Tarting Up Touchwood: An Ordinary East Vancouver House with an Extraordinary History

Touchwood in the Radio

2011-04-22T10:15:00.000-07:00

Touchwood will be featured in the CBC Radio One show, "To Be Continued...." on Easter Monday at noon in each timezone across Canada and streamed over the internet at cbc.ca, click radio then listen

Touchwood History to be featured on CBC Radio

2011-04-19T11:57:00.000-07:00

Yesterday morning, Jenny and I were interviewed by Alan Neal of CBC Radio Ottawa. The interview will be broadcast sometime over the Easter weekend. We'll post more details once we know

Legacy: The Hollywood Bathroom

2011-04-19T11:52:00.001-07:00

What's the best way to honour Touchwood's connection to the actors?

Create the Hollywood Bathroom, of course!

Vancouver Legacy: Studio 58 Good Vibes

2011-04-19T11:51:00.000-07:00

Their theatrical legacy continues in their old Vancouver neighbourhood, as one of Canada’s leading theatre and film acting and production programs, Studio 58, is based at Langara College, located directly across Ontario Street from Fay and David’s old home.

David Clyde Movies

2011-04-19T11:47:00.000-07:00

Actor (88 titles from the Internet Movie Database www.imdb.com )

1946 Devotion
Land Agent (uncredited)

1946 Two Years Before the Mast
Butler (uncredited)

1945 The Lost Weekend
Dave - Janitor (uncredited)

1945 Love Letters
Postman (uncredited)

1945 Molly and Me
Angus - Gardener (uncredited)

1945 The Unseen
Drunk (uncredited)

1945 Salty O'Rourke
Square MacPherson (uncredited)

1945 The House of Fear
Alex MacGregor

1945 Tonight and Every Night
Police Sergeant (uncredited)

1945 Molly, Bless Her

1944 Enter Arsene Lupin
Bobby (uncredited)

1944 None But the Lonely Heart
Policeman with Stripes (uncredited)

1944 Ministry of Fear
English Bobby (uncredited)

1944 Bonnie Lassie (short)
Mr. MacGregor

1944 Frenchman's Creek
Martin - Coachman (uncredited)

1944 The Scarlet Claw
Police Sergeant Thompson

1944 The Hour Before the Dawn
Farmer (uncredited)

1944 The Uninvited
Ben - Boat Owner (uncredited)

1944 The Lodger
Sergeant Bates

1943 Jane Eyre
Guard on Coach from Lowood (uncredited)

1943 Princess O'Rourke
Gray - Butler (uncredited)

1943 Good Luck, Mr. Yates
Angus (uncredited)

1943 The Constant Nymph
Florist (uncredited)

1943 Two Tickets to London
Capt. Hawkins (uncredited)

1943 Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man
Llanwelly Police Sergeant (uncredited)

1943 The Mysterious Doctor
Tom Andrews (uncredited)

1942 Random Harvest
Lodgekeeper at Random Hall (uncredited)

1942 Nightmare
Jock

1942 Now, Voyager
William (uncredited)

1942 The Gay Sisters
Benson

1942 Eagle Squadron
Fire Warden (uncredited)

1942 Mrs. Miniver
Carruthers (uncredited)

1942 The Great Man's Lady
Bartender (uncredited)

1942 Reap the Wild Wind
Old Director (uncredited)

1942 Son of Fury: The Story of Benjamin Blake
Shellback (uncredited)

1941 H.M. Pulham, Esq.
Hugh, the Butler
1941 Suspicion
Trunk Man (uncredited)

1941 Smilin' Through
Sexton

1941 The Feminine Touch
Brighton, Elliot's Butler

1941 They Met in Bombay
Sergeant on Sidewalk (uncredited)

1941 Blossoms in the Dust
Frederick, Kahly's Butler (uncredited)

1941 One Night in Lisbon
Cab Driver (uncredited)

1941 Rage in Heaven
Worker's Delegate #2 (uncredited)

1940 The Philadelphia Story
Mac (uncredited)

1940 South of Suez
Detective Sergeant in Thornton's Office (uncredited)

1940 A Dispatch from Reuter's
Constable (uncredited)

1940 Waterloo Bridge
Barnes - Cronin's Butler (uncredited)

1940 My Son, My Son!
Drayman

1940 Adventure in Diamonds
Bartender

1940 I Take This Woman
Ship Steward (uncredited)

1940 The Earl of Chicago
Hanger-on (uncredited)

1939 We Are Not Alone
Ticket Collector (uncredited)

1939 Rulers of the Sea
Second Mate Evans

1939 Death of a Champion
Angus McTavish

1939 Captain Fury
Cook (uncredited)

1939 Union Pacific
Irishman (uncredited)

1939 Bulldog Drummond's Secret Police
Constable Jenkins

1939 Arrest Bulldog Drummond
Constable McThane

1938 If I Were King
First Officer (uncredited)

1938 Kidnapped
Blacksmith

1938 Bulldog Drummond's Peril
Constable McThane

1937 Lancer Spy
Orderly (uncredited)

1937 Love Under Fire
McWhirter (uncredited)

1937 Souls at Sea
Butler (uncredited)

1937 Wee Willie Winkie
Card Playing Soldier (uncredited)

1937 Another Dawn
Campbell (uncredited)

1937 Bulldog Drummond Escapes
Gower

1937 Lost Horizon
Embassy Club Steward (uncredited)

1937 You Only Live Once
Fireman (uncredited)

1936 The Plainsman
Miner #2 (uncredited)

1936 Fury and the Woman
McCrae

1936 A Son Comes Home
Scottish Sailor (uncredited)

1936 Mary of Scotland (uncredited)

1936 Suzy
'Knobby'

1936 The Princess Comes Across
Assistant Purser (uncredited)

1936 The Girl from Mandalay
Malone

1936 A Message to Garcia
Tevis (uncredited)

1936 The Lady Consents
Engineer McGregor (uncredited)

1936 Rose-Marie
Doorman (uncredited)

1935 The Perfect Gentleman
Morse (uncredited)

1935 Atlantic Adventure
Fisher (uncredited)

1935 Bonnie Scotland
Highland Quartette Member (uncredited)

1935 Man on the Flying Trapeze
J. Farnsworth Wallaby (uncredited)

1935 Hard Rock Harrigan
McNally

1935 Love Me Forever
Hank (uncredited)

1935 Cardinal Richelieu
Innkeeper

1935 Eight Bells
MacIntyre

1934 Molly and Me

Fay Holden Movies

2011-04-19T11:37:00.000-07:00

Here is a list of Fay's Movies from the internet movie database www.imdb.com:

1958 Andy Hardy Comes Home
Mrs. Emily Hardy

1956 The Ford Television Theatre (TV series)
Bess Palmer
– Mr. Kagle and the Baby Sitter (1956) … Bess Palmer

1950 The Big Hangover
Martha Belney (playing Elizabth Taylor's character's mother)

1949 Samson and Delilah
Hazelelponit

1948 Whispering Smith
Emmy Dansing

1946 Love Laughs at Andy Hardy
Mrs. Hardy

1946 Little Miss Big
Mary Jane Baxter

1946 Canyon Passage
Mrs. Overmire

1944 Andy Hardy's Blonde Trouble
Mrs. Emily Hardy

1942 Andy Hardy's Double Life
Mrs. Emily Hardy

1942 The Courtship of Andy Hardy
Mrs. Emily Hardy

1941 H.M. Pulham, Esq.
Mrs. John Pulham

1941 Life Begins for Andy Hardy
Mrs. Emily Hardy

1941 Blossoms in the Dust
Mrs. Kahly

1941 I'll Wait for You
Mrs. Miller

1941 Ziegfeld Girl
Mrs. Regan

1941 Washington Melodrama
Mrs. Elizabeth Claymore

1941 The Penalty (scenes deleted)

1941 Andy Hardy's Private Secretary
Mrs. Emily Hardy

1940 Bitter Sweet
Mrs. Millick

1940 Andy Hardy Meets Debutante
Mrs. Emily Hardy

1939 Judge Hardy and Son
Mrs. Emily Hardy

1939 Andy Hardy Gets Spring Fever
Mrs. Emily 'Emmy' Hardy

1939 The Hardys Ride High
Mrs. Emily Hardy

1939 Sergeant Madden
Mary Madden

1939 Loews Christmas Greeting (The Hardy Family) (short)
Mrs. Emily Hardy

1938 Sweethearts
Hannah

1938 Out West with the Hardys
Mrs. Emily Hardy

1938 Love Finds Andy Hardy
Mrs. Emily Hardy

1938 Hold That Kiss
Mrs. Emily Evans

1938 Test Pilot
Saleslady (uncredited)

1938 Judge Hardy's Children
Mrs. Emily Hardy

1938 Love Is a Headache
Mary, Peter's Secretary

1937 You're Only Young Once
Mrs. Emily Hardy

1937 Double or Nothing
Martha Sewell Clark

1937 Souls at Sea
Mrs. Martin (uncredited)

1937 Exclusive
Mrs. Swain

1937 King of Gamblers
Nurse

1937 Bulldog Drummond Escapes
Natalie

1937 Internes Can't Take Money
Mother Teresa

1937 Guns of the Pecos
Aunt Carrie Burton (as Gaby Fay)

1936 The Accusing Finger
Little Old Lady (uncredited)

1936 Polo Joe
Aunt Minnie

1936 Wives Never Know
Mrs. Gossamer

1936 The White Angel
Queen Victoria (uncredited)

1936 I Married a Doctor
Ella Stowbody (as Gaby Fay)

1935 The Pace That Kills
Madame/Henchwoman (as Gaby Fay - hard to imagine Fay as a henchwoman)

Hollywood North

2011-04-19T11:35:00.000-07:00

In addition to their theatrical success with the British Guild Players, David and Fay were at the vanguard of Vancouver being known as “Hollywood North” by also working regularly in the film industry and in Hollywood itself from the mid-1930s onwards, appearing in over 120 movies.

