We had SUCH a productive weekend!

We got all of the floors sanded, cleaned and varathaned!

We kept the existing hardwood in the downstairs living room, but it was in rough shape in a few spots. It took a lot of sanding to get it ready for refinishing. But it was worth the effort!

The upstairs was brand new fresh maple so it did not need as much sanding.. it looks lovely! Alex did a fantastic job installing it all.

Alex’s mom made a special food delivery for us both Saturday and Sunday, and also helped with cleaning which was hugely appreciated. We also had a visit from Alex’s cousin Camille and her partner Donald and it was great to have the extra assistance. We managed to get the house all cleaned up.. so it is looking like a proper house now! One people actually live in!

Some of our big jobs are on hold while the floors dry fully, so Dad finished off the powder room while Alex started the hall closet ‘mini mud room’ project. Of course hooking up plumbing to the Ikea vanity caused more problems.. but nothing Dad couldn’t handle!

Next week Alex has an extra long weekend so we should be able to finish off a few more areas. We plan to be living here full time as soon as the floors are fully dry and we can start moving furniture up from the basement

In summary: WOOOOOOO!!!

Optimistic title no?

Might be a bit melodramatic!

However entering our third month of reno, I am feeling pretty well over it!

I am very excited to have a full weekend to get stuff done as September was a bit all over the place

However we got some big things done, including hardwood install

The upstairs floors are all nailed down and waiting for sanding and clearcoat. The wood is beautiful!

Today our doors for the main bathroom tub were installed, and look lovely! Unfortunately there was an error on the cut of the ensuite doors, which has caused a delay on that install

We picked up a sander today and since the upstairs was not quite ready, we starting sanding the old hardwood on the main level to prep it for refinishing. Meanwhile Alex completed the finishing touches upstairs.

I hope to have big updates after the weekend, and to someday soon move our beloved Peachy in!

Well, I have another item to add to the list of things to pay someone to do – wallpaper

Since Dad and Alex are busy with more important things, I decided to try my hand at the wallpaper accent wall in the powder room. It got done but it is far from perfect. Looks good as long as you are far away 🙂 what a mess it made!

This past weekend we did not accomplish much but we did some work a couple of nights last week. I haven’t updated on here for a while as I was not feeling well and that slowed things down a bit.

I did manage to paint our accent wall in the office

And Dad took care of more lights, switches and plugs!

Alex has started hardwood install, starting with the master bedroom.. and goodness, it is pretty!

The wood has such nice character that we plan to just clearcoat it.. no stain needed. It took a bit longer than expected to prep the floors as of course they were far from level

We also did a little shopping and got a very good deal on some spalted maple from a very nice couple out in the sticks

Also purchased some finishing items for the bathrooms

We are on track to be moved in by month end!

Friday I tried to go work on the house after work, but I was totally pooped and not feeling well so I ended up going home and making some big batch meals and going to bed early instead. Alex was off jamming in preparation for his show on the weekend. Saturday morning I was still feeling rough but enjoyed going to look at countertops at Vesta and living room furniture at Dufresne before heading to Montreal for Alex’s show.

I made the most of it despite not feeling great and it was great to catch up with the gang. There was a great turn out for the concert, and the best surprise was an appearance by Patrick and Daisy, a couple we met through the music scene that have started their own home reno!! Bon chance!

After stopping in to see our friends’ progress on their home reno, we headed back to the house and got quite a bit done

Thanks to Dad, our Nest thermostat is operational, as well as our bathroom and walk in closet pot lights

I did more painting – shocker! And assembled the powder room vanity, as well as doing some odd jobs and touch ups

Alex created the support wall needed for the dishwasher install, patched walls, and added more cover panels for the kitchen

Can’t wait for bed!

Made it through another night after work at the house!

On Wednesday I finished a 2nd coat on most of the walls upstairs while Dad worked on more bathroom electrical and Alex installed the replacement cabinet for the kitchen since we found extra space on the window wall. We put in organizers for all our baking pans and cutting boards. I am absolutely thrilled to not have a pile of mess in the stove drawer like at our old apartment!

He also added in the lazy susan shelf in the corner cabinet

Today dad finished off the bathroom lighting and started installing our Nest thermostat. I painted the accent wall in the master bedroom

Thursday Alex was out with his work buddies, and tomorrow he has a jam session with the band to prepare for a show in Montreal, so i will be reno’ing solo! Which means… painting. More painting. 🥴

Here is one before and after that I enjoy.

First – after receiving the 170+ boxes for our Ikea kitchen :

And now!

That means soon I will be bringing my painting adventures to the living room! Woo!

