Our Old House Is Taking Shape!

Hello dear friends, things are progressing here at the farm!  Lots has happened since my last update and I am quite behind so lets get to it!

The first big update was framing the rooms and upstairs hallway.   Ductwork for heating and cooling has been installed and the area of the floor that shows open was waiting for insulation to be added to cover the dirt floor and the stone foundation.  A spray foam insulation was blown in followed by a fire retardant covering. The old ductwork under this section of the house was badly corroded so these changes will make a big difference in the comfort of the house when winter arrives.

This is the library.

This is a view looking through what we are calling the passageway into the laundry room and  pantry area.  The metal frames are in place to allow for two sets of pocket doors to separate the passageway and staircase to the old basement from the living room and laundry room.

The living room is framed and ductwork is in place.  An electrician had been on site for two days getting the house ready for power.  The old fireplace has been cleaned by a chimney sweep and is waiting for stonework and a new insert.

This area was formerly two bedrooms.  It took some discussion but we finally decided to combine the two small rooms into one large new bedroom.  

We named this room after our dog Kodiak.  It is now going to be the smallest bedroom and will serve as an additional guest room when needed.

Lots of work is happening to upgrade our second floor bathroom.  Heating and electrical work as well as plumbing is well under way.  We decided to replace the bathtub with a walk in shower.

The upstairs hallway with cathedral window has always been one of my favourite parts of the house.  This will become a little reading nook.  Or snoozing nook.  Possibly hand quilting nook.  We shall see!

After framing batts of insulation were installed.

Our old windows were removed so that new ones could be installed.  The "old" windows were part of an upgrade we did about 30 years ago to replace the original windows which had lovely single pane wobbly glass but were very drafty and frightfully cold during the winter.  A more detailed blog about our new front door and windows is in the blog archive.

The new windows were manufactured by the same company that made the windows for our addition.  These windows are aluminum on the outside and wood on the inside.  We dithered over the cost of this upgrade but in the end I think it is a very good investment.

Next up was drywall.  We had 4 installers here and over a day and a half they installed all of the boards.

Once the drywaller installers were finished a different worker came to do the taping.  He spent about 3 days taping all of the seams and sanding the mud to prepare the boards for priming.

I was pretty happy to have a railing installed again!  The stairs, railing, spindles and banister are all made of red oak and will be stained to match the flooring.  

I am beyond pleased with this selection and love how the railing curves to meet the post at the top of the stairs.  At this point the staircase had already been installed but is protected with heavy plastic and temporary treads.  The staining of the staircase, railing, banister and spindles will be one of the very last stages of the renovation and wont happen until the very last week.

Next was the flooring.  We selected a glue down laminate flooring for durability.  Although hardwood flooring would be lovely we have dogs, cats, live in the country....and we know that tracking in dirt and grit is a fact of life in our house.  We hesitated over this type of laminate but in the end went with the recommendation of the contractor as this type of flooring is not only more durable but is also more stable.  (and we love our contractor and somehow always go with what he recommends ).

 

The flooring installed in what is now a bigger second floor bedroom.

The bathroom has vinyl tile flooring.  I dont remember why we did this but we did.  Perhaps we thought it was more bathroom-y.

And a glimpse of the flooring in the living room.

We are in the home stretch!   All of the flooring is now covered with a protective barrier to protect it while the walls have primer applied.   The paint colours have been selected and we still need to have the new mantel and stonework installed for the fireplace as well as having woodwork and trim installed.  We are looking forward to having everything done just before Christmas.  Then the work of unpacking the storage containers will start...and then we are working towards a Christmas in January!

New Windows and Front Door

Hello dear friends, I have been a little busy lately and as a result I am sharing a couple of updates out of order!  First, I spent a couple of lovely days last week visiting my dear friend Brenda.  We enjoyed food, wine, shopping and getting caught up.  Part of the shopping involved refreshing the supply of stuffies for Abby and Vera.  Abby, being a very responsible German Shepherd has been very engaged with her stuffies and carries them around respectfully.  Vera on the other hand....well let's just say there is now a small collection of eyes and noses that dont have stuffies attached to them.

