Landscaping

I realized it has been awhile since I posted, things have definitely slowed down in the reno department, but work has definitely continued on the outside space. The grass is growing around the house, the deck is filling up with flowers and furniture, the veggie garden is thriving and our "north side" landscaping project is almost complete.

Our original plan was to create a stone patio on the only side of the house where we did not build deck, however we switched gears wanting to create a space for shrubs and perennials and we are glad we did. Other than adding some more greenery, setting the flag stone into the mulch a bit more and creating a flat surface with sand and grade correction for the hose and reel, we are done.

The old house has come a long way in a year.

Another Check on the To Do List.

The deck is done and looks incredible, Jay definitely knows what he is doing and it is shown in his attention to detail and insane craftsmanship - thanks for a job well done!

We decided not to do a top row of pergola boards, for a couple of reasons. When we did the initial plans for the house, removing the small window (for code reasons) from Hanna's bedroom, changed the look of the front of the house, we had the option of doing a dormer or even a wrap around porch - but we opted out of both, in retrospect we should have gone for the dormer. The front of the house has always been a bit of a thorn in my side, driving up to the house it seemed to be lacking something, looking very plain and well, quite frankly *blah*. There is no way I wanted a covered porch (which would have solved the problem) because I didn't want to lose the lovely morning - mid day sunlight, winters are long enough without purposefully eliminating natural light - therein came the decision to build the pergola. It allows plenty of light in the windows and adds a certain architectural appeal to the home that it was lacking, but from the far distance - it is hard to see the definition of the profile, so my bareness factor isn't completely remedied but much improved. So rather then spend more money on lumber, the single row boards will more than suffice!

So, now comes the rest of the outdoor space projects some of which include building the grade up around the deck to conceal the piers, laying grass seed, building flower, toy storage and garbage boxes, the all important patio furniture selection and then the rock garden on the north side of the house........it is shaping up to be a busy season!

Since I know that a lot of you have appreciate the financial honesty, I will share the deck material costs with you, I am not sure of the exact cost of installing the deck piers as it was bulked in with the cost of contractor's bill, but the lumber and hardware was "approx" $5000.00, no that does not include labour - but that is one figure we are keeping to ourselves ;)

Who's Ready For A Deck Party??!!!!

Wow - that is all I can say!

Here You Go Chris....

Chris is at work and is slightly excited about the progress this deck is making, so here are some midday photos.

I Can Almost Taste The Cocktails!!

After three days of work, the deck is really coming together! The footprint in laid out and the surface boards are beginning to go down, I was even able to have a sit and enjoy a coffee.
This weekend we are shopping for a new bbq and patio set ;)

Getting Started on the Deck!

The arrival of this incredible weather has enabled us to start work on our outdoor living space sooner than we anticipated. Chris has been working diligently at leveling out the terrain around the house and bringing topsoil up to encourage grass growth where the deck will end and lawn will begin.

So here's the plan, the East side (front) and South side of the house will have 10' wide full length deck wrapping around to the West side (entry) where the deck will be approx 4 1/2 ' wide with a pergola on the East side to not only add a shady escape, but mostly to add and eye pleasing attribute to a currently blank canvas. All will be done in pressure treated deck board and expertly crafted by my brother Jason, we are SO lucky to have been able to hire him for this project!
If all goes well, construction should commence on Monday!!

EceEnergy Audit - Totally Worth It!!

Well, a nice surprise met us in the mailbox today! A $5000 cheque from the Federal Government! So, we got back far more than we thought we would and not only that, but the Ontario government matches that $5000 with a cheque that should follow in about a month. Yippee!! I think our deck is easily paid for and maybe a nice patio set.

So, all my belly aching about our poor rating was not worth it. Our house seems to be quite energy efficient based on our winter heating and hydro costs, so between that and the all mighty buck, we are quite happy with our renovation choices.