When New Doesn’t Mean New November 25, 2010

When you buy a pre-owned car or house, generally speaking, you say something like “I bought a new car” or “we’re moving into a new home” even though it isn’t ‘new’.

Over the past few decades, we’ve grown used to the concepts of reduce, reuse and recycle. While renovting often is a case of ‘out with the old and in with the new’, it is possible to reuse things to prevent them from becoming landfill. Like your “new car” or “new house”, you can create new from somone else’s, or your own, old.

In house # 2, I inhereted an odd little ensuite. I know from the realtor, and my own visual inspection, that the tennants didn’t use this bathroom. The toilet and sink looked brand new. We removed them carefully, I inspected them thorougly, then I cleaned the furiously before installing them in the new main bathroom. No one would ever guess.

A bit hard to see in the photo, but that toilet (and the sink off to the right) are the ones from the ensuite. Another case of recycling in this house came from visiting a new and used building supply store where I bought used pocket doors for a fraction of the price – they simply needed a new coat of paint.

You'd never know

In house #3, everything needed a major overhaul. Little things got our attention, like the handrails on the stairway. The Renovator sanded that ugly dark shiny finish to find a beautiful light wood underneath, we finished and reinstalled the ‘new’ handrails.

Here in house #4, we’ve got some great options for recycling. Many of the big things are ‘bin filler’, like the carpetting and cabinetry, but some things can be saved or repurposed. We’re carefully removing the bricks from the wall downstairs to reuse in a funky new way in a different location. When we replace the windows, we’ll be saving the old ones to build a small greenhouse. Although the lilac toilet and sink will have to go, there are a number of cabinet knobs and hardware bits we’ll be making use of.

Definitely get that dumpster if you’re doing a full reno, but before you decide to ‘toss it all’, take a closer look and see if you can make something old new again.

The Squirrel, The Bear and A Moose November 6, 2010

Okay, I’ve taken a couple of months off from the blog, but I’m back!

The Renovator’s best friend goes hunting every fall and has been bugging The Renovator to go. This year, he finally caved in, wrote the test, got his licence and booked the time off. I wasn’t looking forward to him being gone for 10 days, but accepted this bizarre manhood ritual for what it was.

A few days into The Renovator’s absence, I was coerced into going to the Justin Beiber concert by my best friend. I had no interest in Justin Beiber and neither did she, but her 6 year old son was desperate to go along with the 12 year old daughter of a friend. I was in a rush to get to her place when I heard a sound coming from the living room. Wa wa wahooo! Wa wa wahoo!

I walk into the living room and hear it again – wa wa wahooo – coming from the curtains. I touch the curtains, they move back and again the noise. I, of course, completely lose it and leap back from the curtains vowing never to go near them again. My mind is racing and all I’ve got is “what is that?”

By this point, the dog and cat have noticed the sounds and are planning a menu. Brandie is barking and pacing, Avi is sitting on the windowsill looking up to the top of the curtains, thinking about dessert. I’m about ready to pass out. I’m thinking it’s a bird. I’ve tried looking from the far end of the window, but whatever this creature is, it’s sitting on top of the curtain rod, under the valance, in shadows.

I grab a long stick and poke the curtains – wa wa wahooo, wa wa wahooo! I kick the dog and cat outside. My husband is away hunting, my best friend’s husband is with him and my dad if 40 minutes away. I’m thinking about letting the cat and dog back in and shutting the door to let them deal with it. I’ll clean up the mess afterwards. Instead, I call the SPCA and explain my issue in a panicked voice.

Before Mr. SPCA arrives, I open the front door so that he’ll know he’s at the right house. He gets here quick, I fill him in, then I grab the stick to show him the noise the “thing” makes. As soon as I swish the curtains, out leaps this crazy black squirrel. I scream like a little girl, the squirrel leaps to the back of the couch, over the pony-wall, down ten feet to the foyer and out the front door. Thank goodness I’d left it open.

Mr. SPCA says he thinks it came in through the fireplace. After he leaves, I leave the front door open – it’s nice out afterall. I try to get my heart rate back down to normal and hear the doorbell. It’s Mr. SPCA again and he says to me, “You might want to close the door – there’s a bear coming into your yard.”

Sure enough there’s our local bear waltzing into the yard, wandering down to the creek, back up the yard. We’ve only seen her at 3 or 4 in the morning and here she is wandering across our yard! She crosses the driveway and sees the fence that has been extended. She hauls off and swats the fence, then grabs the tree and climbs over to wander through the neighbours yard.

She's not very big, but she hates that fence!

I do my best not to faint, pack myself up and head off to Justin Beiber.

I would have preferred to face the squirrel again. At least the hunters got a moose out of the deal.