The beginning of a love affair

While we were waiting for the work on the extension to be finished we used what spare time we had to get some more home shopping done.
We headed over to our local hardware store, D'Amours and started to rack up a bill. Our major purchases that needed to get done were the siding for the house and type of roofing we wanted. We knew it would take a while for these products to come in so we wanted to make sure we ordered them well in advance so as not to experience any unnecessary set backs.

Our first big decision was what type of siding did we want. The house when we bought it had vinyl, but we needed replacing and we wanted something a little more durable and classic looking. We had done some research and at first we were considering a cement composite siding, but on further inspection the price was just not worth it. Canexel was a popular choice by many renovators at the time, but we were not found of the plastic look of the product. We finally decided on reaching back a little further into the houses history. Under the layer of vinyl was the original wood siding. While it was not reusable we loved the look of natural wood and decided to find a modern alternative.
A few weeks earlier, while driving around Neil's home town of Rosemere we passed a house that both made us stop in our tracks. It was the perfect look and we wanted it for our own home.

The family was actually just in the process of moving so they were outside. I got up the courage and went and asked the homeowners what type of siding they had on their house. She replied, Maibec.

Upon further research we found out that Maibec was a stained and treated wood siding with a guarantee of up to 75 years. We were sold!

After discussing with the owner of D'Amours our final choice he asked us what colour we wanted to have. We showed the picture of the Rosemere house telling him we wanted the exact same colour. He looked at the photo and then looked at us, and kindly told us that this colour was a costum chosen colour, and to find it we would have to go through the entire Sico collection. Easier said then done.
After a few searches I settled on 5 different colours that might be a match. We were able to have Maibec make samples using each colour we had selected. A week later we had the samples in hand and had to choose the perfect shade. Some were too green, some too beige, others too grey. It was a hard decision as it would be covering our house for many, many years to come. We eventually settled on a colour and sent away for the real deal. We were happy to know that in a few months time we would receive our siding.

Next we had to decide on the roofing.
The current roofing was silver tin, and while we weren't against going with tin this time around we wanted to see what other options there were. We were really interested in these metal singles by Vicwest, as the provided the look of singles but the durability of metal. We did not want to have to replace our roof in 10 years.

However the metal singles were ridiculously expensive and we were still in the phase of trying to keep our budget in check. So we opted for the classic look of a Vicwest charcoal grey steel roof.



We were happy with our purchases and we hoped that once we saw them in place we would love them forever. We left D'Amours knowing we would be back for more.....as this was only the beginning.

Bringing down the roof

Now we had heard of barn raising parties, but a roof destroying party was something new to us. Yet that is what we found ourselves doing the Sunday before the new roof was set to be put up. We wanted to do it as close as possible to the new roof being put on so our house wouldn't be open to the elements for too long. What we didn't need at this point was it to rain in our master bedroom.

It was a hot and sunny day, but Neil, our fathers and brother-in-laws were brave enough to get up on the roof and start tearing it apart. First out came all the nails, then the old tin roof, followed by the wood planks and finally the old beams. It was a messy and dangerous job, but they got it done all in one piece.



















While the men were chucking down the wood to the ground below, myself, our sisters and mothers helped clean up the yard, burn any rotten wood and keep the men fed and hydrated. Even Niamh enjoyed the day out in the sun.

By the end of the day we had some tired boys and some beautiful skylights in our master. All was ready to go for raise the new roof!

The foundation of things

Before anymore work could be done to the extension we needed to address some issues in the old part of the house first. The back portion of the house had a slanted roof, which was not to our liking at all. We wanted to remove this roof and replace it with a peaked roof that would blend with the new extension.

However in order to put a new roof on the entire house, we needed to make sure the the structure was sound. So in went the new ceiling beams/floor joists were put up in the kitchen. No more bouncing around when we walked up stairs.
The old staircase was removed, and the hole filled in. While it didn't look like much, to us this was allot of change.....in the right direction.




Meanwhile on the week-ends Neil and I would try and get some work done. We were lucky to have two sets of grandparents who loved watching Niamh.

On one sunny day, a week before the new roof was to go on Neil and I decided to finally remove the old flooring of the porch. Due to the rain we had left it in place so as we wouldn't have a muddy mess in front of the only door. Well we were in for quite a surprise when we lifted it up. For in front of our wondering eyes did appear but a giant hole in the foundation. Not just a hole, but half the foundation was missing along the side of the house. It seems that whom ever put in the plumbing, at some point in the history of our home, never rebuilt the foundation afterwards.

