EPISODE 6: THE LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL - RENOVATING MY TORONTO VICTORIAN HOME

Home renovations in Toronto - A Toronto Victorian Home - classical mouldings - plaster crown mouldings

Newly installed ornate plaster mouldings from Parsiena Design

RENOVATING MY TORONTO VICTORIAN HOME - EPISODE 6!

We are officially a month and a half into our finishes and I am already beginning to see the dream home I have been manifesting start to materialize. It’s one thing to dream and pin’ to Pinterest but now that it’s time to pull the trigger on the design elements I have been swooning over for the last year, my heart has begun to flutter with excitement watching it all come together.

Of course the finishes have come with their own set of challenges. Unlike everything that has happened up to this point, being ‘hands off’ means we’ve had to communicate very clearly and leave nothing to chance. There have been a few instances already where small assumptions have led to bigger mistakes and further work in order to correct immediately. Despite these obstacles, Adam and I continue to push our Toronto home renovation forward with bated breath, especially now that we are able to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

If this is your first time tuning into my new Toronto home renovation series and want to start from the beginning, check out Episode Episode 1: Sledgehammer Therapy and keep up with upcoming episodes by subscribing to my YouTube channel!

Since the last episode, a lot has happened at the house! Adam and I are happy to report that we passed our ‘pre-drywall’ inspection. I was so nervous for the inspection because I had to be on site by myself to answer any questions our inspector had. Thankfully I was able to calm my anxiety by keeping busy by cleaning the main floor and installing sound proofing insulation into the walls surrounding the middle bedroom on the 2nd floor.

toronto home renovations - soundproofing wall with sound batt insulation

Soundproofing the interior walls of our new second floor middle bedroom using batt sound proofing insulation

SOUNDPROOFING WALLS

Adam and I did a lot of research around soundproofing walls. Now that we had reconfigured the 2nd floor layout, adding in two new bedrooms and a bathroom, we thought it would be wise to soundproof the middle bedroom now if we hope to one day turn it into a nursery.

Although it is challenging to make a wall 100% soundproof there are a few things you can do to dampen the noise. The first thing we did was install sound proof insulation between the studs in the interior walls surrounding the middle bedroom. Given my recently acquired expertise in batt insulation (watch the last episode to find out what I mean) I was able to do this myself in just a few hours. After that, we had the drywall crew install SONOpan (soundproofing panels) prior to drywall as a way of adding an additional sound absorbing barrier between the rooms. This of course made the wall thicker, but it was a loss we were willing to accept in the name of comfort!

Home renovations in Toronto - A Toronto Victorian Home

We had to wrap the 2nd floor front window after we found a leak

WE FOUND A LEAK

Of course, nothing goes as planned when it comes to home renovations and the night before drywall was suppose to start we found a leak! There was a massive storm that night and Adam and I were at the house moving things out of the way for the drywall crew, when all of a sudden we spotted water drops coming from main floor ceiling at the the front of the house. Upon further investigation, we figured out that the leak was coming from our second floor windows and had to act quick. I ran to the basement and got a sheet of left over vapour barrier, which Adam and I used to wrap the front window and stop the leak. Thankfully our temporary solution worked and is holding up pretty well, but fixing the front windows is just one more thing to add to the list for spring.

Drywall went up pretty quick and obviously made a huge impact in making our Toronto Victorian home feel livable once again. Part way through, Adam and I did had to demo the existing stairs case and finish up the batt insulation along that wall, but other than that there wasn’t much work required for us to do at the house. Demoing the stairs did result in our basement turning into a bit of a sandbox though. Although we have no plans to start working on it now, we do plan to finish it after the work on the first and second floor is complete.

Home renovations in Toronto - A Toronto Victorian Home - ceiling medallion silicone mould replica

The first cast of the ceiling medallion Parsiana Design made from the silicone mould they created a month earlier

MY VISIT TO PARSIENA DESIGN

Since I didn’t physically have to be working at the house all day, I finally had time to turn my attention to the finishes! It had been a couple weeks since Parsiena Design had made a silicone mould of my ceiling medallion on-site, and although we had the good fortune of successfully removing the original medallion, Parsiena did make a replica using the mould and I was excited to see how it all turned out.

