Project Rainpark - Stairs, Hallway and Home Office

At the Rainpark Residence in Mississauga, we recently completed two Washrooms and we simultaneously refinished the stairs & hallway and built a new home office. Talk about multitasking! Here are a few pics showing you the changes we made to the old  stairs that were carpeted in a cream color pile that had taken a beating over time. Unfortunately we do not have BEFORE pix but we have damn good AFTER pix.

The stairs were sanded down and stained in a custom stain to match the new hardwood flooring we installed upstairs. New spindles and newel posts were added for a more modern look and the entire space was painted in this rich off white color.

The new hardwood was absolutely stunning with the wood grain showing through in a random pattern. And the matte finish gave it a modern look. All doors were changed to white shaker style doors with all matte black hardware. The casing and baseboards were upgraded to a modern Step Bevel pattern. A very modern chandelier and contemporary ceiling lights were added to bring drama to the open space. These small changes made all the difference in transforming the upper level of this beautiful home.

Custom flush vent covers in matching hardwood were added to the flooring for a seamless look.

And finally we added custom cabinetry with a butcher block countetop in a matching stain in the home office creating much need storage and dual workstations for the family.

The home office design called for a 36'' wide cabinet modified to 25'' tall as the center unit. It would have two doors to house a printer and a shredder. Later in the project we realized the need for a hanging files solution, as this was in the original desk that this cabinet replaced. After much research we realized that no such solution existed to this particular dilemma. And it was upto to us to find a functional solution. We mounted the existing door onto an 18'' Sektion (Ikea) tall drawer to which we attached a custom built frame to hold the legal sized hanging folders. The challenge here was that this unit would have no side wall in the middle onto which we could mount the drawer slide, as any addition to the width would mean that the printer would not fit. We screwed the right hand slide to the base of this unit. At first glance it looks like two doors, and we are pleased that we have still managed to retain the symmetry.

Last year we remodeled this lovely family's basement and you can view all pics HERE. And this year we remodeled the Master Washroom and their son's washroom, see all pics HERE.

You can see more of our work on our INSTAGRAM and behind the scenes footage on our FACEBOOK.

Thank you for staying in touch with us. We truly appreciate your feedback, comments and just daily interactions on our social media. Have a great day folks!

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Big hugs

Dhiraj & Lynda

Custom Fence, Gate and Shelter

We're currently working on a few outdoor projects at one of my client's East Mall residence. The brief was to remove the existing single gate side entrance and rebuild it with a double gated entrance and a custom pergola. A smaller fence was required to separate the driveway from the neighbour's rear walkway. In the rear, a structure was required to cover the space to extend the functionality of the side patio through inclement weather. Some of the challenges we faced were having to dig the 4 foot holes by hand to avoid hitting the gas lines that ran close to the post locations. Everything is coming along nicely except for the rain but progress is still being made. Check out other exterior projects we have completed from custom outdoor kitchens to deck and barn style sheds.

Original side entrance courtesy of Google Street View

These boards were eventually butted close together as the client wanted more privacy. The curved section at the top was eventually nixed.

The posts have yet to be cut to the desired height.

Testing the look of the purlins on the support beams

All posts cut to height, Purlins affixed and the gate detail cut. Only one handle was fixed here to keep the dog from running out.

A second single gate in the rear of the passage offers privacy from the street

Getting started at the rear. 6x6 column buried 4 feet deep in concrete ensure that this structure is not going anywhere soon.

Simpson Strong Tie SlopeSkew joist hangers were used throughout

On the beam end, Simpson Strong Tie hurricane ties will be installed on every rafter

All done. And now on to roofing....

We Be Chillin'

As a follow up to my last post on Outdoor Decor inspiration, I had the girlfriends over for drinks last weekend and we got the front patio all dressed up for them. I had a bench and two ceramic stools for seating but was desperate for a coffee table. D to the rescue. He found a tree stump which was lying in our side yard. He quickly made me some legs out of iron pipe and fit them on to make me a coffee table............... all in time for my partay. I was clapping my hands like a two year old ! He is a mad genius ! 

The shell is a thrift find and the cushions are all years old and faded, probably time for me to get new ones. Target why have you left us and gone ? just when I needed new cushions ! 

The Engine order telegraph is from D's ship repair company when we were living in Dubai

D made this bench about 2 years ago and it is my favorite place to read in the afternoons.

