HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Huron Expositor, 1979-09-27, Page 262A r— THE HOME IMPROVEMENT SECTION
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When :Mervyn and Maur-
een Agar moved to the family
dairy fame at lt,RR, 2, Sea -
forth, theY knew something
would, have to be done with'
the old brick farmhouse.
The house, which is almost
>,OO years old, is built with
three laYers of brick, but the
upstairs had been blocked off
for several years and the
exterior was badly worn..
The Agar's first instinct
was to simply demolish, the
house and .start again. How..
ever, the young couple want-
ed to keelswithin a,S.40,000
price range, and, they soon
discovered that wouldn't be
easy when building front
scratch, Even a smallish,.
three-bedroom home would,
cost.mucti more by the time a
mortgage was .added in and
• Maureen Agar .said, "l
wouldn't get' • the house 1
Wanted." Also, she decided•
a home built . in the same
mold ' as other modern houses.
"wouldn't have your own
Style to it'
Once the couple`decided to'
give up the idea of building
they took asecond look at the
farmhouse and decided to try
and: salvage it. The Agars
then ;concluded' the' best way
1
to complete the renovations
would be to phase them over
several: years and complete
each .phase as they had the
money,
Maureen Agar said she
budgeted about S20,000 itl
total for the renovations. and
to date has spent about
$1S,000 - all carefully
accounted for.
From the start, she and
her husband have done
painting and wallpapering, in,
the house, but most of the.
actual renovations Were done
by Clarence Ryan' Construct-
ion of St, Col.umban.
The Agars also put new
Windows ' purchased from Ken
Doig of Seaforth throughout
the house, -
From her experiences over
the past two and a half years,
Maureen Agar has some
valuable -tips to offer for
anyone venturing forth on a
renovation project.
First, she and her husband
calculated the amount they
wanted t� spend at the start;
and have managed to stay
within that budget,, Mrs.
Agar said if the 'money ran
outtemporarily, then the
work stopped,
ONE AT A:TIIME -
She said one of the best
tanning help
pieces of advice she can offer
is to do one room at a ante..:
She said in cases where a
wall 'had, to be torn out. she'
and her husband did it before,
the contractors arrived, and;
tried to have any messout of
the way:: Also she recom-
mendsthat anyone who is
redecorating know exactly
what'sto be done before the
contractors arrive.
The first step in the. Agar's
renovation project was to
make the upstairs of the
house liveable' again, They
started by having, the walls
and ,ceilings insulated, using,
poured insulation inthe
upstairs and bat insulation in
the, downstairs of the farm-
house. Part of ;their insu-
lation costs were paid for by
a government grant offered,
t� .encourage ; people to cut
down on fuel bilis
Mr,. Ryan and his men
made stairs to reach the four
upstairs bedrooms, which go
off the kitchen area, and then
the contractor found a railing
which looks old, enough to
have been the. original stair-
way.
Mrs, . Agar• said they
haven't finished the steps yet
because they haven't de -
"(Continued on 'Page 3A)
•
•
A VIEW OF THE KITCHEN—Maureen; Agar holds daughter Jenny, as
son Adam peaks over the counter. in the Agar kitchen. Special.features
include the stove and cupboard unit in the centre of the: kitchen which can
be moved about the kitchen, and the double sink in the pretty alcove
windows: (Expositor photo)
Winterize now by
tackling those. projects
that, will pay you
dividends now
and keep the
chill out
later.
PaI-O-Pak Insulation
6.6. cu. ft.
Zonalite Insulation
• .45
3 cu. ft;
FIBERGLAS
CANADA
FIBERGLAS INSULATIOI{
R8 .......12` per square foot.
R12 ..:....181 per square foot
R20 ...:...30` per square foot
R28 :......40` per square foot
INSULATION LISTED IS LESS lO%
• Remernbir `Insulation Is Prov. Sales Tax Exempt''
keep your.
i(ULAY LTD.
BUILDING SUPPLIES
Clinton 482-3405 5eaforth 527-0910 Hensall 262.2418
P a
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8(MG CIENITIE