Windows! And Doors! And a Septic System!

OK, I have never admitted to being even moderately excited by the existence of a septic field. Or by the existence of doors and windows..........but here we go, some recent shots, mostly from the weekend just past, August 25-26, 2007.

First, a shot of the side of the house where the new kitchen windows have just been installed.......also note the house wrap that has been tidily installed and sealed around the doors and windows.



And then a view of what the building looks like looking up from the edge of the driveway...don't forget, the screen porch still has to be built on this nearest corner to the camera.




And a photo showing the new clearing where the septic field was located, downhill from the garage and on the far side of the house from where you enter the driveway...this picture was taken from the deck in front of the master bedroom. This area has all been grass seeded, so it will look quite manicured when the grass starts to grow.



This shot is looking into the master bedroom, through the doorway from the living room. Right under those windows is where the bed will be located. The ceiling that you can see in there is sloping up from the far wall toward the camera, and then it levels out for the 4 or 5 feet closest to the camera toward the doorway.

And of course here we see the early location of "command central". Of course, this shot was taken before the guys from Glube's Sound Studio were up to install the speaker wiring, satellite feed, stereo cabling, internet cables, etc. (see next set of photos a week from now for the new Command Central).










And the last photo today is of more cladding, taken from just in front of the garage, showing the new porch, windows, some trim, and the skylights over the main hallway and the master walk-in closet. Visual progress is good!

Roof On (mostly), Shingles Coming Soon

Dave figures we are 2 weeks behind the original schedule, but the weather has been cooperating lately.

A week of absence had me returning to see the roof almost closed in, fascia boards mostly on, and a skid of shingles sitting in the driveway. It almost looks like a house now!






These first pics show this stage,

















....and also one of Jeremy up on the peak of the new front porch (also new since last week), putting the finishing touches on that before covering it in..(this pictures was taken this morning, August 6, 2007).








And this is one of the main reasons I am going to be living on the Wallace River - the Wallace River, as seen after a coolish night (+10C), and warm day coming, with just a hint of mist at 7 am rising from the river.






Coming Next - Windows!

Complicated Roof? What Complicated Roof?

The roof structure, according to the crew working on it, is just a tad more complicated than your average roof. One of them said "If this was any "normal house", we'd have the roof on and the windows in by now." OK, I'll give 'em that much. In fact, I'll let the pictures tell the story. Dave (my builder) says he hopes to have the rest of the roof structure completed this week, and possibly the roofs all closed in. He says he's planng to hire in a team of roofers to do the shingling so he can get moved inside to the interior partitions, floors etc.

Enough words. Here's some pics and videos -

After Two Weeks of Carpentry

So, after 2 weeks of carpentry, here are the results. I had not been up for a week or so, so there was a fair bit of progress. The main floor walls are in place (well, almost all of them), there is a temporary stairway to the second floor, and some of the decks are partially framed. That was necessary as some of the roof structure carries out over the decks/porches.



This picture shows the side of the house where there will be a deck leading along the side of the house to the screen porch. It's framed and sitting on temporary supports.













This is looking from the doorway toward the front left corner of the house, where the screen porch will be. That opening will be a pair of french doors.










And this shot is standing at the french door opening to the screen porch, overlooking the river. When things are further along, I'll cut down a few trees to give me a better view of the river.

Here's a short video of the main floor of the house. So far, so good! Lots of windows and the screen porch looks great!

And finally for now, here's what the floor tile selections look like. The 2"x2" mosaic greys and whites and blacks (below) are for the master shower, the mustard floor tile will match up with some 8x8 beige wall tiles for the second floor bathroom, and the beige with trim (left) is for the entryway and powder room off the entry. There will also be a 3-foot circular mosaic for the centre of the entryway (not picked up yet.

And Then there was a floor - and a wall - and a phone!

With variable weather (read as "cloudy, cool, and threatening rain on a continuous basis), Dave and his crew (Gerald, Steve, and Jeremy) made some good progress, getting the main floor covered and one wall erected by mid-day on Monday July 9th. And on the same day, the Aliant telephone people came and ran the wire from the street to the pole, and through the conduit underground to the inside of the garage. There will be another run of wire from that point, through another conduit, to the basement of the house. Pics and video as follows :

It was a windy evening on July 8th

The first wall was in place July 9th

Framing Begins

Framing has begun! The first video is the cement truck unloading cement for one of the sonotube bigfoots (bigfeet?) to support the porch and decks. There are about 15 of these holes, so it took a while to fill them, even using the mini-excavator to carry the cement to the holes down below the house.


This picture is Dave Gullens and two of his crew, figuring out their next steps.








The first of the floor joists are in place, and the rim joist.



This Is Dave, of David Gullens Carpentry. He's my builder.

There's lots of measuring going on. The main floor is about half framed out.












And the last pic for now, taken from the pathway down to the river.

Foundation ALmost Complete

So by the end of the second week of foundation work, this is what it looks like. It is supposed to be complete as far as foundation goes so carpentry work can start on July 3, after the long weekend. It seems *almost* done, with some insulation and backfilling yet to be done. I suspect another inspection is necessary before work can continue too.

The next pic is of a Ridgeline full of engineered hardwood, which I picked up on Friday and hauled up to store in the garage. This was taken in my driveway in Fall River. There's about 1000 square feet there of hickory flooring. It looks nice so far, will post pics after installation.

Canada Day weekend was coolish but not cold, and mostly clear, except for the Monday holiday when showers set in by mid-morning. That was my cue to leave for home. And just as an aside, here's a couple of pictures I took of some local residents. So there's not just bears around! One is a giant juvenile bald eagle, taken while I was sitting on my dock. . They're like all kids these days, bigger than their parents. And the other is a pair of evening grosbeaks, not too shy of me standing there with a camera.