Renovations (and subsequent exile)- part 1.

I write this from where I have evacuated to- in Ayer's Cliff until the air from the renovations clear. Ben has started tearing down walls and ceilings... I'm so glad that I married a handyman, because honestly, I don't know what I would do had he not been able to deal with it. I likely would have paid someone else way too much money for not as nice of a job.

The issue (or one of the issues) is this- the house was built in 1980, and has since had an addition put on to it. That addition was not done properly, and so there has been a build up of moisture in the roof/ceiling of the front entry way, causing a not-so-nice smell. So Ben, his dad and Jim have ripped apart that roof (hence my staying away in Ayer's Cliff...) and are fixing it. The past-owners were do-it-yourself'ers, but not so good at it. So we also have to un-finish the partly finished basement, because the drywall was installed incorrectly and also has a mold problem. All fixable, but all requiring LOTS of work.

After that comes the flooring- the livingroom, stairs and upstairs is currently sporting the brown, nasty wall-to-wall look that was "en vogue" circa 1981. Ben has already ripped out the carpet in the livingroom and will be installing the new chocolate maple hardwood this week. We are going to re-carpet the stairs and upstairs hall (with something a little more "us"), and then put hardwood in the upstairs bedrooms. C'est beaucoup de travail. And that doesn't even touch the wall-paper removal (including the aforementioned Canada Goose tribute wall) and painting.

My current plan is to stay with Joanne until the air clears (quite literally) and the livingroom flooring is done. Then we'll have the carpet installed by someone else, and then finish the upstairs floors, and paint. But the kids and I can come back for that part. I hope. Poor Joanne...

On a more positive note, my sister-in-law from Vancouver and her two kids came down to visit with us at Joanne's for a week. It was lots of fun (and only slightly insane) to have the four cousins together- 2 two year olds, a 5 month old, and a 4 month old... not hectic at all!

Pictures soon, I promise.