Located just outside Toronto in Vaughan, Parsiena Design’s production house was a feast for the eyes! Specializing in the manufacturing of architect elements, Parsiena is known as the place to go for custom fireplace mantels in Toronto. In addition to fireplace mantels, they also have a extensive catalogue of beautiful ornate plaster crown mouldings, stone range hoods, medallions, rosettes, friezes and trims. Not only can you see their work across the city of Toronto, but they have also done a lot of work internationally and in the US.

One of my favourite parts about my visit to their production studio was seeing their creative process in action! It’s not everyday an artist lets you peak behind the curtain, and I was thrilled to be invited into their workshop to see masters at work. During my visit they not only showed me the replica of my ceiling medallion, but also some beautiful stone fireplace mantels they had recently completed, I also got to see the crown moulding panels they had produced for me which were ready for install once the drywall was complete.

What do you think I should do with the replica of my ceiling medallion? Fell free to let me know in the comments below!

Home renovations in Toronto - A Toronto Victorian Home - classical mouldings - plaster crown mouldings

The plaster crown mouldings that were installed in my kitchen


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Home renovations in Toronto - A Toronto Victorian Home - finished drywall-3.jpg

The main floor after drywall is complete! So excited for my new kitchen to be installed!

INTERIOR ARCHWAY

By mid January, drywall was wrapping up and the house felt completely transformed. Now that we had walls you could really feel each room beginning to take shape.

One special request I had made prior to drywall was to make an archway where our future dining room bar will be. I was really happy with how it turned out and think it created a really interesting focal point within the room.

The kitchen area also had me giddy with excitement. With the new back door letting in all this natural light, the first floor looked better than ever.

The second floor was no exception. Our new bathroom was starting to materialize nicely as well as the two new bedrooms we had framed out in the last episode.

Even the fake vent exchange I had created had been drywalled, and Adam and I reached yet another high as we took in all our accomplishments.

INSTALLATION OF OUR NEW BESPOKE STAIRCASE

With drywall behind us we could finally turn our attention to our new custom staircase!

The first part of the instillation process took two days. However, since there is still a lot of messy work to do in the house we had the carpenters hold off on installing the balusters and railing, and instead had them cover it with a protected sheet.

It’s funny to look back now and think about how much Adam and I agonized over whether or not we should replace/widen the staircase. The original staircase was so skinny and in worse for wear condition with a noticeable dip. It is common for old Toronto Victorian houses like ours to have a skinny staircase but it made it really challenging to get furniture up and down the stairs. Now with the new staircase in and the opening made wider, it seems like a no brainier decision.

More to come on this topic in a future episode!!

REINTRODUCTION OF OUR BULLNOSE CORNERS

While the stairs were being installed, we also had someone come in to reintroduce the bullnose edge detail around the fireplace that was present in the original house. You can still see it in its original plaster form on the corbel in the entrance way, but in order to reintroduce it we actually had to finish the drywall corner using a bullnose corner bead first before adding an additional layer of 1/4 inch thick drywall on top. The results were remarkable and I am so happy with how it turned out! For me, it’s the small details like this that really give a house character!

Home renovations in Toronto - A Toronto Victorian Home - classical mouldings - plaster crown mouldings and corbel

An example of an original bullnose corner that once existed in various places throughout the house.

The bullnose corner detail that we reintroduced around the fireplace mantel using a bullnose edge and additional 1/4 inch drywall


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Home renovations in Toronto - A Toronto Victorian Home - classical mouldings - plaster crown mouldings - Parsiena Design

Installation of our new ornate plaster mouldings from Parsiena Design in our kitchen

INSTALLATION OF OUR CLASSICAL MOULDINGS

Of course, our house wouldn’t be complete without some new crown moulding from Parsiena Design. I could watch them be installed all day and never get bored. The large ornate plaster crown mouldings for the kitchen area were even more beautiful in their full format and took a master with over twenty years of experience to install. Each cut had to be made with such precision so that each corner lined up in perfect harmony and symmetry.