David Clyde appeared in the musical Rose-Marie, the first full-length talkie filmed in Vancouver. He was the son of John Clyde, Scotland’s first film star and his brother Andy was a member of Mack Sennett’s acting team and featured in Hopalong Cassidy films popular at the time.

Fay Holden found fame playing Mickey Rooney’s mother in the Andy Hardy films.

Their extensive credits include some of the highest profile Oscar winning movies of their day: “The Philadelphia Story”, “Mrs. Miniver”, “Now Voyager”, “You Can’t Take It With You”, and they appeared with stars such as: W.C. Fields, Jean Harlow, Bette Davis, Katharine Hepburn, Ava Gardner, Greer Garson, Vivien Leigh, Judy Garland, Cary Grant, David Niven and James Stewart.

Touchwood: Insulated with 1930s Theatre Posters

2011-04-19T11:29:00.000-07:00

David and Fay lived in East Vancouver near Main Street, and insulated their home with theatre posters, which were not discovered again for more than 50 years. They ran the theatre company from 1929 to 1938 before permanently moving to Hollywood, as their film careers were becoming more demanding. The Empress Theatre itself was dismantled in 1940.

Touchwood was not only insulated with old theatre posters but also with the posters advertising the candies that would have been sold at the Empress Theatre. These posters advertise products such as Moonlight Mellos, Wildfire, Patterkrisp and the Toronto Nut Bar (many jokes to be made there) that were all made by the Patterson Chocolate Company of Toronto. The Pattersons factory on Queen Street in Toronto still stands but has been converted into apartments called the Chocolate Company lofts

2011-04-19T11:24:00.000-07:00

On the 1929 opening night of their first Vancouver show, telegrams of congratulations were received from key figures of the era, such as Laurel and Hardy, and J.M. Barrie. The productions proved to be big hits, attracting mass audiences at the same time that talking pictures were revolutionizing cinema and Vancouverites were seeking an escape from the post-Wall Street crash and the subsequent Depression.

A 1933 Vancouver Sun article on the Empress notes that, between the stage hands, electricians, designers and actors, the Empress Theatre had a payroll of $1,500 a week, which qualified it as a significant employer in Vancouver. The British Guild Players’ Vancouver productions were usually frothy comedies that had been hits in London and Broadway including:

The Bachelor Father
Parlour Bedroom and Bath
The Plays The Thing
The Adventurous Age
Innocent Ann
Tomorrow And Tomorrow
Easy Come Easy Go
A Cuckoo In The Nest
Are You A Mason
When Knights Were Bold
Peter Pan
Rip Vancouver Winkle
Bunty Pulls The Strings
Almost a Honeymoon
A Damsel In Distress
Nancy’s Private Affair
The Man In Possession
Little Bit Of Fluff
The Sport Of Kings
That’s Gratitude

Fay Holden and David Clyde History

2011-04-19T11:16:00.000-07:00

David Clyde Born: March 27, 1885 in Blairgowrie, Perthshire, Scotland.
Died: May 17, 1945 (age 60) in San Fernando Valley, California, USA

Fay Holden Born: Dorothy Fay Hammerton September 26, 1893 in Birmingham, England
Died: June 23, 1973 (age 79) in Los Angeles, California, USA

They were married in 1914. After a successful career on the stage in Scotland and England in the early 1920s with the Garrick Theatre players, Fay (then known as Gaby Fay) and David acted in Boston and in New York, on Broadway, between 1925 and 1928.

In 1929, in partnership with playwright and actor Norman Cannon, with whom they had acted in Boston, they moved to Vancouver, bought and refurbished the Empress Theatre and launched the British Guild Players. The British Guild Players featured many high profile actors such as Dorothy Somerset, who initiated the UBC Theatre program, Sidney Risk, who created the Everyman Theatre in the 1940s, and such stars of the period as Basil Radford.

British Guild Players

2011-04-19T11:03:00.000-07:00

Vancouver’s leading professional theatre company pre-WWII was the British Guild Players. Their productions were all performed at the Empress Theatre, which stood at the corner of Hastings and Gore Streets, and was the largest stage west of Chicago at the time. The leaders of the company were the husband and wife team of David Clyde and Dorothy Hammerton, who became better known as Fay Holden. They owned our house from April 11, 1930 to March 28, 1938

Touchwood History: Those Hollywood People

2011-04-19T10:57:00.000-07:00

Over the years we have delved into the history of Touchwood, notably its role in the 1930s as the home of the Vancouver's most prominent professional theatre company and the evolution of the city as "Hollywood North".

We thought it worth posting what we have found out to date so there is a public record

the Big Reveal - at last!

2010-03-02T10:27:00.000-08:00

Sorry about that. No really, sorry for the delay. We got a little swept up in the Games. Perhaps you know of them? They come along every four years and this year they were here in our city. We attended seven Olympic Winter Games events: women's hockey, men's hockey (2), curling, long track speed skating and figure skating practice (women's and dance) and a victory ceremony (got to sing our national anthem thanks to gold medal won that day). I was lucky enough to perform in both the Opening and Closing ceremonies so also had quite a few rehearsals to attend. We wandered with the hordes of happy people mingling in downtown Vancouver one day and spent two nights partying in pavilion pubs. Our bodies ache. Our throats are raw. Our ears still ring.

But how better to alleviate post-event depression than in a newly renovated space!

And here it is, room by room:

Mud room/entry way:

Looking into the new office from the mud room:

The office area:

The workroom and bar kitchen:

The fireplace and media wall:

The bathroom:

The laundry and storage area:

New stairway:

Even the mechanical room looks good:

7 months of toil. 4,352 decisions made (more or less). 30% over budget (well over six figures). House remortgaged. Office desks and work table purchases on hold. Several sleepless nights.

Having it all done to our complete satisfaction: Priceless.

And now to work!

hang in there!

2010-02-03T14:55:00.000-08:00

No, we have not forsaken ye.

But - the cabinet maker had to bring some missing selves and shelf supports (half of those still to come). Then, when we removed the floor protection and cleaned the floor checking for damage we found lots of marks that may or may not be damage to the finish, so we have to get the flooring guy in to take a look. And, the baseboards had to be touched up after the flooring protection was removed and all was cleaned, so that's been going on, as have the last touch-ups to walls and lintels.

When it's really done and worthy of your viewing, it will be so!

So go out for a walk, make yourself a cup of tea or write a novella. It really won't be long now, I promise!

teaser

2010-01-26T10:27:00.000-08:00

Well, the sun is shining, the birds are chirping, the flowers are thrusting ever upwards (no kidding - we have snowdrops, crocuses, viburnum and hellebores out there blooming right now!) and the floor covering is coming off. The boys of winter are here for their (hopefully) last day of bits and pieces: affixing a towel bar here, repairing damaged plaster around an electric outlet there, caulking ouside, sanding inside.

We will have to clean and inspect the floors for damage, then touch up the baseboard paintwork. The electrician has one more task and the cabinet maker still has shelving to deliver, which in turn needs to be painted, but in essence we are staring this beast down to its knees.

Before the big reveal, here are a few images in preparation.

a hat trick of inspectors

2010-01-21T09:10:00.000-08:00

I am intrigued by the role of city inspectors. I am sure there is a lot of training and know there are specific rules that must be followed, but there also seems to be a honking big gap between what must be done and what an individual inspector will allow or not.

For example, the plumbing inspector for our area came out when we realized we have to do the drain tile. He looked at our existing sump, a small cuve of which sneaked under the fence onto the neighbour's property. The location of the sump was non-conforming, but had been there probably for 80 years, certainly before the next door property was partitioned from this one and the house built on it, so the inspector said it was grandfathered and okay to leave in place.

The drantile was finished and the final inspection booked. That first inspector was on holiday so another one came out and said he wouldn't pass it until we dug in a new sump in a different location. Of course work had been done in good faith based on the first inspection and so it was frustrating that a second guy could just change everything because he wanted to, causing more work and more cost to a project that was otherwise done. Obviously not used to anyone asking a question about the seemingly arbitrary nature of inspections and on what decisions like this were based the guy shrugged and indicated it was up to each inspector and what they say goes regardless of what another says. When asked if there had been something missed before, or something missed now (he hadn't actually looked at the previous inspection notice, he said testily "We're human, or don't you get that?"

!!!?!!!

Attitude is obviously a part of some inspectors' creed!

It boggled us and the contractor who was there. If either of us had made such an about face, affecting a client's position, there'd be some protocol, some form of accountability to justify it. City inspectors rule their small roost, and some of them have a common sense approach (being safe and to code is the important thing, and no house is the same as another) and others have a lord of the kingdom approached (you must follow whichever set of rules I decide are to be followed regardless of how reasonable or not it may seem to you o lowly houseowner).

Take the electrical inspector. His final inspection picked two things that weren't really that big a deal, but had elements of safety. The smoke detector was to be changed to a CO2 detector and one of the outlets in the bar area needed to be a GFI even though it's not that close to water. A little persnickety but totally justifiable. Work was done, he came back to check only those two things, and the inspection passed.

