Looking for the best place to purchase potato salad and/or macaroni and/or pasta salad for a BBQ. Not looking to eat in a Restaraunt although that is just good info to have to but specifically looking for a place to buy some in containers to take to a BBQ.
My wife and I are considering buying a large custom-built 1973 home in Western Canada that would likely become our long-term family home. We love the house and its character, but are trying to figure out how to make the floorplan work better for modern family life.
Context:
- Two kids (7 & 4)
- Both WFH (need 2 offices)
- Large mature lot + pool
- Detached garage
- Basement already has TV/game space
- Goal = thoughtful modernization, NOT gutting character
The house currently has:
- Beautiful wood-paneled study/library (keeping)
- Huge masonry fireplace room on one side of the main floor
- Large sunken living room at the front
- Formal dining room
- Kitchen staying roughly where it is (gut renovation likely)
- All bedrooms upstairs
- Laundry only in basement
- Secondary rear staircase
We obtained the original blueprints and learned:
- Plumbing appears concentrated near the primary ensuite area upstairs
- Secondary staircase terminates directly behind the ensuite wall
- House appears traditionally framed (1970s custom build)
## Main questions
### 1. Two oversized living rooms — what would you do?
Since we already have basement TV/game space, we’re worried one of these becomes “the room nobody uses.”
Option A (keep separated):
- Front sunken living room = quieter family lounge / reading / homework / nicer entertaining space
- Fireplace room = everyday cozy family room near kitchen/backyard
Option B (remove rear stair + open center of house):
We are considering removing the secondary rear staircase and potentially opening part of the center of the house (if structurally feasible) to improve flow.
Would opening things up make more sense, or would we regret losing room separation?
### 2. Upstairs laundry / ensuite / closet problem
Only laundry is currently in the basement.
We’d love:
- upstairs laundry
- walk-in closet
- better primary ensuite
We see two possible approaches:
Option A:
Sacrifice one Jack-and-Jill bedroom to create:
- laundry
- walk-in closet
- expanded ensuite
and convert the remaining bedroom into a proper bedroom with ensuite.
Option B (our current favourite):
Remove the secondary staircase and reclaim the upstairs stair landing space (right behind the ensuite wall) to create:
- upstairs laundry
- walk-in closet
- larger ensuite
while keeping all bedrooms.
Has anyone done something similar? Would you preserve bedrooms or reclaim circulation space?
### 3. Formal dining room
We don’t really need formal dining.
Current idea:
- front 2/3 = wife’s office
- rear 1/3 (currently china cabinet wall) = butler pantry/scullery connected to kitchen
Smart use of space or bad idea?
We’d love brutally honest thoughts, especially from people who’ve renovated 60s/70s custom homes or made major floorplan changes while preserving character.
What are we missing?
1st photo is Eastern 2/3 of main floor blue print
2nd photo is western 1/3 of main floor blue print (desk area in blue print not actually there it’s all formal dining)
3rd photo is eastern 1/3 of 2nd floor blue print
4th photo is western 2/3 of 2nd floor blueprint
Potentially buying a 1973 custom home in Canada — reality check before we make an offer?
My wife and I are considering buying what would likely be our “forever home” in Regina, Saskatchewan (Canada). It’s a large custom-built 1973 home on a beautiful mature lot in a highly desirable neighbourhood.
We genuinely love the house, but before we go further we’re trying to get brutally honest feedback from people who have renovated large 1960s/1970s homes — especially custom builds.
Context:
- Built in 1973 by a respected local builder
- Large custom family home
- Mostly original/interior largely untouched
- Very well maintained but visually frozen in time
- Detached garage
- Complex roofline with cedar shake roof + dormers
- Large masonry/stone fireplace room
- Later professionally permitted turret addition (expanding family room + primary bedroom)
- Two kids (7 and 4)
- Both work from home
- Planning 20+ year ownership if we buy
We’ve actually obtained the original hand-drawn blueprints and later permit drawings and have been studying them pretty deeply.
Things we’ve learned from the plans:
- Plumbing appears concentrated in the middle/south side of the house (stacked bathrooms), with the exception of:
- a Jack-and-Jill bath on one side
- kitchen sink on an exterior wall
- House includes a secondary/rear staircase
- Traditional framed construction (2x4 walls, batt insulation, plywood sheathing, masonry veneer)
- Complex roof geometry with dormers and multiple transitions
- Some structural bay window details built into framing
High-level renovation ideas (likely all in one major project, not phased):
- Full repaint throughout
- Refinish/add hardwood floors
- Full kitchen renovation
- Update lighting/electrical where needed
- Preserve character features (stone fireplace, wood study built-ins, trim, architectural feel)
- Convert formal dining room into:
- front 2/3 office (wife’s office)
- rear 1/3 butler pantry tied to kitchen
- Improve mudroom/foyer function for kids/sports gear
- Potential upstairs laundry if plumbing makes sense
- Remove the secondary rear staircase and potentially remove the adjacent wall to create a more open center circulation space
One major structural question:
The staircase/wall removal may require a beam spanning roughly 20 feet. We have not had engineering done yet. Has anyone tackled something similar in a 1970s home and been shocked (good or bad) by what was discovered?