In the dining room and living room we went with a more understated, classic moulding design that echoed the egg and dart motif seen throughout the remaining plaster work in the house. I think the contrast in the size of the crown moulding works beautifully on the main floor because it actually makes the ceilings in the living room and dining room appear higher than the kitchen, when it fact they are slightly lower. I also love how much drama the big plaster crowns bring to the kitchen. I think if we had done them everywhere it would have been too garish and overdone so I’m really happy with my decision to just keep them in the kitchen area.

Home renovations in Toronto - A Toronto Victorian Home - classical mouldings - plaster crown mouldings and stained glass window

Halfway through our finishes! Can’t wait to see this room when it’s done!

To end off an incredibly productive week of finishes, Parsiena was also able to delivery the replicated cast and mould of my ceiling medallion and they were able to reinstall the original ceiling medallion, mending it back together piece by piece until it was hole once more. Since we had taken it down, I had some time to work on it in preparation for re-installation, and during this time I had actually discovered a whole extra layer of scalloping detail that was hidden under caulking and plaster. It was an incredible discovery which only adds to its unique character and beauty. I’m thrilled to have it back, not only in it’s rightful place but in all its grandeur.

DELIVERY OF OUR REFURBISHED CAST IRON RADIATORS

As the month came to a close, we also welcomed the delivery of our newly refurbished rads from Ironworks Radiators Inc. Although it is a little premature to install them, once the floors are done we should be close and I can’t wait to see them in their final position and glory!

More to come on this topic in the next episode! Hopefully!

UP NEXT!

Lots more exciting things to come in the next episode of our Toronto home renovation series including the installation of our beautiful herringbone floors from Chestnut Flooring, the tiling of new our master bathroom, and the installation of our custom kitchen from Domani Design Group!

Thank you so much for joining me today and for checking out my new Toronto home renovation series on Youtube. I am super excited to be modernizing a Victorian home while still keeping the charm of an old Victorian house. If you have any questions about my Victorian house renovations, what it’s like to live in Little Portugal, Toronto or recommendations for Toronto contractors, hit me up in the comments below!

Before I sign off, I’d also like to say a big thank you to Parsiena Design and Ironworks Radiator Inc. for partnering with me on this project. I’m so excited to be working with local industry experts on our Toronto home renovations but want to reiterate that, like always, all opinions remain my own.

Before I sign off, I’d also like to say a big thank you to Parsiena Design and Ironworks Radiator Inc for partnering with me on this project. I’m so excited to be working with local industry experts on our Toronto home renovations but want to reiterate that, like always, all opinions remain my own.

Until next time,

- Soheila


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EPISODE 3: SWEAT EQUITY - RENOVATING MY TORONTO VICTORIAN HOME

RENOVATING MY TORONTO VICTORIAN HOME - EPISODE 3!

When Adam and I first started talking about renovating our Toronto Victorian home, we knew we had to split it up into two phases. Phase 1 would focus on fixing the structural issues and redoing the entire main floor, while Phase 2 would focus on re-configuring the layout of the second floor and enlarging the third floor by replacing the back half of the roof with a new dormer.

What we didn’t anticipate, was how bad the condition of the main floor ceiling joists were in the back half of the house. Half didn’t span the entire width of the room, big chunks were cut out of them, and many were being held together by other, smaller, pieces of wood. We were Shoooketh!

Many of the ceiling joist on the main floor did not span the full width of the house!


