The House

This is my story of the making of  "Bluestone House™". 

Bluestone House is a magical place that is my Workshop/Studio where I hold interactive classes on all kinds of things that are "Everything Home" (see workshops )

 The original house on our property was a 600 sq ft.box... 

It consisted of a kitchen, living room, bedroom and bathroom.  There were stairs that were very steep. The first 2 steps were almost 14" high with 2 additional bedrooms in the upper area, that one could not stand up in.  For the first few years we used it for storage, as you can see in the pictures.

       

       

 

The first pic shows the only closet in the house !

Pic 2 & 3 show the steep stairs !

Pic 4 is the hall ! Really ?  Door on the right is basement and left is the closet !

                               

The pretty bathroom had a pink tub, toilet & vanity ! 

Oh ya, and that's not wallpaper it's backer board glued to the drywall.

After much deliberation with my hubby on whether or not to tear it down, I convinced him I could make a studio out of it.

 

Thus began my "labour of love".

The first thing was to secure the basement - remove the old oil tank, water heater & furnace.

Then to drain all the water ...

        

Hubby & friends helped add a sump pump into the basement as there was no drainage at all. We rented a jack hammer and broke into the cement at the lowest point - easy for us to find - it's where all the water sat ! Lots of buckets of cement and dirt lifted out of the basement. Good exercise ! Right ?!

            

Once that was done I began to gut the house !

                                       

OMG !!! It was disgusting ! - Lots of critters lived there.
I am standing in what was the living room and the what was the kitchen is behind me !

  

Once all of the walls, insulation, wiring, plumbing,  flooring and fixtures  were out
(with help of some fantastic friends !)
I closed one window, opened another into a door and changed a door into a window.
I got a super fantastic deal on some new windows, or I would not have changed them.
None of the windows fit as they were made for someone else (hence the deal).
 Since I had to re-frame the windows anyway, I decided to build them out and put a 16" ledge.

   

All electrical was done by a licensed electrician before the insulation went in.

I insulated the entire place with Fiberglass Pink & Roxul .

I gained a lot of knowledge about insulation. 

The reason I used both is ...

A great deal ! of coarse ! 

When a bag of insulation, at a big box store, is damaged, one can get a discount. 

So that's what I did waited for them, I was not in any rush so I bought them 1 at a time. I was not concerned about the type as it was going in the studio not my house.

Insulation comes in different thicknesses, made for different size studs. I had 2x4 studs therefore my insulation needed to be 4" width. Studs are usually put in on 16" centres but my studio was built by the previous owner and not all studs are the same so I had to measure & cut each piece differently. 

If you think you will get better R-value by using something thicker than is required, and squishing it in, that wont happen, it will actually decrease the  R value. So be sure to get the thickness you need. Cutting it is very easy - especially the Roxul, cuts like cake with a special knife.

Notice all the cans of spray foam ! I don't want any critters moving back in !!!

Everything gets a layer of  vapour barrier, very thick plastic, that gets put up with a staple gun.

Then all the seams and staples get covered with Tuck Tape for maximum effect.

Doesn't this look cool ?!

Above is a view from the main floor looking up.

I wanted to remove the second floor and have a high cathedral ceiling, but I still had to finish the ceiling so I left the floor in until I was done. 

 

        

Above are the baffles I ran from the fascia to the peak, for circulation, then put up the insulation, vapor barrier & tuck tape.  Tongue & groove wainscoting pine is what I used for the ceiling - a real cottage look. They were not the easiest to install, my girlfriend helped me, brutal on our necks.

Then I put up drywall on the ends around the windows - added window trim, and tube after tube of "Alex Plus" caulking ! Covers all kinds of little imperfections.

 

 Drywall on the main floor was next, then applying the drywall compound over the taped seams. I am no drywall expert :( but I know the basics.  It's not perfect but it is done correctly - the imperfections are in the aesthetics and I can live with that. Finally the sanding, priming and painting !

 

Above is the door I added where there use to be a window !

 After almost everything was primed & painted I was began to remove the second floor, leaving only the beams (joists)

joist |joist|  noun
a length of timber or steel supporting part of the structure of a building, typically arranged in parallel series to support a floor or ceiling.

Painting as I went along to add variety.

Last Piece !

I laid all the porcelain tile floors myself ! It was wicked hard !!! 

I know how to do it ! I can teach how to do it ! But...

I will never do it again just for fun - let's be real here.

I bought some cedar decking planks and used them for the rest of the floors ! 

 Well here it is !!! 

Almost 6 years later ...

I love my Red Chandelier !!!

It took a long time, a little bit each week in my spare time, but it was well worth it ! 

A Special Thank You to my Hubby and our friends that helped !!!

Please feel free to leave me your comments !

Happy Painting !