The last couple of weeks have been, to say the least, stressful on me.  But, I think we’re all happy with the result.  Of course, there’s a few little details that will need to be completed after Amy and Bert and Jack move in (we hope they can move in – the last remnant of stress still hanging on – waiting for the mortgage approval)

We decided to get an appraisal on the house, scheduled for Wednesday afternoon, and on Tuesday evening we were still installing the furnace and air conditioning.   I didn’t know that type of work involved a bottle of rum, and a bottle of rye, but apparently, it’s a prerequisite.  On Wednesday morning, the were still a few final touches to finish up, but we made the deadline with an hour or two to spare.

Here’s a few photos…

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The story of the summer, and now autumn, is the little house renovations.

The good news is I can see that it’s getting close to being done.  The bad news, is it’s the piddly little things that are left (I think Bert would prefer they were called “finishing touches”), and it’s hard to see changes.  But, the new flooring on the main floor should go in soon, and after that, there ain’t much left to do.

So, I’m just going to put a few photos up here as a progress report.  (I’m not sure why the reflected outside light in the photos have a blue tint, but I didn’t bother messing around to correct the colour too much.  It’s really not that blue)

First off, the kitchen

Depending on the day, sometimes even the hour, the appliances may or not be in their proper location.  Obviously, they are not in this picture.

So try to imagine the fridge in the left hand corner by the door, the stove under the range hood, and the dishwasher under the window.  You can also imagine a sink in the “island” in the centre of the kitchen if you are a bit creative.

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Eventually, there will be an island in the “kitchen” area.  The plumbing and wiring will all be hidden with a dropped ceiling.  The pot lights are installed in the living room area,  The biggest problem is a small “dip” in the kitchen floor where the cabinets go.  It will require a few choice words to get that fixed, but I’m sure it will be repaired.

I think the work paid off.  This is the master bedroom, and I think the floors look fantastic. 

Unfortunately, the room looks long and skinny in the photo above, but it’s just the perspective of the camera lens that makes it look that way.

This is from the smaller bedroom looking towards the stairs.

I was afraid to walk on the floor for three or four days because I couldn’t believe that the finish was dry, and even more, I was afraid I would scuff it.

When I took these photos, I took my shoes off, even though I was told it was okay to walk on it.  I’m not going to be the first one to scratch it.  I’ll leave that honour to Jack!

The next two photos are another view of the master bedroom floor, and the closet where the stacking washer and drier are going to live.

Once again, good work, Bert.   I think it was well worth the effort.

“Shit runs downhill, and payday is every Friday”

Actually, we kind of believed that was all plumbers knew, but moving on…

I hope I got at least the first half of it right, with all of the new plumbing we installed.

Bert proves he’s more than a house renovator and just another pretty face to shows us his skills at the grill.  I’m not surprised though.  I know Amy’s specialty is Kraft Dinner served to you in one of three ways – soggy and overcooked, crispy and undercooked, or instant in the microwave. 

And this is as good as time as any to comment on Bert’s ambitious endevour at the little shack.  Even though I tend to make it sound like a “we” or “our” project, Bert deserves most of the credit.  Thanks Bert!

There’s a whole lot of drywall hung on the bedroom walls, and the bathroom is looking good.   The toilet isn’t functional yet, but it does provide us with the opportunity to test the theory that urine is actually a natural herbicide.

Another supporting beam was added across the master bedroom ceiling to repair a sagging problem.  We assumed that it had originally been two smaller rooms, and (surprise!) a supporting wall was removed.

We also found hardwood floor under the old carpet.  I expected that it would be a hardwood floor, but not that it would be in such good condition.

It looks like things are finally starting to shape up a bit.