We found this champagne bucket at our local goodwill and thought it would look great with our boxwood

My hurricane lamps are perfect for this setting......sometimes I wish I could bring everything from inside outdoors.

I'm still pining for an outdoor rug but with the amount of rain we get I think I might just have to paint one on the pine boards. And lastly to find some pretty fairy lights to string up on that big bush behind the bench.

And with this lovely space we are all set for the warmer weather.........whenever it decides to come ! 

Check out our Pinterest boards for more outdoor ideas.

Big hugs

Lynda

Rectifying a Flawed Kitchen Vent

A Kitchen remodel that I am working on called for an upgrade to the venting system from 4" to 6" on account of the change in the fan. The newer unit moves a higher volume of air that the existing 4" would handle.

The existing vent ran through a bulkhead above the kitchen cabinets to the outside and then through the roof and out a roof vent. Or at least it should vent out a roof vent. This was not the case in this install. The 4" flexible duct was pointed at an attic vent and left like that.

 An attic vent is supposed to remove air from the attic through convection and should not be used to vent any devices under pressure

What I found when I removed the attic vent

What's wrong with this??? Firstly, there is no positive connection to the outdoors. The flexible duct is merely pointed at the vent. Should the vent get blocked or squished, the air flow (in this case containing moisture) will be vented into the cold space of the attic and condense into water and lead to mold issues. Exactly what I found when I removed the ceiling to repair the bow.

After removing the vertical drywall section of the bulkhead, I ran a rigid 6" duct all the way to the end where it connected to a 6" flexible duct and up into the small attic section. 

 All joints screwed together and sealed with foil tape

6" elbow to connect to the range hood. The old 4" hole is visible to the right. Modifications to the layout of the kitchen meant a new location for the duct

From the outside I pulled the flex duct through and connected it to the supplied collar. I had to enlarge the hole and reinstall the collar. The collar has to be slipped under the top shingles so that the water flows over the vent and will not enter attic. After this the actual roof cap is installed over the collar, but under the top shingles as with the collar. What you have now is a venting system with a positive flow to the outdoors. No condensation problems any more.

The flex duct, screwed and taped with aluminium foil tape. 

Roof Cap installed 

Another view of the roof cap

Dhiraj

If you are looking for solutions for your home, contact us about our design, build & decorate services.

Brampton Washroom Build

I rebuilt a washroom at the very beginning of summer. As with most of my builds, this was a complete tear out, down to studs and joists.

A new tub had been installed 5-6 years ago. However the previous builder had slapped tiles onto moisture proof drywall and had installed the tiles with mastic. Needless to say, the tiles fell off easily. However there was mould everywhere including in the insulation. This increased the scope of my work. After ripping off the strip wood sub floor, I found that the floor joist spacing would not work for the 18" x 18" stone tiles. This increased my scope even further.

This particular house was built in the late sixties, so I expected to find some surprises.

These are pictures of the washroom as it was on the day I started the tear out.

The line 4 rows up indicates where the old tiles were removed to install the new tub 

Bye Bye, old shower..... Please observe a moment of silence.....

Then sledgehammers!!!!!!

And this is post tear out. We worked too fast to take pictures of the mouldy insulation etc. So no pics of that grossness......

Looking into the tub area. I moved the control valve up. I would've normally removed the tub filler, but the clients wanted it in place

 On the electrical side, I added another control for the shower pot light

I found the floor joist spacing to be over 20" OC. Not exactly great for the stone tiles. The original flooring was linoleum over 1/8" plywood. Later the owners had the wash room tiled. This was laid over lath and scratch coat

 None of the stud spacing was consistent. I was going to hang a cabinet on the right. I would need to install blocking which would facilitate the proper install of the cabinet

The mould is visible in these shots

Copious amounts of blocking had to be installed to stiffen the floor prior to installing the new sub floor 

Blocking here

Blocking there

Blocking in the shower area for the pan liner

The new shower drain in place 

Blocking for the toilet roll holder and rectification of the window frame

Blocking for the mirror and for the cabinet

Next up was the drywall install. I used moisture rated drywall for the walls and ceiling and Durock for the shower enclosure

Next step Mud & Tape....

These are final pictures that I have. I did some more work and will attempt to get pictures later.

 Furniture and fixtures installed. I later did a back splash for the wall behind the sink

 Looking into the shower enclosure. The controls are not yet in place

 View of the shower seat

Another view of the wash room and the reconstructed window frame

Dhiraj

If you are looking for solutions for your home, contact us about our design, build & decorate services.