Yesterday was the final inspection. We've done everything asked of us, and it's all to code, but this is still a basement in an old house and an inspector with a chip on his or her shoulder could have probably found something. Many make the assumption that a suite is being put in, and the fact that we have a bathroom and a bar kitchen might make some inspectors leap to that concluson. The fact that a suite is not being put in, and will not be as long as we own the house and continue to run our office downstairs, may not mean anything to an inspector with attitude. The inspector arrived, walked around a bit, checked the mechanical room, the shower, and the height of the office space, then took her copy of the insulation forms and signed off. That's it. Job done.

After 6 months of slogging work it felt a little anti-climatic to have 5 minutes and a dashed off signature. But it also felt so good!

as fun as....

2010-01-12T09:56:00.001-08:00

There hasn't been a blog entry for awhile I know. It's not that nothing's being done downstairs - oh no, on the contrary, it's been full on. We've spent hours and hours, day and evening, weekday and weekend, working throughout the whole space.

The reason for not adding an entry on what exactly we've been doing is - well - put it this way. What would you say this is?
It is paint.

And what do you think it is doing?

It is drying.

And how exciting is that to write about let alone read about?

Not very.

'Nuff said.

Back to it!

giddy-up

2010-01-07T10:15:00.000-08:00

A pony wall is a low wall used to segregate different areas in a room. They are great for large rooms that need some definition, like living rooms or dining rooms that extend into the kitchen. They are also great for hiding the end seam of a laminate countertop and the side of an appliance at the other end of a corridorr, which is what we need it for.

Eric drew us a great design idea, Marek/Tim took the ball and ran with it and made a lovely fir pony wall, with a moderately elaborate cap and a shaker profile that will coordinate with the cabinet doors. It makes looking down the hall at a piece of wall a joy to behold. Giddy-up little pony!

storage cabinets

2010-01-06T14:11:00.000-08:00

We ordered plain melamine shelving for our large, walk-in storage cabinets, but somehow the memo did not get down to the guy to actually made them over the Christmas break. This morning in walked several, fully formed, beautifully made and goegous birch wooden shelving boxes. Whoops! Not our error for once thankfully, and these are so very much nicer! Can't wait to put our tubs of camping gear and old tax forms and holiday ornaments on and under them!

Left hand cabinets:

at framing stage

at gyproc stage

at cabinetry stage

Right hand cabinets:

at framing stage

at gyproc stage

at cabinetry stage

possession is nine-tenths

2010-01-05T12:04:00.000-08:00

Our applainces were delivered today!

We have an upright Frigidaire freezer, a small Danby bar fridge, and a Pansonic microwave oven,

and a beautiful Samsung washer and steam dryer in graphite grey.

However, having laundry machines is not the same as being able to do the laundry.

You're going to have to wear those shorts and socks another couple of days dear!

Back stairs and porch

2010-01-04T10:27:00.000-08:00

It's been a long time since we've been able to exit the back door and have a way to get down besides jumping.

Here's a taste of before during and after the back porch and stairs were returned to use:

Porch - stucco wall, cedar plank flooring

Stairs: Wider stairs, proper handrail and posts

Countertops

2009-12-31T09:06:00.001-08:00

The countertops are in! We actualy have three different materials, but this was not a complete loss of strategic function.

Laminate is the least expensive option, so it was an obvious choice for our basement project. Besides, it's easy to care for. But so many laminate designs look cheap and we are not doing a retro thing so don't really want space-age amoeba designs or flecks of gold. We also don't think much of laminate trying to look like stone because it really never does. And the flat colours look, well, flat. We thought we might tire of something that was bright or trendy, or that it would look dated soon.

One design caught our eye, though. In general we are trying to keep to natural materials (wood, glass, metal) throughout the space, so finding a laminate that looked like grass was interesting. It has just enough pattern to avoid looking flat, and a colour ways that works quite well with fir cabinets and sage green walls. As the laundry and bar kitchen areas can be seen from each other, this choice ties them together without being 'in your face' about it as the pattern can only really be seen when up close, and from a distance it looks quite different. It's a bit of a gamble, having chosen it from one small sample piece, but now that it's in place, we are happy to not be dismayed by it and are looking forward to seeing it with everything else in place.

We weren't as keen to use laminate for the bathroom vanities. On our research roadtrips we were quite excited to find a stoneworks company that charged only the labour for working small pieces that are offcuts from other jobs, with the material itself in essence being 'free'. Our two vanities required a realtively small amount of countertop, which makes real stone not much more than laminate in cost and ever so much nicer.

The basement bathroom countertop is granite, and quite an eyecatcher. There are sparkly bits that we hope will work well on our prospective silver wall idea. And there was enough material to do a back and side splash for only an extra $50.

Our main floor bathroom, the "Hollywood Bathroom" deserves something suitably glamorous so marble was the obvious choice. We like the idea of black and white to complement the flooring and provide more drama than those marbles that include browns and others colours. The piece we found to work with our oddly shapped, skinny vanity was cut with care to highlight the pattern, with the sink to go into the part that was mostly white.

mid-distance flushing

2009-12-30T11:18:00.001-08:00

The toilet has been installed in the new lower level bathroom. It's a basic but good quality unit - a Toto Eco-drake - nothing fancy but one that's relatively good on water usage and also on the budget, and Toto is still regarded as a leader in loos.

All very good, except for the fact that you could drive a truck between the back of the tank and the wall. Well, I exaggerate. Maybe a Hotwheels truck, or another such item that is 3 1/2" wide, which is not too wide for a truck but a bit too wide for the optimum gap between tank and wall.

Our first question was, did the wrong toilet get delivered? Once the answer to that came back (no), the next question is what do we do about it. Obviously an error was made either in the roughing in or in the placement the wall. The toilet itself was chosen (with plumber's approval) before the demo started so it's not the toilet's fault (poor toilet - all it does is offer daily relief to the masses and it gets dumped on; there, there, it's not your fault).

What to do? Change Mohammed or the mountain? Can we get another toilet that will bridge the gap better? Will a 14" do (ours is a more standard 12")? What about an all-in-one, which we had coveted at the outset but the budget said no? Or do we change the wall itself somehow? It's not possible to extend the granite countertop over the tank as a shelf because there was not enough material in the chosen slab. A single floating shelf of stone or wood might look like it's hiding an error so perhaps we a few would make more of a statement. Or we could do something to the wall itself, like build it out as a pilaster (thanks to Eric for expanding our vocabulary and architectural references).No, he didn't mean this kind of pilaster! My word, that's a bit grand isn't it? He means this kind of pilaster:

It could be a single column, or include niches, for pictures or photographs. Perhaps both, a pilaster with shelves inserted in the niches. We have some of the old fir beam left over from building the mantle which would tie in materials already used in the rest of the space. All we know is whatever solution is found it will not be on our dime.

Looks like a summit meeting on the first working day of the new year is needed. Eric has flown here at great expense (ok, he was already doing that) and will offer his design expertise to coincide with the contractors' and plumbers' individual expertises, and our refereeing and final word. Watch this space!

pre-holiday meal

2009-12-22T16:27:00.000-08:00

It took us a while to learn this lesson, but now we know how to get a critical mass of workers at the house making our project the priority - serve them lunch! We prepared a big lunch of ham, cabbage rolls, vegetables and salad, and Christmas baking as a way to say thanks for all the hard work for anyone who happened to be working on the Tuesday before Christmas. Well, the place was awash with workers - all banging and sawing and working away! We had the cabinet makers and the countertop installers as well as the regular team and our head contractor. The electrician even showed up, even though electrical work was not on the agenda! One fellow came over in his lunch break from another project. In all, we had about 15 people eating in shifts.

One thing we had anticipated was putting lunch out a little later than the guys are usually used to eating - that way we got maximum work done before the food kicked in!

chim, chim, cheroo

2009-12-16T08:31:00.000-08:00

Despite the illusions of grandeur this project seems to be taking on (!!!??!!), we really wanted to keep as much of the original character of the lower level of our house as possible. Moving the heating and hot water systems to an outside wall meant our old chimney was exposed and in a prime part of the house to highlight. Of course it's still in use, as we have a wood burning fireplace up stairs, but downstairs we declined the offer to cover it up, or even to paint it. The pinky, reddy, grey-y bricks are attractive, and go well with the sage green walls and white trim and dark oak floor.

But it wasn't pristine. For one thing the mortar in various parts had turned to sand and was escaping (much like our bank balance of late!), and the hole that had presumably allowed the original oil furnace to be attached to the flue had once upon a time been patched with bricks of a different hue. There was also cement patching that covered the top part, and there was another hole on the side where our previous furnace had been attached.

That hole isn't a problem , as it will be covered with a cabinet (yet to be installed) but the rest of it was not as attractive or as safe as it needed to be.

George to the rescue! Once bricks that vaguely matched the colour had been sourced (no small feat and on that took a long time and many rejected possibles) George slowly and carefully cleaned and repatched and remortared it until it now looks as good as an 80 year old workaday chimney can look.

old to new

2009-12-13T11:30:00.001-08:00

See that beam running along up there? The one on the right of the post? It's a long, substantial bit of fir that's been supporting the north half of this house for over 80 years. Because the city dictated it was too low to be allowed when we started the renovation, we replaced it with an I beam raisied up to the same level as the joists, which added several inches of height to our new space.

