Day 66 - Looking Good

So we're trucking right along, which is great.  Our closing date is July 26th, so between now and then there is a lot of work to do.

Here is a sampling of our house, in pictures:

The Deck

Our Steps

Kitchen 1

Kitchen 2

The Dining Room

The Bathroom

Stay tuned, the next week will have pictures of the (more or less) finished product


Later Days


Alex and Linzi

Day 65: The finishing touches.

So it's been a while, mostly because our floor was on back order.  However, now it's in, so we're back on track.

At the moment, a lot of the finishing touches have been added to the house. One example is the parging, which apparently is not as commonplace as you would think.

The other big addition is our light fixtures, which have all been installed.

The bathroom.

The dining room.

So finally the flooring has begun.  The hardwood floor has been delivered, and they've also started installation.

The final thing that I've been doing in the house involves sandwich bags and insulation.  No, it's not the worst packed lunch ever, it's a process designed to stop rattling from the ventilation ducts.

Apparently this is not a make work project, but also something that no one else in the city does. Quality work, ladies and gentlemen.

Join us next time when the topic of discussion will be decks.

Later Days.

Alex and Linzi.

Day 62 - 64: Paint.

And on the 62 Day the painter man said, "Let there be PAINT!" 

After much consideration (on my part) and a whole lot of "stop making up nonsensical adjectives to describe the imaginary colour in your head and just pick something from the damn paint fan already!” (on Alex’s part,) we’ve finally made a paint decision.

Although the pictures don’t entirely do it justice, here is “Nature’s Bounty,” which is throughout the entire house except for the bathroom and “Infinitely Classy,” which is, well, in the bathroom, for your viewing pleasure:

It's the perfect mix of nonsensical adjectives, don't you think?

Looking at the front window...

That is one infinitely classy bathroom if I do say so myself.

I know we’ve said stuff like, “it’s really starting to look like a house now,” in the past… but this time we mean it. With the paint on the walls, you can really start to visualize it and it is starting to feel like HOME. 

We should have another update for you before the week is through as the electrician is expected to pop by and hang the light fixtures.

That's all for now. Cheers!

Alex and Linzi 

Day 56 - 60: Time keeps moving

It's funny.  Things are so close, but it seems like a lifetime.  Without further ado, here is the rundown from the last little while.

The first big news is that the trim and doors are in, and with the walls sanded, it's time for some finishing touches.

Funny, when they said I was going to see The Doors, I had something else in mind...

The trim is in as well, which has already begun.  Taking pictures of it also gives me the opportunity to show off the closets we have as well...

...and the hallway too.

The last small news to report is that our downspouts and eaves have been installed.

So there you have it folks!  Stay tuned!

Later days.

Alex and Linzi.

Day 50 - 55: The home stretch.

Good evening ladies and gentlemen.  It's been a long journey, one that started as more of a "follow Alex as he bumbles around the worksite" to a "hey, check out all the stuff that happened".  At this point, it's becoming more and more like a house, and at the moment, both the inside and the outside really do look like a real house, and not just a hole in the ground.

For the exterior, everything is pretty much done.  The siding has been finished, which was kind of the final stage in the game.  Our ashgrove blend brick and our sandalwood siding have come together quite nicely.

My house could beat up your house.

Funny story though.  When Linzi first saw the siding, she hated it.  I mean HATED it.  She was planning on sneaking off in the middle of the night and spray painting "ALEX LALONDE" all over it so we could replace it.  Then the next day she didn't mind it as much.  Day 3, she thought it was alright, and then yesterday she drove by and thought it was awesome.  Go figure.

As we move to the inside, the big stuff seems to all be in place.  All of the ventilation is finished, and our furnace is installed and ready to go.

Where the magic happens.  Heat magic.  Alright, just heat.

Even more exciting, our drywall is up and taped.  That means it just needs to be sanded, and then it'll be trim, paint and floor and we'll be ready to go.

Full disclosure: this is our laundry room.  You get the idea, though.

Our floor is on back order though, so We're not really sure when it'll come in.  Speed bump, i guess.

Later Days.

Alex and Linzi

Day 43 - 49: It's really happening.

Good morning ladies and gentlemen.  

It's been another long week of French teaching (I honestly don't know how I do it) but there have been a few big changes to the ole hole in the ground that are pretty exciting.

When we last left off, the electricians had finished wiring the house.  The next step was to insulate, so insulate we did.

 Insulation is an interesting process, because the pieces come basically designed to fit between 16" centres.  If the framing is even a little bit off, it can make large headaches for the guys later on.  The black lines you see in the back are actually sealant between pieces of vapour barrier and other openings (like doors and windows) to keep everything attached and well sealed.


After that, of course, is the drywall.

Once all this was put in, it really scales down the size of the house.  It will open up again with lighting and paint, but before this everything seemed really open.  Now, of course, you can actually see the rooms and partitions.  It does mean, however, that now it's just fixtures, flooring and kitchen and this sucker is almost done!


Big news on the outside too.  The bricklayers are finished, meaning that it's really starting to look like a house on the outside as well.

 Everything is coming fast, but it's also pretty exciting.


Later days.


Alex and Linzi

Day 41-42: Plumbing and Electrical Pt 3 and Brick!

This once again may be our last post for the next little while as I go into the school system for yet another French gig.  I may not speak the language, but I'm endearing enough to get by.


There is not much to report in terms of work that I've done, actually.  The last little while has been playing catch-up on Kelly's side of the house.  All of Tuesday was framing her basement in.  While we did that, though, our side was being wired for electrical.

It is really interesting to see how the whole thing is set up.  I know that we'll probably get a basic layout and diagram for breakers, but I took a bunch of pictures just in case.

Oh yeah.  That seems simple and straight forward...

The big big news for today, though, is that the brick people have started.  There was a small delay due to races and rain, but now the brick is going up, and it looks really sharp.  It will probably take somewhere around 3 to 4 days to finish, and then the exterior will be mostly done.

When the scaffolding is gone, it'll look much nicer.  That's what I hear, anyway.

Now all the big decisions have been made.  We have chosen what kind of flooring, which colours of paint, who will cut the grass (hint: it's me) and we'll post a bunch of pictures once everything is installed.  Linzi says that we have to keep our choices under wraps so that we'll get more hits.

Friday is insulation, Tuesday is drywall, and from there we might as well move in, right?


Later days.


Alex and Linzi.