Phasing 4: Putting it back together, Part 1

A new year has started and with it the hope of rebuilding as well. 

The original thought was to redo the roof in a year or two, but with structural adjustments needed and heavy rain fall it showed some leaks, so a new roof got added to the list.

Curious and a bit concerned about what was behind the upstairs paneling the demolition mode that was finally done downstairs moved upstairs. "It will be worth it in the long run" seems to be the common theme around here.

All furred out and strengthened. 

Downstairs the framers and other trades were also done the plumbing and wiring. Ready for insulation and then drywall. 

God gave us some spring in the middle of "winter" and we were able to paint the outside trim on those two nice days. This bedroom window proved to be very handy roof access. 

Half way done the first coat and the nice white paint was looking clean and bright with the sun shining on it. 

The view from the roof top

The upper side peeks were very tricky to paint, I laid on the top roof to paint the face of it while Jared and Luke tagged teamed the trim underneath. 

The girls watching all the roof trim painting excitement from the comfort of the buggy.

The upstairs rooms are being redone with T&G boards rather then drywall. Adding some structure to the roof and walls, while also adding a rustic look. Very thankful to have a big dry work space for painting. It brought back lots of memories of painting poles and jumps from when I was working at Milner. 

Insulation is in! We had a very pink house for a few days, which was appreciated by Hazel. 

Drywall got installed, definitely felt like a turning point in the whole reno process!

Upstairs room number one is 95% done, and looking super cute. It was very fun watching them work on this too. Jared was set up on the driveway with his chop saw and table saw, while Dad and Luke were upstairs calling down measurements for the boards, which would then get passed up through the window. 

We starting painting the kitchen cabinet wall, so we can get them in asap, it was very interesting trying to guess where the cabinets were going to end up. I was a little skeptical of the paint colour choice at first, but Jared really liked it and I'm warming up to it more each time I walk in. 

The kitchen cabinets arriving!

The first cabinet in the house! Corday was over to help paint that day, and we were just finishing the second coat on the cabinet walls when they started bringing them in. It was a very efficient day!

Very curious to see how the layout that we planned in the shop works out in the house.

It worked out very well! The only thing that ended up changing was that the glass cabinets ended up going together rather then one on the fridge wall, which was a really nice change in the end. We still have some figuring to do on the fridge wall and island, but those are less time sensitive at this time as we focus on getting the rest of the house ready for flooring. 

Different Seasons

Although both PG and Chilliwack have Fall and Winter they are both very differently feeling seasons with the same name. We are feeling more settled now and have been enjoying the different seasons of life that God has placed in our lives. I've been enjoying the rhythm that our lives have found so far, while still being able to just "go with the flow" of a larger household and flexible work schedules as well. 

Trying to add a few more breakfast options for Jade besides oatmeal, egg waffles (made with mostly eggs) has been a hit and gets made almost every morning now. 

Got into the routine of making a smoothie after we come in from the hobby barn, took a few days but Jade finally took to them. 

Brothers working together, keeping the farms and side business running while Opa is out of town.

These kittens have been the highlight of a lot of mornings for the girls. (very thankful that they have all survived Jade as she struggles to learn gentle)

Jade, always the more outgoing one, was willing to ride the lawn mower with Uncle Luke.

Hazel has had a few Aunty Elise Piano lessons

Jade is learning new words every day, and puddle is definitely on the list!

Another morning kitten catching. 

Hazel wanted a picture on top of the haybales.

Playing in the leaves with Aunty Elise

If we take it slow, Hazel is starting to be willing to try out some of the machinery. 

More leaf piles

Enjoying the fall weather with some friends. 

Kitten cuddles

When we moved and rehomed the dogs, we promised Hazel we would get bunnies instead. 

We are settled enough now that we had the time to make that happen. We ended up with two sister bunnies.

Hazel named hers Dandelion.

And Jade's bunny, Marsha. I have found it rather amusing that Hazels bunny is cuddly and Jade is much more jumpy and likes to explore. 

Jade has been rather thrilled with all the large puddles, and although it doesn't really look like winter, the wind was nippy so we had to combine our winter and rain outfits.

Feels a bit more wintery with the Christmas decorations going up and the dark but cozy evenings. The girls got to help decorate their first Christmas tree and have been quite enchanted by it. Definitely missing the "real winter" feel that PG often had, but not minding the mild weather while doing the hobby barn chores!

 

Phase 3: Rebuilding

With the structural issues fixed with the roof and joists the new plywood was able to go in making it look and smell nice a fresh.

Spent some time in the afternoon with Jared moving around the appliances in search of any kitchen layouts we would like as we had the ability to put them anywhere at this stage in the renos.

A dry afternoon! So we were able to tackle the little garden shed and overgrown shrubs around Jared's office to be. 

Very happy with the results. 

(Always a bit of double guessing in me as we cut branches and remove trees)

A pretty sunset

Dad and Jared installing a new hydro pole in preparation to upgrade the electrical on the property. 

Bathtub ended up coming out, and the girls discovered a nice tunnel into the living room. 

A little bit of reframing and the fridge found its new home, nice and tucked away. There is also a bigger landing at the bottom of the stairs now as they got moved back at least a foot. That move also allowed for more headroom coming down the stairs which much appreciated by Jared. 

The utility room door was made bigger so we can fit the washer and drying through there.

Opa found a nice used kitchen at a new and used store. Jared and I got to play kitchen tetris in the evening to find a workable lay out, which was quite fun. We even had some extra cabinets to make an island with. And even if it doesn't quite work out this way in the house, it is such a pretty kitchen I'm sure it will look nice any which way!