My House Renovation Thread

Thanks. We've actually moved downstairs now (well partly). TV is up on the wall and sofa is downstairs. Still lots of little bits to do! Also I'm halfway through hardwooding the stairs down as well, but as I mentioned I got bored of the inside and started working outside...! I'll post some more photos of that in a few weeks when it should be finished properly.

We actually spent ages picking the floor and I think we chose the right one in the end so glad you like it.

In the next couple of months we have a few things we are planning on doing. There's the front drive, all but one upstairs window (and the front door), fixing the single garage roof and splitting it into a workshop and garden shed and potentially - depending on time and money - residing the entire house. The plan is something like a nice bright/modern red/green hardie board (a brand of siding). Depends on a lot of things but my other half really wants to get it done! We shall see...

If not, my father is threatening to paint the whole thing. He hates the colour too...

Any updates? .

Still haven't done the stairs... And the last couple of days has been spend dealing with a truck purchase but I've done a little bit. I'm getting a bit hamstrung by the waste I need to get rid of (shingles and concrete) - That's where the truck may come in handy!

Currently i'm removing the turf from one part of the garden, where a new path is going next to the garage, and relaying it in on the new lawn by the wall in the photos above. It's taking bloomin ages to cut the sod for some reason (probably because all I can find is a round shovel..). It's really dry here so I'm watering it and hoping it takes!

I'll upload a few more photos soon.

Some photos as promised.

Flattened out the patio area and tamped it down. Need to add some more gravel when I get the level of the dirt and the patio stone used.

Today I also moved the fire pit from the middle of the lawn to the patio. It will eventually be changed to something nicer but it'll do for the moment!







I'm removing the turf from where the new path is going and filling in the gaps, both where the fire pit was and where we extended the lawn in the semi circle.





The dirt showing is about an inch or less thick so I'm hoping the grass will spring through in the next few weeks. If it all goes to pot I'll have to go back to plan A which will be to reseed the entire lawn (it's pretty bumpy at the moment so rotavating, flattening and reseeding may happen next spring regardless).

The foundations for the walls around the patio "deck" area. And the pile of concrete that's getting in the way. Hopefully that will become an ex-problem in the next week.

Update time! Things are very green here now, spring is in full force and I've taken the chance to start planting and bring some colour and form into empty garden.

First off we bought a pickup, because Alberta... And it would make things more convenient (amongst other things). The first trip was to pick up some trees from the local tree nursery...





Actually it was a friend who has a few hundred acres, a bison herd and a few thousand trees. A fun day out!

Next, planting them in the garden.



Next weekend was less interesting - taking all the shingles we took off the roof last year to the dump.

Now you see it...




Now you don't!



One of the many times recently we were glad the former owners installed a huge double gate into the back garden!

Lots of other small bits and pieces going on in and out, but the best pieces was the planting of some plants and mulching (not quite finished - need to wait until I get the patios done)...









There are loads of berries here that I've never heard of before that also make quite nice decorative plants. Saskatoon berries and Honeyberries are two of which I ended up getting. They are bushes 2-3m in size and apparently taste like blueberries - everything seems to be compared to blueberries... I also picked up a couple of blueberry bushes and planted them in containers as they are native here. Hopefully in a year or two when the garden has matured I'll be able to harvest lots of berries from the garden.

A couple of weeks ago my dad came back for a few weeks to help me do some of the big external jobs. First order of the day, take apart the drive ready for laying the pavers we got delivered last month. 4" of rebarred concrete. The first hour with the breaker was fun. On the second day it really started to wear...







Done!!



We filled up two 8 yard skips with the large stuff from the drive, the concrete piled up in the back and the back step. The back step was interesting. We found out half way through that it was floating on the side of the house, rather than sitting on the dirt, and the centre of it was around two foot thick. Luckily we still had the jackhammer from the drive to destroy it.



The small stuff from the drive was then moved behind the house and used as ballast for the raised patio. We're currently using the existing patio stones that came with the house, but I'd like to change those next year.





After removing the concrete from the drive we began levelling it ready for the sand. Whoever built the drive did a good job with the base, so aside from levelling left to right we didn't have too much to do as there was already a good 8-12" of gravel beneath. Also had "fun" grinding the huge kerb down so we could use it as an edge to set the pavers to. We were going to remove it entirely before we lifted the drive concrete and realised it was a separate entity and was basically just an upside down "T", perfect for setting the edging against.













