We renovated a ZOO
Edmonton Renovation Show will include a look at the Valley Zoo’s ongoing transformation
When it comes to renovations it can be a zoo out there.
Finding the right contractor, choosing the correct finishes, dealing with outdated residential infrastructure, and the list goes on. But this year’s edition of the Edmonton Renovation Show, taking place next week, intends to put that all into perspective.
“With more than 225 exhibitors, there’s real advice, real inspiration, and real experts at every turn,” said Kristy Cairns, assistant show manager for Marketplace Events’ Edmonton home shows, which includes the Renovation Show. Starting Friday, Jan. 26 and continuing through Sunday, Jan. 28, the show is being held at the Edmonton Expo Centre.
For one Edmonton Renovation Show participant though, it literally is a zoo. Edmonton’s Valley Zoo is in the midst of a long-term renovation and zoo officials will be on hand to detail its significant undertaking, transitioning from a quaint late 1950s Storyland Valley Zoo to a facility noted for innovative learning opportunities. They’ll also have a different animal or two each day, including possibly armadillos, birds or iguanas.
“Our renovation is a little bit different, but it is the same principle,” said Denise Prefontaine, director of the Edmonton Valley Zoo. “When we’re doing renovations at the zoo it’s very much like doing a renovation at home, it’s just that the inhabitants are different.”
For example, designs need to take into consideration how the spaces will be used by the inhabitants. And just like we choose floor covering based on our needs and preferences, zoo officials look at what floor finishes are best for the animals that will live there.
“It’s very much like doing a home renovation,” said Prefontaine. “Because our zoo was built in 1959, a problem we’ve run into is our infrastructure — like a lot of home renovators run into with older homes — and we have some of the same issues. So there are all those kind of things. Sometimes, like us, your renovation takes turns that you don’t expect but it’s always fun and it’s always exciting.”
The zoo, home to some 350 animals, sits on about 125 acres of land and renovation work is currently focused on Nature’s Wild Backyard, which is the existing Storyland. Phase 1 should be finished by the end of next year, while Phase 2, expected to start in 2019, should take two years to complete.
“It’s always great to partner with the local community and tailor our show to families and be able to speak to our visitors about something that is going on in the community that they might not be aware about,” said Cairns. “Yet it also ties into the theme of our show.”
But it’s not just about large-scale community renovations, added Cairns, noting that in addition to celebrity headliner Bryan Baeumler — always a popular draw, said Cairns — there are a number of features that should draw in visitors. New this year is Camping Chic, where experts demonstrate how to renovate a camping trailer and turn it into something stylish on a very reasonable budget.
Christina Dennis — also known as the DIY Mommy — and her husband Sean took a 1992 24-footlong travel trailer, which needed some updating, and worked their renovation magic on it. At the show, she’ll give the lowdown on how they completed the process on a very tight budget.
“It was in average condition for a trailer of that age, and it did have some water and structural damage,” said Christina. “We knew for that price ($1,000) we were going to have do a lot of work on it. Since he (Sean) is really handy with construction, electrical and structural, and I’m really handy with design, we thought it was worth the work for having a trailer for the family.”
If they bought a similar new trailer, Christina estimates it might cost around $20,000. Instead they spent $1,000 to buy it, $1,000 on material, and put in about four months of labour.
“It was so much work, but for the money it was an amazing deal,” said Christina, adding that she is not one for camping in tents. “I never have been, so we thought this was a way we could take our family camping and still be comfortable.”
Other features of the Edmonton Renovation Show include instruction from mortgage broker Lisa Last, who will showcase how she has taken her camper and renovated it into a mobile office, while Edmonton’s Off Grid will be on hand with its teardrop trailers.
Renovation Runway returns for 2018, with Rosalyn Lazaruk of Wicket Blue Interiors highlighting renovation trends, Tricks of the Trade will allow show attendees free 15-minute consultations with a renovator and a designer, and food trucks will be tucked into the show’s Backyard Beer Garden, which was designed by Lazaruk.