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Originally, we thought all we would have to do was sister each ceiling joist (to sister a joist you add an extra identical joist to the existing over-spanned, damaged or inadequate joist, and tie the two together with glue and screws (or nails) to add structural support – sounds super easy, right!?), but after the demo was completed and structural work commenced, it became obvious that there was way more work to do! For one thing, 80% of the ceiling joists needed to be replaced. In order to do that, we would need to demo whatever was above. And yes, I’m talking about the second floor!

our 2nd floor ktichen before our renovation

We had not anticipated needing to renovate the 2nd floor kitchen (above) or the 2nd floor bathroom (below)

At that time, that area of the second floor was occupied by our second floor kitchen, my little back office, and a small bathroom with a stand-up tub shower. If I’m being honest, I didn’t love the quality of the cabinetry and the ‘master bath’ left much to be desired, but we were willing to wait. True, we had no real bedrooms but we had our master and two small twin rooms on the third floor that were being used as his and her closets. The house definitely needed more bedrooms and a bathroom worthy enough to be considered a master, but still, we had a plan, two phases.

p.s. I had not taken any photos of the second floor prior to the demo, so this was all I could find. The kitchen photo is from our viewing, prior to buying the house!

I guess this is the part where I should tell you that we not only did we end up pulling the second floor into the first phase of our Toronto home renovation but we decided to do it ourselves! In episode 3 of my home renovation series I share the last two months of sweat equity Adam, his dad, and myself poured into fixing our Toronto Victorian home. In this episode, we tackle the demolition of the second floor, how we replaced each ceiling joist one by one, us installing a new levelled subfloor as well as everything that happened behind the scenes! The crucial question is, will our work pass inspection? Find out in Episode 3: Sweat Equity! Haha!

Adam and I are ready to start replacing ceiling joists!

PHOTO’S FROM OUR SECOND FLOOR DEMO!

While Adam and I were busy working on the house, a few things did happen behind the scene. For one, our appliances finally showed up along with our new natural oak herringbone floors from Chestnut Flooring.

Chestnut Flooring - Herringbone flooring companies in Toronto

Our order from Chestnut Flooring arrived! We ordered some beautiful natural oak herringbone floors for the main floor!

If anyone is in the market for flooring, I highly recommend visiting Chestnut Flooring’s showroom in Vaughan. They are a family-owned, full service (that’s right, they don’t just sell you the flooring, they will help you install it too!), one stop shop for all your flooring needs. They offer a wide range of flooring products including hardwood, engineered, laminate, carpet, vinyl and even tile from both well-known domestic and international brands.

When Adam and I first began to look for herringbone floors we visited numerous showrooms but none stood up to the quality and variety that Chestnut Flooring provided. Their engineered herringbone flooring was superior in both top layer thickness and durability which meant down the road, if we ever wanted to re-sand and re-finish the floors we could do it without issue. Of course they also offer solid hardwood floors however, given our Canadian climate, engineered hardwood flooring is better suited for herringbone oak floors. Since the core of engineered hardwood consists of 5 to 7 layers of plywood pressed together in a crisscrossed pattern, it is its construction that makes engineered hardwood flooring less likely to shift, expand or contract when exposed to environmental changes in temperature, moisture and humidity (and when it comes to specialty floors like herringbone and chevron you don’t want movement). Further, our installer who had worked with numerous types of flooring from numerous flooring companies in Toronto, independently suggested we visit their showroom and commented on how he preferred the quality of Chestnut’s flooring products over others he has worked with. So really, that sealed the deal for us! Of course, now that we are redoing the second floor we will be revisiting the Chestnut Flooring showroom to order additional flooring. Stay tuned for our selection!

OUR TORONTO HOME RENOVATIONS - BTS PHOTOS OF US REPLACING JOISTS BETWEEN THE MAIN AND SECOND FLOOR.

Additionally, Adam and I also pulled the trigger on getting two of our column radiators refurbished! Prior to the demo of the main floor, we discovered a beautiful ornate Victorian radiator in the main floor bedroom. It had been hidden behind a clunky rad cover, had not been maintained and desperately needed to be refurbished, but it was beautiful and I was ecstatic about its discovery!

Victorian Radiator repair - Ironworks pickup

Ironworks Radiator Inc picking up my Victorian radiator for refurbishment

Of course, since we were doing such a big renovation, the possibility of switching from cast iron radiators to forced air was an option but after learning more about the pros and cons of other types of central heating systems (particularly a forced air system) – like how they can collect dust and cause allergies, how the duct systems require regular cleaning, and that the furnace system serviced – central heating radiators just seemed like less yearly maintenance. Further, cast iron radiators are spectacular in moist climates such as Canada where we get tons of snow in the winter and rain in the spring. They are known for keeping basements bone dry during these months not to mention don’t require additional bulkheads like a forced air system. Lastly, they can be a beautiful showpiece (like a piece of jewellery for your home!) when refurbished and considering I am trying so hard to keep the charm of my Toronto Victorian home intact, it was an obvious choice.