Since that photo was taken we filled in the missing edge.

Path to side gate going in - just waiting for another few yards of sand to complete.



Edge flattened and seeded.



Once we finish that path and another in the back garden (also going to be pavers) we'll get the vibrating plate and fill the joints.

MOAR!

Upper patio getting there...



Path to side gate done.



The Drive

Haven't updated in a while...

Various bits done. A new flat roof and guttering on the attached garage and some new windows installed to give more light as it is going to be used as a workshop from now on.

The fire pit area is also almost finished. We went with local grey limestone (Rundle) flagstones in the end. After adding a couple more inches of gravel and a bed of sand I had some fun with the man size jigsaw puzzle over a few afternoons.

Laying the flags ready for the edge to be cut


Cut and ready for finishing the centre when we decided what we wanted, and to fill the joints



Finished except for the fire pit


After spending a while trying to decide what type of fire pit to go for (pre cast concrete block or buying some natural stone blocks and cementing then together) we decided on a metal pit which gives more sideways heat and doesn't need the thick concrete base the natural stone pit would need (because of frost heave).

We ended up using an organic setting sand for the joints. Similar to Polymeric stuff you use for pavers but with a variety of coarser grains and using a plant based "polymer" to set the sand. It softens when wet but hopefully that's not too much of an issue. The benefit of the resoftening is it "heals" itself to an extent, so hopefully if any of the flags move around a bit the joints should still be tight. It was also the only product I could find in the city for this purpose as generic polymeric sand just isn't designed for joints of this size.

Just need to get the metal fire pit and then we can christen the space (fire pit will sit in the gravel bit)! Still needs a little work around the edges, mostly more mulch around the edge and beneath the table flag stone, which is being temporarily held up by paviers. Not quite sure what to replace them with yet, I'm thinking either a large rock similar to the two limestone boulders already there, or a couple of large logs.

We also laid the path to the garage and moved the back gate from the middle of the fence (between the two spruce above) to next to the detached garage, so we only need one path to access both. Both the path and drive were then filled with Polymeric sand.

We also planted half a dozen Aspen trees the other side of the detached garage and I've started killing the grass around them ready for planting some wild flower seeds. The aim is to have a "natural" area to wander through.



The grass has grown in a lot since this was taken and the old fire pit hole, along with the old path location and extended lawn (next to the fire pit) has taken nicely.

Next project is to deal with the mess next to the back of the house. The upper patio is mostly complete (until we change the slabs to something nicer) but the slabs were robbed from elsewhere and it is now just a pile of dirt and weeds. Once that's sorted I can finish the path and the garden should presentable for the first time in a long time apparently.

I'll try and get some more photos up shortly. Phone is dead atm!

Only just seen this thread. Property looks great, kudos for doing it all yourself !0

Looks great, well done,enjoyed reading that.

looks superb!!

Looking great. Keep up the good work!

Been keeping an eye on this so glad to see another update! Keep them coming

Never did post those other photos... And forgot to mention we redid the single garage (one the drive used to go to, at the side of the house) roof and guttering as well as installed two new windows into the sides, ready to be made into a workshop.





Unfortunately they are probably going to have to be removed again when we re side the house as I need to install some flashing tape and overlap the house wrap I will be installing beneath the new siding. The windows being installed at the moment do mean the garage is water tight and I can start insulating and installing the plaster board.



The new roof and the new white guttering and facia, which will be continued around the rest of the house when we do the outside.


Wall of Text incoming for latest update...!

Between the rain showers I've been working on the side of the house on and off over the last couple of weeks. The basement windows are now finished and fully flashed, with decent window wells.

If you remember from earlier in the thread one basement window well was just two pieces of galvanized steel. That has now been replaced with a tiered well, with the upper tier being 8' across and dropping down a foot at a time to the window. I tried to scrimp on costs with the first tier and only used 1" wood, it's now bowing in so that needs to be changed to 2x6 at some point in the near future... The second tier I did properly and also attached with concrete screws to the side of the house. It's not going anywhere...!

