July 22, 2012: House & Garden

Home renos continue. Basement staircase removed, giving us some much needed storage space - we can still get upstairs by going outside and through the front door. Not that we have much need to go upstairs - it's certainly not liveable! Some surprises found in the first week of work - floor joists in the bathroom cut through by previous renovations. Ceiling joists over the doorway missing - heaven knows why. Kind of glad our renovations are more than just cosmetic, so that these structural things get uncovered now.

While our house is deconstructing, our garden is blooming. Regularly eating kale, chard, rapini, peas, beans, basil and zucchini, and tomatoes shouldn't be much longer. There are 4 watermelons underway, lots of butternut squash maturing, and our brussels sprouts plants look happy.

July 16, 2012: Renovation underway!

Phase 2 of the renovation is underway! We've been working since the demolition and insulation in March to finalize our plans (making them more realistic - we hope - within our budget), get our permits, and start work with our new contractors, Greening Homes. For the next few months we'll be living in a greatly reduced portion of our basement - probably no more square footage than our apartment in France (although with a considerably larger kitchen). It all feels a bit crowded and crazy, but that will make it all the more spacious when we've got the whole house back to ourselves in the end.

The plan: main floor open concept kitchen/dining room, open to living room, enlarged bathroom, and a new staircase opening up a connection between the basement and main floor. New floors,  windows, lights, cupboards, appliances, bathroom fixtures. Improved energy efficiency! Still lots of shopping to do as the renovation proceeds, but the big picture has become much more solid than it was at the outset.

Below: a view across our basement to what's left of our living space.