Still a Mess

The guys are putting a push on this week to try and get as much of the interior finishes done as they can before the Christmas break. The house is full of dust and debris but it's starting to take shape as some of the fixtures, cabinets, and millwork are put in.

Super-carpenter Mike has been hard at work building the millwork. On the left are the shelves for the upstairs linen closet. These sent Erin into spasms of glee I have rarely seen from her! Below are the wall length bookshelves that will finally enable us to empty all the books we've had in boxes in our last three houses! 

                                                              
                                               
The bathrooms are getting close to being finished. The vanities have been built and installed, and the tiling should be done this week. Soon we'll get plumbing....oh and toilets.

And the   kitchen cabinets are now installed. The white cabinets are a nice contrast to the dark brown floors (that you can't see) and countertops (that are not installed yet), and the stainless steel appliances (which are still in boxes in the middle of the dining room).

This week the painting, tiling, millwork, and a lot of the lighting should be finished. We're hoping they install the appliances before Christmas as well. Mom and Dad are in Nova Scotia for Christmas and are dying to see the house, but we don't want to take them up until all the mess is cleared up. We're shooting for Christmas Eve.

Getting Closer!

The outside of the house is pretty much finished now. A few small details like some exterior painting (doors and maybe window frames) and the final grading of the lot, but these won't get done until the Spring. 

 The stone wall creates a little walkway between the front entrance, the carport, and the entrance to my office/studio. My original design was for an underground tunnel, but for some reason this didn't make it to the final plans!

There is quite a big back yard between the house and the pond. We have no idea what we want to do for a back deck or for landscaping yet and Erin and I have different priorities - flowers and vegetables vs. a hot tub! We'll figure it out but we want to live in the house for awhile before we make any decisions.

 

I am standing in my new office/studio. The floor is cork which provides a better acoustic than the concrete on the rest of the main floor. I can't wait to have my own space where I can make as much of a mess as I want.

We spent a few days last week stacking wood in the carport. And yes - for those of you who know me and are laughing right now - I did my share as well! Rory was a big help and is very proud of his work. The wood is near the front entrance and there is a wood storage cutout in the front wall of the entrance way that allows us to pass wood through to the living room next to the fireplace.

Lots to do this week. These boxes contain our kitchen appliances and bathroom vanities. Before those go in, the kitchen cabinets have to be installed starting tomorrow. Later in the week the upstairs hardwood floors will be installed and the bathroom floor and shower tiles will be finished. The countdown is on - only about four weeks left until we move in!

Stonewalled....

...but that's not a bad thing. The stone wall on the exterior of the house is finished. The main part of the wall is cultured stone and the wall cap is made out of sandstone from a quarry in Wallace, NS.

The chimney is also faced with the same stone. We must be anticipating some exponential growth in Santa's wastline because the chimney is really big!

The upstairs has been completely painted, but we couldn't get pictures because they are staining the downstairs floor this week and we haven't been allowed in the house.

And I spoke too soon about the exterior concrete. A little kitty got a big surprise when it ventured into the carport. The tracks run all along the porch! We've decided to leave them there for several reasons: 1) too much of a pain to fix, 2) we actually like it, and 3) it will serve as a warning to future cats!

Weather Woes

The weather has not been kind to us the last few weeks. As one of my students put it, only 30 more days or so before it gets biblical! We had a few nice days where some outside work could get done, but the major accomplishment has been the completion of the drywall inside. Below you can see me warming myself by the future fire. The picture on the right is taken from the bottom floor looking up through the cutaway section.

The house is water tight but Rory isn't taking any chances!










Erin's upstairs office area.

This is the future kitchen, which oddly enough looks in this picture like our kitchen normally looks after I've been cooking!

Below you can see the concrete guys "sweeping" the floor of the carport to give it a rough finish. It should take about 3 days to dry so we're hoping no animals decide to pay a visit.

Drywalling

The drywalling has begun. Just in time too - the pink glow was starting to make me hallucinate! 

Now the upstairs is really taking shape as the walls and rooms are more defined.

