Monday at the Old School Series

Living in a Gym?

From Classrooms to Cozy Homes — and a Few Unwelcome Guests! 😂

Buying an old school and turning it into a home is a pretty big undertaking. But what we didn't anticipate were all the surprises waiting for us along the way!

When people picture us living in an old school, I think they imagine something like this: a living room set up in the middle of the gymnasium, a bedroom with a chalkboard on the wall, and the old gym change rooms serving as bathrooms. 😂

And really, that could work! It would certainly be unusual, and probably a lot of fun in its own way.

But with three families moving into the school, we had a different vision. We each wanted our own self-contained living spaces, with shared areas throughout the rest of the building. Sort of like condo living, but with a gymnasium, acres of property, and a whole lot of history!

Some of the spaces were easy for me to visualize. I could picture the staff room becoming our bedroom, for example.

But the janitorial room, complete with its big concrete slop sink, becoming our beautiful coffee bar? Not so much!

Janitorial Room

Or the computer lab, with its cinder block walls and electrical outlets everywhere, becoming a cozy guest bedroom?

That took some imagination!

And that's where my son-in-law came in.

He had an incredible ability to look at these ordinary, institutional spaces and see what they could become. He drew up the plans, and what had once been a principal's office, staff room, computer lab, photocopy room, and janitorial closet slowly began taking shape as our home.

Of course, we didn't make it easy for him. 😂

The poor guy went through the ensuite bathroom plans with us several times before we finally figured out what we wanted!

I honestly don't know how we would have accomplished what we did without his vision, patience, and guidance.

And then the real fun began.

Walls started coming down, and that's when we discovered a few things we hadn't bargained for.

First of all, the insulation was minimal. Apparently, when heating costs weren't much of a concern, neither was insulation! In fact, frost had actually formed in the corner of one of the classrooms.

But that wasn't the worst of it.

The school had sat vacant throughout COVID, and apparently the mice had decided it was a wonderful place to raise their families.

The insulation was full of mouse droppings!

Every day my husband came to work on our unit, he would set traps throughout the building. And every day, he would be disposing of mice.

EEEW!!

Finally, in desperation, we brought in reinforcements.

Two cats!

They belonged to the third couple who would be living with us, and let me tell you, those cats earned their keep! They were amazing mousers.

Problem solved? Well, one problem anyway.

Because we had another invasion to deal with.

Asian lady beetles. Thousands of them! 😳

During renovations, the families would often spend the day at the school. The dads would work while the kids rode their scooters up and down the long hallways or played in the gymnasium.

Can you imagine being a kid and having an entire school to play in? What an adventure!

There was just one little problem.

Actually, thousands of little problems.

Before the kids could play in the gym, we had to sweep out the Asian beetles.

They were EVERYWHERE!

Crawling up the walls, covering the floor, and even dropping from the ceiling.

It was like something straight out of The Twilight Zone!

If you've never encountered Asian lady beetles, they look similar to ladybugs, although they're often more orange-brown in colour. Unlike our friendly little ladybugs, these things can bite, and when disturbed, they release a horrible smell.

And there were so many of them!

Every time we thought we were getting ahead of the problem, there would be another invasion.

Between the mice and the beetles, we were beginning to wonder who actually owned the school. 😂

And did I mention there were no working bathrooms?

The water had been shut off, along with the electricity in much of the building. Thankfully, the gym still had power, so the kids could at least play in there.

But when one of the six little ones needed to use the bathroom?

Everybody into the car!

Off we'd go to the gas station on the corner.

And with six little ones, you can imagine how often that happened!

The Beetles Weren't Finished With Us Yet! 😂

You would think that once we moved into our cozy new homes, the beetle problem would have been behind us.

Oh, how wrong we were!

Those disgusting little creatures were still making themselves right at home in the gymnasium, and we had just about had enough!

We tried EVERYTHING!

Soapy water, essential oils, and even a homemade peppermint oil concoction that we sprayed all over the gym walls.

I have to admit, the gym smelled absolutely wonderful!

Unfortunately, the beetles didn't seem to mind one little bit. 😂

They just kept coming.

Finally, we'd had enough. We called in the professionals and had the entire gymnasium fumigated. We had to seal it off and stay out for over a week.

And when we finally opened it up again?

THOUSANDS of dead beetles!

Every day we were sweeping up piles of them. It was unbelievable!

But at least we were finally winning the battle.

Now that we've been living here for a while, the beetles aren't nearly as bad. Although every fall, when we get one of those beautiful hot, sunny days, they still make an appearance.

Apparently, they haven't completely forgotten the address! 😂

Who knew that turning an old school into a home would involve so much pest control?

Between the mice and the beetles, I sometimes wondered if we were renovating a school or running a wildlife sanctuary!

Looking back, I sometimes wonder what on earth we were thinking.

There were days filled with dust, mouse traps, beetles, cold rooms, and what seemed like endless challenges.

But there was also laughter.

There were children scootering through the hallways, families spending time together, and the excitement of watching something old slowly become something new.

Those early days were a tremendous amount of work, especially for the guys who spent countless hours bringing our vision to life.

Today, when I sit in our cozy home with my morning coffee, it's hard to imagine that our coffee bar was once a janitor's closet or that our guest bedroom was filled with computers and cinder block walls.

We still have a long way to go before the entire school looks the way we envision it. But we're here. We're comfortable. We're surrounded by family, nature, and the beauty of this incredible property.

And we're making memories along the way.

Do I look back on those early renovation days with fondness? Absolutely!

A little terror, too? You bet! 😂

Would I do it all again?

Well... ask me after my second cup of coffee! ☕😂

Have you ever taken on a renovation project that turned out to be WAY more than you bargained for? I'd love to hear your story!

And if you're enjoying our adventures at the Old School, follow along. There are plenty more stories to come!

Monday at the Old School — one school, three families, and a whole lot of stories. ❤️