Thankfully, Nikki Hall, a rather brilliant woman and her family purchased the house and since then, did a full and complete heritage restoration essentially building a new home that maintained the heritage aspects of the building.  While they love and enjoy the home, circumstances have led them to now putting it up for sale.

After I completed a photo montage of the house, I decided to send it to one of the original family members together with an invitation to view their old family home.  A few weeks ago we did just that.  I wasn’t sure what to expect but as it turns out, they were overjoyed to see that dreams they had for the house themselves had come to fruition and, the house still felt very much like home to each of them.  They told me how their father had strung Christmas lights into the blue spruce tree planted decades ago and which now towers tall.  We pushed our way into the branches and sure enough, there were the old bulbs still wrapped onto branches deep inside.

To learn more about this fascinating and special thorn bury home, visit www.18wellington.com.

The principal buildings in Beach Area 1 including such landmarks as the The Dard, Bananas, the Giant Tiger plaza, the old hotel at the corner of Mosley and Old Mosley and many of the stores along the beachfront are all part of a real estate deal expected to close this November.  The properties have been in receivership with back taxes and utilities owing.  According to news reports, the Buyer is related to the a Concord based business called the Belrock Construction Company which is owned by the Grossi family.  Enzo Grossi was the owner of the Dard before he sold it to the Levys who eventually lost the property in the power of sale process.

Wasaga Beach has engaged in an extensive visioning process over the past summer with some very exciting results emerging.  The Grossis were involved in that process and hopefully have a clear sense of the direction residents wish to see for the area.

Other big news in the Beach includes an announcement by the developer of the east end Stonebridge project that he is pursuing the development of an eight-storey, branded hotel-condominium project.

For the real estate and renovation junkies out there, we already have Colin, Justin, Sara and Candace.  Now comes Sibling Rivalry, a new show featuring twin brother and sister, Dan and Nikki Hall.  The premise of this new series is to see which sibling has better success in taking a home from tear-down to dream home.

Considering that Nikki is 5 minutes older and therefore surely wiser and, considering what Nikki did with this Blue Mountain home, my money is on her.  The show premieres on August 30th at 8:00 pm.  I’m going to set my PVR right now.

We are now the proud owners of the largest, residential roof top solar system in Collingwood.  For now, anyway.

Since the last post, things happened pretty quickly and smoothly except for one minor glitch. 
Some municipalities require engineering studies before issuing building permits for installations and some don’t.  Collingwood does so, we had a report completed.  The engineer suggested that it may be prudent for us to reinforce two roof rafters before winter to ensure we can carry snow loads.  At that point, it occurred to me, that we really should have had an engineering study done BEFORE we signed a solar contract.  In our case, it was fine but, what if the engineer had determined that the roof was not suitable?

Last Friday, the building permit was issued and, on Monday of this week, installation began.  A crew of three guys from SunVolts Unlimited  worked in the 34 degree heat on Tuesday (a good omen I think) laying the tracks for the racking systems, the cabling, meter boxes and basically the foundation for the panels which were installed on Wednesday.  Our system actually covers two south facing roofs on our house.  The end result is that they are barely obvious at all!  We’ve had several people drop by since then and not one has noticed the panels until we pointed them out.

The only unsightly part is the new metering boxes which are close to our entry way and very obvious.  We can deal with those through landscaping but it will take awhile to get that established.

Kudos to one of our local newspapers, the Enterprise-Bulletin, who sent a reporter out to get a story about the microFIT program and our experience.  We are amazed at the amount of interest people have and we are happy as each new person learns more about the benefits of solar.

Now we wait.  That’s the hardest part of this whole journey so far.  The days are long, bright and sunny but our panels are not yet connected to the grid.  We are waiting for the final safety inspections and for our local utility supplier, COLLUS to be able to connect the new meters.  Hopefully this will happen in the next week or so.

We really have to give a shout out to our contractor, SunVolts Unlimited.  From beginning to end, they have been on our side, keeping us informed and answering our many, many questions.  They follow-up before we even have a chance to ask and, their whole team has been 100% professional and a pleasure to deal with.  We’re very glad we chose them for this project.  Equally, COLLUS has been the same and communicates with us, answers our questions and has made the process easier than expected.

If you are interested to see the installation as it went along, you can view a photo album of pictures on my Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/#!/collingwood.bluemountain 

 
We’re Going Solar at Our House ; Part 1
What is a Better Invest; Income Property or Solar?

Thankfully, the house sold to Cindy and Steve Lewis who proved to be true visionaries.  Recently, they won a well deserved, Collingwood’s heritage award for their restoration. 

Today, the beautifully restored building serves as Cindy’s chiropodist clinic and offices.

