Cedar Crest
In the spring of 2011 Mike and I purchased 176 Prospect Avenue in Kentville. We named the property Cedar Crest.
Tuesday, July 11, 2017
Ventilation System for the Lacanche
Because our range can potentially generate over 100,000 BTUs of heat, we had to have a commercial sized ventilation system installed. We were able to tap the exhaust duct work into an existing chimney and install the exhaust motor on the top of the chimney (keeping noise out of the kitchen). Because of the size of the exhaust system (we can move air at 1000 CFM) we also had to install a make up air vent. This vent has the motor in the basement and still sounds like a jet starting up when we turn it on. It also has an electric furnace built into it to heat air as it's drawn into the house. This is something we only need to use (a) in the winter (in the summer we just open a window) and (b) when we're using the grill and only for a short time. It would never be on for more than a few moments so no need to worry about high electric bills heating make up air. I've included a few pictures of the system.
Thursday, March 10, 2016
March 10 - Home Stretch
So, if you've been paying attention to the dates you'll notice that we have just passed the one-year mark about a week ago. In some ways it seems like it's taken forever to get through this renovation and in other ways it feels like we've accomplished a great deal in a year. Many people have pointed out that a new home can be built far quicker than this but we have to point out that we had to carefully tear down a great deal of our old structure before we even began to build the new parts. But, fast or slow, we are nearing the end of the project. We still have a bathroom to renovate upstairs but we're currently waiting for some plumbing fixtures before we can get going on that. There are other little jobs that still need to be finished - some painting, some plumbing, some electrical but we're much closer than we were even a month ago. I've included some pictures that show some of the newer additions as well as some areas that are very nearly done.
The shelves again - this time with all the cookbooks in place. |
The bridge faucet is in place and just waiting for the plumbers to come and hook everything up. |
This is the barn door leading into the TV room. The rail at the top was salvaged from the old carriage house (before it was converted into a laundry room) and re-purposed for this door. |
The wine fridge in its permanent home. |
This is looking past the fireplace down into the little library area. You can see our new wineglass case illuminated on the right. |
This is Omen enjoying the heated floor and the warm glow of the fireplace. |
Friday, February 19, 2016
Lacanche is in the house!
This Lacanche Chagny range was born in Lacanche, France on June 3, 2015. It slowly made it's way to Canada and came to rest in our garage until today. Here's a photo record of the last leg of the journey to its home in our new kitchen.
It was all even floors from the garage to the kitchen except for these stairs that lead from the Costco room to the laundry room. Matt and Mike D. fashioned a ramp to get past this one obstacle. |
I suspect Matt has a sore back now. That's an 800 lb stove. |
Matt and Mike inspecting the attachments and seeing what needs to go where before they get the stove off the dolly. |
It's all about leverage really or, as my dear friend Erin would say - It's a very physical thing. |
Everything's lined up. Ready to slide it into place. |
The star of the renovation - Home Sweet Home. |
Tuesday, February 9, 2016
Ups and Downs - Feb. 9, 2016
This week (and it's only Tuesday) has been a roller coaster. Maybe it's because of the never-ending delays that each set-back seems that much more disheartening. Whatever the reason - it seems that we're destined to continue going two feet ahead and one back with this project. Here are just a few of the "ahead" and "back" moments we've encountered lately.
This is our new, shiny brass, kitchen faucet. Looks great...until you look a little closer (see below). |
This is the left side of the faucet. That little crescent of space you see on the left shouldn't be there. |
Sunday, February 7, 2016
February 7 Update
Yesterday, Saturday, was a big day. The counter tops arrived and our odd looking room has finally begun to look like a kitchen. The delays have been unbelievable so the fact that it's finally beginning to shape up has us really excited and we're daring to hope that this might all be over soon. Here are some pictures to explain the latest developments.
