Week 3 begins. After finding out we need a new pool liner we finally decided which one we want and, the more difficult choice, which pool coping we want. We opted for something called "invisible coping" which is virtually exactly that. A very thin piece of coping holds the liner in place and the decking will actually run right up to the side of the pool. We think this will be a very slick, clean look for the new deck.


All four posts are now up for the roof support for the Gazebo.

We chose the liner pattern in the center. It's actually called Bourbon Street but they omitted the word Street in the brochure. We thought the design along the edge of the liner sort of looked like the design in the stained glass windows that overlook the deck.

The Cabana base shows how the center part of the cabana will be raised a bit more than the two ends (a washroom on this end and a storage room on the other)

This will be the storage room eventually.

Here we are at the end of week 2. Although still a long ways away from the deck of our dreams,  there is a hint of what is to come. Mike went to Halifax today and ordered the iron fencing that will enclose the back half of the yard as well as the iron arches that will top the privacy fence around the rest of the yard. They ran the electrical for the cabana and hot tub today so everything is starting to fall into place. If there were no more financial surprises that would be good but I guess that's just part of the beauty of owning a 100-year-old house.

The pool used to be at the far edge of the deck. Now, with the new cabana, it looks like it's going to be more in the centre of the deck than at the edge. We're starting to get a feel of just how large this thing is going to be.

The first two beams that will hold up the roof of the gazebo that will cover the hot tub. If you look closely you can see the strings that mark the top of the deck. The far edge is almost to the Yew bush.

Another view of the framework that was finished as of the end of the week. Mike was going to order an outdoor dining table today but wasn't sure there was going to be enough room for a 90" table. I think he would have been okay.

The black and green lines you see trailing through the water are the high voltage electrical that will power the hot tub. I'm not sure I'm comfortable with them going through water like that but the electricians didn't seem to be panicking so I'll assume everything is fine. But I might let someone else be the first person in the hot tub. Just in case.

We're closing in on the end of week two with this project. It's beginning to take shape but the surprises also keep coming. Today we were informed that we probably should have a new pool liner - our old one is almost 20 years old. The one we have might last a while longer (with some patches) but now would be a good time to change it while everything else is torn apart. It will look nice to have a new liner with everything else new. But still unexpected. I don't have any pictures but the electricians also arrived this week and have been busy doing stuff in the basement. They're running lots of new wiring and installing a new box to upgrade the electrical from 100 amp to 200 amp. Here are some pictures taken yesterday.

Rick, from Holland Home Leisure, inspects the pool steps (that were thankfully fine). However, the coping (the white edging that holds the liner in place) is old and needs to be replaced along with the liner. In the background and next to the pool you can see the framing for the deck as it begins to take shape.

Here is the first beam going into place that will form the framework of the cabana. The actual Fiberon decking hasn't arrived yet but all of the framing needs to happen before we're ready for the decking so we still have several weeks ahead of us. Matt is also going to replace that old door on the pump house. That little Rhododendron squatting in the corner is actually going to be  inside the new fence - tucked in that corner. We're hoping it survives all the construction going on around it as it will be a great feature in that corner

Week Two. I never got around to posting anything yesterday so I'll just post two days in one today. I'll let the photos do the talking.

Day 1 of week 2 - The cement is poured into the sonotubes in the holes. These will support the new structure. Their depth will mean no chance  of anything shifting or heaving due to frost.

The supports along the edge of the deck.

Day 2 of Week 2 - The pressure treated lumber that will make up the "bones" of the new deck. There was pressure treated lumber under the old deck. Some of it was still in pretty good shape after over 20 years of service but parts were rotted and there was a small ant colony that had to be dispatched. Since we're covering it out with Fiberon decking we thought it would be prudent to put something under it that would last as long as the decking. Fiberon has a 25 year warranty against fading and limited lifetime warranty for performance. Although in good shape, it was unlikely the old deck supports would have lasted another 25 years.

The holes are all filled in and it's starting to slowly look more like a back yard again and less like the surface of the moon.

There is a definite "dip" when you get to the deck area from the back yard but, when everything is done, the deck will be close to level with the yard - maybe a step or two down.

The last hole to be filled - as soon as the severed pool line is repaired.

The Cement Truck Arrives

The guys begin the first of many wheelbarrow loads of concrete destined for the back yard.

