Tag: renovations

Okay, now there’s REALLY nowhere but up from here…

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We thought we had hit rock bottom in the renovation. That night where everything was going wrong, and then our coffee table broke? Yeah, we were pretty sure we were movin’ up and movin’ on. Nope.

The tub is in (yay!) but not draining properly. Christian first assumed that he’d made an error in connecting the bathtub to the drain. We had a plumber help with the rough in and then Christian did the rest. So, off to Home Depot for another drain kit and another $25 down the drain (no pun intended. Okay, maybe it was). After hours of work and more failed attempts, it was clear that this wasn’t the core problem. A few inches of water would take an hour to drain. Not exactly our dream bathtub.

So, we called another plumber and he was at our place within an hour. He quickly found the culprit: someone had done a handy-man special to our drain in the past. And by handy-man special, I mean literally plugging the larger pipe with some sort of goop in order to affix the smaller pipe arm to it. Check it out:

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A plumbing professional I am not, but I can tell you pretty quickly what is wrong with this picture….doesn’t it look like chewing gum was used to seal this?  We learned that this was linked back even to our old shower not draining properly.  We’re starting to se an unfortunate theme based on the five-elbows-to-make-a-pipe situation that we uncovered a few weeks back.

So, out it came. We are so happy to report that the new tub is draining perfectly, however, our powder room and only other bathroom in the house (well, toilet and sink at least) looks like this:

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We have now added to our list the need to re-drywall the back wall of the powder room. Currently, we have no light or mirror in there….so I’m doing hair an make-up at work this week. Or not at all. I’m kind of over it.

And our spirits? Shall we NOW tentatively say: “there’s no where but up from here?”. Better not jinx it.

Nowhere but up from here

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Embarking on a renovation requires some mental preparation. In addition to thinking about the end result, “the vision”, you also need to consider the dark side: living in a war zone, and knowing that something will go wrong.

This reality hit us in the face on Tuesday night. Christian came straight home from work to finish attaching the new plumbing pipes to our shower fixtures. It’s always those time sensitive jobs that never go right.

After hours of attempts, it became clear that we weren’t going to be able to turn the water back on. The tub was still sitting in the living room, we hadn’t eaten dinner, it was 10pm, and we wouldn’t have running water until the next day.

So, after an emergency water run to Loblaws at 10:20, we settled in for a late dinner of leftover lasagne. After an intensely frustrating evening, sitting down to relax for a few minutes went a long way. As we cleared up the dinner dishes, ready to head off to bed and leave the day far behind us, a knife slipped off the plate and landed on our 3-month-old glass coffee table….and in a nano-second, our beautiful table turned from this:

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To this….

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We were too stunned/ shocked / tired / overwhelmed to react. After ensuring that each wasn’t injured (we weren’t), there was only one thing we could do = go to bed. Yep, we took our crumpled spirits and left our smashed coffee table on the floor. I didn’t even have the energy to shed a tear of frustration.

Oh, and we did clean up the mess last night. Of course, Christian took the opportunity to show me some love….

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See, it’s all about perspective 🙂

The not-so-glamorous life of DIY

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As we near the “it’s only going to get better from here” point of the Reno, it felt appropriate to share a sneak peek behind the home renovation curtain. While I love to share the before and after shots, and tell the story of the latest curve in our project plans, it’s the daily ins and outs of renovating that perhaps get overlooked.

For example, the “dust check” that happens every time we leave the house. Both Christian and I are working professionals, and rolling into a client meeting with drywall dust all over the legs of your dress pants just doesn’t fly.

Or…this lovely shot, where somewhere under that pile, is our guest room:

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Here’s another similar look, however this time, it’s our living/ dining room:

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And the dust…there is NO escaping the dust. On walls, in glassware, cupboards….can’t wait to do a deep clean, but we are at least 3 weeks away from that.

