The Smell of Spring!

With spring in the air (almost), we are getting anxious to start up our little farm. We have been organizing some of the things in the barn setting some items aside to be included in our family yard sale, some designated to the burn pile and some being reassigned a place in our lives.

Chris has been adamant about building me a tack room in the barn, I resisted at first using the excuse of extra time and supplies needed for the project however, now that it is taking shape I am finding it to be a much needed space for some of the items that just don't fit in the house and that I don't have the heart to part with. So aside from the obvious saddles, bridles and grooming equipment, my grandfathers desk will have a new home.

Our chicken coup is also taking shape! I won the battle that earned me a larger space for our birds and put the order in for 10 Plymouth Rock laying hens and 12 White Rock meat cockerels! April 9th we should have 22 fuzzy peepers for a certain little girl to adore. We also intend to get some ducklings, but that will happen later on in the spring.

The glorious mud kept us entertained this morning and the deck piers around the house peaking through the melting snow has reminded us that we need to start making deck plans!!!!

Back Splash!

After the arduous task of selecting a back splash, we stumbled upon this amazing tile store in Barrie called Desert Tile, wow, they had a great selection and my perfect fit!! The colours pull out the flecks in the quartz countertop and cupboards. The painter is coming later this week to do touch up paint and I am finally getting to "girlifying" Hanna's room so stay tuned for pics!

The Energuide Rating

Well, I am disappointed to say the least. After having gone through the EcoEnergy Audit and performing a HUGE amount of renovations, our score was lacking.

The original house scored a 69% efficiency and now we score a 75%.... not even in the "Most Efficient" category. I am not sure how foolproof the test is and what the possible variables could be for a faulty test, because I mean we have EnergyStar rated windows and doors, and the entire house is sealed with spray foam insulation, what does it take to create a thoroughly efficient home?

I think I will do a little research into this.

And This Is What We Should Have Done In The First Place!!

I wince at the cost of labour when it comes to tiling, but man oh man our guy knows his stuff. As you know, the jacuzzi originally had a painted pine tongue and groove as the surround, we never liked it and resisted but caved........ so maybe the malfunction of the tub was for the greater good, because the tile "entombment" looks awesome! It still needs grout (and I am still on the fence about that damn tile colour we chose) but it made the world of difference!

Before

After

EceEnergy Audit - Part Deux

Today we completed the second stage of the Energy Audit offered by the federal and provincial governments. The process itself isn't as riveting as I had expected, I was under the assumption that this "fan" you hear about would suck all of the dust and pet hair out of my house and collect in a nice tidy ball on this contraption....... no such luck, you barely hear or feel it.

The initial audit rated the original house at a 68% on the EnerGuide scale provided by Natural Resources Canada, that is based on how much air can by pulled through your house. When Chris was present for the first audit, the fan moved quite quickly, this time - not so much, however until the magic numbers are punched into the sophisticated computer software, we will not know our exact Energuide rating and how the renovations we have performed have improved that number.

So, we have submitted our figures and now we wait and see how much we will ultimately qualify for in rebates, as our auditor put it "Now all you have to do is take the cheque to the bank".

The Cost of Renovating

When we initially took on this project, we had options - we could have torn down the original structure and built new, but any quotes we received for building new, started at $200/sq ft and that was only base finishes........ laminate floors and counter top, standard tubs and shower inserts etc. etc...... not what we wanted and certainly not the budget we were thinking of. So after seeking the opinion of a home inspector and contractor, we decided to salvage the original structure to be able to concentrate our hard earned dollars on the finishes that we wanted. However, when you are taking on such an endeavour the costs are not purely tiles, windows and paint. There is the cost of drafting/engineering any structure changes or additions, permits, equipment rentals etc etc etc. So, as a point of interest we will share the true cost of this project. Happy reading!

Home Inspection $378.00
Energy Audits $500.00
Hydro One Upgrade $960.75
Blueprints $441.00
Appliances $5151.92
Home Depot $3441.41 Lights, knobs, bathroom vanity, faucets, kitchen sink etc
Home Hardware $8986.70 Kitchencraft Cabinets (Maple in Espresso/anti slam)
Home Hardware $4226.20 Silestone Countertop (Quartz in Ivory Coast)
Home Hardware $1179.73 Water Softener & Misc
Rona $980.33 Toilets, lights
Dufferin Flooring $3774.93 Tile
Ikea $1614.30 Bathroom vanity, medicine cabinet, furniture
Canadian Tire $134.00 Sump Pump
Centre Grey HH $41485.20 Materials For Build
Fleshcon $1045.25 New Foundation Concrete
Stephens Rental $840.00 Waste Bin
Shouldice Block $966.69 Blocks for New Foundation
GW Masonry $1426.00 Mason work in showers and stone fireplace.
Brampton Hardwood $3529.72 Hardwood Flooring
B&R Stoveshoppe $3628.01 Propane Fireplace
Andex Steel $2536.88 Steel for Roof
Northern Heating $10620.41 Furnace, Air Exchanger, Duct work and installation
Harrison Interiors $9667.35 Spray Foam Insulation
Eagles Painting $6720.00 Interior priming and painting
D.V. Electric $9920.40 Complete wiring/switch & outlet covers/pot lights
M.T. Ceramic $3914.66 Installation of ceramic tile
Paul's Carpetry $4080.91 Carpet installation upstairs
Fines HH $745.67 Deck Piers
Barry Vaine Wood $5741.25 Maple Stairs and railing
Kinsmen Eavestrough $835.80 Seamless Eavestrough
Orangeville Glass $2599.00 Shower glass
Russell Drywall $4678.00 Labour to install & treat drywall
Mulligan Builders $71880.00 Labour
Mulligan Builders $18686.00 Management Fee

Grand Total of $237,316.47

Yup, ouch.

We are about $25,000 over budget - sort of - as we didn't have to do certain things in the original quote (ie:septic) and added some projects (ie: spray foam), so really we didn't come out too badly.

As for deadline, the start date was July 6 with an estimated completion of September. They came "most days" other than the entire month of September and we spent our first night at the house on November 23, the contractors were not done until December 16 and still not everything is completely done as of this moment, though our builder is done his part. We still have the backsplash tile in the kitchen, the jacuzzi tub tiling and, of course, the all important outdoor space which will include 3 sides of deck and pergola as well as other landscaping. So, although done is not done, it is done enough to be enjoying it......and that we are!

Preparing For The Final Payment!

The last basement window went in today, so that means that our builder is pretty much done and is working on preparing our "final" bill to receive payment. We have a few things we hope to get done as an aside from work our builder is/was doing, such as a backsplash in the kitchen, re-tiling the tub upstairs and of course in the spring/summer a deck, a rock garden, a vegetable garden, interior barn configurations for small animals etc. etc. etc., all in good time!

So, in the next week or two, we are considering sharing some of the numbers of this big amazing renovation, we realize real figures are usually not spoken about, but it is something we are always interested in and it shows the reality of home improvements and the costs involved.