Wednesday July 30 – Electrical Walk-through

Today was another busy house planning day.

We met the builders and the electrician at the house today. It was important that Preston be inside the house for this one and so the builder had the framers build a make-shift (and very steep) ramp. It worked well and it was Preston's first time inside our house. We talked about placement of lights, switches, outlets and the plumbing for the wheel-in shower. The kitchen took the longest as we had to draw out the cabinetry plan and figure out where all the appliances were going to be. It was really fun, but it took over three hours. Here are a few pictures from the afternoon:


Lamp post picture of the front (notice the packages of shingles on the roof - this was delivered today while we were doing the walk-through. The roof may be shingled tomorrow!):




Preston in his framed wheel-in shower:




Drawing the cabinetry on the floor:




A view of the trusses from the inside:




One of the most exciting developments for today was the deck. We could actually go outside and stand on the deck. Preston took this picture while we were figuring out the lighting/electrical for the deck:




On the deck, looking back towards the house. The door on the left goes into the great room and kitchen and the large window on the right is the great room:

Sunday July 27 and Monday July 28 at the house with Family

Preston and I took Eric, Linda, Naila and Geordie to the house on Sunday to show them the progress. We also took Eric by on Monday evening after the windows and doors went in. Here are a few photos from these two visits:


Sunday
Looking out the front dining room window:




Sunday
Geordie standing In our back yard, which is currently a few piles of mud:




Sunday
Linda and Naila in our backyard (if you look closely you can see a dragonfly on Naila's fly!):




Sunday
Geordie and Eric leaning on the back of the house:




Monday
Eric and I at the front door:

Monday July 28 - Windows and Doors

Every day is different right now. Today was all about the house for Preston and I. In the morning we met for the second time with our flooring and tile person and in the afternoon we had the second and maybe final meeting about our lights and light fixtures. After that we visited the house to see the windows.

It was a very tiring day for me and it started out terribly. I had a bit of a melt down at the flooring place. The flooring choices and colours for our bathrooms just all seemed wrong and I had a hard time agreeing with anything. In fact the flooring lady told us that we just had to schedule another meeting, because we weren't going to be able to make any decisions. She was right. At one point I was making a comment about how all the patterns we were choosing were "swirly" and I was finding this difficult. I looked at Preston and he looked at me with an absolutely stunned and flabbergasted expression. I don't think I've ever seen him speechless before. He thought I was suggesting that we start again. It was a funny moment in the midst of my frustration and enabled us to move forward and figure out that it is only two bathrooms that are causing us (or me) problems . . . phew.

So we left the flooring place a little discouraged, ate lunch and bought a book about creating bathrooms. It helped immensely.

The lighting meeting was much easier. We simply confirmed what had already been decided. There were no surprises from me and I was still happy with our choices. (Thank goodness!)

After the meetings we had just enough energy to swing by the house. This was very exciting as the windows and doors were mostly in. Seeing the house lifted my spirits.


House with windows from the front:




From another angle:




From the back with Canada geese walking around the ponds:

July 25

The plywood is now forming our roof. And most of the inside is framed. I took a walk inside the house today and it looks so small. But when I came home and compared the measurements to the house we are living in, the space is quite big. It is funny how perspective can change so much.

Here is the regular lamp post picture:




Because the garage now hides the house, here is one from another angle showing the front door:




This is taken from the front door looking straight to the back of the house:




The view from our master bedroom:

July 24

It really is crazy how fast things are moving right now. Currently every day is unbelievable! The trusses are now up and the framers told me that the windows will go in on Monday (July 28)! WOW! Preston and I were so excited today that we walked along the path behind the house and took lots of pictures. Here are a few:

More Framing - July 23

On July 23rd things seemed to be happening so fast! In the morning the garage was mostly framed and by the late afternoon the trusses were going up:

The Framing Begins! - July 21

So, Preston and I go on holidays. Not much is going on in the week leading up to our camping trip. I have stopped taking pictures, because it remains a hole in the ground with concrete! Then we hear from our builders in the middle of our trip that the framing is starting during the week of July 14th. So we stop by the house on July 21st as we are driving into the city at the end of our camping trip.

What do we find? But something that is starting to look like one good looking house! The framing is going up and it is going fast! The outside wall are up!

My regular lamp post picture:


The footing for the garage walls and the piles (in the middle of the garage!)