Oh, another personal favorite: things need to temporarily go in odd places, because there really isn’t anywhere else to put them:

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Yep, that’s our old toilet and sink, sitting proudly in our master bedroom. I was getting ready to go out for a birthday dinner on Friday night and couldn’t help but giggle as I tried to do the “do these shoes go with this dress?” check with a toilet in the way.

Speaking of style, here’s my hot new look for spring:

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Finally, especially when ripping out your only full bathroom, there’s the issue of hygiene. Lets just say that my shower at the community center on Friday was cold….and….err….public.

What about you…..have any funny behind-the-scenes stories to share?

(Un)cramping our (bathroom) style

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Over our 3+ years of home ownership, there is one question that we continually here:

“So…what project are you guys working on!?”

We declared that 2012 would be a year for us – no major projects. Hence, my quiet blog 🙂 But, come 2013 we found ourselves itching to tackle the next big thing in our little home. From 2009-2010, we tackled the entire basement, re-wired the house, knocked out walls to open up our living room and basically gave everything else a face-lift. In 2011, we knocked out our front porch and re-built a proper, covered porch/ mud-room area. Our most major project for 2012? Christian installed potlights in our living room. Exciting? Yes! Large scale overload of a project? No.

After our much deserved, year long break from renovations, our upstairs main bathroom was calling our name. And, as you imagine from the title of this post, it was about time that we re-arranged things.

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Do you see what’s wrong with this picture? Notice that the top of the toilet tank actually had to be shifted to allow for the lip of the sink to actually fit.

Here is my personal fave:
Christian and I demonstrating the close quarters: me brushing my teeth, and him….er….on the toilet (he’s not actually going people, this is just a frame of reference for y’all:

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His face in this picture kills me….always has to ham it up.

Here’s a picture capturing the narrow entrance into the bathroom. I’m trying to illustrate just how impossible it is for us to be in there at the same time (it totally drives me nuts):

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So there you have it: we are kissing this room good-bye, and now you know why!

Looking Back: Our first night in Leslieville (let the demolition begin)

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Ah, memories.

I still vividly remember the evening my husband and I took possession of our first home.  It was a Friday night in late September, 2009.  A BEAUTIFUL night.   We scurried around town all afternoon finalizing the close, heading to the lawyers office to pick up the keys, until we finally found ourselves excitedly driving up our street at about 6pm for the first time as new home-owners.  And we weren’t just home owners.  We were home-owners in Leslieville. We were in love.

 

Of course, shortly after walking through our new home for perhaps the 4th time since we had first seen it, we immediately realized that

a) we were absolutely famished, and

b) that we signed ourselves up for a lot of work.  Like, a tonne of work. I’m talking never-ending renovations here.

 

Well, it’s all about tackling one problem at a time, so we decided to venture down Queen St to savour our first local meal as Leslieviller’s.  Reliable Fish and Chips was smelling mighty good, so we brought our grub home in styrofoam containers, popped the champagne, and sat on our kitchen floor to enjoy our first meal.  (No furniture yet….remember, we are starting renovations….this is the sole purpose for my blog…I’m just building context here….work with me…)

Yes, I brought glass champagne glasses specifically for this event (and yes, it goes well with styrofoam, fish and chips!)

Yes, those are our gorgeous blush-pink counter tops with coordinating blush-pink and white ceramic tiles in the background.

Yes, this kitchen is about to be destroyed.

 

But before we get there, let’s move back outside, where our perfect little street heard the first smashes of the sledge hammer emanating from our house: “BAMMM!!”  “SMACKKK” BASH!!

Time: 7:48 pm

We’ve had possession for almost two hours.  Let the games begin.

 

And so begins our story: two new homeowners + one quiet street in Leslieville + one very old house + Melissa’s obsession with all things decor, design and reno = GREAT idea for a regular blog on the Leslieviller!

 

Enjoy.

Comment.

Relate.

Share.

 

More to come,

Melissa