We took Monday night off to enjoy the last wing night ever at James St. Pub, a local watering hole which is closing soon. Although we had not gone there frequently in the last 5 years, we used to watch hockey games there often when we first started dating. It holds a special place in our memories!

Today I finished the first coat of real, final paint (not prime!! Woo) on the entire upstairs. Soon I will be able to paint my accent walls! Yay!

Dad finished off the bathroom plumbing. His plumbing hacks made the pesky Ikea vanities work with our existing plumbing. Now all that is left in the upstairs bathrooms is putting on the shower/tub doors, one last paint coat, and the electrical fixtures and lighting. Ok, when I list it like that it still sounds like a lot, but considering those walls didn’t even exist not too long ago, we have come a long way!

As you can see from the dark photos, we could really use some proper lighting! I think I will have to hold off on final paint coat until I am available during daylight hours as I need more light than our construction lighting provides.

Alex kept trucking along with the kitchen cabinets, which are looking fantastic!

We are going to be replacing the funny little cabinet under the window. Since redoing the drywall fixed some bows in the wall, we have gained 3 inches of wallspace under the window and can get a bigger and better filler cabinet than our original measurements would have allowed!

We finally sat down at 9:30 pm for some amazing food from Soul Stone, a local Asian fusion place which delivers. Pad Thai, sushi, chicken curry and spring rolls sure beats pizza!

Tomorrow is cardboard recycling, thank god, as we were able to clean out all the boxes left over from our kitchen and bathroom installs

Now bed, work tomorrow, and then probably more painting!

Well, Alex definitely is enjoying kitchen install

I can’t say the same for Dad working on the bathroom vanity plumbing. I had read a bit online describing people’s complaints with Ikea’s pipe system. Your main line has to be in just the right spot for Ikea’s system to work, with zero room for manoevreing if you want your drawers to still close. The included piping did not work with either of our vanities, and we are lucky that Dad is so good at improvising!

Now we have two working toilets, 1 working bathroom sink, and another halfway there! And we also now have a microwave! The microwave hood fan got installed today. Now we have more dinner options than BBQ.

Next up will be the dishwasher, which Alex needs to build a support filler for, so it will be a big job for another day

I finished my wall touch ups upstairs and completed a second coat of prime. I can’t wait to get the final paint coat up!

This weekend went by way too quickly, and I can’t wait to get back at it.

Kitchen install has begun!

We are feeling as though we may be nearing the finish line, which is a relief as we have other priorities we would like to devote more time to.

Today we were back at the house after taking Friday off to take care of more important things. I worked on touch ups and wall repairs on the 2nd floor so that we could continue our adventures in painting

Meanwhile, Super Dave returned to help Alex with kitchen install!

When Dad arrived I joined him to assist in working on the bathrooms on the 2nd floor.. we now have working toilets!!!!!

Installing plumbing for the vanities, however, has presented some challenges. Stay tuned for more..

We have continued to have a productive week, despite the rough return to reality for Dad and myself

We got a lot of painting done thanks to help from Max and Joel. The upstairs and majority of the downstairs are primed, and we have the first coat of final paint up in both bathrooms.

We have started to install the bathroom vanities and finished prepping the toilet phalanges for install. Alex was not impressed with the pipe placement by the plumbers. They knew what our plans were and caused some unnecessary headache with the toilets and vanities. We had to make some modifications to our plans for the vanities, but I think it will work out better in the end!

While these hiccups can be frustrating and cause delays, a couple of them have worked out well in the end. We just have to take a deep breath and trust that our dream team can find a solution!

The upstairs bathrooms are getting VERY close to completion. Here is a sneak preview with the shower faucets installed!

Oh.. my.. goodness

Some serious progress this week

I took off to the cottage with Dad for some R&R. I didn’t really have any vacation plans this year and did not expect to be buying a house as quickly as we did due to the poor market conditions. Last year I worked through the summer and felt pretty tired as summer is a very busy draining time of year in my industry. So last winter, I figured I would book a week off and put down a deposit on a cottage I had been to before a few years ago. Since Alex changed jobs in the spring, he was not able to take time off to join me. Dad, being retired, did not have the same problem! It was great to have Dad join as he DEFINITELY deserved and needed a break after all the help he has given us with the house!!

So, this has been our view for the week, instead of drywall!

In the meantime poor Alex has been slaving away at both his job and the house! And what progress he has made! I should go on vacay more often!

He has done a lot of priming, wall repairs, and prep for kitchen install

Pedro & Sons have done miraculous work with the tile and I can’t wait to see it in person! Here is a sneak preview…

Tomorrow Alex joins me at the cottage for a well earned day of fun.. and then Sunday and Monday we are back at the house, newly invigorated by the gorgeous tile! Things are coming together!