The Conquest @ 1927

2011-06-14T09:09:00.000-07:00

2nd Floor Spare Room (or what will become my office)

2011-06-14T08:52:00.001-07:00

So, it has been a while since I have added anything to this blog.

Blinds and Bench Seat

2008-04-01T13:51:00.000-07:00

Todd from Modern Draperies supplied and installed all the blinds on the main floor, hoping that we will be able to come up with an equally good choice for the 2nd floor.

Ten sets of blinds so far on the main floor, maybe a couple more to come.

Here you can see the quality of the blinds along with the now fully completed bench seat in all it's glory, now to try and keep it looking this way...

I was not very keen at first on Karen's choice of fabric, but once again I think she good it spot on, complements the paint colour, the flooring and will go well with the new dining room table (Yet to arrive)

Jean (of Ronnie and Jean "Up Yer Kilt" Kennedy) dropped of this beautiful flower arrangement, very thoughtful and the colours match the house so well. Thanks guys for all your hard work over the last little while much appreciated.

Blow Up Bed !!

2008-04-01T11:34:00.000-07:00

A hard days work, or a night at the O.V. ?

After a brief nap, Ronnie, at Karen's request tried to perform some sort of Irish voodoo on our new Lazy Boy inflatable pull out bed (Or is this a rendition of I'm a little teapot?)

Sucsess, once we removed the bubble wrap seal the bed inflated in the advertised 35 seconds, very comfortable.

Maybe too comfortable?

OK "This is not getting any work done" time to put the bed away for now, looking forward to inflating it again though.

The British Are Coming

2008-03-26T08:16:00.000-07:00

In keeping with the age and style of the house we decided to wallpaper one wall in the living room, now being English I have done my fair share of wallpaper hanging so should pose no problems..

The paper we decided on was make in the UK, nice, pre-pasted vinyl, easy to clean. Rather smart we thought.

I started with marking a straight line in order that the pattern and paper would all line up correctly, I think I may have broken the cardinal rule in wallpaper hanging and started in a corner, while still trying to maintain the straight line.

Making progress

Moving right along, so far so good

Getting close to finishing now

Well what was I thinking, 2 pieces left to cut and hang and no more paper. This paper was a special order product from General Paint, looks like we may be living with a 3/4 wall papered wall for a few weeks.

If you ever come and visit 1927 Atlin please admire the wall paper from a distance, lining up the pattern and maintaining the nice straight line did not work out as well as I would have hoped for.

Karen thinks it may just be my critical self but at one point I was ready to tear it all down and start again. I need to check it out in the daylight, it was midnight when I finished after all.

Cruise On By

2008-03-25T13:20:00.000-07:00

Cruise Ship season is, despite the weather, fast approaching,

Out of nowhere one of the cruise ships will slink past, heading back from Alaska, the port of call in Prince Rupert is short and sweet.

Ever heard of the container port in Prince Rupert?

The Prince Rupert container port is 3 days closer to the Asian market and as such we expect to see a large number of container ships going through our waters. This photo shows the container port cranes being shipped to Prince Rupert.

Insulate You Say

2008-03-25T09:49:00.000-07:00

I wonder how the previous owners ever kept warm in this house, we have (As required) fully insulated, vapour barrier, tuc taped and acoustic sealed this house beyond any building code regulations, its itchy, messy and time consuming but in the long run we hope well worth the time, cost and effort put in.

Bare walls clean and ready to start insulating

The ceiling and attic were totally void of any insulation

The insulation process begins

The top and bottom of the vapour barrier needs to be sealed with acoustic sealant, messy job, never looks nice and clean but will all be covered up with drywall so all is good.

Karen became very proficient at cutting and installing the insulation, so good that it became her job to insulate the house.

One wall almost complete with insulation, acoustic seal and tuc tape.

Hardwood Floors, Beelzebub and The Good Guy

2008-03-19T11:35:00.000-07:00

The past weekend was set aside to sand and refinish all the Oak and Fir floors.

I headed down to the local (and only) tool rental supply and picked up a fancy new floor sander and a few hundred sanding disks.

