Maxwell: DIY renos unsung heroes are compound mitre saw and power drill

Some of the bravest people I know move into an inexpensive older home, they reverse decades of massive deterioration economically with their own hands, all while earning a living, raising kids and avoiding a massive mortgage. For years before the Kosteckis moved in, a washing machine had been leaking slowly in one corner of the kitchen, leaving the floor badly rotted under a deceptively decent looking layer of flooring. What started off as a simple reflooring job ended up requiring the removal of seven old layers of wood, plywood and waferboard (yes, seven. Like many older homes in small-town Canada, the classic lines concealed decades worth of poor renovations and chronically postponed maintenance. In 2002, the Kosteckis and their son Jake moved into a two-storey, fixer-upper that was built in 1912.

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