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)

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!! 

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.  

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.

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.  

The House is coming along beautifuly

You can really see the difference that the power washer has made and replacing a few window trims and windows.

Thought I would just do a bunch of photos today so you can see all the hard work and the prize at the end.

And he's even smiling

Tyler up on the scaffolding with the power washer.

Look at the new attic window.  We had fun making it from a resin pour.

It has been so wet with all the fog that picking a sunny moment is important.

Sure looks nice with the 3 windows updated and looking fresh.

Kitties loving the new big space.

Roofers and Bathrooms

Well the roofers came and are still here.  It has been 2 weeks of banging and shingles and nails.

Tony on the roof.

They have been doing a awesome job on a hard to do roof .  That and the rain and having to re sheave the roof it is slowly getting done.

Great shot of the before and after new shingles.

We ended up having to put 43 sheets of plywood as the existing roof was starting to dry rot and we unsure whether or not it was safe enough for them to be climbing on.  They looked great from inside the attic but were powdery on the outside.  Better safe than sorry.

lots of discussion about what needed to go where and how it was to be done.

Sure looks nice.

In the mean time Tyler and I have been putzing around not being able to do much outside. Important to stay out of the roofers way........ raining shingles.  The other day we started on the upstairs bathroom.

Old musty wallpaper and wainscot. 

It was time to take it all down and start from scratch.  Going to take lots of prep work to be able to paint and tile though.

Needs new drywall.

Much of the original dry wall will need to be replaced as the paper on the outside of the plaster is pealing off.  That is what happens to old houses that are left for 6 years without heat or love.  Condensation builds between layers and everything comes apart.

A little color to the day.

It is amazing how much larger the room looks once the wainscot has been removed.  How much better the bathrooms smells as well.

Tyler hard at work...worried about his plumbers but. LMAO

Everything comes apart.

Now comes the fun part.  Fixing holes, replacing drywall and ripping out the mystery no water shower. 

The mystery no water shower.

Looks so much bigger

And of course the kitties had to get into the thick of things.

Sam helping with the wall paper removal.

The out side

We have been busy cleaning up the yard and a little test on the siding of the house to see how it would sand and clean up.

First I have to show you a photo of our neighbors yard.  A iconic picture of a fishing way of life.

I loved the contrast of the beautiful cherry tree in full bloom with all the colorful floats pilled underneath. The floats were only there for a few hours before being put away until next season.  The end of lobster season had arrived.

Tyler mowed the lawn and we managed to plant 2 purple rhododendrons in the front yard.  Along with 2 urns on the mudroom steps.  They look great and makes the place finally look like someone lives here.

A little bit of color added

They will look beautiful when filled out

The cats keep an eye on us while we work out side and are so funny following us from window to window making sure we don't go to far.

Carl and Sam making sure we haven't traveled to far.

I'm pretty happy with how well the shingles on the house are sanding up.  After doing a little test on the back of the house I discovered that they were still in pretty good shape and I don't think we will have to replace many of them.  Mostly on the bottom 2 rows.  They seem to be the worst.

My scraping test on the back of the house.

I had to laugh yesterday though...... I had cleaned out a bit more of the RV (getting it ready to sell) and had just been placing the items and baskets on the stairs to take up next trip to the top.  Sam discovered the bags of cat nip in one of the baskets and was in his glory by the time I discovered him.  lol.  He even drooled all over the floor trying to open the small bags.

Very happy kitty.

We ordered a roll of fabric so I could make drapes so last week for a few days I made curtains for the upstairs bedrooms and drapes for the downstairs living room.  We wanted something that blocked out the glare for watching tv or playing video games but that was not dark.  I think this fabric was a great idea.  Simple tab curtains that are about 6" above the heaters.

They should go with just about anything.

And check out the new chairs we ordered for the sitting room.  Perfect for morning coffee watching the ocean fog roll by.

Our new peacock chairs.