It was a shame that the previous owner had painted the fir floors with 5 coats of oil based paint.

5 coats of oil based paint to tackle

With this new sander it should take no time and I am sure all will turn out just perfect. How wrong I was, this machine is a combination of Beelzebub and Satin in disguise. I have happily used floor polishers in the past and as this is just a floor polisher with a sanding disk is should pose no problems.

Beelzebub

Satin himself looks so friendly until you turn him on

Well let me tell you, as soon as you start this puppy up it takes off like a 747 with a mind of its own, I ended up spinning in circles and destroying pretty well all the sanding disks with no results other than my arms being ripped out and nice swirl marks on the floor. Time to rethink this...

I loaded up the sander and headed back to the rental outfit, I had hoped to pick up their standard floor pad sander and edger, I knew that this may take longer but a much easier machine to use (apart from the fact that it weighs in at close to 160 pounds) anyways, I got the machine and started over again, much better results after 12 hours of sanding with the pad sander and my trusty DeWalt orbital sander, now I need to work on some corners and fill in some of the cracks and areas where the flooring has been damaged over the years.

The Good Guy

This machine works like a treat

Progress is being made

After 5 hours of sanding I am starting to like the results

Dining room and Living room close to being finished

A few sanding supplies were required.

Good thing I picked up a box of industrial dust masks

I hooked up a home made air extraction unit to try and keep the dust down, this sure helped during the main sanding process.

My trusty DeWalt sander has worked faultlessly, I have gone over all floors a couple times with this unit to get things really smooth.

I managed to get the cord jammed twice in the belt sander, I took this as a sign to take a break.

Here was me thinking that I was close to finishing and ready to apply some nice finish coat, not so it seems, I meandered my way to the hardware store to pick up some wood filler as a few floorboards were in less that great shape, seems what I needed was a bucket of trowel on wood filler, you pour, spread and work this stuff in to all the nail holes and cracks. Once done this is the end result...

The already twice sanded floor filled and ready for more sanding !!

Some sanding progress being made

Sander used for this little sanding job, this filler sets like cement, I also had to go around and set each and every nail hole

It took close to 40 sanding disks to sand the entire floor, now on to the staining process.

My first step after cleaning all the dust from sanding was to apply 2 coats of WATCO Danish Oil Finish in a Golden Oak colour.

You can see here the first coat applied to the living room

This stain needs 72 hours to "set" before I can apply the first of 3 coats of ureathane, man this is a long process.

All in all a challenging exercise so far. Now on to cleaning and applying 3 coats of a water based Urethane. Wish me luck.

Random Images

2008-03-14T11:06:00.001-07:00

This is what happens when you get your head and hair to close to the firepit. One good thing that came out of this was to hear Karen laugh out loud (At my expense of course)

The 2nd floor chimney taken down to a new starting point before the new floor was built.

I have had enjoyed building the window and door casings, anyone need crown molding installed?

Jake and Keith from Northern Landscaping have been frequent visitors (As long as there is beer at the end of the day, just kidding they do great work)

Starting to level the front garden and cut in 2 tiers.

Another great light fixture from Restoration Hardware

Karen returned from Victoria with wooden placemats, I think she must spend her nights thinking this stuff up and then letting me know that they are to go on the front of the bench seat. (Of course where else would you put placemats?) Turned out quite well.

The Sun Room bench seat is taking shape

The new front door came from BC Door (I call this my Mexico door because it cost the same as it would for us to spend a week at the beach) Nice door though and we do get lots of complements on it. Took a whole week to stain and finish using Sikkens Cetol Door and Window stain

The new front door came unfinished

After 5 coats of Stain, installed and good to go.

Veranda, Porch, Balcony, call it what you will

2008-03-14T10:31:00.000-07:00

1927 Atlin as it was did not have a covered porch, the deck was rotten and had to be replaced, not a job for the weak at heart.