Concrete bases are poured. These will be the bases of the sonotubes that will be filled with concrete and be the foundation of the new deck and the structures that will be on it.

This will, sort of, be our view of the back yard from the deck - hot tub area - once it's complete. The wrought iron fence in the back part of the yard will offer a much less obstructed view of the "back 40".

In this shot I'm standing approximately where the new fence will be erected. This is just to get a sense of how much larger the usable part of the back yard is going to be.

Matt (our contractor) and his lovely assistant (Liz) help to measure off the length of the new privacy fence that will follow along this line.

This is the end of the first week. All of the holes are dug and the casts (molds? - whatever they call them) for the footings are in place. The cement truck arrived this morning and got as close as it could get. From there, the guys took wheelbarrow after wheelbarrow load of cement back to the footings. A long day's work. Once those footings are all set, I think things will really start to take shape.

So, we missed a blog entry yesterday. We were a little preoccupied. While digging holes for the cement footings for the cabana, the excavator struck and severed the main drain for the pool. The resulting 41,000 litres of water spewing out immediately began to flood the holes they'd just dug. Matt was able to stop the leak - or at least slow it down a lot - and got a pump into the pool and drained the water down to below the level of the break in the line. This stopped the water from flooding the footing holes. Then the electricians arrived. We knew we would have to upgrade the electrical from 100 amp to 200 amp to accommodate the hot tub we're installing. However, upgrades like that can have a domino effect when it comes to bringing the electrical in a 100-year-old house up to 21st Century building codes. At the end of the day, we were adding a few thousand more dollars onto the cost of this project. So, that's why we were a little preoccupied yesterday. Today was a better day. The rest of the footings were dug without incident and we're a day closer to this looking more like a back yard and less like a dirt bike rally track. Here's a pick from yesterday (the severed pipe) and some from today (the footing holes).

Severed pipe after the water stopped flowing

some of the footing holes

more holes

more holes

more holes and some of the footing frames

Well, it's day 2 of the deck make-over and it seems like we're just getting farther and farther away from anything resembling a nice back yard deck. Here are some shots I took tonight after I got home from work and the guys had been hard at it all day. The excavator appeared last night and started doing some of the ground work for the new cabana.


The Yew now looks huge without the old arbor in front of it. You can see the horse fence in the background which will be the location of the new privacy fence.

The guys are cleaning up the bottom of the wall where the old deck used to connect to the house. It's interesting how far above ground the in-ground pool actually is.

The excavator is preparing the ground for the foundation of the cabana. The height of the structure will help to block out the street view and noise but allow us to still enjoy the giant Willow on our front lawn.

The first fence you see in the background is where the new fence will be going. We had initially thought we'd put a privacy fence there too but soon realized we had lots of privacy since there is nothing behind us. So, we've decided to build a wrought iron fence so we'll have an unobstructed view of our back lot.

Matt Holleman (of Holleman's Heritage Woodworking - the contractors for the project) navigates the excavator as he preps the ground for the concrete posts that the cabana will be build on.

So today began the next phase of the Cedar Crest Renovation - the deck. We have decided to not increase the actual size of the deck however, we have pushed the fence back so our fenced-in area now includes much more of the yard. Whereas the old deck was enclosed by a fence, the new one - although the same size - will seem larger because a lot of the shrubs and trees in the yard will become part of the fenced-in back yard. We have also included a cabana which will house the deck furniture and a washroom and some storage space. We're also adding a hot tub to the deck which will have a rooftop over it much like a gazebo. I'll explain more about what's happening as I add more photos. The photos I've added here were all taken today - the first day of the demo.



The last picture of our old, tired deck - morning of April 15, 2013.




By the end of the day the arbor is gone, one side of the fence is gone and a big chunk of the old deck has been demolished.

It's been a while since I've updated this blog but things are starting to happen around here again so I guess it's time I started chronicling this crazy renovation journey. These pictures are of our finished dining room and living room. The interior design for both rooms was the work of Mark Martin and Shay Ingram of M Home Designs in Halifax. Their "Interview with a Venetian Vampire" motif was exactly the look we wanted. Edgy enough to suit our tastes yet elegant enough to fit the 100 year old splendor of the house. We finished these and then took a bit of a renovation breather.

Dining Room

Dining Room

Living Room

Living Room