The "Old and the New" or "Before and After"

Everyone loves "before and after"s. At least I sure do! So you will have to bear with me while I spend a few minutes giving you some of our transformations/makeovers.



Peter's been after me to get some new painting runners. I couldn't see spending good money on shoes I knew would hit the garbage as soon as the building was finished. BUT I did finally give in Friday night and bought an inexpensive pair of boys runners to spatter with stain and paint for the final months of this whole big adventure! Before I could change my mind, my old runners (can you guess which ones they were?) were in the dumpster out back. I didn't even have the new ones tied!



OLD


NEW

The "old" in this series of pictures shows the station not long before it's destruction. We aquired a series of pictures from a fellow in Edmonton - Les Kozma. They were invaluable in getting together the final drawings for The Siding 12 Station - as we are now publically known. Our local radio station did a little news blurb saying "we are open for business". And of course the "new" is a pic from the same angle, track side today. Last weekend the "Lacombe" signs were hung and the address sign re-hung. The bright shiny aluminum angle iron holding the signs to the underside of the eaves needed a couple of coats of black paint. That finally got done too so the comparison pictures could be done. One more touch to complete the outside look.

We spent Saturday cleaning the timber trusses upstairs in our offices. With rags in hand and a ladder each we removed the painters tape that had been on them for almost two months. Not a time period I would recommend! But they cleaned up really well and once they were caulked with a nice dark brown flexible caulking, they looked like they are supposed to. Ah! But before we breath too deeply - one to go. The only timber truss left is one that doesn't span more than one room or hang out over a stairwell! The easiest one to do! Some morning this week we'll sneak away from the office and finish it up! Then a one more coat of varnish and they won't need to be touched again except for the occasional dusting!





A few weeks ago someone gave us the biggest compliment we could possibly have received. They told us the building looks like it has always been there. A comment like that indicates what we have been attempting to accomplish with the whole design, money and effort put into this adventure. If you know the architecture of our town you realize this is a good goal! I'm looking forward to not only moving our own business into the station, but actually finishing up the outside with the coming of long warm summer evenings and weekends!

Exciting day at 4892 - 46 Street!

Cheryl moving things into her new office space.



Now officially in business on this side of the tracks!

Today was an exciting day for us! Ray and Cheryl (administrative assistant for Ray) moved into suite 101! Last night and this morning early we got the last little things finished up. You know - things like last of the touch-ups on painting - cleaning! - installing cabinet doors and putting the stained glass panel in Ray's door last night. Peter was really uptight about that one - might be one of the reasons it was done at the very end! We actually didn't pick the panel up from Ray's former office until this past week so no one could "accidently" break it while it was in our possession! We also had the bathroom accessories installed today by Wayne from Janitorial Supplies Plus here in Lacombe. We also installed the three fire extinguishers needed so far. We should be ready now for inspection!

It is a wonderful sense of relief for both Peter and myself to have the main floor finished as far as it can be at this point. Tomorrow is our final inspection for occupancy - which will be one hurdle we will also be relieved to jump! At times like this I am reminded what a big undertaking we have grabbed ahold of! Without support from family and friends and much prayer by us and by them on ourbehalf - we couldn't have gotten this far!



THE door!



One more floor washing!

Now I am excited to get things done upstairs so we can move too!

BRRRR - Winter Carries On and on and on!

For all you readers who are wondering what our weather is like and if it is co-operating for construction - not really! I'm glad we are under cover with furnaces running and lights working! Many aren't in that position yet with their projects here in Lacombe! I'm also glad I spent that week getting the windows done downstairs in 101. Here's what we woke up with this morning! We've had snow for quite a few days now. You tell me where the road ends and the yards begin!



This week - let's see .... Today we should get a town dumpster put on the property for garbage pick-up. We're paying for it now so we might as well have our own dumpster! Late this afternoon Peter and I will go in and do more last little touch up's before Ray and his secretary Cheryl move in on the 15th. We had big plans to have most done Saturday - but after inspecting walls from the carpet and rubber base in suite 101 (Ray's offices) and lino in the hallway and bathrooms being installed we decided one final push for touch up made more sense. Besides we found other things to do. Like having coffee with some friends who chose to come visit with us and sit on carpet with us rather than in a crowded Timmie's. Thanks again so much Norm and Karen! The architectural rubber base for the hallway and bathrooms is supposed to go in today. We are anticipating more "dings"! And if none - then our work is decreased!

So this week - dumpster, bathroom accessories and hallway mat, rubber base, Ray's counter sink, glass inserted in Ray's inner office door (our job!), wall and casing touch ups and re-install cupboard doors (us again!), and final cleaning. THEN we get to work on 201 - new home for PJB Design!



Hallway (minus rubber base)



Little Girl's Room



Little Boy's Room



Suite 101 - Cheryl's Office looking into Ray's

Just thought of a few more things while posting pictures! We meet with the Fargey's rep tomorrow for final measurements on windows for blinds! And we have to re-install the bathroom doors! Can't forget that one!

The Light Grows Bigger

Even though these are not very flattering pictures, they give a very good indication of where we are at in the finishing stages of the downstairs suite and common area! Today and for the next few days the flooring goes down! So in preparation for that the floor was scraped and washed down! Eric and Becky and Brent and Kirstin came to Lacombe on Saturday afternoon to help us get ready for what seems like a big milestone in this undertaking! We couldn't have done it without them!

We've spent the last week or so getting the windows finished up (including washing them!), finishing the touch up on the walls, final coats of paint on the casings, doors and trims installed, cabinets painted and now we have the doors for the cabinet from Ray's office and our suite upstairs at home in our garage and we are in the process of spraying them. It worked for our own kitchen here at home - should work for these few cabinets. Eric spent a lot of time on Saturday tidying up our "working space" downstairs in the building so we are ready for the next phase. When quitting late at night we've just sort of put things away. Needless to say we created quite a conglomeration of tools and paint cans etc. that needed sorting through. He did a terrific job of it. Also he and Kev loaded the truck with boxes and boxes of garbage from the board room which Brent and Eric then hauled off just before closing time on Saturday. Becky and Kirstin and myself along with Peter (when the last of the touch ups was completed) crawled around on the floor scraping off drywall mud and splatters of paint to create a clean smooth surface for the flooring to go down on. Nothing worse than finding a bump under the lino where a glob of something from construction or drywalling has found a permanent resting place!

So while we breathe just a bit easier for the next day or two - we need to keep rolling on the huge stack of fir to be stained and varnished as well as get our suite walls and ceiling painted one more coat. Painting upstairs and wiping down the beams is going to be such a pleasure! Then it will truly start looking like it should! Right now our walls suffer from a mild case of the chick pox. Not too many dings up there needed filling! And I haven't even been up there to see how our cabinets look all finished in their brand spanking new color of River Rock.

A number of people stopped by on Saturday and they like our color choices. Whew! I felt like we were going out on a limb with a number of them. But it seems to be working together nicely. Everybody's baby is the cutest and the smartest. Sometimes we aren't necessarily the best judge of what is working and looking good together. We might just be a bit biased!

So here is one more blog quick this morning before we head off the the building to haul out of the building what doesn't need to stay there anymore and open up the doors for the carpet fellow(s) to give us some flooring and baseboard!! Til later then - toodles!