I was going to remove all the metal but decided for cost reasons to leave it in. The last tier is also the largest and would be a pain to modify because of all the stones. I'm thinking I may get some trailing plants in the lower tier to cover it up somewhat. The other piece of metal is now the window well for the small laundry room window. Just need to get some more plants now...

So for the windows... As shown in the images earlier in the thread the windows were cut out and then roughed out with pressure treated wood, the gap sealed with expanding foam and caulk. The window was then screwed into the opening and I've now installed waterproofing tape on the wood and concrete to seal any gaps.

I built two window sills out of some pressure treated wood, so any rain runs off the ledge. The original ledge was just the rough cut concrete, which was flat. I then installed some PVC trim round the windows and caulked up the gaps.

It took a while to find any information on code here for the flashing and finishing of basement windows. Most of the stuff online is for windows in timber frames, which is totally different when it comes to sealing... Should be nice and water/air right now though!

Removed the upper metal window well piece and replaced with two nice wooden walls instead... Can also see the flashing tape around the window and on the sill



Testing out the window sill before fitting



Getting some supplies before fitting the trim, not sure if i'm overloading the truck or not...*



Trim installed







It's really nice stuff to work with, it's just cellular PVC and can be cut using normal woodworking tools. Excuse the dirt, the torrential rain each afternoon is really splattering the dirt around... I'm hoping it will get better when I get some mulch down on the dirt and the grass has grown properly.


I levelled and seeded the area around the wells last week, this time putting some light coloured landscaping fabric over the seeds to give it some shade and retain moisture. It seems to have worked and I'm hoping for a less patchy lawn than the piece by the drive, which is still filling in...

The lawn slopes away from the house slightly but unfortunately, due to the fact the garage was designed for a drive to enter it, the lawn is the same level as the concrete floor of the garage... The slope of the garage floor is towards the door fortunately and the plan is to have that half as the garden tool storage area. I'm hoping I can design a water seal to make sure it doesn't flood, but to help a little I've built a small garden area in front of it, giving about 4 inches of clearance. I'll add some mulch to make it level with the lawn so it'll look level but will need significant rain before it gets anywhere near the garage (it's also under the eaves so won't get much rain anyway. Not perfect but hopefully it'll work.

The flower bed



The window well and new grass sprouting





It still looks a bit of a mess but hopefully next spring we will be re doing the outside of the house. We will probably replace the siding and then we will re-render the wall to make it look finished.

Cool thread bud , I look forward to updates. Man jelly of all the space you guys have in Canada.

£100k buys you sweet FA in Scotland, god knows what your setup would cost here.

Jesus that place looks lovely... when you see how far your money gos abroad it really does make you consider the sense of buying in the South East.

Unfortunately this house was no where near £100k... Average house price here (Calgary) is the equivalent of £250-300k, and this is above average. Positive is I can buy nice stuff and hopefully still get the money back for it if we have to sell in the near future! Admittedly you do also get a lot more for your money from an average house here. If you really want nice on a budget then you need to move to the east coast of Canada, where a 4-5 bedroom, 2000+ ft2 ocean front house is about £200-250k, negative is there are no jobs...

Materials wise it's a mixed bag. Some of the stuff is a lot cheaper, some about the same price and some is more. An example at the moment, most cut natural stone flags are more expensive than the UK, there's also a lot less choice, and few places sell it. The Canadian equivalent of B&Q, Homebase etc. certainly don't sell it. I've only found three places in the city that do, and one of them has to order it in, at a £150 a pallet delivery charge... on the other hand wood is rediculous my cheap here, useful when framing the basement and redoing the garage roof.

That said I did find some in the end... Which leads me on to the sneak peak...



Whoo, more pallets of heavy stuff...! Wonderful... It arrived this morning.



Friend of mine came over this afternoon after work so we managed to put in the two steps. 200kg each, but with the sack barrow, straps and some copious levering we managed to get them in place.



Need to get some satin sealant to darken them up a little (the wet look, but not shiny) so they match the Rundle a bit better and sort out the area around them and they should look more finished.

Currently working on the patio besides the raised area, which I'll hopefully have mostly done in the next couple of days. Also finished the back path.



Just need to run a wacker plate over it and fill gaps with polymeric sand, finish the garden, and the wall... The patio is better screened now as well.

Hopefully much of it'll be done in the next week, if so I'll upload some photos of the (almost) finished result.