This little thing is actually the furnace. It's an electric boiler that will heat up the concrete slab at night (when rates are cheapest), keeping the house warm for the day. We are also roughed in for solar but have too many trees right now to make it work. The solar consultant suggested a chainsaw. My marriage consultant disagreed!









I guess I can't blame her - the fall colours are producing some nice views from the back windows.

                                                This week - more drywall and siding, and hopefully the heat will get turned on. The crew is looking a little blue!

Pink walls and the Robot

After the wiring, plumbing etc. was finished, a second layer of insulation was put in. This time it was the old-fashioned pink flavour. Now the whole inside of the house has a strange pink glow to it.

We arrived one day to find this strange contraption that looks like some kind of robot from a 1950s Science Fiction movie.

It's actually the fireplace.

The drywall starts to go on this week which will hide the pinkness and all of the unseemly bits.





And the wood siding in the back is now finished. We're hoping they get the front done by early next week.

Wires, and Pipes, and Vents - Oh My!

Sorry it has been so long since my last post. Midterm season at the university always seems to take over! There has been a lot of activity at the house, though none of it is pretty. As you can see below, the excavator is back! This time it is digging a big trench to connect our sewer and water. I'm sure we'll owe the neighbours a bottle of wine or something after digging up their lawn and driveway!

Inside the house, the plumber, electrician, and HVAC guy have been fighting for space in the walls and utility room. I now realize that walls in a house are kind of like hot dogs. The result may be good, but what goes inside them can be pretty ugly! They are hoping to start drywalling next week so everything will clean up nicely.

Rory's bathroom.




                                                                        







Looking into the laundry room.









                                                                      

Looking into our bedroom.








Outside the siding continues....

Interior Framing and Stairs

This past week was quite busy though it's hard to get a good sense of it with pictures. I asked the guys to do something more dramatic for the blog but they just gave me a funny look. The interior walls have all been framed now and the first layer of insulation and vapour barrier are complete.

The stairs have also been built so we no longer need to use the ladder. This picture is taken from my studio through the wall to where the stairs are.

Rory was sad to see the ladder go. In the picture below, he is staring out of the window at the top of the landing area, probably pining away for his younger days when he could climb up and down the ladder.

This week - plumbing, ventilation, and electrical all get roughed in, and more siding goes on. We spent two hours on Monday with the electrician figuring out where lights and plugs are going to go, and I spent an hour with the dude from Future Shop. Erin made a big mistake leaving me alone to make TV/Stereo decisions!

Insulation and Doors

This was a messy week! We are using a blown in cellulose insulation which is basically recycled newspapers. It gets sprayed on and somehow magically binds to itself. I had my doubts that the pile of crap below could turn into insulation - it wasn't even pink!

 But as you can see in the picture below, it cleans up nicely. In case you think we forgot about electrical and plumbing, there is actually a second layer of framing and insulation that will go in before the drywall goes on. The wires and pipes will therefore go in front of the vapour barrier and will prevent having any holes in it. Anyone else as impressed as I am with myself that I know all this?

The outside doors also all went on this week. This is the door to my studio/office. I wanted to put a neon "Do Not Disurb" sign in the window but that got vetoed!

Below is a little test corner of the wood siding. The darker colour will side the whole house with the lighter colour as the trim.

This coming week will see a lot of interior framing of the downstairs area and the stairs,  and probably some more siding. Electrical, plumbing, and HVAC is coming up soon.

Slab and Windows

We have windows! This is the south side of the house so the many windows will allow for passive solar heat. We're not keeping the plastic over the hole in the middle (unless we run out of money) - that will be a set of doors. Below are a few of the window views from inside.

Big window facing south - pond in the distance.

Our bathroom window - this may have to be partially tinted since it faces north towards the driveway!

The pipes for the in floor heat were also installed this week. I know there is some rationale to they way they were laid but I can't figure it out - it looks pretty random to me. It's too late to go back now though because...

....they are covered over with concrete. We got lucky that it rained on Friday because the concrete guys were looking for something to do indoors so we got our slab poured. Later the concrete will be stained and finished. Right now it would make a pretty cool indoor tennis court (with a few obstacles to make it fun).

This week the doors go on, some insulation goes in, and the downstairs walls will start to be framed.