Down it comes

With the wall missing you get a good idea of the number of buckets of rock that we jack hammered and carried out by hand. Went from an almost belly crawl to a 9 foot ceiling. At last count we were over 1000 buckets of rock and mud, then there was the challenge of bringing 5 tons of clean drain rock in bucket by bucket.

Worked late in to the night, Kokanee Power was mandatory to keep going

The new covered porch, pitched at the correct angle to allow water run off and sealed with Dura-Deck.

Now waiting to trim out the posts and install the railings

It's The Little Things

2008-03-14T08:07:00.000-07:00

I was very happy to see our plummer arrive yesterday, we now have running water for the kitchen sink and dishwasher. As much as I curse when he dosen't show up as expected he is a good guy and good at what he does.

Thanks "No Leak" Johnny G,

Sink and Dishwasher all ready to go

Perfection, now we just have to keep it looking like this, I hate water spots so will have to wipe out the sink after every use.

New Bathroom and a Tiling Nightmare

2008-03-13T11:04:00.000-07:00

Along with the rest of the house the bathroom was gutted (You can see why)

And the demo begins

One damn heavy cast iron bathtub, nice, but they do not hold the heat and takes a full tank of hot water to fill, so away it goes.

View from the dining room, past the stairwell and in to the bathroom (note the little step up)

Once the lino had been torn up it was evident that some changes would be needed. An entire new sub floor went down, all the old cast iron was removed.

The back wall was showing signs of rot and had been leaking for a while, in order to install a new window and fix the wall we had to open it up and re frame the wall.

New window opening and framing is complete, time to start running new pex plummbing and get the wiring underway

The ceiling needed to be dropped to allow for the new ABS pipes

The new little bathtub was installed. I used 3 bags of concrete to set the tub in to prevent any movement (we hope)

Next went up the cement board around the tub wall and green board on all the other walls, all sealed and primed. Although not suggested I used green board on the ceiling. I just needed to use a lot me screws to secure it.

New rain glass window in place and the wall being mudded and sealed up

The wall tile goes the entire way up to the ceiling, again no square corners so had to try the best I could. After I started the wall tile I talked to Karen who wanted the tile in a brick pattern, it was unfortunate that I missed on this as all my tiles are in a straight line up and down. (Sorry love)

The floor tile was a true nightmare. 3 different types and 3 different thickness's of tile on an uneven floor. If I was asked I would say never again. Only 12 X 12 tiles from now on. We did manage to install in-floor heating and it works a treat.

You can see here the 3 types of tile, Hexagon in the center with a glass tile boarder finished off with a standard 4X4 white tile.

The new view from the dining room in to the bathroom.

Some of the finished tile work, note the curved shower rod, supposed to give you more room and stop the shower curtain from being sucked in, have yet to try it out.

Karen picked out this very cool light from Restoration Hardware

I trimmed out the door in keeping with the age and style of the house, the door was the an original and required a ton of work to fit in the space, once stripped and painted I frosted the glass and Karen had the WC sign made (WC is an old English sign for a bathroom) (Water Closet)

Not the best final image but it gives you an idea. I need a wide angle lens

A more interesting shot of the sink and taps, also shows the colours nicely and the tile chair rail that runs around the entire bathroom walls.

Tired Eyes And A Sharp Knife

2008-03-13T10:33:00.000-07:00

Sometimes you can get a nice photo when you least expect it. Up a ladder cutting drywall with very tired eyes.

Just Another Day

2008-03-13T10:27:00.000-07:00

Nothing quite like donning a pair of white painters coveralls and having your photo taken for the world to see, good thing she looks so cute in it.

Beer !!!

2008-03-12T14:53:00.000-07:00

If I calculate correctly we have been working on the house since Sept 2006, that's 18 months or 72 weeks, at a conservative average of 36 beers a week that would equal 2592 bottles of Kokanee, at a bar price of $4.50 per that would be way to much to think about. I will not go there....lalalalalala can't hear you...

The last few weeks bottle return, and no its NOT all mine

The Joys of an Ikea Kitchen

2008-03-12T12:50:00.000-07:00

This was the kitchen, a lovely view of the side of the house next door, that's gotta go, also a door leading to an old outside pantry that has to go. in fact lets rip it out and start again.