What we are NOT trying to do:
- HGTV flip
- sterile modern farmhouse
- gut all the character
- open-concept everything
Goal:
Thoughtful modernization of a quality 1970s custom home while preserving what makes it special.
Questions:
What major hidden costs/issues are we probably not thinking about?
What inspections would you do BEFORE waiving conditions on a house like this?
(Home inspector + structural engineer? electrician? plumber? sewer scope? asbestos testing? roofing specialist?)
What are the biggest “gotchas” for 1970s Canadian custom homes?
- asbestos?
- aluminum wiring?
- insulation/vapour barrier?
- plumbing?
- hidden moisture?
- foundation movement?
Does this sound like “great bones with expensive updates” or potential money pit territory?
What renovation assumptions do people most underestimate in homes from this era?
If you’ve done a major renovation while raising young kids — what would you do differently?
Brutal honesty appreciated.
My brother traded this card back in the early 2000s. It appears to be a Yadoking on a wartortle base card it’s a first edition. Given its age and the fact it was either a wartortle or Yadoking seems weird for it to be fake. It’s been sitting in my brothers childhood binder for >20 years now. Wanted to see if anyone here has seen or heard about this or if we just got a weird fake back in the olden times.
Hey Team,
Looking for some help on two fronts.
Husband and Wife both 37
Numbers
Salary
\- Husband 365k CAD per year
Wife 150k CAD per year
Husband Tax Deferred - 600K CAD maxing contributions yearly, contributions done after payroll tax
Husband TFSA - 85k (maxed due to loses from dumb youth investing losses) maxing contributions yearly
Wife - Tax Deferred - 300K CAD maxing contributions yearly, contributions done after payroll tax
Wife TFsA - 125K CAD maxed maxing contributions yearly
All of this is invested in XEQT
Primary residence value 645k LCOL location with 285K at 4.6% remaining on mortgage. No other debt
Monthly expenses 10K - 12k per month which includes housing costs
Monthly saving 10K per month allocated as above rest going into a NREG which is just starting. Remainder is burnt extra discretionary spending.
Now onto the two topics I’m looking for advice from this esteemed collection of redditors.
We would like to retire in 18 years at 55. By this time both kids will be out of the house for 5 years. We would like to live a Chubby retirement lifestyle but are having a hard time estimating retirement expense. Retirement calculators estimate we will have about $5M in today’s money at 55 and if we plan to aggressively travel from 55-75 and then reallocate that spending for getting old medical expenses what does that number need to be? Is it 100K on top of the 10K monthly spending we have now? Does that cover 6 business class trips and up to 6 months abroad? Are there other things we aren’t considering as factors such as RrSP meltdown and other items if we plan to retire at 55 to be the most effective. We both subscribe to a die with 0 philosophy.
House affordability.
We are looking for our children’s family home. Both my wife and I work from home and our kids are 6 and 4 and are needing some space. We are budgeting for up to a 1.3M home in a LCOL medium sized city. This would increase our all in monthly housing including mortgage, property tax and utilities from $4000 per month to 6500 per month. We would likely own this until we are around 60 and then would look to downsize to a condo or something while we travel. Anyways can we afford this with our other savings plans, neither of us came from money so spending this much on a house is mentally taxing sometimes.
Anyways would love any and all advice and comments. Thank you in advance for your help.
Hey Team,
Looking for some help on two fronts.
Husband and Wife both 37
Numbers
Salary
- Husband 365k CAD per year
Wife 150k CAD per year
Husband Tax Deferred - 600K CAD maxing contributions yearly, contributions done after payroll tax
Husband TFSA - 85k (maxed due to loses from dumb youth investing losses) maxing contributions yearly
Wife - Tax Deferred - 300K CAD maxing contributions yearly, contributions done after payroll tax
Wife TFsA - 125K CAD maxed maxing contributions yearly
All of this is invested in XEQT
Primary residence value 645k LCOL location with 285K at 4.6% remaining on mortgage. No other debt
Monthly expenses 10K - 12k per month which includes housing costs
Monthly saving 10K per month allocated as above rest going into a NREG which is just starting. Remainder is burnt extra discretionary spending.
Now onto the two topics I’m looking for advice from this esteemed collection of redditors.
We would like to retire in 18 years at 55. By this time both kids will be out of the house for 5 years. We would like to live a Chubby retirement lifestyle but are having a hard time estimating retirement expense. Retirement calculators estimate we will have about $5M in today’s money at 55 and if we plan to aggressively travel from 55-75 and then reallocate that spending for getting old medical expenses what does that number need to be? Is it 100K on top of the 10K monthly spending we have now? Does that cover 6 business class trips and up to 6 months abroad? Are there other things we aren’t considering as factors such as RrSP meltdown and other items if we plan to retire at 55 to be the most effective. We both subscribe to a die with 0 philosophy.
House affordability.
We are looking for our children’s family home. Both my wife and I work from home and our kids are 6 and 4 and are needing some space. We are budgeting for up to a 1.3M home in a LCOL medium sized city. This would increase our all in monthly housing including mortgage, property tax and utilities from $4000 per month to 6500 per month. We would likely own this until we are around 60 and then would look to downsize to a condo or something while we travel. Anyways can we afford this with our other savings plans, neither of us came from money so spending this much on a house is mentally taxing sometimes.
Anyways would love any and all advice and comments. Thank you in advance for your help.