Basement renovation, check!

I hired an amazing contractor who spent about 2 months transforming my basement from a disgusting sewage infested pit to a fancy one bedroom apartment. Also, to prevent future floods, a back check valve was installed. Most of the drain lines were redone so that clay pipes were removed. Ceilings all pulled down and sound insulation and resilient channels were installed to make the unit more soundproof. The kitchen and bathroom were both relocated so that the only window is now part of the kitchen/living room area. The best news is that the unit is now rented to a happy tenant.

Before - Laundry has become the new kitchen

After - New kitchen with window

Before - Old kitchen is now the bedroom

After - New bedroom

  

Old Bathroom

New Shower

Vanity & Toilet

On to the basement!

The 2nd floor apartment has been rented and the main floor is now done. It was time to think about renovating the basement for another rental unit. The basement had gone through some major plumbing issues due to a combination of roots blocking the main sewage line and some heavy rainfalls we had last year. Water was not draining from the house and sewage seeped through and exploded out of the basement floors at some point. Yuck! Time to renovate. Instead of gruelling, back-breaking labour, I can finally afford to hire a contractor to just "take care of business". 

"Water" was coming up from the ground
This got much worse after a flood when
sewage shot out of the drains

Main Floor Living Room Befores & Afters

Finally after 3 years, the main floor unit is complete. It's now more of an open concept modern space! It's a lot of work but well worth it! Been a hell of a learning experience!

Before - View from back of
house towards new kitchen

After - View from back of house

Before - View towards

back of the house

Before - Kitchen

   

After - View towards back of house

Ceiling Bling!

I think they say laziness is the mother of invention. My arms and lungs are fed up with mudding and taping so in an attempt to avoid these mundane tasks, I have decided to install ceiling tiles. These tiles are actually made with styrofoam so they are cheap, light and easy to install with just tile adhesive. Genius! To add even more bling to the ceiling, I installed 3 pendant lamps over the kitchen peninsula which are made from vintage inspired lamp parts complete with Edison light bulbs. The ceiling fan is the piece de resistance, made by Minka Aire, Model Artemis, sexiness level high! Balancing this splurge item is the $25 Home Depot kitchen track lights. Of course to set the right mood, every light must be on a dimmer!

Sexy ceiling fan

Pendants over
kitchen peninsula

Kitchen track lights

Patio Doors and more!

I ordered a couple doors, one for the basement entry and one for the main floor.  Finally I have a door that will open and close for the basement, without a karate kick that is.  The garden doors have mini blinds built in for privacy but allow lots of light to come in when open. For extra privacy, even got new fences for the yard. It's a tiny oasis in the big city.

Patio doors with mini blinds

New fence

Stove, Range Hood, Fridge & Dishwasher Oh My!

The appliances sat in the living area for more than 6 months before they were installed in their final positions. Having a functioning kitchen means no more take-outs which had been a staple for more than 2 years. I am now cooking with gas!

New appliances

Shiny range hood

Baseboards & Trim

Finally I have reached the point of putting in the finishing touches that make the apartment pretty. All the windows and doors need trim and the floors need baseboards.  Even though the place is small, it was not an easy task. The walls of this old house were not flat, the corners not square and some windows were hard to trim because they were just too small for the opening. However, once the trim was in, the unit started to look like a real home!

Old window

Old window with new trim

Doors with trim