Nice fiberboard false ceiling covering up the 9 foot plaster and lath ceiling

This was the only room that we found any insulation in

You can see by this shot that the window at one time was a lot bigger, I suspect that this was before the next door house was built.

Top left is what remained of an old chimney going to a pot belly stove

We changed the doorway opening to make it wider, and as it was a bearing wall put in a 2X10 header to replace to 2X4

This is the worst part of the house for level, the kitchen floor is out by over 2 inches, made for an interesting time trying to install and level cabinets.

The base cabinets took no time to build, here you can see the old doorway and window have been closed off.

We installed a cork tile floating floor, it snaps together and in a square room would have been a breeze however a square peg in a round hole never goes as easy as one hopes, in the end it ended up looking great.

Laying out the upper cabinets took some time to ensure level but with the Ikea rail system all went quite well.

We had a couple of mishaps with the wrong doors being shipped but otherwise a fun install to do.

We were hoping to have a solid surface counter top and Karen had picked a very nice undermount sink, plans changed due to being in Rupert and nobody seems to do solid surface. This required sourcing out a different sink from Vancouver (Nothing interesting in Rupert) and planning out for a tile counter top.

The counter top tile that we ended up with

Backsplash tiling in progress

We choose a large 12X18 metallic copper tile along with a brushed stainless front edging, came out very nice, I only had one tile sink on me so all in all not a bad tile countertop, We were lucky to have a friend going to Vancouver and he picked up the tiles on his way back to Rupert (Thanks Bruce) He also picked up the backsplash tiles for us.

What must be one of the worlds heaviest pantry units, also a challenge to install as nothing is level or square. We ended up with the local Orthopedic Surgeon, Rod, and Bob all helping and offering advise. In the end I separated the 2 units and made it look like one while keeping them level and square. Ikea needs to provide better legs for these units, way too much weight for such a heavy unit.

In cabinet and under cabinet low voltage lighting wired to 4 transformers in the basement makes the work surface shine.

The cup handles were fun to install, only messed up in the beginning and had to order 2 new drawer fronts as I choose the wrong location for the handles, all is good now. Why is it that after you struggle to lay this sort of thing out you find a jig that would have made this so easy..

The backsplash tiles are a 5X13 ivory colour with scored lines at every 1.25" space. A very cool looking tile until you install them and then it looks like one big wall of tile, it seemed a shame to loose the effect but went up very well. I used an epoxy based grout that does not require any sealing, perfect for a kitchen. The under cabinet lighting will all be concealed when finished.

We are almost finished in the kitchen, just a couple of items to complete, touch up some paint and then ready to fire up the new self cleaning gas stove.

The New 2nd Floor

2008-03-12T12:30:00.000-07:00

So we went from this charming character home

Before (with a yard and grass)

To ripping the life out of it

In the hopes of restoring and presevring the look and feel that it deserves

You will notice the lower belcony is all but gone (The only rot we found)

Things are moving along

Front windows and doors installed

The rear of the house waiting for windows

Laying Out The Top Floor

2008-03-12T11:43:00.001-07:00

We had planned, checked and double checked on the layout for the new 2nd floor. Seems no matter what things change.

Where we were going to have a walk-in closet we felt that it took up too much room in the master bedroom.

Where we were going to have a computer room and spare bedroom we felt that the rooms would be too small and left it as one larger room allowing for a seating area overlooking the ocean.

There was an issue with a door opening and window layout that needed changing.

The Master bedroom had a standard opening that we changed for a set of double doors.

An angle wall needed to be moved as it took up too much space in a hallway area.

We were going to have 2 doors in to the bathroom but felt there was no room for this.

The rough in framing begins

No walls up yet

Windows have arrived, looking forward to installing all 21 of them

Angle wall for Master bedroom needed moving

Lucky that we could keep the old bannister

All ready and waiting, only 40 feet up a ladder to install

That Rod fellow checking things out

Karen looking at the new view

Windows and doors starting to go in

Entrance to Master bedroom needs to be made wider for a double door

In the demo process we had to take the chimney down to a solid point, needs to be build up 16 feet and framed out.