But what to do with the removed beam?

It's a lovely piece of old wood for one thing, and connected to the house historically and (for us) sentimentally.

So when we decided to have a fireplace with a mantle, it was easy to choose the material for the mantle.

Cut into the right length, and finished appropriately, our beloved beam is now back in its rightful place as a visible element of the house, although this time its allowed to be decorative instead of purely functional.

We should all be so lucky in our old age.

when is a drain not a drain?

2009-12-11T07:04:00.000-08:00

When it's a layered salad.

In the olden days of yore, you dug a deep trench around your house, or maybe only along two sides, and placed a series of thick ceramic pipes along it. Then you covered it with soil, and maybe, if you were really keen, connected the eavestrough to a downspout and then to the pipes. That was it. Bob's your uncle.

Over time, these ceramic pipes fill wtih soil, whcih means they either have to be dug up and emptied and relaid, or dug up, removed and replaced. Why use something again that worked for 80 years? Since modern materials have made life easier, we have also made it more complex. Now when you want to do a drain properly, here's the recipe.

First you dig a trench at least 2 feet deep around all four side of your house. (That's a lot of digging.)

Then you pressure wash the house foundation and fix any cement aberrations that need repairing before smearing the whole thing with a thick. goopy, smelly black substance that smells like creosote (perhaps it is creosote, I don't know, I only watch this thing unfold). This black stuff must dry and in the winter this can take a few days.

Then you line your trench with a few inches of gravel before lying lengths of perforated plastic pipe. This is pipe with holes along it so that all ground water can enter the pipe and move along it, through it and down it, or up and over it.

Top with more gravel, and then a layer of landscape cloth, then more gravel. See waht I mean? Doesn't this remind you of those ghastly layered salads you used to find a church socials and high school fundraising dinners?

Now you are ready for the dimple wall, a thick plastic sheet with, yes, dimples, that is fixed into place. Another pipe is laid on top of this, but this one is holeless. These pipes, by the way, connect to the downspouts so that all water entering them is moved along and then away from your house entirely - shown off your property like some angry father with a lovestruck youth singing badly under his daughter's window, except the kid gets the window wrong and instead gets caught singing love songs to the girl's grandmother who took two hours to get to sleep in the first place and is now hopping mad at being woken up which infuriates her son, the father of the intended recipient of the warbled arias.

But I digress.

More gravel is placed over this second pipe, making the top now level with the surface and good to go on its own or ready for paving stones, cement pads, or whatever.

We decided that wasn't quite enough of a production (now that we know we don't in fact need a new sump and feeling the need for something to fill the void) so agreed to include a 1 foot wide line of gravel along the north side of the house, separating the house from the garden, with a line of pressure treated wood separating the gravel from the soil.

A Man's Home

2009-12-03T10:02:00.001-08:00

is His Castle, so they say.

(and that goes for A Woman too)

Well, we're not able to stretch to turrets or dungeons, but we do have a moat

No easy means of entry

except via a drawbridge. And we even have hay for the horses. That last delivery had us stymied. Hay? What on earth is that for?

Yesterday we had a wall of black, stinky tar-like substance put on the exposed and powerwashed foundation to act as waterproofing before the tile and rock go into place. It has to dry, and at this time of year, even on gloriously sunny days like today (hurrah!), that takes more than a day. With the high water table we have a bit of an oil slick that needs soaking up. Thus the hay.

November was the cruellest month

2009-12-01T13:18:00.000-08:00

Sorry TS Eliot - maybe April is the right answer most years, but this year it's November hands down. And to press its suit, the last day of November dealt another cruel blow.

It all started last week.....

See that round cement thing by the fance, the cylinder that sits about 90% on our property?

When asked where our sump was, that's what we pointed to. However, we were told by our contractors that after they checked it out, no it is not our sump. It is our neighbour's sump.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"But how come it's mostly on our property?"

"Don't know. Maybe the property line wasn't known when it was put in."

"The next door house was built in 1994 and the fence was put in immediately afterwards - wouldn't it have been sorted out then?"

"Don't know. All we know is it's not your sumnp."

"We always thought it was our sump. You're absolutely sure?"

"Yes, sorry, but it looks like we will have to add putting in a new sump to the drain job. "

"And what does that mean besides more $?"

"We will have to take apart your fence, move all plants that are in the way and dig a 7 foot deep trench between the house and the city line to join it all up."

Sigh....

Stage directions - days of rain follow. Homeowner brings out cookies she made one day after feeling sorry for men digging in mud. Plants moved, not without some damage. Garden a mess.

Flash forward to November 30, in the afternoon, rain has subsided.

Homeowner hears a knock.

"Yes?"

"Umm, you know that sump?"

"You mean the one that's not ours or the new one that's sitting on the boulevard along with a pile of soil waiting to go in once you've finished exacvating?"

"The first one."

"Yes? What about it?"

"Well, it turns out it is your sump after all."

(Dramatic pause)

"You mean that our garden is destroyed, plants were moved and damaged, men sweated and froze working in mud for days, and it was all for nothing?"

(Exit contractor, pursued by a bear.)

That last line is only wishful thinking. Unfortunately.

comme la terre en guerre

2009-11-27T14:06:00.000-08:00

If anyone out there is interested in putting together a re-enactment of one of the many battles that formed defining moments of World War I or II, they are welcome to come on over. Our garden is the perfect landscape for a Sunday afternoon revival of, for example, Vimy Ridge. Trenches and mud are included in the deal and I'm sure we could whistle up some mouldy old biscuits for authentic refreshments. For a small extra fee, the fans currently at work in the interior of the house, trying desperately to keep the damp from invading too deep into the central space, could be diverted outside to provide a windswept ambience, perhaps even gusty. Rain is forecast for the weekend, allowing keeners a rare opportunity to tell their granchildren, they were pretend "there".

This opportunity will not last, as the trenches will be filled in within a week or two with pipes, gravel and soil, and the water will be diverted through the aforementioned pipes into a new sump. There is even a rumour that the rain might let up and the sun might return for a day or two This, however, is treated by jaded locals as a cruel hoax and not to be taken with much seriousness.

Interested parties are to reply to this post. Fees vary from the 'helping us out with the ultimate cost of this drainage disaster' to the 'saving our bacon' options.

yeah right, eh?

2009-11-20T11:39:00.000-08:00

We thought putting hockey pucks under the claw feet of our heavy bathrub was a great way to protect the new tile floor, and celebrate our Canadian heritage. We were all ready to have our first bath with a cold one to celebrate the return to bathing as a winter sport However, the plumber - that hoser - didn't agree. He said raising the tub means he can't get the drain to work. What kind of a plumber is he anyway? Hasn't he heard of duct tape?

Seriously, something has to go there that's easy on the eye and the floor and the cleaning. Solutions anyone?

anyone want a kidney?

2009-11-19T16:36:00.001-08:00

Just kidding, sort of. We got the quote for doing the drain tile and I think I could put myself through Harvard or Oxbridge for a year for the same cost. Held our noses and gave the green light. Permit goes to the city tomorrow and the digging starts Monday.

Good thing we like lentils. We're going to be eating a lot of them soon!

trying to find a silver lining

2009-11-18T10:13:00.000-08:00

Well, I guess it was something that was going to happen sometime and maybe, in the distant future when we are sipping mint juleps on the porch in our swing chair, we will reflect back and say this was the best time for it to happen. But right now it's pretty crushing to find, only 1 week after it was laid, that our lovely and expensive oak floor is damaged and will have to be replaced. Painted gyprocs walls will also have to be replaced and maybe some insulation too.

But the biggest disappointment of all is the fact that the cause of this damage is our old drain tiles, which have never given a speck of trouble since they were laid nice and deep over 80 years ago. Inspection found that the old clay tiles are full of soil and silt so that water can no longer flow through them. With the exceptionally heavy rains we've had the water table has risen and now flows into our basement through the cement foundation.

The entire drain tile system will have to replaced, now, in the middle of November, the very worst time to do this work, and with more rain forecast. It will add a high ticket item to our already bulging budget, force freshly completed work to be redone and delay the whole reno. project until well into December.

The only good part of the story is that we have a contractor on hand to help us take it on, and he is over his recent bout of H1N1.

Not much, but we are desperately trying to be as positive as possible.

water water every where....

2009-11-17T13:08:00.000-08:00

.....nor any drop to drink.

Sorry. but Samuel C. is still on my mind as we survey the results of Vancouver's recent 'Pineapple Express". After suffering through days of heavy rains and winds, we have found that our luck of always enjoying a dry basement no matter what the weather has ended.

The new storage space under the front porch is waterlogged, and - worse - the north-west corner of our new workspace is damp.

There is damage to our new oak floors

and the gyproc for about 6-8 feet in both directions is soft.

What this means is digging to investigate the drain tile situtaion. We had all thought our preliminary investigation in the summer was conclusive, that the original clay tile had been replaced with PVC at some point and all was well. However, now we need to know if the entire length is PVC or just the downpipes, how deep it goes, where the water table is and what is causing the water to flow inside instead of down and out. It may mean having to replace the drain tile around the entire house, an unexpected expense and horrible timing, as it's mid-November with winter on the way.

The only good news part of this is it is caught before the job was completed when we'd be on our own. As the saying goes, it never rains but it pours. Oh, I shouldn't have said that!

