Deconstructing!

 OMG what a lot of things to take into consideration for tearing down a building.  

A demolition license for $25.00 and a minimum deposit for $250 in case we break something in the village.

Insurance was the big one but is required for the town license. $3,600.00 just for the demolition and another $2,000+/- for the liability insurance.

Then we could take down the building at our leisure and reclaim as much wood as possible.  Would take us all summer but could be done.  Tyler's woodworking shop would be put on hold for a lengthy amount of time using up his hard saved pennies.

OR

We could hire the demolishers  for about $7,000.00. We are still waiting for a quote from them as we would like to remove a bit more wood as well as the old windows that we can use in our existing garage to add a little more light.  The problem with the demolishers is that they are not big on reclamation here we would not be able to save any of the existing timber.  But we would have a nice big flat space to start again.

One other cost is the moving of the electrical to a temporary post so we could still use for tool operation and to plug in the motorhome as the empty lot will become it's new home while we rebuild.  Cost of $525.00 (starting at) for SKtel to unhook and re-hook the lines.  Then the electrician  which we are still waiting for a cost will be at least $1,500.00 (at least) to put in a temporary outside box.

I know we got the property for a song but for all the excitement at start up reality has set in and all in all it will still be a pretty sweet piece of property in a great location.  Personally I am hoping for the demo guys and save my stiff and soreness for the rebuild which is going to bring its own set of permits and costs.

Poor old girl!! (me too, lol)

Major Disappointment

 We hit a snag.  I taking off the bottom sheathing of the north wall we discovered that the darn thing is hanging in the air.  The whole thing is shifted off the joists and the foundation and is being held up by the roof and the other two walls.  As well as the cinderblock extension portion of the building.  Blah!!

So the shop has turned into the wood pile and we will be tearing it down to the foundations.  What a lot of crap!!

We had to stop the roofers, cancel the doors and windows. Thank goodness they were able to do that or Tyler would have been storing them in his bedroom for a few months.

As the weather has been great we decided to take a short break from the "wood pile" and do yard clean-up.

All the rotten wood and debris from around the outside of the "wood pile" is filling up the dumpster at a fast rate.  We have have had to call for a take away to keep up with the yard clean-up.

Tyler is getting good at stuffing the dumpster to the brim.  

I managed to clip and prune the trees and bushes in the yard and what a pile.

Ok this one is small but you should see the other one, lol.

Gutting almost all done.

 We are getting close to the end of the gutting part of the reno.  Another day or two and we can start the rebuilding of the shop.

A bit of cleanup and a few repairs to do, then begins the fun stuff.  I always enjoy the restoring more than the teardown.

We found an old window that had been covered up and had a great laugh over it.  Look at all that insulation, nicely stuffed into the window cavity and not a bit of insulation in the walls.  Way too funny!!

The floor was another hoot as so far we have found 3 different colors and styles of carpet and 2 of linoleum.  Even 1 of peel and stick tiles.

 

Next is the job of pulling all the nails in the ceiling and along the walls so we can put up the vapor barrier and drywall. I can feel my arms screaming already.  Oww.

Hard day at the Office

 It was a hard week this week but we sure got a lot done.

We managed to get the furnace out and the bathroom appliances removed as well.

The furnace came out a lot easier than we thought it would although the duck work is proving to be a different story.  So Next week up into the attic to take the remainder out.

The hood of the heater waiting to go outside.

Taking advantage of a few days of warmer weather we also managed to take the fiber board off the ceiling.  What a job.  Thank goodness for proper gear!!

The amount of crap that came out of the ceiling was amazing.  Even found a nest or two.  

I had the easy job of pulling it all down.  Give me a wreaking bar and a good hammer I can take down the world. lol  Tyler had the hard part of packing all that crap out to the dumpster.

Tyler was going a little crazy in the end!

Hot and tired after the two days.  Time for a beer and fry's.  Yeah!! 

A little bit at a time.

 We have only had a few days warm enough to be working in the shop.  One day was devoted to cleanup.

Tyler spent a few hours pulling nails and there are a bunch of them  We have double what is in the box, there is a bucket besides.

A lot of nails.

We managed to get the wall out and remove the linoleum from the bathroom.  We will pull all the fixtures and the finished washroom will be much smaller. 5'x5'.

There is going to be a bit of floor fixing at the same time.  Pretty ugly right now.

Even with all the work we found time to put out the lawn chairs in a sheltered spot to have a break.  But it looks like it is going to be another week of -11 to - 25 so no reno's this next week.  Think I'll keep working on the dolls.

Stay warm everyone!!

Wall is Gone!

 It has been slow work and stiff and sore work.  Not put in as many hours as we would have liked but the walls are still coming down.

Ok I had to show off a little bit.  

Old buildings are amazing and I am always amazed at what people do when remodeling.  3" nails when 1" would have sufficed.   Staples, omg the staples.  We have a pile of ruff painted 1 x 4's that will take a month to remove all the staples.

The floor has been the most interesting though.  We removed the grey top indoor/outdoor carpet only to find a purple indoor/outdoor carpet and then discovered a spot that the subfloor (or at least the latest subfloor) had disintegrated to find a gold carpet underneath. 

And we cant forget the peal and stick tiles......  A little bit of everything.

We have found a few treasures though.  Look at the stubby beer bottles.  Pilsner.  

Still having fun even though I'm tired and stiff and sore.  Tyler decided to give me a few days off (4) although I think he needed them just as much as his mom.  

Busy week!

 Last week was a busy one.  Getting a few days of work into the shop before the weather turned cold again this week.

A blizzard hit on Monday and stopped production just like that.

With no heat or electricity in the building -20 is just a little to cold for us to work in this week.  