Let the sun shine in, we’ll take it with a grin…

Funny how life unfolds.  For the purpose of research for this blog, a few months ago I wrote a post about the Ontario microFIT solar program.  The more I read, the more excited I got about the opportunity this program could offer.  We decided to contact a few solar contractors to learn more and well, one thing led to another.  In less than a month from now, we’ll have solar panels on our roof at home in Collingwood.

Under the microFIT program, the Ontario Power Authority will offer a contract to buy power back from you at a rate of 80.2 cents per kW hour from a qualified roof top system.  This rate is GUARANTEED for 20 years.  This means that all of the power generated by such a system is fed back into the grid and not into our home. 

Our first step was to fill in a simple online application form which carried no cost, risk or commitment.  At this stage, I was taking the steps only to see how it worked.  In the weeks that followed, we spoke to more contractors, did more research and spoke to over a dozen homeowners in the Province who had already installed systems.

During this phase, we learned that our roof was ideal for a roof top system.  The best returns could come from a maximum 10 kW system and our large, gently sloped roof could fit that large of an installation.  We had installed new 40 year roof shingles just two years ago and, our roof faces due south with no shading from neighbouring buildings or trees.  In short, optimal conditions for solar.  How lucky was that?

We learned that there are many, many variables to take into account when choosing the system.  The size overall, the size and style of panels, the type of inverters used.. all at variable costs and rates of return.  There are potentially additional costs such as engineering reports, building permits, meter connections and of course a big chunk for HST.  In the end, a full sized system would run anywhere from $75,000 to $85,000 in total.  (Don’t stop reading after you finish groaning.)

We learned that a full-sized system in Collingwood could generate returns of $12,000 or more annually and, that projections based on satellite readings were fairly accurate.  We looked hard at the numbers.  If you have no money but you have equity in your home or other possible sources of credit, you could install a full system with no money down, pay it off in 8 to 10 years and still put over $120,000 in your pocket over the remaining years.  In addition, your home is more valuable and best of all, you are contributing to a healthier world with an alternative energy source.

This really became a no-brainer.  The more we learned, the more we wondered, why wouldn’t we do this?  For us, the biggest decision was making a commitment to stay in our home for at least the next 8 to 10 years.   Once we decided we could do that, we took the next step.

Read Part 2

This wonderful century home in Thornbury was sold last year to a family with vision and I am marvelously impressed by their skill and creativity!  Have a look at these before and after shots:

Side Entry Before

Side Entry After

Front Room Before

Now A Dining Room After

Kitchen Before

Kitchen After

Living Room Before

Living Room After

Architectural Conservatory Of Ontario

As stated by the Aco, the award was well deserved.  The Lex’s won for their “vision and hard work in restoring the Tremont House, Collingwood. A once decrepit building ready for demolition is now a remarkable gem in Collingwood’s downtown heritage district. This outstanding project raises the bar for the restoration of  heritage architecture in Ontario, and will serve as a model for other dreamers across the province.”

All of us in Collingwood are also proud of what you have achieved and have watched you toil with heart and soul bringing this very special building back to life.  What easily could have become landfill has become a landmark to be cherished for centuries ahead.  We congratulate Rick and Anke for achieving this richly deserved recognition.

After a yearlong restoration that fascinated many of us in Town who watched the transformation taking place,the Tremont will celebrate it’s Grand Re-Opening on September 17th from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m. and YOU are invited.

Here is what owners Rick and Anke Lex have to say:

“Built in 1889 by John McCormick as a 24 room hotel, the Tremont is one of the last remaining 19th century hotel buildings in the Collingwood Heritage Conservation District. The building survived a major fire in the 1920’s leaving burn marks still visible on the pine flooring.”

“After a yearlong restoration, the Tremont is now home to the Bay School of Art, the Tremont Cafe and the Elihu Book Room, as well as artist studios and live/work spaces. The building incorporates sustainable and environmental measures, along with heritage preservation.”

“Three facades of the building underwent a historically correct restoration and are protected by a conservation agreement. The Tremont’s south wall and roof garden, is inspired by Viennese painter and architect F. Hundertwasser. We are grateful to the many people who played a part in saving the building. A heartfelt thanks to the skilled trades and crafts people who brought a wonderful and positive energy to the project. Also, many thanks to the community – your encouragement and support have been wonderful. Finally, thanks to the Tremont tenants for their trust and faith in the project from the beginning.”

And they said it couldn’t be done. Congratulations Rick and Anke for proving them wrong and for teaching us all a lesson on how much heritage matters.   Having watched you over the last year, I have seen your passion.  I know how much you care and now, you can justifiably swell with pride at what you have accomplished.

This is what the house looks like now.  Just about everything looks different and it makes me curious to know what they’ve done inside.  Anyone care to fill me in?

If you see a property of any kind that you think deserves some notice for a transformation, let me know and I’ll feature it here on the blog.  Inside or out.  Thanks.