Doldrums

2009-11-10T09:53:00.000-08:00

We feel like house bound Ancient Mariners:

Day after day, day after day,

We stuck, nor breath nor motion;

As idle as a painted ship

Upon a painted Ocean.

Every project has them, those days when, well into the job, there's little going on. There have been few days when there was nothing going on, but the days of men climbing over each other is a memory of summer. The tiler spent a few quiet days doing his thing, and now the wood flooring guys are spending the week doing their thing. There's been a bit of work on the outside window casings and the tool storage area under the front porch, and the posts at the foot of the stairs are in place. We have completed the first coat of paint on the walls, ceilings and what inside trim there is. The cabinetry design as been worked out and confirmed as has the countertop choice and design. The interior doors have finally (finally) been ordered. The shower doors have been chosen, measured for and ordered, and the appliance order has been confirmed. We bought the hardware.

None of these have merited photos (other than progress photos - but a photo of wet paint is a bit dull) and nothing has been competed so we can't quite built a blog entry. Our bathtub is still sitting in our dining room, and every cold, wet evening run is just a little less anticipated not having a hot bath to look forward to afterwards. Our new windows are doing their job, but now we start to notice their casings more, which have not been cleaned up and so our paint brushes sit idle. We still must walk around the house to go downstairs as the outside back stairs remain unbuilt and the inside stairs remain unfinished. November rains pace the days (Water, water, every where, Let's hope the boards don't shrink, Water, water every where, there's lots of time to drink...(apologies to Sam Coleridge on that last bit) ) and we wonder if the job will ever finish.

We know it will, but still......

step right up...

2009-10-27T16:54:00.001-07:00

....and guess the grout!

Yessiree. One of these floors has been grouted and the other has not. Hurry, hurry, hurry! Guess correctly and you win a Kewpie doll, or an ookpik perhaps, this being the Great White North and all.

Can't decide? Well that was a waste of a well planned decision, then wasn't it? We poured over a carrying case full of more grout samples than I've had hot grog. We tried first this one, and then that one to see which would be the best choice for the Hollywood bathroom floor.After a fair bit if deliberation we went with "pewter". Dark enough to hide the dirt, but light enough to hide the dirt. Our needs are simple.

I can clearly now the rain has gone!

2009-10-26T12:08:00.001-07:00

Well, it's October in Vancouver - what the heck are we supposed to sing to make ourselves feel better about Autumn weather? As it happens we can see clearly now but it's not just because the rain has gone, today anyways. The sun is currently streaming through the new windows that have been installed throughout the entire house.
Old

New

Old
New

Replacing the old, double glazed but aluminum windows that let out as much heat as possible was one of those 'should we or shouldn't we?' decisions that had to be made before the renovation project began. The expense was the big issue and we wrestled with the option of having vinyl windows to keep costs (and future maintenance) down. Vinyl has come a long way and there are some attractive options, but we knew exactly what style we wanted and that was sadly just about the only style not possible with vinyl. We could have done a hybrid (part wood part vinyl) or chosen vinyl for those that would open as casement windows (upstairs for saftey in case of fire) or those that wouldn't open at all (in the closet) but in the end we sucked it up and ordered wood for all of them. Critical mass helped a bit with getting a decent price (we're talking 15 extra windows here) but the main influencing factor was knowing we'd regret not going with what we knew and loved. Sorry vinyl, your attractions are many, but wood is king!

The real gem was replacing the paino window in the living room. We imagine that it would have quite possibly been originally of stained glass, but we've only ever known it as aluminum. Once we were given guide measurements we hunted around at antique stores until we found an old stained glass window that would work (we found three actually and had a difficult decision choosing which one). It needed repair and cleaning before a frame could be built for it, and we lucked out at finding a woman who totally 'got' us and who we totally 'got', and who did a great job. It was then taken to our window guy who built the frame. One of the pieces of red glass had been repaired years ago with an inferior piece, but this was impossible to fix at this point and we decided it added to the charm. It also made the choice of orientation clear, as one way the red pieces point up and look like arrows and the other way they point down and look like hearts. We are arrow pointing up kind of people. Now when the sun hits it just so, we get red and green and gold dancing on the wall opposite.

With the windows now in, the house is warmer and quieter, not that noise was ever a big issue at Touchwood (at least from without!). Some work still needs to be done on the old casings and the previous metal venetian blind hardware needs to be removed and we have to figure out what kind of coverings we will get, but we don't even see those things.

Old New

We find ourselves just gazing at them with a sort of hypnotic euphoria.

decisions decisions

2009-10-18T14:04:00.000-07:00

One of the more enjoyable decisions to make is what colour to paint the walls. However, to do that one must decide upon cabinetry colours/styles, flooring choices, countertops, trim, doors, etc. etc. first. Or vice versa.

We've gathered several potential options, painted boards and moved them round each space to see how the light affects the colours, during both the daytime and the evening, under natural and artifical lighting, considering furniture and artwork that might impact on them and squinting to imagine expanses of floor and wall from little bitty pieces. Here's a selection of options we like. Any thoughts?

The finishing has begun

2009-10-16T11:10:00.000-07:00

It's exciting when the first piece of something that will actually be seen after the renovation is finished is added. It's not much but it's big. The basement bathroom has received its floor and wall tiling.

We were given an evening's advance warning to prime the walls and ceiling, so it was a scramble to get the paint and materials and do the job. An added benefit is that the priming, with the tiling, provides a hint of what the room will look like.

We chose a silver metallic strip edge over the choice of white and black, as the use of silver is something we think we might use for an accent later, when we get to that part. Besides, all the plumbing fixtures, door and cabinetry hardware will be of that hue, as well as the appliances - at least those that have any colour at all.

We scored with the tile cost, finding it at Home Depot for about $6 per tile, each of which measure 1 foot by 2 feet. Laying them in a brick-style formation works well in the shower, especially when trying to determine where the niche (for holding shampoo, soap, etc.) should be placed, as the layout afforded more options. This pattern will look even better in the larger laundry, storage and entry sections, which will house the same tile.

something to be thankful for

2009-10-14T11:45:00.000-07:00

We always like it when we can keep from turning the heat on for the first time in the Autumn until after Thanksgiving and this year there has been no problem with that, for which we are thankful particularly given the renovation project and all the tramping in and out. The whole week and weekend were beautiful, warm and sunny during the days, with cold, crisp nights full of bright moon.

And when the colours start to turn and a hot bath in the evening is welcome, cooking a big turkey dinner is just part of it. And for Martin, ensuring he gets several during this paticular weekend is less a challenge and more a goal. He decided to get a head start and cook one Friday, to be shared with whoever was here and working on the basement. The word got out, and some of the regulars turned up in their lunch hour from anotehr job that wasn't too far away. For one helper it was bizarre as it was his furst day on the job and he was wondering how common this was. Not, he was told emphatically!

We were eight, sitting outside under the pergola, also something to be thankful for as there was no way we could have fit inside. After the last of the pumpkin pie was gone and all the dishes were carried around the house to the front and then into the kitchen (I really miss our back stairs!) and the guys had gone back to work, there was a knock on the door and in came a huge floral display, a gift from the contractor.

Happy Thanksgiving indeed!

stucco

2009-10-06T10:43:00.000-07:00

While we were away in New York last week, the stucco was done and the house looks so much happier in its protective coat. Most of this work was done on the back porch, stairs and new french doors area: (before)

(after)

(before)

(after)

(before)

(after)

but there were also patches between the new windows: (before) (after)

There are still a few gaps around the east windows which were moved above their old locations, but these will be covered with the framing that has yet to be done.

There is a slight difference in depth between the new stucco and the old surface, which is noticable only between the west windows as that is the only bit at eye level, but this should be pretty invisible when it all gets painted.

There will be a slight patchwork quality to this aspect of the house for awhile as we can't afford to do the painting this year (the whole house is due to be repainted anyway - let's hope for a good work year next year!)

space defined

2009-10-05T08:21:00.000-07:00

Framing out a space requires a bit of imagination to 'see' where walls will be when one can still see right through into the next room.

After a week in the big apple on a family trip, we returned to find the gyproc walls now in place, and suddenly the space becomes real, the whole project seems real. Our footsteps do not echo as they have done when we walked on the cement floor, now that the insulation and gyproc absorb the sound. All we hear during the day is the scrape and smear of the mudding guy as he slowly walks through and applies his white substance to the joins, making the surface smooth enough to paint.

A message to the future

2009-10-03T13:39:00.000-07:00

When we started taking down walls and ripping up floors we found all sorts of thing left behind (besides the dead rats and mice that is). An old razor blade, a live rifle shell, a tin key box, a test tube full of mercury, a metal playing card case, a postcard postmarked August 6, 1927 that read "Dear Gertie, Arrived at Seattle. Gosh it's a bum place. Why didn't you come down to the station to see me off? Fannie"

Gee, if Fannie had been a little nicer maybe Gertie would have made the effort!

We also found an old Roger's Golden Syrup tin full of brown paper wrapped prophylactics labeled descreetly "Durex - British throughout" as well as two pristine tins of wrapped Sphinx brand condoms from Toronto. We do wonder what was going on in our house in the late '20s and early '30s!

No doubt the best find was several hand painted theatre posters promoting plays produced by the team of actors who lived in our house from 1930-1938, 'The British Guild Players'. We've had the best of these framed, along with other found posters advertising sweets that presumably were displayed at Vancouver's Empress Theatre (demolished in 1940) for intermissions.

We have also sourced and framed photos of five of the actors we know lived or stayed in the house and have placed them in a Hollywood-themed bathroom, also being renovated as part of this project.

