If you live in the area, are even moderately "handy", we could sure use some help in our renovations. If you think you might be able to lend a hand, just click here to go to our contact page. Just tell us when you're available, and if there is anything you have particular experience in. Then we can try to arrange things so that we can make the best use of the time you have to offer.
The pictures below are divided into blocks that were taken around the same time. The newest blocks appear at the top.
The old "knob and tube" wiring is being replaced throughout the house, and some new cabling for telephone and internet is being added.
Hmmm, what goes where?
Now that the insulation and vapour barrier are in place in the new addition, we can now put up drywall.
Usually busy, the finance office lies dormant, protected under sheets from the plumbing and electrical work in the ceiling.
A forklift moves one of the sheds to its new home.
The second shed is recessed into the hill.
Cabinets are being built in the new workshop.
There's now some parking space out front.
The new addition's exterior now matches the rest of the house.
The new rear entrance is being built. The top of it gives a handy place to dump waste from the ongoing second floor renovations.
The dust flies as some short-term workers prep walls for painting, before heading off to Africa.
Now the painting is beginning in the living room.
The ceiling is back up in the meeting room, awaiting stippling.
And there it is.
Don't those French doors look like lots of fun to paint? But they'll look great once they're done.
There's lots of cabinet work for the three serveries in the house.
You can see progress with the addition. But mainly, this shows what the sky has looked like so often this summer. We've had unusual amounts of rain, which has delayed work on the outside of the building.
Here's a view in better weather. The new workshop is visible to the back left.
Here's a view from on top of the workshop.
The backhoe has filled in all the holes around the new underground workshop.
The beginning of a new deck and stair system to grant private access to two second-floor apartments.
It has been even busier inside than outside. This is the meeting room ceiling, a handy place to run all sorts of wiring for the second floor.
There's lots of drywall work to be done inside. Any talented mudders out there?
And there's plenty of mindless work that anybody can do. Painting trim? How hard is that? Even if you're all thumbs, we can still use you!
The living room is light and airy now! Unfortunately, that's only because we needed to replace the floor in the bathroom above.
They are starting to put up the walls on the new addition.
Working on the walls of what will be the new workshop.
Partway through. You can see progress to the addition in the background.
Even further along.
We've put up 2 sheds for storage during renovations. Later, they'll move to the east end of the yard, get a brick & stucco treatment to match the house, and begin a new life as garden sheds.
Yup, those are people fixing the roof. You can see from this angle how high up they are, and how steep the roof is. Vertigo, anyone?
The gizmo on the back of this truck pounds the earth to see how solid it is. From that they decide what's needed to shore up the sides of the hole they're going to dig there.
The backhoe is sitting where the vegetable garden used to be, digging space for parking.
No more "threading the needle" to park at the side of the building.
Voilà!
We've chopped off part of a third floor bedroom next to the kitchen. That wall on the right is new. See the next photo to see what has been gained.
We now have a little hallway next to the kitchen. Where the window is at present will be a door to a balcony on the roof of the new extension.
That narrow little hallway between the foyer and the kitchen is getting widened. The closets that were there, together with part of what used to be the directors' office, will become a handicapped-accessible bathroom.
In renovating the back offices, where the candidate department used to be, we found the floor needed to be replaced.
The same area. The new directors' office is to the right, and the new reception office to the left.
Part of the new, L-shaped directors' office.
The directors' office now has a decent sitting area.
A peek into the new reception office, not quite organized yet.