pane. Since then the laws have changed and builders are not allowed to use this type of glass. The reason being is that a person with nafarious intentions could break out the glass and unlock your door and they’re in. It now has to be the double pane and laminated. The laminated part prevents the glass from shattering into a million pieces should it take a hit, like a car windshield.

I love the pattern in the glass, it’s like a frosty window in winter, the kind you get when your windows allow drafts in. Years ago an apt. I lived in, the frost was on the inside of the bedroom window, I could write in it…

And in keeping with front door renos, we did this part ourselves last fall. From a silly, no security screen door to one that at least gives some.

Two other things we did last year. We had the old gutters replaced. From bad to very much better. The old ones used to give us very nice icicles in winter though…tongue firmly planted in cheek ;o)

The last thing to get done last fall, was a new range hood for the stove. Never attempt to do this with your hubby unless you have a stable marriage. We are only very basic handy people and felt we could handle this. We did the front screen door together, so this couldn’t be to bad. HAH !!!!!

An all day project, many moments of holding the new one up, cutting more space away in the cupboard, holding it up again and hours later, KFC for supper because we were to tired and exhausted to cook, and we had a new range hood.

Like I said, don’t try this unless you have a stable marriage. Major pain to do the job, much teeth gnashing and glaring looks back and forth, but success after it was all done. And nobody has any scars to show, so it was okay….;o))))

New Windows

How can new windows be interesting…??? When you’ve looked at ugly windows since the dawn of time, you get excited about the prospect of new ones. One had a big crack in it for years because of one of our earthquakes. No plan to replace it because eventually they would all be done.

The only window left that didn’t have a broken seal was the bay window. Once it went, no choice left. I was actually happy to see that the seal was gone because it meant new windows were close at hand.  I couldn’t even clean the windows much anymore, there was so much ick between the panes that no amount of cleaning would matter, the dirt was between the layers of glass.

To say I’m excited is an understatement. We’re doing renos over time, not all at once. Pay for one thing, then plan for the next and so far the theory of deferred gratification is working. Yes I know, so many people once the house is paid off, or even before that, have all kinds of work crews converge on them at once dismantling everything in sight. Here, not so much.

One thing at a time, kind of like the turtle and the hare. Slow and steady, we’ll get things done. What’s the rush…. Here are before and after pics of the worst window. Is this not the worst thing to look at. Duct tape to keep the crack from going any further….in theory anyway….

To this…what’s not to get excited about…..We even had them install the side windows of the bay window that can be opened, so now I can air the house out with those windows or just have a nice breeze coming in and enjoy the fragrance of the flowers in the garden.

These guys were so quick and efficient. They had 11 windows in, screens on, cleaned, and cleaned up in 6 hours. Now that’s service. For locals, they are P n R Windows and Screens. We have one more small window to do in the front entrance way that we decided on after they were here. That will be done shortly and we’re finished. Am loving the ability to look out my windows without tape or dirt blocking the view…