So when we knew the gyproc walls were going up in the basement we decided to add our own message to the future. We wrote a note and put it in an envelope along with a pin commemorating the upcoming 2010 winter Olympic Games and a modern condom (just to continue the karma). We also added our business cards in case we are still alive and using the same email address (!) when the next person decides to redo what we are doing.

daddy dearest

2009-10-02T16:23:00.001-07:00

A lot of firms say they are a "father and son" operation, but this one really is. If there was any question as to the veracity of their advertised "two generations of excellence", it was answered with the to-do notes son Brian left for father Ben dotted around the place.

we've been framed!

2009-09-23T10:37:00.000-07:00

The framing is done! What a big job those guys have, right down to leveling out the joists so that the ceiling can go on flat.

Framers are rock 'n rollers- raucous jokes and guffaws - wielding tools like guns - and proud of preparing a perfectly framed out cupboard or wall edge.

we're covered

2009-09-22T14:23:00.001-07:00

When we realized how big renovating the basement would be, it was because we finally grasped that the basement is the engine of the house and everything except a roof would be impacted.

We were wrong.

There was even a roof involved!

Putting in French doors slightly below the ground level facing south meant that inclement winter weather had to guarded against. A drain was placed in the centre of the cement pad, and a little roof was built over the space.

Not so little, actually.

With EJ's advice and diagrams, we had the struts mimic those supporting the main house, and the roof shape mimic the 'shelf' that overhangs both the front and back stairs. The framers had a run of exceptional weather and were so quick the thing was built and covered before I could get a photo of the framing, but I was given time to do the priming myself before they returned and put the roof on.

Once the roof was in place we were better able to determine where to put the exterior lighting. We want to replace our handmade iron trellises and so wanted to find a spot that would worked with a rambling rose (Royal Sunset if you must know) on either side. We developed a Plan A and a Plan B, as we realized that fishing wires up the south-west corner might be impossible due to the fact that it was well up the wall shared with our kitchen nook. The other side wasn't a problem of course as the wires would run up into the new porch wall which was still exposed. Plan B was to have the lights placed lower than the kitchen and so easy to wire, although less ideal due to the fact that the lights would be blocked on one side by the supports and would also have to share space with the rose. And everyone who grows roses knows that roses don't like to share anything with anybody!

We love George. George is old-school. While everyone else kept telling us Plan A would never work and there was not enough wire even if it could work, George quietly worked on the project while we out doing chores and avoiding the house during its spray insulation festival of fumes. And when we got home, there they were, wires coming out of Plan A. Thank you, George, you deserve a little piece of heaven all your own.

Now bring on the doors and bring on the stucco!

makes you feel warm all over

2009-09-21T16:37:00.000-07:00

I want to know if anyone else has experienced this.

Every once in a while, by about 10:30am the smell of freshly made bread is overpowering. Half an hour later Robert the electrician, who brings his bread machine over on days when there are lots of things going on and he's here all day, slices up a loaf of fresh bread for everyone to enjoy with butter and strawberry jam in their break. He brings us a couple of slices too, which we eat at our desks while the bread is still warm and yeasty.

One sunny day, foreman Jonathan brought his litle Webber barbeque, as well as hamburgers and hot dogs, buns and condiments. We were asked if it was ok the day before so we made potato salad and nanaimo bars to add to the melon also on offer. At about 12:30 the group of electricians and framers and plumbers and general workers and we all sat down to eat lunch and talk hockey.

A couple of times when things are quiet downstairs with work sans sawing or hammering, Eric starts singing a cappella. Out of the blue we hear Amazing Grace wafting up through the floorboards, a few other tunes we don't know and even a gentle O Canada.

Amid the chaos, human connections are made.

a night out

2009-09-20T16:14:00.001-07:00

On Wednesday we found out we would have to vacate the premises the next morning for 24 hours while the spray insulation was being sprayed and cured, due to the fumes it emits. A mild panic ensued given the fact that we operate our business from home and it would mean preparing to move the business as well as ourselves, let alone wondering where we would sleep.

It was partly our own fault. On Monday we had been given the insulation proposal and there on page 2 or 3 it outlines the needs and ramifications of the entire process, including the fact that occupants must be away from the site. We didn't have time to read it until Wednesday, but to be fair it would have been nice to be given a bit of a heads up.

We hastily packed up our things the night before, phoned my parents to see if we might stay at their place and saw the benefit being we could also do a load of laundry there at the same time.

The next morning we found out that the inspector hadn't yet completed his work (we're not sure if this was the electrical inspector who had already come by previously and was due to make a return visit to check out the changes requested or if it was the city inspector - we are getting confused with the surfeit of inspections being done aroudn here these days) so we had a day respite. Just as well. We were able to set things up that much better from a work and personal life perspective.

Friday dawned. We were packed and ready to go off at 8:30 or so when everyone had arrived. We did some work, made some calls, blah, blah the usual, while waiting and waiting.
We had set ourselves a list of chores to do in the outside world (collect the refurbished stained glass window for the living room, renew our home insurance, order the flooring tile, check out some IKEA things, groceries, paint, lightbulbs, etc.) and it got to the point where we either had to leave to get them done, or it was too late for the insulating proces to happen that day anyway. If it didn't then it would have to wait until next Thursday, as we had people coming over the other days and couldn't move them at this stage. It was no big deal to us, but tough on the contractor who has lined things up like a magician with plates spinning on sticks - a few days delay meant everything crashed a bit.

We left, doing most of our chores and then swinging by the hosue to see the truck parked on teh street, so we just kept going.

Dinner at Watermark on Kits beach while watching the sun go down, two loads of laundry, reading the most recent New Yorker, good nights sleep despite torrential rain (thanks Mom and Dad), up to join our running group, coffee with running group, then home to check out the results.

It was like a Disneyland version of the north pole, all foamy green dollops along the uppper ceiling permieter, within the mechanical room, bathroom and entry, laundry room and under the new back porch (which has slightly shallower joists and so required a different kind of foam. My favourite was looking up the space under our kitchen cabinet above - like some kind of institutional coloured matterhorn.

porch development

2009-09-16T10:18:00.001-07:00

Don't do it!

Seriously folks, our back porch floor, which is now a roof because the space underneath has become part of the office, requires rebuilding bigger and better than it was. Being a roof is a very responsible job, almost as responsible as being a floor.

A microlam beam was put in below along with new joists, noticably differenrtiating between the side under the kitchen nook and the new bit.

For a while we had an odd view of our back door overhead, a suicide door if opened and exited accidentally from the inside of the house. I felt like a character on the old CBC TV children's show "The Friendly Giant"... "look up, way up...."

Well, before you could call Rusty and Jerome, a plywood 'roof/floor' was installed and a drain set in the middle, with a plastic pipe leading through the joists, down the south-east wall and outside where the original eavestrough will go back.

Last week there was the stong smell of adhesive creeping into the kitchen and, peeping out the window, we saw the weather proofing membrane administered.

Mommy, there's a hole in our house

2009-09-08T12:26:00.001-07:00

What is that dear?

There's a big hole in our house!

Oh my yes, there is. And look, there's another one!

There are two over here Mommy. Does this mean the rats are back?

Now don't fret yourself dear, I'm sure that wasn't made by a rat. Look, the edges are too neat for one thing.

I hope not. Those would be really big rats.

Yes they would. Oh look, there's a window lying on the ground against the side of the house. It looks like it fits exactly into the hole!

It does, it does. Look Mommy, all the holes are getting filled in with windows!

Now, don't they look nice!

One, two, three, four. Aren't there supposed to be six windows down here in the basement?

Yes, dear, but the nice window man forgot to make two of them so they have to come later.

How much later?

I'm not sure exactly, but hopefully not long.

Oh, okay. As long as the rats aren't back.

like found money

2009-09-03T14:16:00.001-07:00

Having to move a wall further to the south (to accomodate the larger than expected ducting coming out from the new furnace) meant we will have a slightly shorter laundry room, but it also meant we have a new cabinet for storage. More room for storage! It's like saying "I've found gold!" The question now is how best to design that space so the framers can get in there and finish their job.

Our options include one deep cabinet that opens into the alcove (adjacent to the mechanical room and opposite the bathroom, or we could have a slightly less deep cabinet open that way, with an even shallower cabinet backing it that opens into the laundry area. We could also have one large cabinet open into the corridor instead, which would make access to its contents even easier.

In the end we like the idea of 2 cabinets back to back. The bathroom-facing one will do for storing towels and cleaning supplies and lightbulbs and toilet paper and other such items, with the laundry-opening one sized to act as a broom closet. That one might end up being a bit thinner than the other one so as to avoid the newly wired box beside it (to house the laundry lights switch), but should still allow enough width for relevant storage without impacting the opening doors of the washer and dryer. For a little nostalgic moment we thought about having an old fashioned drop ironing board that levered down built right into the cabinet, but it seems folly to add even more expense when we have a perfectly good ironing board already. Besides, I like to watch TV while ironing so being able to move it into the nearby workspace will work just fine.

a reno kind of morning

2009-09-02T12:06:00.001-07:00

I awake to the sound of someone moving around in the basement. I check the clock. It's 6am. If this was a few months ago I would have guessed it was rats, but today it must be electricians. They are usually early risers and generally don't have to worry about the city noise bylaw section 16 thing outlawing construction noise before 7:30am.

