Small SoapStone Facelift

The soapstone counters in the kitchen have been sitting there since the day we bought and then installed them about two years ago.  They technically needed some additional finishing, but with all the other work being prioritized, they just got left as is.

Soapstone is fantastic material, but it can scratch and after 2 years and no preventative oiling, it ends up with blotchy spots.

To correct this, you have to sand down the scratches (easy!) and also use acetone to remove the spots - equally easy. The hardest part on our counters was actually sanding enough on the front edge and top to remove the markings made by the vendor.

Here is the step-by-step actions, applied on the right side counter as it was the side with the most scratches. We had added an extra piece, just an inch wide, to make the counter a touch longer at one end. This extra piece was itself a little bit big at the front and needed to be sanded down.

This shows the writing and the extra piece at the end.

The scratches (click to zoom):

The sanding was done first with a 80/100 grit, and then followed by hand with a finer 200 grit sandpaper.

The scratch part sanded out (click to zoom and see top of photo)

Lianne producing so much dust throughout the house that we are still trying to get rid of it months later!

After the dust is cleaned off, the counter is ready for oiling.  This is done using a food-grade mineral oil.  It brings out the stone beautifully.   The initial application is what you see here.  After a day or two, the oil soaks in and needs an additional coat or two.  After that, it is up to the owner as to how often the counter is oiled.

Here are the Before and After shots of both sides of the counter.  Well worth the effort!

Basement floor and wall cabinet

Just in time for the end of winter, we get another indoor task completed. When Lianne was away, Andreas finished the rec-room floor. What a valentine's present. :)

Since then, the hallway has been completed, all the quarter-round installed and wood-filled, and custom thresholds and transitions fitted. Everything has a waterproofing layer of DeltaFL with an air-gap underneath, 1/2" of insulation next, laminate underlay and finally 8mm laminate flooring.

The wall cabinet is Ikea PAX that has been waiting installation for months, and of course it had to be custom fitted and cut-down to fit under the ducting and around stack pipe protrusions!

Here's the pictures.

Garage gets a new roof

October 24, 2009

The garage desperately needed re-roofing. With a nail-gun loaner & a few sunny hours one cool Sunday afternoon, Andreas took care of the roof!

While Andreas did the garage, Lianne's job was to clean up the backyard scrub.

This is why the garage needed the new roof & why the backyard needed cleaning up!



Andreas at work:



And, Voila! Shiny new roof.


The harvest vegetable soup that Lianne made for lunch...yum!

We build a landing!

One more thing to cross off the list for the still-open building permit. We have a back sliding door that now actually goes somewhere safe.

More Deck Shots

Back in the Saddle Again

8 months later...we've been busy with other major projects. Those projects are now complete and we are starting again on the long-dusty left over things at the Estates.

Starting with...the Kitchen! We finally added the two panels around the fridge & a slim cupboard down the far side. Over the fridge was a bit of challenge, because IKEA has only 30" or 36" above-fridge cabinets and we have a 33" fridge.

Andreas loves a challenge so now we have a 'custom' fridge surround!








Next up is the final panel that wraps around the island; installing the toe-kick and central-vac , under-cabinet lighting & trim and then the crown that goes along the top of all the cabinets.

A few updated pictures of the inside

Here are a few pictures of the house, decked out for the holidays. Now we've lived in it for a few months, it's taking on a personality but still needs some work.

Thanks Randolph for the great photos.

One Year Ago - and the electrician's still aren't done

Nov 20, 2008

Andreas is at home today, with the electrician. They are still completing outstanding items - note we've been back living in the house for 4 months...

There was a light in the stairs that was 'always on' We unscrewed the light bulb in the mean time. There were several other items, that we lived without with no hardship. There was also a delay as we had to move some outlets & light boxed ~ luckily Andreas knows a little about this and we didn't incur extra costs.

It's hard to determine where "exactly" the plug above the bathroom sink should be when you are staring at a blank wall! We were off by a few inches in most cases, so we ended up with plugs behind mirrors and things like that. Nothing too serious.

It snowed last night as well...here is the house just about one year ago ( technically the 03 December) and from today