And a few more pictures

Again more of our lovely realtors pictures.

A few pictures

These are some of the pictures from our agent. I do plan to take some more, but just have to find the time.

We have had quite the up and down drama with the sale of the house. We are hopeful that the conditional offer we currently have on the table will go through tomorrow and we'll have a firm sale. Of course, I won't relax until we have the deal completed.

This real estate business is not for the faint of heart!

The house is listing

We expect the house to be listed on MLS today. Our realtor posted it to her website last night and we have already had one showing. The cleaning is almost complete, thanks to the help of our wonderful friends, Claudia, Shibu and Melanie! We have been so blessed by the support of people around us.

We haven't been so blessed with painters. Finding one who isn't too busy, who will actually show up is rather difficult. We are hoping to have the exterior painting finished tomorrow and Monday. Cross our fingers. Wes is finishing up some final details too before the open house tomorrow.

So if you missed our private open house last weekend and you'd like to come see the house, there is an open house tomorrow afternoon.

Our realtor has taken some lovely pictures of the house and here is the link to her WEBSITE.

We are praying for positive responses and a quick sale.

Thank you to everyone who has been following us through our journey your support has been most appreciated.

Upcoming open house

I think we have decided to have an open house on September 8, 2012. We are going to have a neighborhood, friends, anyone interested openhouse first. After that we will list the house.

I will confirm the date and time so check back. Mark that date on your calendar and come on by.

Countdown in on

Wes now has a date he is working towards as a "open house" timeline. I won't share the date yet as we have to talk to our realtor first and make sure it works for him. But this means that he plans to crank out as much as he can in as short of a time period as possible.

Which, for us mean, we will see even less of Daddy than we have been, but it will all be worth it.

He has finished a bunch of the exterior chores this week, but has a few left to go.

Count down in on. Time is ticking!! Go Wes Go!

Slow progress

We have been progressing slowly. Lots has been done but everything seems to take time, sigh! I am anxious to be done, but then we also want to make sure things are done well. So there is the issue. Time is the commodity that is most valued at this point.

The trim is almost completed, the painting has started, hopefully to be completed in the next few days or week depending on our timing. The guys are coming in to sand and stain the floor starting tomorrow.

Wes has run into some issues caused by one of our suppliers, much of the work he did Wes has had to redo. Oh well, that is one company we won't hire again. But again, that adds time.

On the whole we have had very good luck. We have had first rate suppliers. I think if we can get through this with having only had one bad experience we will be very blessed. We'd recommend almost all of the people we used from the electrian, heating guys, painter, plumber oh and Grandpa too. They have all been first rate!

I hope to have pictures soon. We are coming to the end and hopefully can start to tie things up in the next few weeks. Fingers crossed that the fixes Wes has to do don't set us back to badly.

Granite is in

Cabinet doors are off so they can be sprayed this week.

View from living room.

My camera was dying, couldn't focus and couldn't get any more photos.

This one is of the main bathroom vanity.

Finish carpentry is coming along

I realize Wes likely fusses over the details of the finish carpentry more than your average home builder, but it is really when his artist flare can shine. I love so many of the details he has incorporated. As soon as he has finished the basement we will have the trim sprayed and the walls painted. Then we hope to get all the floors done. We have already bought some travertine for the entry way and all bathrooms. The hardwood will be sanded and stained and carpet for the basement.

New front door - will be painted a darker colour.

 

Bench in the entry way.

 

Bookshelf that backs on to the entry way bench.

 

Kitchen - closer to completion (still not done of course but makes more sense now).

Its been almost a month

I didn't realize how long it has been since I have posted. We got our sign today from our favourite designer at Satori Design. So I ran by the house to get Wes to put it on the lawn. The guys are working hard on the exterior and Wes is mostly mucking around trying to get the kitchen cabinetry set up.

We are making progress and I have to say I was indeed very pleased with how the house was looking. The exterior is really very appealing at this time. I was a bit confused by the kitchen, but it is very hard to get a feel for it when it is all empty boxes and spaces. I think it will be a nice, efficient kitchen.

When Wes comes home we discuss the house and what should be done, we plan the next steps, we organize... in other words this house has taken over our lives. But, it is nearing the end and I am hopeful we will have lots of people interested in buying a quaint, efficient, character home.

Let me know if you are interested!

Taking shape

The house is starting to look more and more like a house and less like a construction sight, although it still has plenty of that look about it, but behind it the actual house is takign shape.

Prepping for siding.

Dining area, ready to be primed.

Reading nook in master bedroom.

View of living room fireplace (behind all the scaffolding).

Basement media room.

The east side of the house.

Front of the house, office windows.

