Countertops!

We are so happy with our countertops, thanks to a fantastic supplier we found in Richmond, Alpha Stone. (Oh! The things we know about now!) 

They have a huge -- I mean HUGE -- warehouse of granite and marble slabs that is a wonder to see. Even if you're not shopping for a countertop, it's a marvel to see hundreds of these massive slabs of polished stone. If you are in the market, they sell their own "no name" brand of engineered quartz at half the price of Caesarstone. They're very professional and friendly to boot!

Seamless.

Instead of a mitred edge that would make it half-again thicker, it was actually cheaper to just double it at the edge (seamlessly!). 

We've not yet found a piece of wood for the bar top, but love how the girls have decorated the temporary MDF one so much we're thinking of just having it lacquered. 

coming together

My last post was whinging about life with construction (anyone who's done a reno while living in the house knows what I'm talking about). Just add moving to the mix and stir. 

Anyway, here's the work that was being done in that week or 10 days: mostly the finer woodworking stuff, at which Tercera excels. 

What strange, archaic implement is that, you wonder? They do use the loud modern kind, but, much to the cheer of their clients, often employ this quaint relic too!

Preparing the back exterior for shingling (not Katie, the builders).

Framing in the back door.

The shingling begins (cedar shakes to match the rest of the house).

Platform for the new balcony being built at the back to match the one on the front (this one is off the back bedroom, over the extension, looking north).

Demanding clients inspecting the quality of the work.

Back window in extension (it's the original window, recovered from demolished original back wall). The inspector did not want to allow it, but relented when Keith pointed out it would be in keeping with the goal of retaining heritage. : )

That window seen from the interior, new frame built.

Frame being painted.

The front balcony was also brought up to code. The railing was dangerously low!

Martin and Terence were here for a week building balconies, shingling, and other exterior stuff. Fine fellows to have around.

Lovely little back balcony coming together! New shingling there too.

Standing on that little balcony looking out to mountain glimpse view.

Exterior shingling done. Looks fantastic! 

As I showed in an earlier post, temporary stairs leading up to back door. Built in three hours.

Shingling looks amazing. They did a nice border at the corner.

Front balcony done! The railing's so high that it hides some of the nice detail, but at least it's safe!

Otherwise, the front exterior looks pretty much the same. You can see by the pile of boxes on the porch that we're starting to do a bit of unpacking. Slooowly! 

Oh, and notice the black rectangle to the right of the front door? That's where a nasty window had been sketchily put in; the guys removed it and have redone the siding to match.

It's all starting to come together!

Feeling overwhelmed.

Here's why, until last night, I haven't posted on the blog. The last week has been, well, kind of hellish. While the last two months have been stressful, the last week of stumbling over builders and boxes -- and everything covered in drywall dust -- has been the most trying. 

A couple of people have kindly asked how the "settling in's" been going. 

Settling in? I was barely coping.

We couldn't unpack because the workers were there every morning at 8:30, and we just had to scramble among the boxes, find what we need (for school, work, living) and try to stay out of the way.

Good morning!

Hiya Dave.

So everything remained under wraps, dusty wraps -- which do little to keep dust out. (None of which is to blame Tercera. These are just the hazards of living in a construction zone ...with the added ruckus of our belongings being packed away.)

So, where is ....?

Living out of suitcases (packed for a two-week stay five weeks ago) and scrambling to find stuff amongst boxes and construction, we were starting to look like a Hoarders episode. Argh!

Drywall dust everywhere. I cannot STAND the stuff. Gives me the heebie-jeebies.

Janet, you said, oh yes -- drywall dust -- looks bad when the sunlight shines on it. Yes, but it was much worse. In piles and drifts, in clothes and cupboards, dishes, toys, inside packed boxes and in our computer keyboards and ... everywhere. I could not get enough lotion.

The floor-protective paper was still taped down.

One day I just decided to rip it all out, and this is the mess it left behind. Grit, sawdust, drywall dust. And disturbing it spread another layer over everything.

Artwork, covered with dust; it's inside the frames.

All the boxes are covered.

Sigh. So it was a tough week. And I was scrambling through all this to catch up on essay-marking. Marking on my bed, under siege by screaming table saws and snapping staple guns.
Nervous breakdown time. 

Here are the saving graces. First, of course, the girls, who manage to make good of every situation.

The scaffolding was their jungle gym.

They waited patiently in (more) tile stores. (while I ordered the back-splash! Yay!)

They just naturally have fun wherever they are.

They made caves in the boxes and had story time -- led by LongXi (with Ashton)

They had their first sleepover in the house (second ever) with LongXi, who's like a brother to them, says Katie, and he stayed for the Easter-egg hunt in the morning.

They took advantage of our summer weather and played on our new street with new neighbour (who's poised behind that shrub with a hose).

And bit by bit we've managed to unpack a few things (this is not what our living room will look like! It's just getting some things out of piles).

But, best of all, I spent Wednesday pulling up the cardboard flooring and sweeping up the mess, and on Thursday Tercera had a cleaning crew come and spend an entire day with the vacuum, and, by the end of it, the place was CLEAN. 

Now we really can start settling in.

Anyway, it is just impossible to get down in the dumps with these two around. They have fun wherever they go and they're enthusiastic about every little thing. On yet another Ikea trip, Katie found this spring party decor collection, perfect for her birthday party.

It's all good!

We even managed to have a nice family birthday party and Katie got a new scooter!

 

Here they are peeking through the skylights on top of the extension, looking down at me in the kitchen;  Fifi's April Fool's "trick"!

Another April Fool's trick, taught to them by LongXi. Put scotch tape across the faucet so that when you turn it on, you get sprayed with icy cold water. Ha ha. That was, um, very funny.

The other thing that's kept me from going off the deep end is the awesomeness (word used in its true sense) of Vancouver in spring. The snow-capped mountains from our back balcony.

So many different aspects no matter where you are in Vancouver.

But the girls and I drove over to Renfrew and 10th where, in my opinion, you get one of the best views.

I've started taking these drive-by shots from the highway between Vancouver and Surrey. The views can be absolutely sublime, redeeming an otherwise irredeemable commute.

Like Janet says, we are so lucky to be doing this in the spring: the weather, the birds, the cherry blossoms -- their perfume has been heavy in the air the last few days! These are at the school.

 Classic Vancouver: cherry blossoms with snow-capped mountains behind.

In the next post, I'll show you what the workers were actually doing the last week to create all that dust!