Finally! Completed the kitchen today with the window trim being the last thing that needed to go back up. Stayed close to being on budget even though we picked out some pricier things. Had the dryer go on us during the renos so we decided to pick up a new front loading washer and dryer. Will be interesting to see how it will affect our power bill as the previous dryer took about 90 minutes to dry a regular load and this new dryer/washer combo is only about 45 minutes.

Anyhow, no major snags except for the faucet being on back order until MAY!!! We got the display faucet instead and they took $100 off the price.

Here are a list of Companies we and folks we used during the renovations:
Rick McEwen – I have been using Rick to do all my renovations and I would highly recommend him. He built my cabinets and his father built the cabinet doors and I am very please with the outcome.
Cut River Rock – you may have noticed the stone in the island from the pictures. That is real beach stone and I was able to pick it up from a couple down in Oak Bay, NB. I will be visiting them again I think as I have a fair amount of Stone Veneer on my home now and I am thinking of adding more.
Bob’s Kitchen Shop – Tim Beatty was a real help to me. Extremely friendly! I bought my quartz counter-top and handles and sliding garbage bins from his store.
Eddy Group – Bought my faucet and sink from them. Other then the delivery times being way off. I am pleased with the products. As mentioned, my faucets were on back order for almost 2 months they gave me the display model for $100 off the price.
Domus Flooring in Quispamsis – My hardwood and tile and some design ideas came from the folks there. Very accommodating and lots of nice products.
Other materials came from Home Hardware and Kent.

It’s that time of year again. More renovations. On the list this year, we are replacing our slate floors with yellow birch hardwood natural stain and ceramic tiles. We are getting new kitchen cabinets and updating the kitchen layout by changing the kitchen from a U shape to an L shape and adding an island. We are going with custom made cabinets (knotty pine) and a quartz counter top. The stairs leading to the top floor will finally be finished. They will be birch treads. For the top floor, we are putting hardwood over our softwood floor. Now, I liked the look of the slate and I liked the softwood, but when they had laid the slate 30 years ago, they had spaced the grout too far apart making the floors look dirty all the time. The softwood floor actually has a dual purpose. Not only is it a floor, but it’s also the ceiling for out main floor. The pine floor is 3 inches thick and 6 inches wide double tongue and groove. Insane right? From what I have been told, you can’t buy that stuff is pretty expensive. The problem with it is when it was laid 30 years ago, the wood wasn’t fully kiln dried. The wood shrank in spots and in those spots, you can see clear through to our main floor. We are also replacing the god awful lighting in the home. Along with this, we are also doing some electrical work. Hoping to be done before the end of February.

I will have some renovation before and after pictures on this blog post soon. I got a new wide angle lens for my camera and I am looking to try it out.

I am almost complete with phase 2 of my renovations. Additional kitchen cabinets will be installed at the end of this month. I am updating Alexander’s room as well. I ordered a bunch of furniture from Ikea for his room. He is getting a new loft bed and a bunch of shelves and storage. I am painting his room and making it look more like an elementry kids room. I need to paint some additional rooms as well. Oh, how I love to paint!

Then after that is all complete, I have to finish my laundry room and storage area. I have to wait until the spring for my laundry area because I had a crack in the foundation when I moved in and now there seems to be dampness coming in from the corner that was fixed a few years ago. It is under warranty and I just need the guys to patch it up. Once they patch it up, I am going to drywall the room and put in some flooring, toilet, and laundry sink. Actually, I should put the laundry sink in now so I can wash all my paints and crap.

Anyhow, I have never drywalled before but I have a good idea of what I need to do and I also found a good how-to site.

Hoping to have all this done by the end of the sping so I can just sit back and drink beers in the summer

A couple of weeks ago, Michelle set out to price some kitchen cabinets from Home Depot. She paid $50 for someone to come to the house and do measurements and that payment was to go towards installation if we decided to go with Home Depot. About 4 days later, the installer came to the house and did his measurements. Then another 5 days later we got the estimate. $2477 dollars for a utility cabinet, base cabinet, and counter top. I am not paying that! So I went to the Canadian owned and operated Home Hardware. I got a quick estimate that night for about $1600 with installation. Yesterday I got a more concrete price and it was $1400 with installation. $1000 dollars difference. Jesus!

Some of the things that were included in Home Depots labour estimate:
Removal of paper, cardboard, plastic, etc.
Installation of knobs.

When I get the paper copy of the invoice from Home Hardware, I will post the price breakdown of both estimates.

I have created a photo gallery for the home renovations that I have been go through.

Check it out!
Photo Galley