Finally Getting Going
House, Renovation ·It’s been a bit of a long haul. We’ve been working for a while to get to the point where our renovation was under way, and work has finally started. The major sticking points were finding the right contractor, getting the building permits, and finding a place to live during the reno.
We met with a number of contractors, all of whom came highly recommended. They were all great folks and gave very competitive bids. In the end, we went with Tom Cumming and his team at Severn Woods Construction. Tom’s a P.Eng and seemed to have a really detailed understanding of all the issues that go into a retrofit like our project. Plus he’s based in the area, and all of his references were incredible. Everyone likes working with him.
While our search for our contractor was ongoing, our architect Paul figured out how to get our building permits, just in the nick of time. There is a rumour going around Toronto that the “inside workers” union is going to be locked out by the City as a negotiation tactic. If that were to occur, no building permits would be issued, and our project (along with everyone else’s) would come to a halt. Fortunately, Paul and Donald got our permits to the City in enough time to get them issued.
Finally, we had to find a place to live. Our friend Margaret, who used to live on the street, bought a house and moved out at the start of February. The timing was perfect, as we were able to move into her (former) apartment on the same street, and get it with a month-to-month lease. As an even bigger favour, Margaret looked after our son for most of Saturday and Sunday so that we could supervise our move to the new apartment.
We’re all moved out of the house, and demolition has started. Crazy to see everything knocked down. Tom believes demo will take about three weeks. After that we should really start to see the project progress.