The Doors

The last bit of exterior painting was to do the doors, front, back and basement. It's a great feeling to have so much of the outside of the house completed.

There's just the front and back steps and their railings to do now, but we'll probably leave them until next spring.

Bathroom Blues

The main floor bathroom, which was the only bathroom until we converted an upstairs closet into an ensuite, has lo-o-o-vely grey plastic tiles - simulated marble actually - on the walls and around the bathtub.  When Michael ripped off those around the tub so that we could install a newly-purchased tubwall kit, he found that the plaster behind was mouldy and rotting. It wasn't a pretty sight and it didn't smell great either.

Fortunately, after 24 hours the area had dried out and the smell had faded. With the wall repaired, the first piece of the new kit went on easily.

Then, of course, we found the walls weren't true, so the rigid corners of the kit didn't fit quite as well as we would have liked. However, with the aid of silicone sealer, a renovator's best friend, it ended up looking pretty good.

Eventually we may upgrade to ceramic tiles in this area.

Then again, maybe not.

Finished front (almost)

Finally, I got around to finishing the trim on the front windows. Now there's just the door left to paint.

Our neigbourhood

My Australian brother-in-law has sent me an email complimenting us on the transformation of the house. He also says, " brave choice on the colour". Actually, in this neighbourhood we're just contributing to the colourful streetscape already in place. To illustrate this, I went out and took some photographs in the blocks around us. It was a cloudy day, so the colours are less vibrant than they normally appear, but the variations in both architecture and colours of the houses are evident nonetheless. It's all part of what drew us to this area in the first place.
This is the house we face across the street:

And here are some others nearby:

With some, the colour is accented by summer blooms. 

 

Buffing up the back

The back porch has been the last area to receive attention. A later addition to the house, probably just before the stucco went on, it reflects the inferior quality of post-war building materials. However, with a new coat of paint, even it looks a lot better.

Before black window trim:

After window trim:










Now we just need to put the black detail on the basement window, and paint the basement door black.
(Cleaning up the detritus under the porch will also improve the view. Or maybe I'll just plant a few shrubs in front of it and forget it.)

Grand Folly

This project needed a change of name. Eastside Eden was proving to be a sentimental indulgence. Besides, my daughter never liked the title - and I always listen to my daughter!

Grand Folly is a more accurate description: it references our neighbourhood, which goes by the name of Grandview; and it is indeed a folly as we remind ourselves daily while slaving away at making it into our vision of a home.

Eventually, the title may change again - to Grand Cottage which is what our friend Jim dubbed it at first sight. But there is much still to be done before it truly deserves that name.

Seeing Red

At last a significant milestone in our project has arrived: the completion of all the red paintwork on the exterior walls. We had left the front porch until last because it was important to get the exposed surfaces of the house done while the weather held good.
This week, Michael braved an almost vertical ladder to finish the high part of the west wall.  That left me to complete the porch.

Even the first coat made a huge difference. (And yes, we do plan to replace the screen door with a more attractive design.)

Next up: the window trim, and the porch floor and steps.