We Have Walls!

It’s been an exciting couple of weeks as we’ve welcomed our new walls.  The drywall was delivered and we got a bit of break while the contractors got to work.

After months of spending time in the house without any walls, it was hard to imagine what it would look like once the drywall was up.  We were a little concerned that it would feel small and confined, but we are pleasantly surprised.  

Here are some shots of the main floor and basement so far.  The taper has a few more coats to do, but we’re hoping he’ll be finished next week.

While the work is being done, we’ve been busy selecting our tiles, hardwood and paint colours so that we’ll be ready for the next stage – the final finishes!

Kitchen Continues

Production of our kitchen cabinets continues to move forward.  We received some more photos this week and it looks like the doors and drawer fronts have been painted.

 

Over at the house, the drywall guys worked all week and finished hanging the drywall.  The taper has started the taping and mudding, so things should be finished by the end of this week.  It’s looking great so far!

The Final Push Before Drywall

This past week has been filled with very long days (and nights!) as we’ve finished the final preparations for drywall.  Thanks so much to everyone who came by to help – Rich, Pat, Steph, Marilyn and Marty.  We couldn’t have got it all done without you!

Here’s a rundown of what we did:

We pulled communication wire (phone, internet and cable) throughout the house.

 

We had spray foam insulation installed on all the exposed exterior walls.  This will allow us to claim the highest value of rebate through the government home energy programs. We used Frank’s Spray Foam Insulation.

 

We installed sound insulation between our house and the attached neighbours, as well as between the bedrooms.

 

  The drywall is being delivered tomorrow and installation will start on Tuesday.  It is expected to take about ten days for drywall and taping.  Luckily, we’ve chosen to contract this work out, so we’ll be taking a break and getting ready for the next stage.

Fixing Creaky Floors

As you may remember, we decided to keep the original hardwood floors on the second story.  We covered them to keep them protected during the renovations and will get them sanded and re-stained before we move in.

The only downside to keeping the old floors is that there were a number of creaky spots.  So, before installing the drywall on the main floor ceiling, we decided to do a bit of work to get rid of some of the squeaks.

One of Dave’s colleagues recommended using construction adhesive along each floor joist where it meets the subfloor (we used PL Premium adhesive).  Since the ceilings were down, we were able to reach up and do this from below.  It took some time, but was worth the effort.

Once it dried, it eliminated the majority of the creaky spots.  It’s not a perfect fix, but it definitely helped a lot.

 

 

Getting Rid of the Green – Step One

One thing we’ve been anxious to do since we bought the house is to get rid of the green paint around the front door.  Unfortunately for those who need to look at it everyday, the interior renovations have had to take priority.

But, last week we had the roofers come by to add a new exhaust vent on the main roof.  While they were there, we finally took the first step toward banishing the green and got them to replace the shingles and flashing over the front door.  The old green shingles and bright green flashing were removed and replaced with black. 

We don’t have a great “before” picture of the green shingles, but you can see the edge of the old flashing below:

And, here’s the new and improved black roof:

As soon as we get some time, we’ll repaint the rest of the area around the front door and the green will be gone for good!

What’s That Smell?

We spent the weekend cleaning out the house and the garage to prepare for spray foam and drywall.  Months of renovation scraps have piled up in the garage, so it was time to get rid of it all. 

Tonight we borrowed a friend’s truck (thanks Phil!) so that we could take a couple of loads to the dump.  This was Jen’s first (and last) trip to the dump.

There aren’t really words to describe the experience, so we’ll leave you with some images…

More Kitchen Progress

We received some more progress pictures from the production of our kitchen cabinets.  The drawers have been built and the cupboard doors are underway. 

In the pictures below, you can see that the doors are constructed in five pieces – a center panel and four edge pieces.

Eventually, these piles of wood will look something like this (we hope!):

It’s good to see that things are coming along.  In a little over a month, we should be seeing them in person!

We Passed!

In the past week, we had all our required inspections.  The City of Toronto came to do the structural, mechanical and plumbing rough-in inspection.  The ESA came to inspect the electrical work.  We passed them all!  It feels pretty good to have reached this milestone.

Once we passed the inspections, we got busy building the bulkheads in the basement and strapping the stairwell so that we can finally start closing things in.

 

By the end of next week, we’ll have spray foam insulation applied and should be ready to start the drywall. 

Kitchen Cabinet Production

Today we received some photos from the factory where our kitchen cabinets are being made.  It’s exciting to see them taking shape!