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.

Roof Shingles and Interior Walls

It was a busy week at the Hennessy house this past week, though the visual results aren't as dramatic as we've seen in the past.

You can see that the chimney has been built and is ready to be covered in stone. At Rory's insistence, it is wide enough to fit Santa. 

They have begun framing the interior walls upstairs. The top picture is looking from the west side of the house towards our bedroom. I am looking out our bathroom window. The second picture is taken from our bedroom looking west. I have an urge to put nails in the studs now to save me having to find the damn things later when it's time to hang pictures!

Rory decided that the sawdust on the floor had to go. He's a little OCD like his mother. But he's got great curling form and has his game face on!

And finally, they started roof shingling and should be done with that early this week. This week they'll also be bringing in windows and doors and may pour the concrete slab.

We have a roof!

The guys were up pounding plywood onto the roof all last week during an intense heat wave in Nova Scotia! It must have been brutal, but they got it all done in time for "Hurricane Earl" to hit. We figured this would be a good test of whether or not the engineers knew what they were doing.

As hurricanes go, this was a pretty lame one - at least in the Annapolis Valley. On Friday before the storm hit, Rory threw these nails out onto the lower roof that covers the front walkway. After the "hurricane," they hadn't moved!

Here are some pictures of the upstairs with the roof on. This week they will start putting roof shingles on, and will begin prepping for the windows and doors to be installed. They will also start rouging in some electrical and plumbing, and will prepare for the slab to be poured.

We have had a visitor for the past few weeks. This blue heron seems to like having breakfast in our pond every morning. Erin's mother Louise often said that she would like to be reincarnated as a blue heron, so maybe Louise is watching every day to make sure the guys aren't cutting any corners! Louise was about as handy as I am, so this doesn't give me much comfort, but it's still pretty cool. I've always wondered why people choose to be reincarnated as animals. I'm going to wish to be reincarnated as the King of a small but wealthy tropical island.