While poking around under the house we realised that the floor above in the kitchen didn't look too good. On closer inspection we found out that the whole corner of the kitchen, which is located above the missing foundation, was rotten. It took Neil all of two jumps on the wooden planks to break right through into the cellar.

This was not good news! We contacted our contractor right away who told us that we would have to get the foundation fixed ASAP other wise there was no way they would be able to put a new roof on. Easier said than done. Considering the foundation was built in 1912 it was all made out of field stone. We would need to find someone who specialised in building stone foundations. Do you know how hard it is to find a stone mason these days? We made a few calls and eventually we were directed to a gentlemen in the neighbouring town of Elgin. When we asked if he could do the job his first response was "How did you find me?" We knew this was not an easy job and were so happy when he was able to start the very next day. By Friday of that week the foundation was fixed, and looked better than ever. We called our contractor back and told him we were good to go. Happy with the news he told us the roof would be able to go up on Monday, however we would need to take the old roof off the day before.....a job he was leaving up to us.

Up, up and away

Luckily for us September brought beautiful weather and we were able to see allot of progress on the building front. The extension took on a life of it's own and we soon were able to see exactly what our future house might look like. The sub floor was laid down for the extension and the cement floor of the basement was poured.

This is where the rain of August came back to bite us in the butt. Our lawn was a complete wet muddy mess, due to all the rain and traffic over the past month. The cement truck decided it would be a great idea to drive right up to the house to pour the cement. Umm not such a great idea after all, as the truck ended up getting stuck and ripped up our yard trying to get itself out. We ended up having to pay for the drivers overtime and for his tow truck. We were realising just how quickly our budget could potentially get out of hand.

After that hiccup, the rest of the month was smooth sailing. The first floor walls of the extension were raised and the floor joists for the second floor were put in place.

Then the walls to second floor were put up and we had the making of a proper extension.


Oh what a beautiful site.....

And last but not least the roof trusses were installed. Our construction crew were pretty amazing to watch. They did not use any big trucks or cranes to help them lift the trusses up to the second floor. They were all self taught country men who used the old tools of the trades passed on to those who came before them. The trusses were lifted it up by a man made pulley system, with two men at the top doing the lifting, two men at the bottom being the weight and one man in the middle making sure everything got where it was supposed to. Happily everything did and everything was in place to start putting up the roof.

But first some problems in the old part of the house needed to be addressed...........

Toliets, windows and doors oh my!

So meanwhile during the rainy days of waiting, we decided that instead of sitting around doing nothing we would use the 'rain' time to do some shopping.
I love shopping! All the stores, the clothes, the people, I get such a rush from it. So I thought shopping for our house would be the same thing. Well in some ways it was. The thrill of the purchase was still there and the thought that we were checking things off our long to do list was a relief. But it was the shock in how much things actually cost. Instead of spending 50$ on a dress we were spending 500$ on toilets. Don't get me wrong I love toilets just as much as the next person, but I just imagined all the outfits I could have bought for that price.
Our toilets were our first major purchase. Although we had no bathrooms to speak off, we couldn't pass up a good sale and off we went to Home Depot.
We were going to have 3 bathrooms in our house and we wanted to make sure we were buying the right toilets for each space. We wanted them to be Eco friendly, but also pretty.
So for the family bathroom, which would probably get the most use, we chose a dual flush, elongated toilet from American Standard.

For the powder room we wanted something a bit smaller, so this round bowled low flush toilet from Kholer was purchased. It was the prettiest of the ones on sale. Even when I'm buying toilets I go for what looks good!
We had a hard time deciding on our master. We wanted it all to make sure all the pieces matched, so we decided deal or deal we would wait on purchasing that one until we were more certain of what look we were going for.


Our next major purchase was a bit more expensive....OK allot more expensive, but one of the most important and biggest changes we were doing the the house. New windows and doors. Before we started the renovations we had an EcoEnergy Retrofit evaluation done on the house. Our home was tested for how energy efficient it was. It got a measly 2%. The inspector suggested we replace all the windows and doors in the house, as well as install a new furnace, heat pump and spray foam insulation.
So off we went to go window shopping. I envisioned beautiful Jeld-Wen wood windows, identical to the old ones to keep the look of the original house intact. Little did I know wooden windows are very expensive. Also we needed allot of windows. Replacing every window in the existing house and adding ones in the extension brought the total up to 35 windows. This was going to be more expensive then we thought.
So after looking at the budget we decided to go with Fenplest PVC shash windows. They looked like the old windows, were Energy Star and they were half the price of the wood ones. We were excited to get these bought as it meant one of our major purchases was now complete. We would just have to wait 2 months to receive them. Aww more waiting time.