In order to pass Toronto building code we would have to meet a certain BTU output, so enlisting the help of a heating experts at Ironworks Radiators Inc felt like the ideal next step.

CAST IRON RADIATOR REFERBISHMENT & REPAIR

Based in Toronto, Ironworks Radiator Inc. offers a multitude of services including consultation, radiator resizing, refurbishment (which includes custom repainting), is a supplier of radiator parts and accessories (including super fancy radiator bleeder keys), and offers pickup and delivery services. They also have a huge stockyard of rare vintage radiators to choose from and are licensed distributor for various new steel and cast iron radiator from international industry leading brands like Castrad.

Discovering Ironworks has been immensely beneficial for us. Not only were we interested in getting two column radiators refurbished, but we were in the market for an additional vintage radiators and two new custom modern radiators for under the twin windows in the kitchen. Jennifer at Ironworks was an invaluable help, organizing the pickup of our cast iron radiators for refurbishment (a rare service that many moving companies including piano moving companies won’t attempt because of how heavy they are!) and recommending new and vintage cast iron radiators to meet our BTU requirement, aesthetic and new main floor layout. She didn’t just recommend product though, she also provided a personalized consultation explaining the best course of action for the main floor given what we currently had to work with in other areas of the house. She really took the time to explain things to me as well, which I very much appreciated because I had a lot of questions! Central heating was a whole new world to me and I was on a mission to drill down and get all of the details. Our consultation of course ended with an invitation to come check out her stockyard. Inventory changes frequently in the Ironworks stockyard so who knows what rare Victorian radiator I will find when I go! I can tell you one thing for certain though, this is one treasure hunt I could not be more excited for! Stay tuned for more on this in the next episode!

If you don’t want to wait for the next episode to catch a glimpse of what is happening behind the scenes you can always follow me on Instagram where I share up-todate stories of my interior design and renovation progress!


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PHOTOS AFTER SISTERING AND REPLACING THE CEILING JOISTS IN OUR TORONTO VICTORIAN HOUSE

Thank you so much for joining me today and for checking out my new Toronto home renovation series on Youtube. I am super excited to be modernizing a Victorian home while still keeping the charm of an old Victorian house. If you have any questions about my Victorian house renovations, what it’s like to live in Little Portugal, Toronto or recommendations for Toronto contractors, hit me up in the comments below!

Before I sign off, I’d also like to say a big thank you to Chestnut Flooring and Ironworks Radiator Inc for partnering with us on this project. I’m so excited to be working with local industry experts on our Toronto home renovations but want to reiterate that, like always, all opinions remain my own.

Until next time,

- Soheila


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HOME SWEET HOME - A PRE RENO HOUSE TOUR!

Welcome To My New Victorian House!

This past August was a whirlwind of a month to say the least! My fiance and I got back from our trip to Powell River only to celebrate my birthday and take possession of our new house all in the same day! It took us a good three days to get all of our stuff into the new place (with a lot of unexpected surprises along the way), but we are finally here!

I honestly could not be more thrilled to share my new house journey with you, but if you are new and are just tuning in now, this new chapter has been almost a year in the making. I vividly remember last September when Adam (my boyfriend at the time) and I deciding to sell my condo and start looking for a house together. I had just spent the entire summer at his family cottage and loved having the extra living space to enjoy. The idea of returning to condo life in a city still under COVID restrictions felt very daunting and I knew one day soon I wanted to find a house in the city instead. Little did I know, selling my condo was going to be even more challenging than I anticipated!

