Kitchen Arrives

The kitchen and all that accompanies the kitchen arrived today from Ikea.  I know, Ikea, the horror!  But wait a second, depending on the application and the desired finish (and more importantly the countertop and backsplash you put around the cabinets!), Ikea can be a decent option.  It will work well here and it keeps the project on budget, which keeps the members happy :-).

Speaking of members, we had a volunteer crew that loves using allen keys, tapping in wooden dowels and following Swedish pictorial instructions come in and put all of the boxes together.  Nice work team!

Meanwhile, the committee has been busy selecting the final finishes and paint colours.  I promise we won't paint the walls this blurry... :-)

Changes onsite

The club is coming along.  We received the tongue and groove pine wall cladding for the main room, right after we got the pot lights installed - good timing.  Mick finished off the tile today, with grout scheduled for tomorrow.  If all goes well, the wall cladding installation will start next Monday and the kitchen installation at the end of next week.

Tile Continues

We've used our time wisely... before we have a place full of wood paneling (tomorrow), Ikea kitchen boxes (Friday) and our trim and doors (Monday), we've been working on tile, paint and getting some lights in the place.  While the weather outside is Spring-like, the afternoons are pretty dark, so Mick was happy to have the potlights completed today... he can now "see the light"!

Window Installed

We got the new, double awning kitchen window installed today - what a difference in there!

Priming the drywall

The tapers have come and gone and the drywall is complete.  That means Mick has put on his painter's hat and begun to prime the drywall.  He'll continue to finish off the ceilings tomorrow after sanding the walls so we can make room for delivery of the wood for the walls and the kitchen - both expected next week.

Meanwhile, we have requested samples in from Goudy that matches what the committee has selected for the walls.  Once approved, we'll have a better idea on the finishes for the rest of the project.

Taping Continues

The tapers were in again today to apply their final coat.  With the new insulation in the walls, the place stays pretty warm and the drywall compound has dried very quickly.

If all goes well, they'll be in for their final sanding on Wednesday and then we can get rid of all of that dust!

Drywall Installed

Drywall was installed today on the ceilings, bathroom, kitchen and "sun room" area.  Drywall always means the finishing stage is approaching.  However, we still have to get the taping done, which will take about a week with three to four visits and drying time in between.

Tile begins

The team has chosen a nice, neutral 24x12 grey porcelain tile to cover the bathroom, kitchen and floor in front of the fireplace.  That tile setting began today and will be the first sign of "finished" products applied at the club, with many more to come.

Drywall and Tile Arrive

Bright and early, the drywall arrived, followed by the floor tile for the bathroom, kitchen and fireplace.  While we're waiting on the pine wall cladding for the main room from the supplier for a couple of weeks, we have time to complete the drywall installation and taping, as well as all of the tile work.

Mick took the opportunity today to put down the wire mesh and scratch coat that will serve as the base for the new tiled areas.  Thing are starting to get nice and neat inside again.... though the drywall guys start by end of week so.... yeah, it's going to get messy a few times before we're done here!

Winter has arrived

Just in time, we've finished any exterior work and cleaned up all of the garbage, filling a second 20 yard bin full to the brim.  Indoor projects in the winter are nice for the (interior) trades... perhaps I should start selling it to them as a "stay-cation" to drive down the labour costs.... hmmm....

Strapping for drywall

Our carpenter was working away in the heat while it was freezing outside today.  Even not completely closed in, the Club is noticeably warmer...amazing what a little insulation and vapour barrier can do!

We have today and tomorrow to finish carpentry - which is now basically strapping the walls and ceiling to properly prepare for drywall and wood paneling.

Without the horizontal straps, the tongue and groove, vertically installed, wouldn't have anything to hold on to.  It makes the whole thing a little more labour and material intensive, but that's the job!

For the "sun room" (the original extension that sticks out from the building that faces the tennis courts), we've elected to go with drywall for a more contemporary look.  This means strapping that room to flush out the depth to cover all of the old supporting beams, which were, for some reason, sitting proud of the walls of the addition.

Insulation & Selections

The guys are getting the place all sealed up.... feels better already!  The another load of garbage headed to the dump, the interior and exterior is nice and clean (ok, that's coming from someone who builds houses - let's call it "neat").

We turn then, to selections.  The organizing committee has been working hard with visits to kitchen  and flooring suppliers.  They brought some samples back today and we began mapping out a strategy that will fit with the look the club is trying to achieve.

Keeping the place warm

As we had discovered during primary demo, there's barely a stick of insulation in any of the exterior walls (the basement and joist pockets downstairs is a whole different topic that will need to be addressed in the future).  Today we began insulating the walls and preparing the ceiling with a new vapour barrier and strapping for drywall.

Subfloor complete

The subfloor was completed today.  As with many renovations, there are still some minor point of demolition as well as cleaning and denailing.  Overall, it feels a lot better to walk into the building knowing the subfloor is secure and solid.

We're creating a new media space around the old chimney that's exposed on the one end of the club.  This will create a nice, neat area to bury all of the cords and AV equipment.

Moving on!

Subfloor Prep

Now that most of the demo has been cleaned up (though with a job like this, keeping the worksite clean is a constant battle!), we marked the floor joists and screwed in a plywood subfloor that will strengthen the entire structure and provide a good base for the new hardwood flooring.

Plumbing Rough-in Begins

With electrical work primarily complete (as far as we can go at this point anyway!), we turned to plumbing today.  That involved making sure the existing infrastructure was up to snuff (it was, but we did notice some heat runs that were not connected!), then moving and adding where needed.

We prepared the way for the second toilet going in...

... and moved the kitchen plumbing to the new location.