Big Day Renovating

Today was insanely busy. The kitchen ceiling and floor are torn up. We have a chandelier in the parlour. The trim and shelving in my room is painted and the trim is installed. 

Phew

I still have to dress the chandelier with all the crystals. They add significant weight and I thought it wasn’t fair to the electricians to put the thing up with all the extra weight. 

Then the kitchen ceiling had to come down so we can do the renovations upstairs for the granny suite. AKA the ‘T Suite’. 

Chris and I are still getting the nails out of the floor. 

Not everyone is in the photo, but you get the idea. 

Wood Cook Stove

Since we got our little dining room stove installed... it has been made very clear to us why there were three chimneys installed in this drafty house. Our little dining room stove keeps some of the centre of the house warm... but no more. In light of this experience... Sarah decided to buy a smaller Enterprise wood cook stove. Made in New Brunswick... we found one with a csa sticker.

Storm Preparation and Other Fun

Another Nor'Easter winter storm arrived today. Our sheet metal guy Al Simms helped brace up the newly repaired wood fired hot tub chimney so it won't ever be affected by another storm.

While Christopher battened down the hatches and tarped up our new to us antique wood stove... Sarah finished removing the main portion of the wallpaper from the walls of the dining room. Fortunately or unfortunately this wallpaper removal seems to have created a bit of a monster in Auntie Sarah. Christopher turns his back for 5 mins and there is more messy wallpaper strewn all over!

More Stripping

More walls are stripped of wall paper. 

And in the weird room some of the wall paper came off. Very easily. I hope it all goes more easily than the dining room! I have a lot of wall paper to take off. Yikes. 

And the stairs are now free of carpet. 

Chris is taking out the carpet nails. With help. 

Stripping Wallpaper

Result!

We like the effect. 

Tree Trimming

This is Adam getting into his work. 

Backup Warmth At last

After a long process of anticipation, hope, some shock, sadness and disappointment... along with a peppering of adjusting expectations... we were able to light our first fire. Scapa was in front of it in under 15 minutes and Sarah wasn't too long after.

The tiny Morsoe Stove Model 1410B fits snugly inside our fireplace opening and does not protrude into the dining room space. Our Master Mason Ted and Carpenter Extraordinaire Darrell were shocked at how hot the brick was getting above our new stove. A few adjustments will have to be made to reduce the heat on the framing and future wood fireplace surround. We very much appreciate their attention to detail as we want our investment in this house protected in the long term. This little stove will not produce enough heat to warm the whole house. it is just too small. That said... we are relieved to have a back up heat source in place for the frequent and prolonged power outages.

T Suite Demolition

The first stage of tear out began in the T Suite (former servant's quarters) today. Christopher managed to get the same young guys who hand dug the basement to fit in a couple of days of work demo-ing the uninsulated exterior walls and a couple inner walls that will be moved. Once again we were happily surprised that the chimney brick did not have a parge coat on it and it will be able to be exposed once the very hard plaster is removed.

Wood Fired Hot Tub

After 4 weeks of winter storms... the wood fired hot tub is now filled and was heated properly today... thanks to generously givenseasoned dry wood from Sarah's Dad and Donna (his wife). It took only 2.5 hrs to bring the hot tub up 35 degrees with the dry wood. Yesterday with a 6 hr burn using our 'dryer wood... 30 degrees.

Wood Fire Progress

The chimney is in and hooked up to our small Morso stove. A small fire was lit to check the draft. In order to let the bricks and mortar cure... we have to not so patiently wait 7 days.