If you’re in a similar life stage as me, you may have already started paying attention to the real estate market. Perhaps you are thinking it’s a great way to invest you money and want a place to call your own - which it is - but since the beginning of the pandemic, the real estate market has been going crazy in big cities like Toronto. Condo’s have seen huge fluctuations in demand and value. Further, home prices have skyrocketed thanks to low interest rates and a lack of supply. Needless to say, what I thought would be a quick transaction turned into a few months of my condo being on the market before I accepted an offer I was happy with.


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The next phase of actually buying a house did not get any easier. Between skyrocketing prices, shady antics from agents, and lack of supply, it took us 4-5 months of searching, over 50 viewings, and 11 offers before we won a bid. If you’re looking to start your own house hunting journey soon, you should read my recent blog post about tips for first time home buyers on how to psychologically prepare. It was a really tough process for me - harder then I ever imagined - but I’m happy to say now it was worth the sweat, mental frustration, and tears because in the end I landed a beautiful home that is beyond anything I imagined I would end up with and I can’t wait to share it with you!

Since starting our house hunting journey a lot has also happened in my personal life including getting engaged to my boyfriend at the end of May. A few weeks later, we visited this beautiful Victorian style house in one of the most coveted neighborhoods in downtown Toronto and I instantly fell in love. The house is over 125 years old, and had so much original character, putting in an offer was a no brainier.

One of the first things that caught my eye was the beautifully arched brick entrance way! You could tell that the front of the house had been landscaped recently with a cobble stone pathway and large stone slab stairs, not to mention it was hard to miss the glorious smoke bush tree out front that provides a bit of privacy to anyone sitting in the front living room. It felt like it could be a scene from a movie - one where a young couple runs up to the front archway trying to duck out of the rain right before one of them gets the courage to lean in and steal their first kiss. Can you see it? Haha!

Perhaps it’s the romantic in me but the love affair with this house didn’t stop at the front door. The house also featured so much original molding and stain glass that I instantly became smitten.

Prior to even starting our house hunt in Toronto I had always loved old homes. Downtown Toronto is full of old homes and Victorian style houses are definitely my favorite, but unfortunately as we learned, a lot of them are not being very well taken care of, and the ones that are have lost a lot of their original charms due to updates/renovation. 90% of what we saw during our house hunting journey were that Victorian house style and I think at one point I started to drive my boyfriend nuts because I wouldn’t budge on what I wanted. But there is no denying the beauty of a Victorian home! Especially ones still full of original character! It’s rare, trust me I’ve looked! Lesson being, I am so glad I stuck to my guns!


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As I walked through the house, my romantic entanglement only grew. The front living room definitely became (and still is) my favorite room in the entire house as it feature so much original Victorian house interior character and a beautiful stain glass motif! In the morning, warm light shines through the window and casts large rainbows of light on the walls inside! There is something very bright and airy about the space that always gives me really good vibes anytime I spend time in here. Since moving in, it has definitely become the room I enjoy working from the most - as a matter of fact, I am writing this very blog post from it now!

Even though we fell in love with the house after only one visit, we do have plans to do some renovations to it. Since the house is actually broken up into two units (check out the video below for the full tour) we originally planned on renting half of it out to Adam’s brother. As fate would have it (and unexpected issues with the house and our ‘new’ appliances) we decided to push up the renovations and start them this fall. Don’t worry, we are keeping as much of the original Victorian charm as we can!

Turning our house back into a single family home is going to be a lot of work but I’m really looking forward to starting renovations in a few months and putting in my dream kitchen. Before we start the renovations though, I wanted to do a quick home tour with you so you can see the canvas I am working with. In this video I will be walking you through my downtown Toronto Victorian house as well as giving you a little sneak peek on what we are planning on changing.


I hope you fell in love with the house as much as I did when I first saw it. If you have any questions or comments about this video, feel free to leave them down below!

I'm also going to be creating a lot of new content around my new home (renovations, home DIY's, and sharing about my interior decorating journey) so if you are interested in following along, feel free to subscribe to my YouTube channel or follow me on Instagram @IsThatSoh!


MORE FUN VIDEOS FROM OUR ‘FIRST TIME HOME BUYER’ JOURNEY IN TORONTO!


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