The shopping spree did not stop there though. We also needed to buy 5 new doors. We again went with Fenplest for the 3 regular doors for the kicthen and office, and we bought a set of custom french doors for the extension. However when it came to the front door we were willing to spend a bit more. Seeing that we wanted to make the front entrance a focal point of the house we wanted to the door to be a bit of a wow factor. So we opted for a hand made wooden door, with a glass window surround. It cost a pretty penny, but we knew it was worth it. This door would take even longer than the other doors and windows and we wouldn't be seeing this baby until well into the New Year.


Our shopping spree ended here.....for the time being. Allot of money spent, but not much brought home.

Rain, rain, rain....

While we were ready to begin the next phase of renovations,aka construction, mother nature had another plan. It rained pretty much the entire summer and any attempts at getting work started was delayed time and time again.

As this was to be our forever home, Neil and I decided to expand the living space with a two story extension. We wanted a new family bathroom, a guest room, a family room, a pantry and a powder room, as well as a finished basement. The layout of the present house did not leave room for any of these things so we knew we needed to add on. In order to do this we needed to get the land around the house cleared, a hole dug for the new foundation, cement footing and walls poured and then the construction crew would arrive on site to start the building.
Well we cleared the land.....or I should say Neil cleared the land with his newly bought chain saw and the help of our good friend Jason.


































We got the local excavator "Cowboy" to dig our hole. All seemed ready to for the new foundation......but then the rain came. We waited an entire month before it was dry enough to start pouring cement. And what a happy day that was when the crew showed up to get the footings in.




We also had them pour a foundation for our new bay window. As much as I wanted to keep everything from the old part of the house, we realised that alot needed to be done to it. There was no foundation to the bay window, no insulation and all the windows needed to be replace. Our contractor advised us that it would be more economical if we tore down the old bay window and re-built it. So down it came and in went the new foundation. I just hoped we would be able to re-create one of my favourite features of the house.




After a few days of waiting for the footing to dry, the cement truck came back to pour the walls of the foundation.




















Aww the foundation was finally finished and the construction crew was able to get started. By this time Neil was heading back to work as a teacher at the local high school. He had envisioned helping out with the construction but instead headed off for his first day of school hearing the hammers working away in the distance.

Let the good times roll

Even though we only purchased the house in July, we were lucky enough to start demolition as early as May. Since my parents were the owners they made sure their tenant was out by May 1st and started some of the dirty work themselves.

My husband and I are teachers in Nunavik, Qc. At the time the demos were started we were still up North teaching. I however arrived home on May 7th as I was 8 months pregnant with our first child.

This did not stop me from getting my hands dirty as there was no way I was keeping away from all the fun. Big belly in one hand and a crow bar in the other I helped take down walls, pull out nails and carry (light) debris outdoors. My husband joined us on May 23rd, and him and some friends helped get the rest of the work done.
We started by taking off the old porch and balcony attached to the kitchen. It was rotting and had no foundation so needed to disappear.

Then we moved inside to the kitchen. The old cabinets, counter top and appliances were removed. Yucky old linoleum, 2 layers of plywood and 500 square headed nails later the old flooring was gone. We were ecstatic to discover that underneath these many layers was a beautiful soft wood floor. We are hoping it will clean up nicely and we will be able to have authentic old country flooring in the kitchen.

The old stairwell in the kitchen was a point of contention between Neil and I. I originally wanted them to stay as I thought they had such great country character. Neil wanted them gone so we could get more light into the kitchen. After much discussion, planning and drawing we came to the conclusion that while the stairs were cute, our kitchen would be a much nicer space without them. Also we weren't too excited about the idea of stairs leading up into our master bedroom. So down they came.




We moved into the older part of the home. While not much demo had to be done we were still able to put our mark on it. Out came the old fireplace and down came the cedar wall.

All the dividing walls, beaver board, old electrical wiring and insulation was removed from the 1912 upstairs section. Here is what used to be the office and the master bedroom. We opened everything up to become one giant room.














The bathroom also got the sledge hammer treatment, and as you can see it was a good thing too! All the plumbing came out and the rotten floor was ripped up.

Dirty work indeed but it is all worth it to know we are making a beautiful home for our little family. Speaking of which.....

We took a little break from the work to welcome our daughter Niamh to the world on June 19th.

And another to officially buy the house on July 7th. But we continued to work well throughout the summer. We were lucky to get allot of help from family and friends, and by the end of the summer most of the demolition was done.We were ready to get the construction phase started. Or so we thought.....