At 6:30am I get up, shower and change, grab a yogurt, put on the kettle for tea and check email.

At 6:44 I hear a tap on the front door. Could I come down and go through the electrical plan? Of course I can. I switch off the kettle, grab my notes and go down the front steps, out the front gate, around the house, in the side gate and through the basement door, a crescent I could do in the dark these days. I miss the back stairs.

Room by room we go. How many lights here? 5 inch pots or 3 inch pots? What about switches, how many and where placed? 3 way? dimmers? Outlets now. Where, what kind and now many? Smoke detectors. Outside lights. Motion sensored? Accessed from downstairs or upstairs?

During this time the contractor arrives with his eldest daughter who has brought cookies for everyone, including a plate for me. We have never met before. I wish her happiness and prosperity until the end of her days.

We also nod to the duct guy, the framing guys, the electrician's son (why are electrical businesses most often operated by a father and son?) and the regular team of workers who immediately start in on their tasks that have been marked down on our new framing. Should someone in the future remove the walls to this project they will find these talismen to a 21st century
Canadian working man's day.

9am. I go back around by the front door and relight the kettle. Pick up 8 phone messages and return all those that require returning (security company rough-in appointment, window guy, parents, etc.). Drink four-fifths of one mug of tea.

9:15am. A light tap on the door. Can I come out and see about moving a couple of plants that will be in the way of new windows? Of course I can. I suspected I'd have to move them but didn't want to in the height of summer until I knew where they could go. I put on gardening clothes and go out to move two plants, one easy (climbing hydrangea) and one hard (New Dawn rose), both which I hope live, but secretly say good-bye. I take the opportunity to water the outside boulevard plants which have been shamefully neglected this summer. Come inside dirty and wet and hot. When and where am I going to go to do laundry this week? New washer and dryer are weeks away. The sun has come out through the usual late summer morning marine cloud.

11:05am. Drink a full mug of tea and eat one cookie.

There's a light tap on the front door. Can we sort out the new electrics on this floor? Of course we can. Smoke detector to go here. Heated towel rail in Hollywood bathroom and shaving plug to go here and here.

While this is going on there is the sound of a swarm of men moving about downstairs, a radio station playing hard rock relatively quiet accompaniment to saws and hammers and drills and guffaws. The chorus under the lead actors, their various tools and boxes of equipment shining and glowing like holiday ornaments.

11:59am. Go down to take a few photos. See old hot water tank sitting lonely by the gate, its guts sprawled on the grass. Recognize oldie rock tune from first time around. Think maybe I should grab some sort of real food before the afternoon kicks into high gear. Dump out rest of pot of now stone cold tea.

make that "as cold as ice"

2009-09-01T15:30:00.001-07:00

Drat - so much for an inaugural hot bath.

The only water coming out of the bathtub spout , and any spout for that matter is cold. It was working earlier. Hmm, hope it gets sorted out tomorrow!

later that night.....

Jonathan saved the day by replacing whatever the framers had unplugged - too late for a bath today but good for a shower tomorrow!

Still in Hot Water

2009-09-01T15:10:00.000-07:00

Today we said goodbye to our stalwart old hot water tank and hello to the world of on-demand water heating. Our new Navien water heater takes up less space, doesn't spend the energy to keep several gallons of water hot and idle waiting for us to use it and, with the supplemental tank we included, allows us to have showers back to back without the famed on-demand "cold water sandwich". The delay of getting hot water to emerge from the taps from the various sinks dotted around the house is no longer than it used to be (we have to have a little more patience at the top of the house than we do at the bottom).

As the two of us are not major water hogs in general, we're not sure if its energy efficiency will actually pay off financially over the number of years we intend to stay at Touchwood, at least according to our calculations. It is, however, no doubt the way to go with regards to the future of water usage and energy accountability and will be a positive feature of the house for whoever takes it on after us.

In fact, I think I will test it out on its inaugural bath right now. If you don't hear any screams, then it worked just fine.

Bulky Ducts

2009-08-31T11:14:00.000-07:00

The fact of an old house that uses forced air to heat it is that you need large metal ducts to move that hot air along to various points where it is released for human consumption and comfort, and even larger ducts to allow for cold air to flow and be part of the equation for beneficial air circulation. The other fact of an old house with a basement of limited height is that those ducts must at some point run across and thus below the joists, thus impeding one's vertical movement within space.
Earlier in the week, the furnace was placed its new home and we were asked about where we wanted the new basement heating vents, but we were not really advised as to what that would mean with relation to size and location of ducts and the resultant bulkheads when the ducts get covered in gyproc and painted to become the final definition of the rooms' dimensions.

On Friday, with now ducts in place and framers starting to encase them, we suddenly realized that we now had ducts and bulkheards up the yin yang, as the old saying goes. We imagined our 6'+ tall friends cracking their heads on them as they moved around to get the snacks and top up the wine we put out for them in future imaginary entertainment scenarios, and then getting blood over our nice clean walls and bulkheads, and then maybe suing us for lost wages and stress. This is not good we told ourselves. This is not good we told the framer and the contractor.

Work was halted and omnipotent EJ was consulted via email, sitting in his lofty den in faraway DC. He must be omnipotent because not only is he extraordinarily capable, and able to envision the most obscure idea put to him but he responded as immediately as only a supreme being could possibly respond. He concurred with our concerns and outlined a plan. Measurements were required. Questions were asked. Research was necessary. Our weekend plans were expanded to fulfill whatever was necessary.

After umpteen phone calls, emails and quiet moments of judicious thinking, 3 options emerged.

Early this morning we put these to the contractor and to our joy it looked like the very first question (do we really need so many cold air returns that we can't loose that huge metal box that is hanging down from of our new workspace ceiling?) resulted in striking off option C. Hurrah! Less cabinetry to design, build and pay for. Option B was gone with a swipe of pen once the study's (and upstair's kitchen's) heat requirements were confirmed. Let the trumpets blair as flow returns to the west wall!

Option A rules! This means that the bulkheard running north to south along the west study wall (necessitating shifting all the windows down a smidge and having to change our path a bit to the inside through the passageway into the workspace) is gone. We can keep one hot air vent in the study and replace the other one with 2 small electric baseboards on either side of the French doors. We can move the kitchen vent from the original place near the back door to the base of the cabinety near the dishwasher or refrigerator. The large duct that runs inside the top part of the storage cupboard under the stairs might become as little less huge.

We will still have to move the wall on the back end of the furnace which shrinks the laundry area, and shift the large laundry room window down a bit to accomodate a large bulkhead, and will sadly have to lose the smal laundry window for the same reason, but the impact on our lives is considerably less dire on the east, utility side of the house.

Of course it means having to pay to have the old work taken out and redone (including moving the gas line running up to the upstairs kitchen stovetop back to its original course) before the framers can resume their work, a loss of a few days, maybe even a week in the schedule. But we take a breath, close our eyes and think of it as a small price to pay for a future of obstacle free entertaining and living!

now you see it - now you don't

2009-08-24T13:48:00.000-07:00

Good thing we aren't sleepwalkers because we have now lost our back porch and back stairs and it's a long way down.

While waiting to the new porch and stairs to be built, we've spent some time figuring out whether to pour concrete under the stairs or gravel instead. The plan is to replace all our back garden paths with something better at some future time, as we can't afford to do it this year, so we are having to think about the best option for the base of the stairs as it will join those future unknown paths. We also have to think about how we will use the space under the stairs which is potentially precious storage for such things as firewood and large plant pots that are empty during the winter.

A friend whipped together 2 little visuals to help us decide - it's the sort of thing that took him 5 minutes and would take me 3 and a half days! It made our stairs look disgusting but it did help.

Any guesses which one we chose?

Supporting ourselves

2009-08-20T10:25:00.000-07:00

On one of our early evening visits downstairs we noticed a vital piece of the house was missing - one of the two supporting beams!

Upon closer inspection, we saw that a cunning contraption of two-by-fours had been set up to replicate temporary walls to hold up our house for the several days it took to amass enough man power to hoist the new beamwhich adds much needed height to the space. that we will be walking under daily. No dancing parties those days!

And where the old posts were are now great holes in the concrete.

But never fear, those 80 years old solid wood beam and posts will be reborn as new posts, albeit decorative ones on the edges of the new walls.

The concept of support in general is high on our minds this week, as we sit reading the newspaper or eating breakfast in the kitchen nook while under us we feel the thud and shudder of wood being pounded into place to support the new part of the room below. A thick beam now runs across the space, although you can still clearly see the difference between the ceiling under the kitchen nook and the ceiling under the back porch.

This new part used to be outside the house, under the back stairs. Tearing out the external wall revealed heavily rotted supports to our porch, so this is a timely project in more ways than cashing in on government incentives and avoiding future HST costs and - oh yeah - renovating a space long in need of it.

Just think - I could have walked out the back door some beautiful summer day to hang out my newly washed smalls on the laundry line only to plunge to certain leg fracture as the porch gave way under my healthy yet svelte body. Yikes, disaster averted!

hieroglyphics

2009-08-15T14:38:00.000-07:00

At 6:30am or so we hear a key turn in the basement door lock and the first footsteps quietly entering the cavern we call home below stairs. By 7am boards placed up for overnight security are being ripped down and by 7:30am, the screech of the saw, the bawl of the drill and the crack of the hammer introduce today's symphony. We move around and work at our desks upstairs feeling the floor move below us with each hammer wham and see the dust come up through the vents and floorbooards in little puffs.

