Bay Window Blues

Well, once the drywall was up, we still had a big problem to solve, and that was, what to do with the bay window. And it wasn't just the window that was a concern, but the foundation, the framing, the condition of the interior and the exterior (which was clad in insulbrick, a shingle-like material that was all the rage in the 70's). With Tye's help, we developed a solution and the digging began. About one tonne of dirt, old bricks and dilapidated foundation was dug up. It sat in a large pile on our side lawn for many months. Finally, it was replaced with a beautiful foundation and a lovely bay window frame. The windows were installed in the Spring and were worth the 4 week wait. It looks beautiful and completely transformed the side of the house, where there was once nothing, then a gaping hole, there is now light and a view. We just finished priming this past week.

Delays and Drywall Days

I'm not sure what tipped them off. Could it have been the giant dumpsters that kept appearing, getting filled and being replaced with empty ones at the side of our property, or was it the 6 x 6 x 6 foot hole in our front lawn. It may have been the pile of dirt, bricks and debris that came from the triple 6 hole. No one can really say. All we knew was that we had to call the city to obtain a permit to do the work we were doing inside and outside the house. Most people will tell you that if you're doing a small renovation that you don't need a permit. But I agree with Mike Holmes, host of Holmes on Homes on HGTV. GET A PERMIT. Not to mention the fact that we were not doing a small renovation - we were engaging in a total gut and restoration of our home. The fact that we needed to get a permit did a few things - mostly it delayed us by about a month, during which time we were not able to do any work on the house. We could begin again only when we had appropriate permission to do what we were doing, and this depended largely on having plans and drawings. Luckily, with some family help, such things were done up and we were able to begin again, and we were now sanctioned to renovate. Things got rolling to the point that we were ready to drywall. I'm skipping the complete rewire of the electrical, new plumbing and insulation and vapour barrier that had to happen before the walls went up, but that happened and we were ready to go. The pictures show some of teh rooms drywalled and taped and ready to seal and prime. We went away for a week on holiday and when we came back the walls were up - it was an amazing transformation - and the first time that we really had a sense that we might actually live in our house, not just go there to work! The photos don't tell the full picture though, to understand that you'd have to imagine devoting every weekend and many evenings to hauling dusty plaster, lathe, insulation and dust in garbage bins, wearing a respirator and using safety lights to see through the dark, cold halls. Then coming in to see light and walls and smelling no dust!

The Saga of the Bay Window

I think it's human nature to avoid those things that we don't understand or to put off those things that we don't know how to deal with. This is the story of our bay window. When we purchased the house, we noted that there appeared to be a bay window that had been covered with shingles on the exterior and drywall in the interior. We knew that we would want more light in the dining room, and therefore we planned to reveal it. Little did we know that this would lead to city permits, redoing the foundation and experiencing Big Expense #2. Here are a few pics of the bay window before and during demolition. The saga continued for many months, it's only just being drywalled now, more than 6 months after it was first deconstructed. It was not fun heating the neighbourhood through the winter through the gaping hole at the side of our house.

Restruction

With the roof repaired and reshingled, and most of the interior walls demolished, we started the process of rebuilding, shoring up the interior walls which over the years had become warped and out of square. This required a lot of lumber and reinforcements. Tye did most of the work though Jamie and I built a door frame or two. This work was definitely more gratifiying than knocking down walls, inhaling plaster dust or carrying loads of destroyed walls out to the bin in heavy garbage cans. Sean also pitched in to help finish most of the interior framing.

Demo Days

So, the moment the house closed, we knew we needed to demo - the extent to which we would do so went well beyond our wildest imagination - the 8-foot lowered ceilings, pink broadloom and wood panelling and ceiling tiles all had to go.

Here was the first demo day, when about 15 of our closest buddies showed up with saw-z-alls, crow bars, hammers and respirators to help us out.

It was a mess, and through the several month-long process, we filled 5 bins full of plaster, lathe, panelling, carpet, ceiling tiles, insulation and all imaginable destruction waste.

It was only a few weeks into the demolition that the rain started to pour in from the roof. The former owners had not disclosed that the roof was leaky - so we scrambled with the rest of the city - or so it seemed - to find somone to re-shingle our roof: unexpected major expense #1. I know you're thinking, "Didn't the home inspection turn up a leaky roof?" No, it did not - in fact it said that there were at least 3 - 4 years left in the existing roof. This signaled the beginning of many surprises we would find working at Willoughby House.

The original plan of the house, from the 1870's, showed that the street name was originally Willoughby Avenue. It was named for Captain James Willoughby and his estate which was situated on most of the area northeast of High Park, where our house is located.

Beginning of the End

Finally, 365 days minus 79 days, we are nearing the end of our renovation. We bought our house nearly a year ago, and never, in my wildest dreams, imagined that we would:

1. Spend so much time demolishing, then building it back up
2. Spend so much money
3. Own our own compound mitre saw
4. Live with my Mom for most of our married life together

Time flies when you're having fun. It also seems to fly when you are living though hell.

I've attached some photos - all pre-reno - yes, this is the house we purchased with our hard earned money. Next post will give you a sense of what happened in the ensuing months.