Bathroom Renovation Progressing Nicely!

After we all took a break for Christmas, we have started back at it today. Adair and Hailey, are doing a great job of the tub and the wall surround. They have installed mason board, and after that is complete they will install beautiful tiles.

They have come up with a great decor for the bathroom, and we are all excited to see it when it is done.

My job, right now, is painting. I have managed to get the master bedroom plus one small bedroom primed, and 2 coats of ceiling paint. Plus make sure the kitchen order gets going, and after having a new furnace installed, we are going to get the ducts professionally cleaned, hopefully after the holidays.

Once we get the bedrooms painted, then I will get the carpet put in. We are putting carpet in the 4 bedrooms and a runner down the stairs. I already put a deposit on the carpet to secure a good price.

Michelle has been helping me with the wiring, and making things safe.

With us all having other day jobs, we work on the house when we can, and are hoping to be finished by the end of January. The kitchen will not be ready for install before then, but we can have everything else ready. I already purchased the 5 appliances. I got 15% off, an already good deal if I purchased them before the end of the year. But we have to take delivery by the 8th, so they may have to sit in the living room for now.

Install Bathtub and More!

Adair and Hailey managed to get the new bathtub in the upstairs bathroom. With some help they also got the plumbing organized and are now ready for tiling.

It was a busy week. We finished off the wallpaper removal, plumbing lines replaced, new laundry tub, kitchen confirmed, additional subflooring, and today I was trying to wash the walls to get rid of wallpaper residue, and prep them for some repairs with spackle. Who ever lived here before, loved to hang pictures on the walls (lots of nail holes) and hooks in the ceiling.

The house still seems to be in shambles, but I am sure it will come together in the New Year, as we have picked many of the new additions, such as kitchen, paint and flooring etc.

Tomorrow, they are coming in to do the final measure for the new kitchen cabinets.

Removing Wallpaper Still

Today, Friday, Hailey and I worked on removing more wallpaper. This place was head to toe in wallpaper. We have finally done most of the upstairs (wallpaper removal). I think I know why most renovators, just take the walls down back to the stud wall!. There were a few layers of wallpaper, and one bedroom, with wallpaper over latex paint that was put over oil based paint, which did not stick well. But stuck enough to be gummy when trying to remove it!

Michelle and Matt worked on more electrical today. Michelle has been with me all week doing some upgrades, right now things look messier than when we got there, but hopefully once all this wallpaper is gone, we can start some drywall repairs and paint.

We had the "end of the roll" come in and measure for carpet in the bedrooms, and we are going to try and have the hardwood in the hallway and living room sanded and varnished. The bedroom hardwoods were pretty stained. I am sure they could bring them up, but it will be expensive. So, we have decided to go for a berber carpet in the bedrooms and a runner on the stairs. They are hardwood as well, but I felt they would be better with a runner down the center.

Everynight we turn off the water, as we don't trust the plumbing just yet, especially with this cold spell and an ancient furnace. But after having that audit done, we are getting the furnace replaced soon. It was a long day, but a good day! I had to shovel the driveway first to get in! Got to love winter!

Renovation Credits

Yesterday (Thursday) we had a energy auditor come to the house we are working on, and do a energy test. He places a airtight frame in the front door, and starts a large fan in the frame. This reverses the air flow in the house, and will show up any air leaks.

This was a great test, as it showed us leaks we can fix. But the best part is, that we can get renovation credits from the government.

If we replace the old furnace with a high efficiency one, we get $750.00

If we replace the two toilets with 6L toilets, we get $130.00 for each toilet

If we insulate the basement, attic entrance, and do some caulking, there is even more money.

If we do this work within 18 months of this test, then he checks the work, and approves the credits.

This certainly helps with the budget, and with the heating costs.

The test was 350.00 and you get 150 dollars refund from the government for doing it. But if your house is over 10 years old, you could actually do renovations quite cheaply, with these renovation credits.

Bathroom Renovation

Yesterday (Friday) was "get rid of gross green tub day" This took a lot of work, because there were so many layers of wall coverings around the tub, that it took a crow bar to get them off.

After getting down to the bare wood, Adair was finally able to yank the tub out (with some help) and it was the last thing added to the dumpster outside. Like the icing on a cake, the tub sits upside down on top of the pile of debris in the dumpster. Will get that taken away next week.

We did try to turn the water on. It had not been on since we took posession, because the bank selling the place had the line cut and capped. Jeremy helped sort that out, and he guided Adair with capping the bathrooms and the kitchen copper so that we could demolish the cabinets. We left one toilet and the laundry room sink in the basement attached, and crossed our fingers when the water was turned on. It actually held, although the laundry taps are a bit dicey.. So we turn off the water at the end of each day.. The saga continues!