There are moments of calm - deliberations or lunch - and then it starts up again. Our voices level up a notch and then down again as needed to be heard above the cacophony. And then suddenly everthing is still. Involuntarily we look at the clock and it's 4pm. Suddenly - poof - they are gone. All is still, the only sound heard is the dust settling on surfaces for the night.

We take our door key and go down to see the progress of the day, eyes blinking in the gloom as we roam around, looking up at beams and along at joists and down at bases and pipe fittings. The most intriguing thing we've noticed however is the appearance of mysterious hieroglyphics on bits of wall, like some message left for the afterlife of our house. We pass our hands over the indents made from HB2 pencil pressed into soft fir and try to make sense of them. Some look mathematical, some geographical and some artistic. What can they mean?

it's pouring inside

2009-08-12T20:47:00.000-07:00

But it's pouring cement, not rain. This morning we had a churning, turning cement truck roll up onto our boulevard at 7am, and the 6'5" blond cherubs wheeled barrows of the stuff to the new foundations under the front porch (for future lawn tool storage) and back porch (for future office extension).

Thankfully Monday's rainstorm did not return as feared so that all the bailing out stayed bailed and the tarp covering was unneeded.

bringing the outside in

2009-08-11T09:16:00.000-07:00

One of largest physical changes to our new basement space will be the addition of several feet gained by extending under the back porch, which is currently a grubby set of shelves covered over with white lattice. Sounds like a simple enough procedure and it is, in essence. But in reality it means that the stucco gets ripped off the south side of the house, an 80 year old wall is bashed out and the foundation is carved and sliced, with huge chunks of old cement manhandled out to the waiting bins.

A new foundation will need to be poured and a step put in to facilitate the difference in ground level, and the stairs and porch will have to be rebuilt, as the porch floor is now also considered a roof to the new inside addition.

moment of zen

2009-08-10T09:38:00.000-07:00

Eric's new found talent for rock balancing resulted in a selection of artistic efforts appreciated by us in the middle of renovation stress, and by the neighbourhood as we hear passersby exclaim "How did they do that?" and "That wasn't there yesterday!".

Now that Eric has returned home, the stones' delicate balance remains at the whim of wind and man as we do not possess the skill or patience to rebuild anything that falls. At least we have the photos - so when things get crazy, as we know they will, we can gaze at them, breathe deeply and try to go back to 'our happy place'

a plumbers tale

2009-08-04T09:25:00.000-07:00

The removal of the walls revealed the original cast iron plumbing stack perched about a foot above our foundation. A few days without water and a lot of screeching and pounding from cutting up the cement flooring has lead to a new PVC line sunk down under what will become a new foundation. There was a bit of discussion when we realized the new line would cross across the top of an existing window, but the boys have worked it out with twists and hoists and ties and the promise that we will have light after all when it's done.

A trench had to be built out in the front garden to the point where the line takes a dive down to join the city's line, which could have been up to only 5 feet from our fence and so required the moving of several plants that had grown inconsiderately in the way due to the fact that we planted them there. Let's see, now when would be the worst time to move plants? I would guess in the height of summer and during a record-breaking heat wave. Well, we were in luck! Vancouver was experiencing back to back days of 34C heat, putting all our plants in stress. Perfect for adding a little frisson to the situation.

I put the sprinkler on them for a couple of hours, and waited until dusk to start digging. Thank goodness we had a strong, kind, energetic and handsome (ok the fact he is handsome wasn't necessary to the job but it made it more pleasant for me!) houseguest staying who joined me out there wrestling with ferns and hostas, rhodos and azaleas as the light faded and we stumbled over holes and shovels and hoses and feet. The dampness helped the plants but it sure made everything heavier and harder going. Eric and I returned indoors looking like we'd had a mudfight (honest, we hadn't) and took turns stripping off for showers and dumping mud-soaked clothes and shoes into the bathtub.

I had left two larger trees that I hoped would not have to be moved and joy of joys, found the next day that the sewer line dove only a few feet from the house. Of course that meant that some of the plants that had been moved hadn't had to be, but they might have gotten trampled a bit anyway so at least they are tucked away and hopefully will survive long enough to get moved back in kinder temperatures.

Goodbye Scary Old Wiring

2009-07-28T11:05:00.000-07:00

there is beauty in chaos

Final Critter Count

2009-07-28T11:00:00.001-07:00

Dead Rats: 25

Dead Mice: 24

Dead Bat: 1

Picture of dessicated rat: priceless

Spiders

2009-07-28T10:57:00.000-07:00

Here's the spider colony that we've been nurturing under the front porch

Still Life Art Project

2009-07-27T15:58:00.000-07:00

Ti Ammo

2009-07-24T17:16:00.001-07:00

Using the information on the cartridge's headstamp we were able to identify it as .303 calibre shell produced by Dominion Arsenal in Montreal in 1941.

Live Ammunition

2009-07-23T15:25:00.000-07:00

Yes we have found live ammunition in the basement - just one item (rifle cartridge from the year dot) thank goodness not a whole stash

and also we have officially broken the contractor's record as the house with the most rat and mice carcasses

Yay!

Mrs Frisby and the Rats of NIMH

2009-07-23T13:30:00.000-07:00

Number of dead rats found: 12

Number of rat nests found: 1

Out Out Damned Spot

2009-07-22T07:53:00.000-07:00

Last week we did our last laundry at home (until November) and so now are at the mercy of laundromats and sympathetic friends. This week's laundress was our glam Aunt Pat (aka Ursula Laundress) who also provided sushi. Beat that Main Street Laundromat. Next time, however, I'll be more precise regarding creases in pants and how much starch is too much.

the demo has begun

2009-07-21T16:22:00.001-07:00

The demo has started and sputtered along due to the mysterious "north van" job that the contractors are also working on and one of our angelic demo boys getting sick.

We have now said goodbye to: all the gyproc, the lemon yellow bathroom suite, the 40 year old washer and dryer, the old stove, the ooky beige carpets and underlay, the fibreboard from the teen rec room. next up will be the removal of all the old framing, the old ducts, the floors, the furnace and the water heater and the back porch.

Now that we have figured out this is not so much a renovation as performing brain surgery on the house, we can expect several of the touchwood's major functions to fail just when we need them. Over the past few days the following ceased functioning but are now back online: the TV, the alarm, the tap for our hoses.

Boom Bang a Bang Bang

2009-07-17T14:09:00.000-07:00

In the words of Karen Carpenter, "We've only just begun...." and in the words of Lulu, "Boom Bang a Bang Bang..."

Another dumpster was delivered this morning for the gyproc so wall removal has begun in earnest. The plumbers also came to start "capping off" - switching off the gas and water in the basement to make it safe for all and sundry to be drilling and waving sledgehammers.

We have now moved our basement lives upstairs. The basement office is now in the main floor library and its much more pleasant than being in the basement.. why didnt we do this earlier?

The dining room on the main floor is now the board room/filing room but could still be used for the next dinner party as long as peeps weren't too fussy

top floor bedrooms now act as storage rooms....
and even Reggie has to suck it up.... he cohabits with all the garden tools

In the words of the Spice Girls: 2 (floors) become 1

The banging has begun

2009-07-16T14:21:00.001-07:00

The dumpster is here, the banging has begun and our contractor has delivered a vase of sunflowers to our door!

Demolition

2009-07-16T12:40:00.000-07:00

Demo Day is here, just waiting for the dumpster to arrive. The demo team of Brian, Austin and Rob have arrived. House not under attack yet.

The boys need access to the carport for storing their stuff so Reggie moved into the garage and FAB1 is on the street

Yesterday we did our final laundry wash (until November!) in our trusty 40 years old Inglis Liberator

We have also been moving plants out of the demolition zone. Some look sad as no plant wants to be moved in the height of summer. Not sure how many, if any, will survive

The window guy came round this morning and we are biting the bullet and getting all the windows in the house replaced.

We did some pre-demo demo over the past week that did not require brute strength. It was very cathartic to take down the yukky walls in the teen rec room and take up the revolting carpet in the office. No treasures or hibernating monsters with more than 4 legs have been found yet.

We love our new Makita drill.

Part of the blog is sharing the joy of renovating, part is therapy for us and part is to document what goes on.

hazmat team

2009-07-14T14:37:00.000-07:00

We hired a hazmat team but all they did was empty the basement of liquor rather than vermin

Planning and preparation

2009-07-13T09:40:00.000-07:00

Attacking the basement has been the last big item on our renovation to do list here at Touchwood Towers.

Since updating the kitchen and library in 2005, we've been thinking about what to do with the basement, the engine of the house and the seat of our economic empire - it's also the laundry room. We've decided we want to keep the same functionality: work space, hanging out space, laundry, bar kitchen, storage, etc., but reorganize how the space flows, add more natural light and provide access to the back garden.

We toyed with plans to raise the house or lower the foundation but decided this would not be worth the hassle. We don't mind our english-cottage low ceilings - we call it cosy even if our tall friends call it "ouch".

After two years of planning and thinking, we've finally worked out a rough plan with Jim-the-Designer, and we've hired Brian-the Contractor. This is the week. We are ready to start. Bring it on!

Why renovate the basement

2009-07-13T09:38:00.001-07:00

We've lived and worked in our basement for the past 15 years. Finally its time to say goodbye gloom, goodbye mice, goodbye basement vibe, goodbye "Silence of the Lambs" room layout and hello light, hello warmth, hello new ground floor where we want to be