Monday at the Old School

Home Sweet Home... Sort Of! 😂

Our winter heat source

I could go on and on about the renovation process — from re-insulating walls to installing new electrical systems and everything in between. There was so much involved in turning an old school into a home for three families!

For example, the school had two enormous electric furnaces in the mechanical room, dating back to 1978. Can you imagine the electricity it would take to heat an 11,000-square-foot building with those monsters?

Out they came!

In their place, five high-efficiency electric furnaces were installed, along with a heat pump system. Apparently, this is supposed to be much more efficient. Not knowing a whole lot about heating systems myself, I'm just trusting the process! 😂

Why five furnaces instead of two? Each of our three family units has its own furnace, with one for the gymnasium and another for the common areas.

But enough about furnaces. Let's get to the fun part!

Living in a camper while renovating an old school. What could possibly go wrong? 😅

In July 2025, we sold the temporary home we'd been living in during renovations. The possession date was September 1st, so we had to be out.

No problem, we thought!

We would simply move our camper onto the school property, live there while finishing renovations, and move into our beautiful new home when it was ready.

Brilliant plan, right?

Well, looking back, I might have chosen a different option! 😂

We moved our camper to the school, but there was one little problem.

Actually, several little problems.

The only running water we had access to was in the shower in the community bathroom we'd built. The water itself was usable, but we hadn't installed the filters or water softeners yet. It was hard and had a funny smell, so we weren't comfortable drinking it.

That meant hauling big jugs of water for drinking, cooking, and even brushing our teeth.

And since we had no water hookup for the camper, every bathroom visit or shower meant a trip into the school.

Oh, and did I mention the electricity?

We had power in the gymnasium and the bathroom, but the rest of the school was still in darkness.

Including our own unit!

But we managed. After all, it was only temporary.

Famous last words! 😂

September came and went, and then October arrived.

The nights were getting colder, and sleeping in the camper was becoming a little less adventurous and a whole lot less comfortable!

By this time, the flooring had been installed in our unit, and some of the painting was finished.

So we made another brilliant decision.

Let's just move our bed into our bedroom!

At least we'd be closer to the bathroom! 😂

And so began the next chapter of our adventure.

Living in a construction zone.

We had tradespeople coming and going, finishing plumbing, installing the kitchen, painting, and working on the heating system.

Somehow, our unfinished unit became Coffee Central for everyone!

Now picture this.

We had no running water in our unit, a skeleton of a kitchen, no working heat, and construction materials scattered everywhere.

And this was our living space!

Meanwhile, our kitchen installation came to a halt when we discovered that some pieces we thought we'd ordered were missing.

Another month's wait!

Jake was also busy tiling the wall behind our wood stove, only to discover that we hadn't ordered enough tile.

And, of course, the tile was now on back order!

Another delay.

At this point, I was seriously beginning to wonder if we would ever actually live in a finished home.

Or if we'd just become permanent residents of a construction site! 😂

Then November arrived.

Finally, we could see some light at the end of the tunnel.

November 11th — Remembrance Day here in Canada — became a memorable day for us for another reason.

Our unit was finally finished enough to call home!

The furniture was in place, the kitchen was functional, and we had an actual living space.

No more camper. No more hauling water for everything. No more sleeping in the middle of a construction zone.

We had made it!

Well... almost.

The furnace wasn't working.

We had no heat!

And if you've ever experienced a Canadian winter, you know that heat isn't exactly optional!

Thankfully, we had installed a wood stove.

And that beautiful little stove became our main source of heat for the entire winter!

After everything we'd been through, I was just grateful to have a warm place to sit, a kitchen where I could cook, and water that came out of the taps.

It's funny how your perspective changes when the things you've always taken for granted suddenly aren't there anymore.

Running water.

A warm home.

A working kitchen.

A comfortable bed.

Such simple things, and yet what incredible blessings they are.

Throughout this entire renovation journey, there were moments of excitement, frustration, exhaustion, and more than a few occasions when we wondered what we'd gotten ourselves into.

But there was also prayer.

Lots of it.

We leaned on our faith to guide us through the uncertainty, the setbacks, and the days when everything seemed to be going wrong.

And looking back now, I can see how much we have to be grateful for.

Not just the home we eventually created, but the journey that brought us here.

The challenges, the laughter, the lessons, and the people who helped us along the way.

Our old school is still a work in progress, and I'm sure there will be more adventures ahead.

But today, as I sit in my warm home with a cup of coffee, I'm reminded that sometimes the greatest blessings are the simplest ones.

I'll leave you with a verse that carried us through many of those uncertain days:

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God."

Philippians 4:6 (NIV)

And if there's one thing this old school has taught me, it's that there is always something to be thankful for. ❤️

Thanks for following along with our Monday at the Old School series. There's still so much more of this story to tell!

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From Wellness Wednesday and Future Self Friday to our adventures renovating and living in an old school, with the Monday at the Old School Series, you'll find a little bit of everything here.

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