However last week was productive in that we took the suspended ceiling down.  Our big garbage bin came so all the garbage was cleaned up and out of the building.  

A lot of garbage cleaned up.

We also managed to pull out all the old wiring and have started on removing the inner walls.  

The roofer has checked out the roof and the trusses and a new tin roof is set for the first of April so now we just have to gut the place and we will be ready to wire, insulate, drywall and build tables.  

We were glad that the roof is safe to redo.  Not much water damage is a bonus.

We also spent a bit of time figuring out what we would like the front of the shop to look like and have started a drafted version.  It's a work in progress but a start.

The bottom in faux rock and the top in shingles.  New window and door, a small fence to the left side to cover the breezeway and fix the top using the existing brackets.

Don't forget Tyler's new sign!!

So it maybe cold out but there is still a lot to do in designing.  Never a dull moment.

Here we go again!!

 We are now the proud owners of a dilapidated commercial building in Shaunavon, SK.  

It looks pretty bad right now and I'm not sure that we aren't crazy, but in my defense it is on 2 lots, downtown, and we bought it for next to nothing. 

I also think it looks worse because of the dreary day we had yesterday.  But it is ours and I am sure it is going to keep us busy for the foreseeable future.

The inside is a little better than the outside and once we gut it and fix the one corner where the sill rotted out things will all come together.

I am not sure that Tyler knows what he has gotten himself into.  He had the same look when we started fixing up the old house in Newellton, NS.  https://blog.fromthe.blue/2018/05/a-house-to-be-had.html

We have a little water problem in 2 places but when we climbed up into the attic, holy crow the trusses were in great shape and the roof hasn't started to rot at all.  So one of the first order of things will be to get the roofer in and tin the roof.  One of the advantages to living in a dry climate.

So let the fun begin.

Back West!!

 We took our time and spent a bit of it relaxing and seeing the country.  The original plan was for us to stay at a few Harvest Host locations to save a few dollars....but it did not work out that way.

Our first night was at the Big Axe Brewery. Needless to say after a few very yummy beers and a winning 2 tee shirts at trivia night we spent more than what a RV Park would have cost but it was fun.

After that were a few nights at farms, a Casino and one home garden spot that changed our minds about the Harvest Host idea.  We damn near cooked to death with temperatures in the RV of 38c.

This was our favorite farm at Le Chou et la Fleur.  Even the Kitties loved it!

A wonderful little brewery in Quebec called Microbrasserie Des Haldes.

We hit smoke from the fires in the central Ontario and pretty much followed it into the Crows Nest Pass when the rain came in and cleared sky's into BC.

Central Ontario. 

BC. Border, rainy and cool.  Look mom no smoke.

We did have our trials and tribulations though.  At one spot in Ontario I was heavily chewed upon by no see-ums.  WIFI was a big challenge as well.  Although most RV Parks say they have WIFI, they really don't!!

Both legs.... drove me crazy for a few days.

We even found a few amazing things along the way like this giant caterpillar.  It was almost as long as Tyler's hand.  About 4" long and as thick as his thumb.

Cecropia Silk Moth Caterpillar.

So all in all we have had a great journey across most of our country and am now in Cranbrook for the night and Creston tomorrow.  Back to Cranbrook in a few days for a few much needed RV repairs (our slide-out crapped out).  Looking forward to seeing friends and family and having a bit of time to think about the next adventure.  

Hope you are all having as much fun as I am.

 

After almost 3 years we are on the road again.

 It has been lovely staying at Rockwood Campground in Saint John, NB for the past 2 months.

Lilly's on the Lake.

Being able to get familiar with our new Minni Winni named Bella has been awesome.  All the quirks and burps that come with living a small home sorted out and close to Canadian Tire too!

Mom getting a helping hand  from Carl.

One thing about it is it takes about an hour to totally clean the place.  Then about 5 min to have a cluttered mess again.  I am surprised that we cant find one outside photo of the RV. Have to take a few on the road to post next time.

Rockwood Park has been wonderful. Lots of wild life, room for the kitties to explore and mouse hunt.  It has also given us time to say bye to all our new found friends.

We have also been able to enjoy the many trails in the park.  And now that it is warming up maybe a little swimming as well.  But I had better get out the swimsuit soon as we leave for the big adventure across Canada and home to B.C. next week!!

We did not take the chicken way even though it was
slow and steep.  We were on foot at least.

Both Tyler and I are looking forward to being on the road again and checking out new spots.  Drop us a comment if you think we should be adding anything else on out journey west.

It's been Awesome

I thinks my stiff and sore-ness has finally ebbed away.  No the only complaint I can use is my bum is sore from sitting and playing No Mans Sky all day. Ok I have been busy doing a few other things a well but not many.

Tyler and I have been driving out to a few hiking trails to try out and get a little exercise and came home to this beautiful sun set last week. 

Looking over Barrington Straight

But for most part we have fog (and I mean wet soupy fog) until about 2pm them lighter fog until 6pm then back to dense fog for the evening and night again.  One thing about it is that it makes Cape Sable Island a lot cooler than the mainland. Where they are having heat warnings we are having highs of 24C.  Not to be fooled though that sun is still hot enough to burn through as I learnt sitting out on the deck a few afternoons ago. 

Still having fun with acrylic pours and experimenting with colors.  Here are to 2 new pictures made this past week.

Used lots of silver

Dark and moody

Tyler has been busy job hunting and working on a new program.....  way over my pay grade.  I did apply for one drafting job but am not hopeful as being out of the work force for over 10 years does not make for a great resume.  But you never know.

We have also been house hunting in Saint John for the past while and am off tomorrow to look at a few that the realtor has set up for us.  Need one with a large enough room for a longarm again.  Although wont be able to afford one until this house sells.   Hopefully in a warm house in the city by winter. Fingers crossed.