Preston venturing along the side of the house where the ground has been moved back to cover the tarred concrete:


The back of the house with the walk-out basement:


The dining room and kitchen run along the right wall (photo taken from the front door):


The hole for the stairs to the basement, and then a view of the back wall, great room, and door to the back deck:


The elevator shaft, front closet, main bathroom bedrooms and a ensuite bathroom: (we know where everything will go, so we can start imagining it all!)

The plumbing, flooring and lighting - June 25-July 9

In late June the basement is in and we have a list of stores to visit in order to choose sinks, fixtures, toilets, tubs, flooring...etc. We started having 1-3 hour long meetings where we have to confirm or choose so many different things. It is both fun and overwhelming. The following pictures will give you an idea about the amount of choices we have, and are continuing, to make!

Some plumbing choices:





The lights:




Flooring and tiles:





Notice that I'm looking quite serious and I think my head was starting to hurt . . . I seem to be quite overwhelmed!

The Building Begins - June 25 and 27

Finally after months of waiting, paperwork and meetings, the building begins. I started to take regular pictures of the process:


June 25, from the front (you can barely see the foundation). Notice the lamp post on the left side of the photo.


June 25, from across the ponds. Our house is in the middle of the picture, you can just make out the red tele-posts and beams.


June 27, from the front (a white van is blocking my regular lamp post shot!)


June 27, from the front, but up close. You can see that the tar is being sprayed on the basement walls.

Our House Saga - part 2 - April 9

So by September 2007, one year had passed and we were basically starting again, although this time with significantly more money for a house! We began looking for a lot, which meant also looking for builder. With good advice from our well-used real estate agent (he helped us buy a house, sell a house and buy a lot within a year!), we chose a smaller house builder who was willing to work with WSIB and build us a custom home.

The only frustration was that we weren't able to find a lot in the areas we liked. We were hoping to be close to downtown and our friends in St. Boniface. But we ended up getting a beautiful lot in Sage Creek with a walk-out basement. And after all the meetings and house plans, we finally put a deposit on the lot in April 2008. Below is a picture of the lot on the day we put down our deposit.


Notice the lamp post on the left of the picture. This lamp post will be in many of the pictures to follow!

Our House Saga

Preston and I moved back home to Winnipeg in late August 2006. We had been living in California for 5 years and moved back home when Preston was called to serve at St. Mary Magdalene Anglican Church. So, on our return we began looking for a house in Winnipeg.

Because Preston was beginning full time work, and I just had to work on my PhD dissertation (and was easily distracted), I took on the responsibility of looking at the houses we thought looked promising.

The difficult part of our search was the fact that there were very specific things we needed in a house. We needed a house that was wheelchair accessible which meant that it had to have: big bathrooms, a big master bedroom, a big enough kitchen and hallways, a place for an elevator or really good possibilities for renovating all of the above!

It was both a fun and exhausting processes. We were lucky to return to Winnipeg at the same time as old friends and so we combined our searching and saw a lot of houses! For awhile, we thought we might be able to share a big house with our friends, but our needs were just so specific and Winnipeg does not have much wheelchair accessible housing, good one-story duplexes, or housing designs that can be modified easily. Our friends soon found a house, and we continued looking.

Finally in mid-October we found the house of our dreams. It was on a big lot, had a big master bedroom and there were lots of renovation possibilities. It had the character that we wanted and was in the perfect neighbourhood in St. Boniface (and it was only 3 blocks away from our friends!).

Here is the house: (Notice the stained glass windows in dining room!)




Because Preston was injured while at work at a camp in Northern Ontario, the renovations were going to be funded by Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) of Ontario. So in November 2006 we began meeting with a WSIB representative and a Winnipeg contractor. Then the renovation plans began. In June 2007, after six months of meetings, and house plan after house plan after house plan, we were ready to move into construction. But first the quotes for the renovations were submitted to WSIB. The price was high, but WSIB was willing to proceed. But before they did, they asked us if we would prefer to take the money (that they were now committed to giving us) and use it to build a new house.

We were shocked . . . we had loved the house we bought, but after looking after it for 8 months, we knew its faults. It was old and needed a lot of care and upgrading. There were always going to be areas that didn't work for Preston and we still weren't sure how to solve many landscaping issues around a tremendously long ramp. Preston was also going to have to spend lots of time in an elevator (it was a two-story house). We could build a bungalow . . .

So, we changed directions and spent July getting the house ready for the market. In late August 2007 we SOLD the house we had owned for only 9-10 months. By this point we had been back in Winnipeg for a year and were still living in temporary housing with family.

Once the house was sold, we began the search for some land on which to build a new house.