Latest Developments - Painting and then Bathroom .. slow but sure

Busy Off Season - Renovation - Chapter II

Chapter 2 ... continuing saga ... bathroom plumbing and preparation for Tiled Walls for shower and walls. Most of the room will be tiles with the favourite "subway tiles" ... not the small ones but the larger ones 8" X 16" ... but that will come later have to get the floor prepared with the heated element embedded and then the floor tiles ... then the shower base ... then the walls can start ... tired just thinking about it ...

In the mean time ,... painting crew is in ... we had some great friends come over to help out and here is Nora keeping most of the paint out of her hair ,,, joys of painting a closet.

Tonight we put up the curtains ... IKEA to the rescue again ... will have to fine tune after the second coat of paint goes on the walls ... all in good time.

Another view of the room ... depending on the light the three green walls look blue then other times it looks green ... interesting colour scheme and as we decorate the room feels more and more cozy!

Busy Off Season - Renovation

For a number of years we have been thinking and planning and designing (yes some would say that I over design "stuff") a renovation to our house that would refresh and make a larger space out of our small little bungalow.

Interesting how it is so much like a boat where you are working in a relatively small space and maximizing it as best we can.  Here is our story with a few pictures (as you have noticed we do more of a picture story that a worded story).

In the Beginning .... start date of about June ... with a few intermissions in between ...  we work on this from June to July, then take a three week "time away" then back at it from August to September when we take a 5 week time away ... (renovation is so stressful) ... and so all it all we working on this project for about 15 weeks ... so far.

So here is our story ...

To this ... with two French Doors to the back deck. Making the upper left bedroom our Guest Room with a walk around Queen Bed and a Master Room with a private bathroom. Both rooms will have French Door style patio doors out to the back deck and garden.

We started with the smaller part of the renovation that we called Phase 1. That is the small bedroom in the upper left hand corner of the plan view above. Basically this Phase 1 involved tearing out the inside finishings, floor and ceiling to be studded, spray foam insulated (there is no insulation in the walls of our house) and gluing and screwing to the floor joists a new 3/4" plywood sub-floor (as the old one was very squeeky). Here are some pictures from that Phase 1 renovation works;

Mostly cleaned out room before walls are stripped out ... 

Walls are gone and still need to remove the old closet wall (to the left side of the picture) ...

Sub-floor replacement ... can see right down tot he basement ... don't step there BOB!

Wall are studded and before the Spray Foam was installed ... fiberglass batts hanging around to stuff in holes to try and diminish over spray from the foam gun ... 

Gyprock and ready for door ... you can see some of the purple colored over spray from the foam insulation around the door.

Door installed ... in the fore ground, baseboard getting a few coats of paint on the back deck.

Nora chose the color scheme ... needless to say it is bright and bold ...




The room is livable ... so now can start Phase II ... will install the new hardwood floor all at once for Phase 1 and II.


Starting the removal on Phase II;








       

Inspector(s)  checking things out ...

The almost cleaned out room ... still have to remove the plaster on the end wall ...

Taking up the old Sub-Floor ... squeeks too much and wanted to match the floor heights with the remaining floors in the house ... so took out the old and replaced with 3/4 plywood like Phase I.

The admiral at work ... 

With all the materials taken out of Phase II we filled this 14 yd bin ... 

The rough layout, shown with blue tape, of the bathroom and closet beside it.




Purple Spray Foam ... this was a picture of the first pass of the contractor ... had them back to fill each cavity between the studs. Ended up great and will be much warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer on this North facing wall.




Presto ... its drywalled ... ;-)




reinforced backing plywood for mounting vanity that will hang off the wall ...





reinforced backing plywood for mounting the toilet roll holder ... priorities!


Thats all the pics we have now ... we paint the walls this weekend and so will have more pics coming soon ...

Nassau

Travel together from Fort Pierce, Great Harbor to Nassau: Saber Tooth, Greenstone and Jump

 

 

 

 

We started from Great Harbor very early in the morning, by 6:00 o'clock the anchor was up, heading for Nassau, the distance about 56 NM, we calculated with the speed about 7 kn we can reach Nassau for 8 hours

 

The wave was a bit high, like mountain moving to us from port side

 

 

 

 Entering Nassau ...

 

A little bit of swell ...

 

 

Greenstone riding the top of a swell and Jump in the valley beside ...

 

 

 

Quarantine flag comes down and the Bahamas flag goes up ...

 

 

 

 

Here we are..2015

Season of migrating south

We had a wonderful Christmas in Toronto with families and friends, another busy time of the year....and before New Year we went to Montreal spent time with more families there and waiting for the coming of our new grandson.

At New Year's Eve we spent time in Gananoque celebrating New Year with Annette and Steve (at their cottage), Shawn and Janet, Carole and Ed and Martin.

 

What a blessing year for the whole family, have addition of baby Leo...we can't stay long in Montreal, we have to back to Toronto, so many things to do, packing for our trip south.

 

Can't wait to see the sun and feel the warm of the sun..

 

 

 

 

But..it's not what we expected, we planned to spend a day in Baltimore for visiting.... and it ended we stayed there for 5 days, problem with the car and had to wait for the part.

 

 

 

 

Hm...everything for good reason, more chance for visiting and relaxing, we understand that once we are in the boat the work will never end.

 

We arrived in St. Augustine on Sunday, the Marina is closed but luckily our friends from Toronto Gavin and Catherine were there already so they able to help us to open the gate.

 

4 days to prepare the boat for launching, washing with rain rinse and then find a dry window to wax ... shoulders are a little sore but she looks great ... new bottom paint and in she goes ...

 

 

 

Some Mast Maintenance ... and quite the view... a little windy at 15  knots ... 

 

Here is the view from the mast, Saber Tooth looks tiny..

 



 

Last season before backed home, we build a chair in the cockpit higher than the present seat, so the captain or the admiral can sit comfortably while on the helm hours and hours..

 

We got company for a while in our cruising from Coco to Fort Pierce, mama dolphin and the baby.

Nora was talking and singing to them, time to time they gave respond by jumping out from the water. You look into their eyes..yes you feel they talk back to you..

 

 

 

 

We even can see them smile to us...what a beautiful cruising time

 

 

The picture below, Greenstone followed by Jump just left Lake Worth (West Palm Beach),

we left from this inlet around 15:30, the wave and the wind were quiet high/choppy and strong

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sunset, we waited for the green flash but too much cloud, so no green flash..

 

and..below was sunrise after hours in the choppy water

 

What a beautiful sky,  the water was calmer

 

Hahaha the Captain was sleepy after the long night

 

 

We Anchor in Bahamas ... Great Harbor in the northern Berry's

 

A beautiful day ...  another Rainbow in Great Harbor ... it seems every time we are here we get this beautiful sight ...