December 30 - On an Unrelated Topic...

Has anyone ever had their Christmas Tree continue growing in their house? 
In the 14 years or so that we have been enjoying a 'real' tree at Christmas, we have never had one bud and continue to produce new needles.
Most of the new growth is on the window side, but there is a fair bit on the back side as well. These pictures show a very small portion as the whole tree is budding.
Have a look at these pictures & please comment, wondering if this is normal or not.
Thanks and Happy New Year!

December 28 - Windows

Henri, Abel & Marshall installed the windows today...at least all the ones they could. The window bucks for the 3 basement windows are 2" too narrow, so some adjustments will have to be made then they can be installed. Once that is done and we get locks on the doors we will finally be at what the bank considers the 'lock-up' or 'airtight' stage! YAY!!

Front door.

To house from garage.

Kitchen, garden doors & living room.

Dining room.

Door to garage.

Bedrooms.

Main bathroom.

Ensuite bathroom. We had the open part at the top so we could keep the window covered and have the window still open.

December 27 - Power & Windows

We went out after work tonight and as planned, the windows were delivered today. They will be installed tomorrow!
An added bonus...we now have electricity!!! Hydro hooked us up to the pole today and also installed the meter! Very exciting.

Windows that will be installed tomorrow.  



More windows and doors. The one on the right is our front door and to the left of it is our garden door.

This is how they were delivered. On a window rack and placed in the driveway. Keeps them from getting broken!

 

How many people can say they have seen their Hydro meter when it was at zero?

Marshall in the basement with his light plugged into the one and only outlet. We have power!!! 

December 19 - Great News!!

Great news yesterday...

• Hydro approved Marshall's electrical work! (And commented that it was a very nice job!) Now we will fill in the trench (more sand, treated wood & gravel). We will have electricity once Hydro hooks us up to the pole - hopefully in the next couple of weeks.
• They finished shingling the roof yesterday...great to have that completed.
• And...we should have our windows in before the New Year. They are being delivered onsite on December 27th and will be installed on the 28th!

So things are looking up!

December 17 - Some News

Let's see now...what has changed in the last week.
Marshall (with Alanna's & Marc's help on the weekend) has the exterior electrical ready for inspection. The meter socket is now connected to the panel! Wires run from it on the wall down through the trench, under the front deck and into the electrical panel in the basement. Once this gets the ok from the Hydro inspector and they hook us up to the pole, we will have power! Marshall has put one plug on the board beside the panel from which we will be able to run extension cords for light & power tools. 
The roofers are almost done...thought they would finish today, but alas, such is not the case. They just have to cap the main part of the roof and install all the vents...then we can get windows!!! Really getting tired of shoveling out the house!

They have to cap the top of the main part of the roof. Garage is complete.

Meter socket on wall. Wires run down from here in the grey conduit on the right, in the trench and into the house. Hydro will run their wires from the pole in their own trench and will come up into the grey conduit on the left.

Can't see the shingles for the snow.

They finished the west side today, including the two vents.

Because of the size of the panel and code requirements for the height of the main breaker, we mounted the panel sideways. The small grey conduit that is running from the bottom of the panel houses the copper wire that is attached to the grounding plate which is buried 2' underground.

This picture is for you technical types...the big red, black & white wires that you see are what was run from the meter socket on the garage, through the trench to here.

View from my kitchen window (or will be once I get a window!)

Although the snow has been a huge pain in the butt, it is very pretty out there!

December 10 - Update

The last week has not been too visably productive - lots of research & planning...Although the roofers started on Wednesday, the weather kept them off of there on Thursday, Friday & today. Once the roof is done we can at least get the windows in and keep the weather out...hopefully before Christmas!! There is currently a fair bit of snow in there!!
The plumber/HVAC fella came out one day last week and started. He was due back tomorrow but the duct work he has ordered hasn't come in - so he won't be back until the New Year as he is shutting down for Christmas at the end of this week.
Marshall has been busy working on the electrical outside so we can get on Hydro's list to hook us up to the pole. He was out there all weekend and the jackhammer he rented to dig under the deck was a great help. He put up the meter socket tonight so tomorrow the phone call can be made to Hydro. Now we will work on getting the wire in the trench and hooked up to the panel.
On Saturday Marshall gave me a power tool...a reciprocating saw (SawsAll) to cut out all of the 2x4's on the floor in the doorways that were part of the framework but were in the way. He said I did pretty good, too!!
I think between now and the New Year posts might be few & far between but I will be sure to post at least weekly.