Most of the front windows have been installed, view from Master bedroom

Rough in is almost complete

Starting to pull cable

Cranes, Trusses, Sinkholes, Bus Route

2008-03-12T09:59:00.000-07:00

Truss Roof, pros and cons, The advantage to the truss roof system is the speed that it can be installed however one downside is the need for a damn big crane that has to dodge power lines and as you can see takes up the whole street. There should have been enough space on the front yard for the crane to extend its stabilizers unfortunately, as is common in Rupert, we have what seems to be a never ending sinkhole on the front yard, no matter what was tried the crane kept sinking. In the end I had to make the decision to close off the road so that the trusses could be moved. Donning a reflective vest, hard hat and a stop sign I re routed traffic on Atlin Avenue much to the disgust of the Bus company and city workers. I pleaded ignorance on this one and we got away with out being fined.

Waiting for the trusses to go up

So much for driving down Atlin today

First 2 lifts of plywood were put in place

The first truss was lifted up and put in place

The remainder of the trusses were lifted up a few at a time

Once all was said and done it went quickly with no real problems, took longer to set up the crane and take down then it did to get the trusses up. Lucky that we had good weather for this.

Why Rupert?

2008-03-12T09:31:00.001-07:00

Some people ask why we are still in this gloomy, wet, windy town well one thing is certain when the sun does shine it is hard to beat Prince Rupert for its sunsets. (Yes sometimes even better than Mexico)

A Charming Little House

2008-03-12T08:02:00.000-07:00

Should we do it, maybe, maybe not, how about a couple of dormers? OK lets. It does seem a shame not to have the view from the 2nd floor, a dormer would allow for that.

And off comes the entire 2nd floor

The view from the 2nd floor before

And a little better now

A once quaint and tidy backyard, perfect for enjoying a summers evening with friends became the home for the 4th and I hope, last dumpster

The once charming little house

I felt sorry for the neighbours

Next step is to close it up and get a roof on.Never an easy feat in Rupert where it has been known to rain a little at times.

And The Walls Came Down

2008-03-11T13:49:00.000-07:00

Following much debate we decided to tear out all the old plaster and lath along with all the old knob and tube wiring.

Living room and dining room

Kitchen

A different view of the kitchen

Main floor bathroom, Karen really wanted to keep the step up but it had to go due to the old plumbing stack (Sorry Honey)

Another view of the dining room cleaned up

And again, note the claw foot tub (Sold it for $200.00) not sure if it ever got re used.

Started work on fixing the framing and planning out the kitchen

French door opening getting ready in the kitchen

Dining room is gutted

Kitchen, note the old chimney stack for a pot belly wood burning stove. (This had to go)

From dining room into kitchen

Sadly we could not keep any of the old fir flooring, it made really good firewood

One of 3 full bins just from the main floor demo

Friends and Family

2008-03-11T12:55:00.001-07:00

It was nice to be able to show off the house in its "as is" state before my parents come back and visit to what I hope will be an almost completed renovation. We will keep some work set aside for them when next in Rupert.

Mum and David

Dad checking the floors and walls

Keegan's visit was work filled, poor guy came to see Mom and ended up digging in the mud. I think he had fun doing it.

Karen's girlfriend Lori came to visit, they ended up doing a girls road trip to Terrace in the truck, I feel sorry for whoever they tormented on the way, I suspect flashbacks to the past when younger and foolish, giggles and laughter all the way.

A few guys came to help with one set of French Doors (More on the French Doors later)

Rockin Ronnie makes a great supervisor and dare I say does a good Vanna White impersonation.

Bob Slater, Rupert lifer and Jack of all Trades lends a hand with mudding and taping the drywall and always has a story to tell.

Larman Henry was afraid to come out of the basement in fears he would be sent back to the UK but while there he sure shifted some rock.

The Other Man In My (Our) Life

2008-03-11T11:30:00.000-07:00

I know this sounds like a strange title but allow me to explain.