Once that's all done I can start on the important stuff... A big "moving in" BBQ, which we haven't done yet as the garden has been such a state.

I just realized I never did update after finishing the patio last year.

Things have finally started to green up after a long winter. The leaves have just started coming out on the trees and shrubs (in the last week) and most of the plants have popped their heads above the ground. There's still a fair few plants that haven't shown signs of life, but hopefully they will decide to say hi soon.

February this year:






The last of the snow only went about a month or so ago!

We put seven lavenders in around the front and back last year and all took a big hit, dying right back to the root, but they seem to be coming back slowly. It's the first winter we've had with any plants so it's interesting to see how things have done. We're also hoping for a lot of the shrubs and trees to shoot up this year after developing their root systems last year.

A lot of the plants like the lavenders are marginal species in this climate. The city is technically Zone 3 on the USDA (plant survival) scale, which basically means any plant has to survive down to -39 degrees ish. Many of the plants I put in are zone 4, which basically means they will survive down to around -30, but may be hit and miss below that. Putting in plants like that give you lots more options. It's quite interesting just how hardy many of the plants you take for granted in UK gardens are. Things like Dogwoods grow wild so have no issue here, but other plants like dianthus and day lilies are equally at home, which surprised me.

Anyway on to the hardscaping. For the patio areas we are aiming for a modern angular style, to compliment the more soft mulched fire pit area and tumbled block path, so we went for a modern pattern with modern looking concrete slabs. That will tie in with the eventual wood effect upper patio area and outdoor kitchen.



Also planted a little semi shaded area next to the workshop/garage. Lots of spring bulbs, grasses and Coral bells. I plan on planting a number of ornamental grasses on the other side of the around the tree to finish that part of. We also put up a bird box last summer and it appears today that a couple of sparrows have moved in so hopefully there should be some chicks in the near future.

The grass has taken well for the most part and its difficult to see where the original path and edge of the lawn was. It almost looks finished in some spots.







Other parts not so much. Still need to finish off the stepping stones from the steps to the fire pit area and plant a few more plants. There is a lavender either side of the step, and at the bottom, but the new shoots are only just budding.

The last set of pallets also had the stone for the front path. I broke that apart late last year and laid down some limestone slabs, seeded some more grass and planted some plants.



That's not concrete but a rushed limestone product which I dampened prior to laying the slabs. Pretty nifty as you don't need to worry about crushed gravel and then sand - and it's not as ant friendly.



And today



I'm not too happy with the step at the moment as I don't like how the black edging doesn't go over the vertical drive pavers. I may eventually replace the whole front step with the same bits of stone I made the back garden steps with. We will eventually be replacing that awful low wall with a narrow deck area.

I also did a few small bits and pieces inside over the winter. We painted one of the upstairs rooms a nice grey and it's now a clean, functional office space. The previous colour was some weird off neon green. :/



I also tiled the bar area and fitted the kick plates. We also have the wood cut to build a wine bottle holder up the wall to the right, but we haven't got the hardware for it yet so it's not up yet. Luckily it wasn't as we had leak from the upstairs toilet and I've had to cut a fair amount of plasterboard from next to where it would be. It wasn't major and I just need to replace a few small pieces and repaint.



The stairs to the basement are also finished. We installed a heavy duty rubber mat into the landing instead of wood as that's where the back door enters and a combination of grit and melting snow would probably damage a wood floor fairly quickly. (The white spots are blossom from the tree, which is everywhere ATM!)





Moulding has now been installed (Second photo was taken a few months ago).

Final photo for the moment. We installed some floating shelves to finish off the wall with the low ceiling.



Plans for this year include sorting out the outside of the house finally, and replacing the windows. We decided not to do it last year as it would make more sense to do it when we replace the outside of the house. We are finally going to take down the tree in the front. It's basically dead after last winter. We're also going to do something about the detached garage, probably install some trellis and an espalier fruit tree on the two visible sides.

We may even replace the slabs in the back garden for the wood effect ones and build the outdoor kitchen and a pergola, which I'm looking forward to way too much...

We're also thinking about doing something else. If that happens there will be a MAJOR update in the near future.

Thanks for the update @Amp34 a lovely place you have there.

Wow, that looks fantastic.. Good work!