Our renovation is suffering from scope creep.  On a renovation this size it is to be expected.  When we had the addition built about 11 years ago we selected doors and windows from a local manufacturer.  Unlike the windows in the stone house the new windows for the addition were aluminum clad on the outside and wood on the inside.  The theory was that the aluminum cladding would be a much lower maintenance option as it wouldn't require regular painting.  The wood on the inside would be stained and not only provide a feeling of warmth and tradition but would be similar to the windows in the stone house.

In the photo below the addition is on the right.

As part of the renovation of the stone house it made sense to replace the windows.  Although we had actually replaced the original windows in the house about 30 years ago we felt that it was time to upgrade them.  We used the same manufacturer as we had selected for the addition including the same style and colour.

All of the windows in the stone house were carefully removed so that we could use them on another project.  The replacement windows were custom made for each window opening.

Replacing the cathedral window is going to make a huge difference to the energy efficiency of the stone house, especially in the winter.  This old window has taken such a beating from the sun with the wood drying out and allowing drafts into the house.

We are very excited about our new front door.  We had previously replaced the derelict front door that was in place when we bought the house with a similar version to this.  Our new front door has more glass which will allow in more light.  The inside is wood and will be stained Mission Oak to match other doors in our house.

And the outside of the door is the same cranberry colour we had selected for the addition.

The insulation was installed over the course of three days.  Different types of insulation we used depending on its' purpose.  Foam insulation was sprayed in around all of the windows and the front door.  This is an exciting development as there was previously no insulation at all.

We love the space around our house as well as our views.

And here is a view from the front veranda!

Thank you for following along!  I will have more updates to come.

 

Thanksgiving at the Farm

Hello dear friends, I am taking a brief renovation update

break to share some photos of our Thanksgiving dinner. Many people have pointed out that it seems...odd? irresponsible?? just strange?? why bother?? you are crazy!! to host a dinner while our home is in such a state of turmoil. I agree! Have you noticed that over the years that fewer and fewer people are interested in hosting gatherings?  Perhaps it is just too much work! I would love to know your thoughts.  We however really enjoying having friends and family come to visit and would like to think that they really enjoy their time here.

 

The interior of our old stone house has a subfloor and framing.  We moved our veranda furniture inside along with an outdoor rug.  It felt very cottage-y.  Everyone enjoyed the vibe and it was the last great use of our Adirondack furniture before we get ready to start storing it for the winter.  We shared this photo with the contractor who was very amused!

We retrieved our old electric fireplace from the basement.  When we had our addition built 11 years ago we purchased this and set it up in the new dining room.  While construction was being completed this little fireplace provided some heat for the workers when they stopped for coffee break or lunch.  

I didn't realize that this is actually an extension for a construction staircase.  It was in the old living room so we took advantage of it to hold wine glasses and appetizers.  It made a great impromptu serving table.

We kept pre-dinner snacks to a minimum.  Some crackers and a small assortment of cheeses was just enough to get everyone to the main event!

We had to eat in the kitchen as our dining room is currently our bed/sitting room while the house is being renovated. When we were preparing for the renovations to start we packed and stored everything from the stone house.  At the time I didn't think we would invite anyone over so I also packed up most of the items we used when we have guests.  It was a bit tricky finding enough plates and servingware but I managed.

We have been raising our own turkeys for several years. Some of them got a little big this year!  This turkey was just over 22 pounds.    We roasted it on a bed of onions, carrots and celery and baked it for about 6 hours. 

Our friend Christopher prepared a delicious cranberry fig sauce to accompany the turkey.

My sister in law is not fond of turkey so we usually cook a ham as well.  I add a bone in ham to the slow cooker with a generous helping of brown sugar and let it cook on low for about 8 to 10 hours.  I am not a fan of ham but when prepared this way it has a rich and sweet flavour and is very tender.  

I love to bake bread.  I had meant to bake dinner rolls but am so used to baking bread that I had already prepared the ingredients before realizing my mistake.  Bread it was!  I baked two kinds...a regular white bread and a whole wheat bread with cranberries and walnuts.