This friend, while he looks a little suspect in this shot has provided countless hours of backbreaking work, from digging out mud and rock by hand, laying drainage pipe, pouring concrete, building kitchen cabinets, installing windows and providing insight and support he has become a true friend that Karen and I can rely on.

We are so thankful for Rod and his Family, for the time, knowledge and energy provided expecting nothing in return (OK maybe the odd beer or two) Either way he is a real friend.

I am not sure if Rod is offering advise or just enjoying feeling the mud between his toes

A toolbox and wheelbarrow, all we need to get this done, along with 3 bags of concrete of course.

If I recall this was day 1, Rod and Michelle came over to celebrate by tearing our kitchen apart, Karen was worried when we started dumping stuff in the bin late at night.

I would often find Rod in a ditch thinking about life and how poorly his Hockey team is doing.

We were very fortunate to spend a week away with Rod and Michelle in Mexico, a well deserved break for all concerned.

We are all just a little tired or overwhelmed at the amount of booze to be drunk

Rod and I at the "Zoo" bar in PV

While Karen and Michelle shopped

And of course you have to have one more Mexican sunset.

The wonders of Tuc Tape

2008-03-11T08:33:00.000-07:00

Tuc Tape seems to stick to anything and everything,

And can also be used as a belt and wrist guard while insulating.

My Constant (Fans of LOST will understand)

2008-03-11T08:30:00.000-07:00

We all need a "Constant" and for me Karen is that person, not a day goes by that a flask of tea is not ready, clean work clothes are handy, beer is dropped off, food is arranged and countless trips to pick up supplies.

Also so many other hidden talents.

Boarder

Landscaper

Glazer

Carpenter

Painter

Delivery Person

And always picking up after.

Being a North coast woman the fashion has changed a little from the trendy Victoria girl.

Display Model

One of Karen's favorite pastimes during the "Conquest" has been trips to the dump, I think the challenge is to see how much she can load up and still only pay $2.00. We love the Prince Rupert dump, you can drop off almost anything while watching the eagles watching you.

Truck is loaded and ready for one more run to the dump. (Note the beautiful Rupert weather) we are getting webbed feet.

2008-03-10T14:25:00.000-07:00

Rear of House prior to our bright ideas

Dining Room / Living Room

Beautiful Kitchen

From Living into Dining Room

The "Dan Miller" House

2008-03-10T13:41:00.001-07:00

We came across this election Billboard being used to shore up a wall in the basement, we set it up outside for a laugh. The locals would drive by and honk their horns in amusement.

For those that did not know, the house was once owned by Dan Miller, former Premier of British Columbia, as such the house is sometimes known as the "Dan Miller House"

Our current next door neighbour is the Mayor of Prince Rupert (Commonly know as "Hollywood Herb") It helps to have the Mayor as your neighbour when you need permits, garbage pickup etc.

So you have seen the house from the outside as it was over a year and a half ago, now some shots from the inside when we purchased 1927.

A Backwards Blog

2008-03-10T13:34:00.000-07:00

I have been sorting through 1000 digital images trying to decide how I can upload them to this blog in the correct order. Humm, seems that I need to build this in reverse. Not sure if I can get the timeline in order but I will give it go.

The current status on the house is as follows:

Main Floor is all but complete, waiting on the freaking plumber one more time to make the final connection to the dishwasher and kitchen sink. I need to clear out the main floor so that I can spend time on refinishing the hardwood floors. Karen has some more priming, sanding (She hates sanding) and semi gloss white finish paint on the trim work.

All in all it is looking very good. I often think what if we had moved that wall or changed that counter to a different location, but never mind once all is done I can start again !!!

2008-03-06T13:43:00.000-08:00

It took a while but we finally got the SOLD sign up and we are in renovation mode

2008-03-06T12:28:00.000-08:00

Happy and proud homeowners, just a lick of paint and some of Karen's inspired touches and all will be good to go.

2008-03-06T12:11:00.000-08:00

2008-03-06T10:51:00.000-08:00

2008-03-06T10:01:00.001-08:00