It's Raccoon House No Longer

It seemed like it would never happen but as of yesterday we are done. Over budget and definitely over deadline but it feels good because the house looks fantastic. I think the pictures will tell the story.
Being a month passed the deadline was a real budget killer. Imagine the cost of paying five people for an extra month and you get the idea. On this project I chose to pay by time and material for the general renovations and painting instead of project quote. There's always a lot of debate about which method works best. Time and material usually results in better workmanship because the people aren't concerned about getting done on time and not losing money on their budget. Quoted projects help you keep your finances in check but can sometimes result in less than acceptable workmanship. I wish there was a perfect answer but the bottom line is this one cost me more money than I thought it would and I think the end result is worth it. The house looks beautiful. Thanks for reading and we'll chat once we find the next project.

And now for the pictures:

It Won't Be Raccoon House For Long

It's been a while since I posted but that's mostly because a lot of the work is slow and not easy to recognize. How can you see complete new wiring and new plumbing? How can you see an attic that has gone from no insulation to R-50? A completely drywalled lower level is a huge part of the equation but it still looks like a construction zone.

But when you look at the house from the outside you can see that there is a huge difference from the beginning to now and so because of that I'm going to put it on the market this week. If anyone is interested in buying 262 and they make an offer soon then at least they would get to pick out their paint colours, their granite selection, and their own design for the lower level 4-piece bathroom and the laundry room.

My plan is to be complete in less than two weeks and I think that is a reasonable date. We still have to finish putting in the kitchen, paint the entire interior, install carpet and flooring in the lower level, build a new deck and refinish the hardwood.

Stay tuned.

Awaiting a new front door and garage door

Time...A Renovator's Frustration

I know that Contractor's have to take on multiple jobs to earn a living but is there one out there that can give you a schedule a stick to it. I have one guy working like a Trojan but the rest of the crew is off working on other jobs while my deadline gets further and further away.

Despite that we have made progress. The HVAC is 90% done, the complete rewiring of this house (an unexpected expense) is done and we're hoping for a Monday inspection. While we're on the subject of electrical inspection, I'm currently on hold with the Electrical Safety Authority for 17 minutes and counting. Who has the time to sit and wait and listen to the same recorded message forty times? The plumbing is 80% done and the house has been painted.

Next week should see the kitchen delivered, windows delivered and hopefully get a start on the siding, soffit, facia and eavestrough.

Here's some pictures and hopefully the next ones will show us closer to completion.

Trials & Tribulations of a Reno

Nothing new to show with the photos but I thought I would share some points on things we have encountered on the way that tend to confuse us and slow us down:

1-You know those HGTV shows where the host flips out because someone has butchered the wiring in the home they live in. This place is a "poster child". I can't count the number of times we opened a wall or ceiling and found two wires taped together or a wire laying underneath a piece of drywall waiting for someone to hang a picture and put a nail through the wire. When we're doing our renos my #1 focus is to make sure all of our re-wiring is done safely and to code. Can you imagine selling a house to someone and it burns down because we took a short cut.

2-While we are on the topic of wiring, our Electrical Safety Authority inspector came to look at our new breaker panel while a 4th year apprentice did the installation. I guess he was ticked because the master electrician was nowhere in sight. He proceeded to shut us down with no power because we were missing one of three clamps on our service mast which is outside the house and not even part of his inspection request. One clamp, are you kidding me.

3-Contractors-Unless you're dealing with a large company with a large crew, which takes a lot of the profit out of the project, then I guess you have to expect some less than effective project management. The work our Contractor does is excellent but getting them focused on one job is a bit of challenge. We have them for a couple of days and then they're gone to another project. Hopefully we've got them for at least a full week coming up and that's when we will see the real progress.

4-Prices-You know what it's like when you buy something and then you see the same thing for less at another store. I went to Rona to buy a shower enclosure for the master ensuite bath and fortunately I couldn't get it that day, and then Linda saw the exact same thing at Costco of all places for 25% less. Buying smart is another critical component of a reno and I spend way to much time price shopping, but you have to do it.

There are other trials and tribulations that I might get to in a later post but who wants to read an essay.

Well, things have to get worse before they get better and by looking at the pictures they are definitely getting worse. All the siding is off now so I'm hoping we don't have a re-visit of our masked bandits because there are lots of places for them to climb in now. I stamp my feet and make a lot of noise when I come in every morning.
The demo is pretty much complete now, all the walls are out that are coming out, the new 2 piece bathroom is framed in and the siding is ordered so hopefully next week sees some progress.
I just need my contractor to show up on a regular basis now.

It's Still Raccoon House But We're Getting There

The changes aren't as obvious at this stage of the reno but we're making tons of progress. We've finalized our kitchen layout, we've decided to add a 2 piece bathroom on the main floor and the master bedroom is now going to be on the main floor. In total this house will have 2-4 piece bathrooms, 1-3 piece bathroom and 1-2 piece bathroom and in the end it will be worth it. 
Check out the pictures below to see the changes.

The main bathroom is gutted

The entire basement is gutted

Doesn't look quite the same

The wall between the living room and kitchen is gone

Day 2 and Hot Doesn't Begin to Describe It

Day 2 started and it was even hotter than day 1. Outside temperatures hit 38 degrees and inside it was probably 45. In two days Tom and I have drank about 3/4 of a giant jug of water from our cooler.
Lots of progress though as you will see from the pictures. Tomorrow we hope to have the inside ready for the Barry & Hans (The Contractor) to begin their portion of the interior renovation.

Upstairs Ensuite

Living Room/Kitchen

Main 4 Piece Bathroom

Back of House

Day 1 of the Transformation of Raccoon House

Well it is July 16th and we took possession yesterday. Brother-in-law Tom and I headed down to Raccoon House at 7:30 in the morning in the sweltering heat. It was 32 degrees today and inside Raccoon House it was 10-15 degrees hotter. It was a killer day but we accomplished a lot.
I'm posting some before pics so you have an idea of what the old house looked like before we began.
Thanks for checking out my blog and you can also check out my website at www.athomewithmartystaz.ca