We love having stuffing with our turkey. For decades my mother used to follow a recipe she had cut out of the newspaper to make a true stuffing which was placed inside the turkey before baking.   I can't find the recipe but I do remember the ingredients which include bread cubes, pork sausage meat, dry sherry, onions, seasonings and cream.  It comes out a little differently every time but is always delicious.  I used to stuff the turkey but for the last few years I prepare the dressing in advance and bake it separately.  

On the Thursday before dinner I made a quick trip to St Jacob Farmers Market for fresh produce.  I purchased Yukon Gold potatoes  from a vendor which we mashed with an herb and garlic cream cheese.  I also bought multi coloured carrots, honeycrisp apples, zucchini, sweet potatoes and butternut squash.  

I love to try new recipes.  This year I tried a  Maple Dijon roasted carrot and apple recipe.  Everyone said they liked it but I wasnt a fan.  We also had roasted brussels sprouts with balsamic vinegar and parmesan cheese but it seems we didn't get a picture.   The sprouts were delicious!

We also missed documenting our dessert which was also prepared by our friend Christopher.  He prepared a lovely bread pudding infused with rum and drizzled with a vanilla sauce.  It was divine.

And that my friends was our Thanksgiving.  I will have more to share lots of renovation updates soon!

 

The Rebuild Starts!

 Hello dear friends, after some delays during the demolition of our old stone house I am so excited to share some of the the progress that is being made!

 

While the renovations are ongoing we were temporarily blocked from the second floor addition including our bedroom and bathroom.  We have converted our dining room into a bed/sitting room and Vera is in her element.  She spends most of the day lounging on the bed with her collection of stuffies, looking out the window, barking at squirrels, chipmunks and anyone on the road in between taking  lengthy naps.

The old timbers that were part of the main floor structure have all been removed and are piled up outside.  These timbers were all part of the original construction so are approximately 170 years old.  We don't want to get rid of them as they are original to the old house so they have some sentimental value.  How many people can claim to have 170 year old timbers?  We are thinking of using them to build a folly at Lake Ophelia.

The new engineered rim joists were fastened to the stone wall using special anchor screws.  The gap between the rim joists and stone wall was filled in with mortar to further strengthen the construction.  The use of these engineered rim joists and floor joists was not part of our original plan.  The demolition however did reveal some issues with the old timbers and joists and these new joists will be much faster for the carpenters to work with.  

Once the rim joists were in place the floor joists were attached using joist hangers.  Then the process of laying the subfloor started.  At this point the house looks much larger than it really is!  The main floor and second floor are approximately 1200 square feet.  

A temporary railing for safety was constructed around the opening to the basement.  

Of course a glass of wine to celebrate the progress was in order!

And for fun we invited BearBear 1 and BearBear 2 to join us.  We left the evidence for the carpenters to find the following morning.

Now, back to the serious business of the renovations.  Once the subfloor was installed the interior framing could begin.  First vapour barrier was installed over the stonework and then the studs were installed.   Rock wool insulation batts will be placed between each of the studs.   This will greatly increase our comfort in the winter by keeping the house much warmer.  Our furnace will be happy as well at not having to work so hard.

A temporary staircase was added last week which allows the carpenters to start working on the second floor and also gives us access the second floor of the addition.  I am so happy to be able to access our bedroom again.  This renovation has been very disruptive to our normal routine and I am so pleased to be able to sleep in my own bed again!

The old cedar joists that supported the second floor have all been removed and are being replaced with the same engineered joists that are being used for the main floor.

This week the carpenters have laid the subfloor for the second floor and are working on building the studs for the walls.  It is exciting to imagine what these areas will look like once completed.  The little alcove by the cathedral window is going to become a reading nook.

This area was previously two bedrooms.  We have decided to sacrifice the smallest bedroom and combine the two rooms into one large bedroom.

This area was previously a bedroom and second floor bathroom and wont change significantly.

That is the update for now!  Thank you for following along on our big renovation adventure.  I will have more to share in a couple of weeks.