Here's a view of the kitchen with the counters in place. No cupboards yet in this picture. |
The island without cupboards or drawers or butcher block but, again, starting to look like a kitchen finally. |
The custom made butcher block. Some things are worth the wait. Not all. But some. |
The marble back splash in place. This isn't grouted yet. It looks very different now with the grout in place. The hole in the center is where the pot-filler fixture will go. |
Showing some of the great detail of the counters and the farm house sink sitting in place (no plumbed in yet). |
The cupboards are in place. They protrude out beyond the dining room door and make it inset which is really neat look. |
The new counter tops arrived. |
Andrew and Gordon - our counter top guys - skillfully put them in place and start cementing things together. |
The second counter top goes into place. |
Wednesday, January 13, 2016
January 13 - It's a Snow Day!!
It's been a couple weeks since my last update and we've had people here everyday but much of the progress would only be noticeable to someone who's here every day to see it. We got a new toilet installed in the downstairs bathroom. We still don't have a door on that bathroom but it's a start. But today we had a great leap forward. Today, for the first time in months, that big empty room started to finally begin to look like a kitchen. Even though it was a miserable snow storm this morning, the guys arrived with the first of our cabinets.
Even 15 cms of snow couldn't stop the guys from arriving with the first of our cabinets this morning. They were here before I even had a chance to get the snow cleared out of the courtyard. |
Just for reference I took a "before" picture of what everything looked like before the cabinets were put in place. |
The tall broom closet is in place. The one on the floor is one of the ones that will go above the fridge in that space (you'll have to use your imagination - it's on back order). |
Here are the first set all in place. The farmhouse sink goes on the top of that center cabinet. The two gaps you see are where the dishwashers will go. |
Thursday, December 31, 2015
Good Bye 2015
I am determined to post at least one more blog post before the end of this year. I will admit I've been remiss in keeping this blog up to date but I will try to bring everyone up to speed before 2016 starts.
Progress on the project has slowed considerably. Our initial end date of November 15 came and went. Then Matt suggested we'd be in by Christmas - didn't happen. And now, even though there is lots going on here almost every day, we are not realistically looking at completion until February. The progress is slow because we are into the details phase of the project and there are many things that are dependent on many other things. The tiler can't do his job until the dry waller is finished and the drywaller can't do his job until the plumber is done and the plumber can't do his job until the electricians are done...and so on. This is a complicated dance to choreograph when everything goes right but as soon as there is a mistake...that mistake can have repercussions that can set us back for weeks. And we've had more than one mistake.
But, I'm not going to complain because, as soon as I do, I realize that I sound exactly like every other person I've ever talked to who went through a renovation. So, onward and upward. Here are some images that should help bring you up to date to where we are now.
Here are some shots of the new driveway being installed.
Progress on the project has slowed considerably. Our initial end date of November 15 came and went. Then Matt suggested we'd be in by Christmas - didn't happen. And now, even though there is lots going on here almost every day, we are not realistically looking at completion until February. The progress is slow because we are into the details phase of the project and there are many things that are dependent on many other things. The tiler can't do his job until the dry waller is finished and the drywaller can't do his job until the plumber is done and the plumber can't do his job until the electricians are done...and so on. This is a complicated dance to choreograph when everything goes right but as soon as there is a mistake...that mistake can have repercussions that can set us back for weeks. And we've had more than one mistake.
But, I'm not going to complain because, as soon as I do, I realize that I sound exactly like every other person I've ever talked to who went through a renovation. So, onward and upward. Here are some images that should help bring you up to date to where we are now.
Here are some shots of the new driveway being installed.
In this image you get a real sense of just how much of a grade there is in the back yard. |
Here's a before picture of the kitchen (as posted earlier) |
This isn't part of the renovation but it represents a whole Saturday shared by me and Angus and Mitchel (Jill's boys) who helped me stack the two cords of firewood that we'd bought. |
This is just a shot of the completed barn and carriage house in the snow. As soon as the shingles start to turn grey (it'll take a year or two) this section will really start to come together. |
Here are all the pieces of our mantel uncrated. They arrived from Tararuga Designs in Toronto. Matt hired a brick layer/stone mason (Wayne) to help with the installation. |
Matt applying some of the adhesive to the first column. |
Making sure everything is level - first with a laser and then, old school, with a level. |
The second column going in. |
Wayne applying some grout after the large top piece of the mantel has been installed. |
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