uncovering Maria's past

so, one of the challenges of buying a century home that has been converted into a rental duplex property is that rather than fixing something, it is usually patched up. To what extent I had very little knowledge. Maria (house's name till ya'll come up with something better than the name of the street she is on... Maria St) has had many hands on her over the years. Not saying she's been an "easy" house but rather one with many touches... ok, I'll stop with the innuendo. So here's what we've discovered so far in our quest to green Maria.
- The main floor visible hardwood is the THIRD flooring material used (with at least 2 layers underneath). In some places its 2 layers and others 3 which leads to uh... interesting elevation changes. I'm going with the theory that our feet weren't made for perfectly flat surfaces and that these changes in flooring height are better for the feet!
- The first addition of the house was originally one storey i.e. the second storey floor has been places on top of what must have been a low-pitched roof.

- The ceiling on the ground floor of the original house has at least 5, yes, I said FIVE layers to it! Check out the photo on the left for the cross-section of a part that we opened up! So, our thinking is that with every change or leak etc that occurred the landlord/lady just added another layer on top rather than remove and start fresh. This lead to the debate of do we remove it all and send it to the dump (which has a physical and an eco-cost) or add another layer on top as it looks like crap and the stucco finish is very difficult to match. After much thinking and meditation, I think we will go for removing the layers as it will give us easy access to fix the knob&tube wiring which looks like it only exists in the ground floor ceiling. We can also then assess if we need to beef up the joists or fix anything that might be have been cut (including one joist that we already discoverered) and am trying to find a product that we can use as a ceiling that is attractive, not so expensive and removable so we can fix/change things without putting in a brand new ceiling everytime... we woulda scored big time! :)




Oh, and today on the second floor, I believe I've discovered the original (pine?) floor boards that were under the laminate. Luckily the laminate came up easy and will be donated to Habitat For Humanity Restore Here's to bring lucky and that we can salvage the boards and use them somewhere else in the house, just like the old studs! :)

Well, I hope I haven't bored all ya'll! Buenos noches! :)

thoughts of green

So, the renos are well under way with MUCH help from friends, neighbours and new eco-minded buddies. The sense of being overwhelmed by a house that has more than a century of history with many of its recent years as a purely rental property creeps up more often than I care to admit.
She's (yes, a house on Maria St is a She) got good "bones" but in dire need of maintanence and in need of (the slippery slope of) upgrading. The eco-dillema thus arrives. A house mostly done up require much less... maybe a better thermostat etc.
The grey area of fixing vs updating etc is something I've been trying hard to resolve for this project. Saving something is more eco-friendly than ripping it out and replacing it with something "eco-friendly". Sounds obvious but much harder to do in this infectious HolmesOnHomes era. Yes, its like McD's....even if you hate it you might catch yourself wanting a Big Mac sometimes.
Also, it is MUCH easier to see what you're dealing with when everything is gutted but suddenly you have more than 2 tons of plaster, paint etc going to the dump. I keep trying to imagine the dump as if it at the end of my street and then think about how much I REALLY need to add to it.
For ease of construction, having a big bin at the back of the property and dumping everything in there is the easiest and fastest way to deal with demolition.
So far, thanks to Rhinobags I've got separate areas for old plaster, painted wood, drywall, metal and lath (and unpainted wood). We're also saving all the old studs and maybe use them for furniture.

So here she is from the front as it was before the snow fell. I know its hard to imagine what the inside looks like and I'll post more as I upload all the photos of the renos onto my computer. The car and driveway are not mine. Like many old Toronto homes, there's a laneway access and as slushy and icy as it gets back there, I do like it. :)






So, on the slippery slope of renovations I've tried to make a priority list:1. Safety (I don't want to electrocute myself or anyone else... ok.. so I've only shocked myself once sofar)
2. Environment and Indoor Air Quality - reduce waste but take out stuff that might reduce IAQ (no, that doesn't mean I'm going to take down all the walls incase there might be some lead in the pain a few layers deep... as long as we're not disturbing it, it shouldn't disturb us)
3. Cost factor - am desi and want to spend in other places... ice cream....mmmmm..... :)
4. Aesthetic - yes, its last on the list but doesn't mean its not a priority... just lower down.


Doh! Its almost 1am... buenos noches all :)