Christine & Jim St. Lawrence
Moving back to Canada after many years in New York was easy but renovating a house was an entirely new experience. We bought a wonderful century home in Stratford that had great bones but decidedly weary flesh! It needed a major overhaul of the electrical and plumbing system, refinishing or replacement of hardwood floors, a bedroom closet transformed into an ensuite bathroom, complete reworking of the main bathroom and an entirely new kitchen, in addition to dry-walling, painting, installing fans, light fixtures and new appliances. And, by the way, all of this had to happen in the space of two and a half months while we were in New York trying to sell our home and prepare for the move!
Our only thought beyond panic at the immensity of this task was to lament the loss of a dear old friend who had been an architect (and perfectionist) who had specialized in doing exacting renovations. When we commented, sadly, to his widow how much we needed him her response was to recommend the only person her husband would ever allow to do any work on their home – Peter. It is still hard to believe our good fortune in finding Wheaten Renovations!
Peter moved in, hired local trades people as needed, and took care of everything while keeping us constantly informed via e-mail reports including photos of the progress. Admittedly the photos were sometimes terrifying – dumpsters full of debris that had been ripped out of the house, an ancient crumbling vent stack, electrical sockets that had been illegally and dangerously mounted in some of the floors, door jambs that had adopted odd angles over the years, etc.
As we wanted to cook with gas Peter arranged for a gas line to the house for the stove, an outdoor barbeque, a fireplace and cast stove, and to the basement so we could convert to a gas furnace and water heater. He built new housing to accommodate the gas fireplace in the living room using an antique mantle we’d found in the basement (and removed the old electrical one from another location). He advised us on the perfect small cast iron stove to efficiently heat the back room that had been added to the house in the 1950s. He helped us make decisions about paints, appliances, tiles, counter tops – all the details that help to make a house a home. And most importantly, he did a superb - and patient - job of educating us, advising us, addressing our needs, listening to our worries and keeping us constantly informed about costs so that there were no surprises. We love what he did. We love our home and will be forever grateful.
- Approximate cost of services:
- $100,000.00