16 - North Shore News - Wednesday, June 28, 2000

ivinaroom
i

WELL, we're still mar-
ried, talking and reno-
vating. So, I’d say the
first two weeks were a

success.
Overall — knock on wood

some setbacks; however,
nothing insurmountable.

Old houses =*ways have
surprises in ste . el floors
are practically <3 s<astent and
nothing is ever what it seems.

Our sub-trades are work-

ing under a tight time sched-
ule and fairly cramped condi-
tions. There is the odd laugh
here and there so it can’t be
all thar bad.

It's a little like herding
cats, organizing the trades
people. Ten different people
wanting and not wanting my
attention at the same ume.
After awhile, however, things
calm down and the atmos-
phere is busy and productive.

So, let’s review the weck.

The gutting of the bath-
room was actually planned to

— things are going quite
smoothly. Yes, we have had

be a three-hour process. OF .

course, who were we kidding.
The two-hour project became
an eight-hour project.

It seemed everything in
this house was screwed and
glued one-inch plywood. It
was like demolishing a wood-
en boat with a brick! A 20-
cubic-yard haul-away became
too small and my husband
looked like he was preparing
for a casting call on The Money
Ar d

carpeting was strippe
throughout the house and we
discovered the floors were
actually in good condition.
We chose to replace the carpet
because the floors were ply-
wood screwed and glued.

The painter began prep
work and painting. Fhe elec-
trician gave us his estimate

3 meu
Son
a | cape. supply store

"with afprdable syle!

$50 Gift Certificate towards your

_ Custom Window Fashion Order
ve (with minimum purchase of $500)

EERIE Ooi

id house renovaiion full

SHAR es

es

News photo Mike Wakefield :

THE kitchen was dated and inefficient. The awkward placement of countertops. _
made it fee! cluttered. its small size restricted renovation to a simple plan. zs

and work began on the
kitchen.

The kitchen

Tt was mutually: agreed
that the existing kitchen lay-
out required some modifica-
tions. It was dated and ineffi-
cient and the awkward coun-
tertops made it feel cluttered.

There were importance
considerations to keep i
mind: our daily routine,
lifestyle, functionality and
flow. So we decided to work
in conjunction with the cabi-
net company on the space
plan and after a few faxes back
and forth we agreed on a lay-
out: simple and basic.

The 13’x13’ kitchen defi-
end restricted us to a simple

lan.

Our first surprise was the
condition of the

itchen floor. .

“The kitchen floor has the
slope of the bar boy's shoul-
ders at the Kennedy com-
pound,” my __ husband
announced to me as I walked
in. In other words, we needed
a subfloor for any floor cover-

ing we chose. We agreed that |

the subfloor was necessary as
it would be the foundation for
a level and stable surface.
Since flooring is one of the
more visible features of the
kitchen, appearance was key.
Durability was also important.
We liked the Pergo option
because of its look and dura-
bility. I had no idea there
were so many colour choices.

Pergo: laminate flooring can - -

be locked in place with a small

amount of gluing and no nail-"
_ ing, which means it’s an excel-

lent choice for laying’ over

We used to.

“be aware of the “levelling”
concern)..:

When choosing our * cabi-
nets we decided to stay true ©

_to the 1912-era and. use a

Shaker-style. door “front... We © -
narrowed out colour choices -- :
down to white or maple.”

With the kitchen being s
uated in the. northern. section”.
of the house we decided white
would .be the: best choice
There’s no doubt. that. the
best way to get the exact ca
inetry you want is toh:

“custom made. Howeve: ,

is the: most expensive optio:

and there are other choices.
Basically «there. are ‘three, :

broad categories of cabine

“stock, semi-custom’ and

tom.
" Usually, stock is the least

existing tile or concrete.’ “Just 2

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