December 5 - Surprise

Marshall went to the property tonight to cover the trench to keep out the forecasted weather(freezing rain and snow) and what a wonderful surprise he had. The roofers started today instead of tomorrow. Depending on the weather, they might not get back at it for a couple of days but at least there are some shingles up there! :)

December 4

Today we hired roofers to shingle the roof...they will start on Thursday and should be done in 2 - 3 days!!
We were out there this evening to measure for wire as we will be ordering the electrical 'stuff' in the next day or two.
The plumber/HVAC/wood stove installer starts tomorrow. He's got a lot of work ahead of him.
So things are starting to move again. :)

December 2 - Not Much to Report



Been a busy week finishing up lots of little jobs that aren't readily visible.

 

All of the sheeting is complete on the house, roof and garage. The shingles arrived on Thursday.

 

Marshall & Alanna worked on the shingles on Friday and the rain/snow mix kept him off of the roof on Saturday. This is a painfully slow process which is why the decision has been made to hire roofers to complete the shingling.

 

This backhoe did the job and could dig the partially frozen ground...the trenching for electrical wires from the meter socket to the house is now complete.

 

Trench along the north side of the garage (facing the street).

 

The trench in front of the garage (doors).

 

Next post won't be til the weekend. 

November 27 - Roof Sheeting is Done

The sheeting on the roof was completed yesterday. Marshall will finish the wall around the front entrance then start on shingling the roof on the weekend.

 

We hired a mini-excavator last week to dig the trench to bury electrical wires but it broke down. He came back today but the ground was too hard, so didn't get much done before he called it quits. Now we have to hire a bigger machine to do the job.

 

It's coming along!

 

Next update will be on the weekend!

November 25 - A Couple of Videos

It was very cold today...about -25C with the wind, but at least the sun was shining. Marshall finished up sheeting the west side and back of the house and I did a yard clean up (picked up the scraps of wood & garbage before it all got buried from any more snow).

 

Just finishing up the sheeting. Yes that is the moon in the picture. We finished up about 6:00 (an hour after this picture was taken) and it was very dark except for the beautiful moonlight. I held the light for Marshall so he could see to nail up the last 2 boards.

 

Here's a couple of videos I took today.

http://youtu.be/TesEnSph9aw

 

http://youtu.be/brY5Mc5LxbY

 

November 24 - Roof 95% Complete

Wow...talk about progress! Except for a small area over the front door, the sheeting on the roof is complete. Marshall was out there yesterday and it was a chilly one. It's very snowy and blowy today so we thought it best to stay in the city and get caught up at home.

Working on the back.

 

Back is complete! Trusses on the deck are for the sunroom. There will be a window on the back wall of the garage. It's framed, just not cut out yet.

 

West side of house.

 

Roof sheeting is complete on this side. Marshall will be finishing the sheeting of the wall just below the roof line all around the house.

 

Working on the sunroom in this picture and the one below.

 

 

East side of house. To finish the other side of the sunroom where it meets the house, the last few cuts were made with the help of a flashlight. (It gets dark way too early!)

 

The trusses leaning up against the house will be used to finish the roof over the front door. There will be a widow in the garage, it's framed just not cut out yet.

November 22 - Sheeting Continued

Only a few pictures today as it was almost dark when we got there after work and absolutely freezing out there (-20C w/windchill). It's a chilly one and very windy.

Finished up this area yesterday.

 

Close up of picture above. The door to the right goes into the 3rd bay of the garage and the window straight ahead is the dining room.

 

West side of house.

 

Sheeting in preparation for the framing of the remaining trusses that form the front valley. Because of the north winds, the front has to be done before the back or the sheeting will just blow off.