The re-build begins...

As you can see, the first step, was to get a guy (and his son) to come in and re-finish the oak and fir flooring. In one day, they come in, sand it, fill the cracks, sand again, put on a sealer, and then a thick finish layer, I went with a high gloss for the best durability. I expected great results from the oak, but was surprised how great the fir came out.

Al came over again to help with re-tiling the bathroom. I put down some self-leveller for a nice base, then put down a radiant heat mat. The vanity and linen tower wasn't my first choice, but I couldn't find anything else that I wanted... I'm happy with the choice now.


As you can see from the stacks of boxes, I did the kitchen myself too. It's kinda like LEGO, except there's no picture on the front of the box to go by. I wanted a slightly traditional cabinet style, but wanted an elegant look as well. I had re-done part of my cabinets in my condo, but this was a lot more of a clean slate to start with. I would have preferred Ikea cabinets, as they are much easier to build and install, but Home Depot had a great colour/door style, and the price was right.

You'll see not only kitchen construction, but also a small entertainment stand that I built out of spare parts from the kitchen cabinets. The small closet that we tore out made the perfect space for the TV area, and since the fir flooring was screwed up in that area, it made sense to make a built-in. I also made a bed out of some scrap wood that we tore out of the kitchen, as I wanted to keep my bed frame and night tables intact downstairs (besides, I wasn't going to tear apart and re-assemble it again!).

The last few shots show how things looked after the guys came in to install my new granite counters and the marble in the bathroom. We're really turning the corner now!