Progress is slow

I'm not sure the progress is that slow, I am just getting so anxious to be done that it feels slow. Wes was supposed to take the camera today to take pictures, but he forgot. So... we will have to wait for progress pictures.

There has been mudding and taping and sanding and all that going on. Wes has been doing some work on the exterior while the contractors have been inside doing their bit.

The siding has arrived and will hopefully soon go up. I am hoping to show signs of real progress soon. There are so many little details and things to remember that it sometimes feels like we are standing still, but we are not. And Wes has lost a ton of weight from working too hard.

It has been a long few months and this little family is starting to miss Daddy. So I am hoping and praying that God carries us through the rest of the project so we can get to the other side as painlessly as possible.

I am, however, exceptionally proud of my husband. He has done such a wonderful job, he hasn't compromised on quality and he has done a vast amount of work (with some help from suppliers, but much of it on his own) in a time that most people would never dream of accomplishing half as much.

Hopefully we will have pictures soon.

Happening this week

Wes has been very busy putting up drywall and ordering supplies for the next items on the list.

We have ordered the siding, we had quite a time picking the colours but we are fairly happy with our choices. Wes has been getting quotes for the mudding and taping, hoping that if we get a supplier in it will speed this process up a bit.

He is having my cousin's boyfriend come help him tomorrow with the concrete in the basement tomorrow.

Things are moving along. We are hoping to have it ready for the market by early to mid May.

So if you know of anyone looking for a remarkable little home in a great area let us know.

I am hoping to have pictures soon as having drywall up always help show the rooms and their sizes.

Framing inspection

The last of this round of inspections was today, the framing, and it passed. Wes started with the insulation today. Now it will start to look like something. I'm excited to see it develop.

Yeah for Wes, I'm soooo proud of him.

Inspections

It has been quite a while since I have posted. There has been a lot going on, but none of it was very "news worthy." So now...

The electrical, plumbing, gas and heating inspections have already taken place and everything passed. The framing inspection is set for Monday. We would do it sooner, but Wes is going to be on a bit of a house vacation. I am going away for the weekend so he will be watching the kids. I wonder if he'll be anxious to get back to renovations after his little "break."



Here are a couple before and after pictures.

Here is the electrical panel before the renovation started.

Here is the new electrical panel.

Here is the old furnace.

Here is the new high efficiency furnace.

We feel it is very important to not just make the house look like it has been improved, but to improve the workings of the home as well.

Next steps are insulation, drywall, siding... It is coming together. This is where the home will really start to show off how it looks and feels.

So what's next?

Again there isn't much going on that is worth trying to show in pictures. But, that doesn't mean there isn't a lot going on. The plumber is coming tomorrow, so Wes has been busy preparing for his arrival. After that the heating guy will be coming to work on that too. I think electrical is going to go in later this week as well. All very important things.

Thankfully the horrible deep freeze of last week is gone and we are back with mild weather. Whew! Its a bit scary sending your husband off to work when it is that cold.

I'm super excited for this next couple weeks. If all goes well we should be doing drywall fairly soon. And that will make for nice pictures!

Rough layout change

I wanted to help you all get a visual of the changes that Wes has made to this little house. I drew a rough (ahem - Wes would so not approve of this) sketch to show the layout before. I only included the upstairs as the basement was completely undeveloped.

Nice drawing eh?

These plans show the "after." Note there have been some subtle changes to the layout, but the basics are here. At the end of the project we will do some before and after pictures. I just don't know how much sense they will make since nothing is the same.

There is a large ensuite/closet in the the master. We have changed the layout of the kitchen slightly. It is still a U shape but the opening now faces the dining room. The front office room can easily be converted to a third bedroom if necessary.

There is a nice sized deck off the dining room and a large veranda/entry at the front of the house.

In the basement we are planning on moving the furnice and water heater to the east wall of the house freeing up that room for a large play/excerice room.

The plans have as I said changed slightly but hopefully this will give you and idea of the space, how it has changed and what it will be like when it is completed.

And please no comments about his drawings being better than mine. In fairness I did mine in about 45 seconds and he took hours to do his.

No pictures lately

There isn't much going on right now that deserves pictures. The temperatures have dropped for this week. But, if the long range forcast is to be believed they will hopefully be short lived. We simply can't believe how great the weather has been for this project. Wes was able to get the back deck completely last week with the warm temps.

There is much going on at the moment. Prep for plumbing, heating, electrical and framing. All we have been discussing is bathrooms and tubs and what is best for the house and the potential buyers. We took the kids to Ikea for breakfast and to look at ideas for storage. The kids love Ikea and I feel like I do nothing but chase them. Oh the drama!

Soon, hopefully we are on our way to getting some of the items on our list checked off.

It isn't a dramatic post but Wes is still working hard and making good progress. I am very excited to start to see things take shape.