Setbacks….I know I know….we should have expected it. But seriously, I couldn’t have imagined we would run into this much. Some of it was out of our hands and some of it is totally on us.
The weather hasn’t exactly been on our side for this part of the renovation. It’s amazing how quick we turned the inside around…but the exterior is a different story and is taking much longer than we had hoped for. Typically Calgary gets a number a Chinooks throughout the winter months. Allowing for a week or two of work outside. Are you not familiar with the great Chinook Winds? it’s what makes our long long long winters tolerable.
Usually, Calgary has a longer than average winter, starting in Late October and sticking around till March, April, and yes…I have seen snow here in May (I joke that we have two seasons here, winter and summer). But the winters are mild. Much more mild than any winter I had growing up in Montreal. The winters in Calgary hover around the -5 to -10 (celsius people not Fahrenheit) but when a Chinook rolls in overnight the temperature will rise to +10 or +15!
We typically have hardly any snow and you will find lots of brown grass and amazing big blue skies. These Chinooks can stick around for a few days or up to a couple of weeks. Throughout the winter we can see up to a dozen short or longer Chinooks. Ben has been golfing in February on several occasions. NOT THIS YEAR.
Setback Numero 1
Not this year. We have more snow than ever before, RECORD BREAKING. It has been cold and it has been never ending! NO CHINOOKS (maybe 1-2 early in the season). Our trades were lined up and ready to jump on the job but every time the day showed any promise of better weather…suddenly it would snow! AGAIN. Boooooooo!
Setback Numero 2
When we bought this house we had to replace a bunch of windows. We also planned to add some windows. We had to wait till the exterior project got started before we could put the new windows in. One, in particular, was replacing and adding to the window in the office area to add more natural light.
THIS turned out to be a huge setback and maybe a small case of “he said she said”. Back in September when we were measuring to order our windows, Ben and I sat together, took measurements together (a first for us and not something you want to mess up, enlist in some help if you are unsure about this one). We got the measurements right…but we got the window ordered the wrong way. And here’s the thing with windows, you can’t open them from the outside, haha. funny now.
The worst part about this was that I double checked the whole order form, followed by Ben. we both missed it and we didn’t even knot it until way after we hassled the window company a million times for being late, late, late and super late. Only to have the window arrive WRONG!
Not only did the window take forever to get here…but now we ordered it the wrong way! AHHHHHHHHHH nightmare! The trades were lined up to come in and when they started to get the job ready we all realized the issue. Major financial booboo. Take note people! Now we had to pay the window install guys for coming in, setting up and getting ready AND we had to REORDER THE WINDOW! OMG. In hindsight it’s funny. During the moment…not so much. So to save some of the costs, Ben got to help out last week and learn how to put in a second story massive window. Did I mention he’s afraid of heights?
New office windows after they were just put in! good job honey!
Setback Numero 3
I addition to the challenging winter and window debacles. Ben and I keep or kept…maybe keep…flip flopping on what we want to do to the exterior. We have had too much time now to change our minds. Over and over again.
Curb appeal is huge! and as a realtor and house flipper, my husband knows this and wants to get it right. I completely agree with him on that…and that’s about it! haha. At first, we were thinking classic, or arts and crafts but maybe a twist of modern. We wanted to take into consideration the neighborhood and community but we also wanted to make a statement…to encourage the community to continue with revitalization. (it’s a much older community).
Meet Scott. He can do just about anthing! The best!
It’s been a such a struggle trying to figure out exactly what it was/is we wanted/want to convey. Our exterior defines our interior. It’s the initial thing you see when you pull up to our house. This house has so much meaning to us. Sure we flipped homes before, we bought and renovated…but this house we know is THE forever home. We need to make sure to follow our hearts and combine our unique but simple sense of styles to create an amazing space that we love inside and out.
Stef was amazed by the crane lifting the new shingles!
So here we are. The weather has slightly improved and new windows are in. We ripped off all the old cedar exterior from 1979. Of course, during this stage, we ran into some obstacles (which we accounted for and so should you when you are renovating an oldie) such as rotten wood that needed replacing. The roof shingles have been delivered and we have a guy who has started on the eavestrough, soffit, and fascia.
I am sharing some of the inspiration we have for the exterior here. Ben and I have finally come to some design agreements. We wanted to carry the feeling of the simple, clean, white and modern look to the outside but still add some wood accents, pretty lighting, and charm. Looking forward to the next reno post and giving you a peek into siding choices, soffit colors, wood accents and garage door choices. The below pictures were taken off the Becki Owens Instagram account. I love following her and her design ideas are really inspiring. Here are a couple of the pictures we are using to help guide us…
Now let’s all cross our fingers and hope that this winter is over soon!
Till the next post
moveplaymom.