Week Two Down - Big Progress

I am so excited.  I hired this amazing contractor who is totally on the same page as I am.  I seem to be attracting those who "get me" these days.  We have come up with some amazing ideas together.  He demolished the bathroom this week and we came up with a brilliant expansion plan for it.  Then I came up with a great idea on how to create more hall space and then together we decided it would be so cool if we could salvage the old pedistole tub, paint and refinish it and re-install it so that we could maintain the feel of the old house.  Of course, the pedistole tub was not actually in the bathroom.  There is currently one in the basement and one in the sunroom. Neither are functioning, of course, but they are there, full of soul.  I will actually refurbish both of them and sell the second on Kijiji or perhaps keep it for my next flip....which I found on MLS yesterday, by the way, but I don't have the funds to buy it.  I suppose if it's in the cards for me it will still be on the market when I am finished this one, right?

The main bath.  It actually may even look better like this!

 

Ripped out a closet to create more hall space around the expanded bathroom.

The reason I love this contractor so much is that he sees things the same way I do.  Just because I am flipping the house does not mean I want to skimp on things.  I always renovate the house as if it were going to be my home.  I do not cut corners or use cheap materials especially when it comes to structural stuff.  I am also the most non-thriftiest shopper in the world so it's nice when the "experts" working with me are conscientious of how I am spending my money.  The tub was a perfect example of an idea that will save me money but that will also be the perfect fit for the house.  He also thinks I can keep the original baseboards.  I'm not totally sold on that although I love the character that they bring.  I just need to find someone who can sandblast the 100 years of paint colours off of them so I can restore them to the beauties they once were.  This will also save a lot of wall patching if I can keep them. 

So, the kitchen is still under demolition.  It's been a big job.  One that I will complete myself next week.  Then we will work on new drywall, flooring and new cabinets to be ordered for the kitchen. I'm still ripping up subfloor so I haven't figured out if there is hardwood under the kitchen subfloor or not.  I'm keeping that as a surprise for myself.  It's fun to have new surprises each week. I'm optimistic that there is indeed hardwood under the two layers of subfloor.  We'll see.

My amazing electrician has removed all the old knob and tube wiring and we went on a shopping spree together at Home Depot today for all the new stuff we'll need.  This man is a genius.  Sometimes when I speak with him I become impatient and finish his sentences.  There is something to be learned from this man - to slow down - but I still struggle with that.  He basically works so that he can go fishing the other 1/2 of his life.  He seems so simple but he is a very clever man and I've never met a more meticulous electrician.  He is clean, organized and knows his trade like no body's business.  He too came up with a brilliant idea for me.  This is a secret so don't tell anyone.  You see the house was running on a very small fuse panel and was mostly knob and tube with a little bit of new wiring having been added over the years.  There are several issues with this.  First, it is next to impossible to get insurance if your house has knob and tube.  Second, if you upgrade your electrical panel you will likely need an inspection by the electrical authority = $$.  Third, when running completely new wiring through a house you are supposed to notify Hydro Ottawa and they charge upwards of $1500 just to shut your power down and turn it back on.  Literally a 60 second job.  So here are my solutions to all my problems.....well let's skip number one because I think my insurance agent reads my blog.  Number two was simple.  My electrician did a job not too long ago where he took out a slightly used breaker panel which just happens to be the size I need.  So we will install that used breaker panel in the basement, re-wire the whole house properly and pretend it was there before I bought the house. I mean, how is anyone going to find out?  The man who owned the house died a couple of weeks ago and he has probably lived there for the past 35 plus years so it's my word against the dead guys.  No disrespect.  From what I am told by all of my new neighbours, the man lived a nice long life.   Third, the electrician is going to do the job "live" so that I don't have to involve Hydro Ottawa and use up my budget on useless bureaucracy.  Apparently Hydro Ottawa used to do this for free until, I guess, they realized they could capitalize on this.  I don't blame them really.  Business is business. 

I am so excited.  Did I mention that already?  Everyone involved in the project, the whole neighbourhood where I purchased the house and all of my friends and co-workers are so supportive and amazing to work with. 

I can't wait to see this place when it's finished.  The thing I am most excited about is my beautiful staircase.  Small things excite me in life.  I am going to paint it chocolate brown and white.  It will look something like this:

 

Isn't that rich?  I love it.  My woodwork is way more intricate than this sample but you get the idea. 

 

Life is made up of small pleasures. Happiness is made up of those tiny successes. The big ones come too infrequently. And if you don’t collect all these tiny successes, the big ones don’t really mean anything. ~ Norman Lear