Sunday, October 28, 2007

Another Item Finished

After a slight delivery delay, the last of our windows arrived Saturday. These 8 windows had to be custom made to fit what the carpenter framed in - which changed about 3 times during the whole framing process. But the finished wall looks fantastic! Can't wait to see what it will all look like with the siding on.......

Our plumber is also working very quickly as he is leaving Bamfield soon to return to Alberta to work on the pipe lines. He's had to do a lot of corrections to the previous plumbing job (I'm mighty disappointed in what Joe did for us.....hot water routed to outside taps, drains in wrong spots, not enough space allowed for laundry facilities, island plumbing measured off wrong wall........sloppy work - burn marks on the framing where he welded.......) So, needless to say, I'm really glad that Dwyane (or Wheels) has the skills to do this for us.

This is the first floor tub installed. Wheels wants to put in the toilet today, so I've got to make sure the ones we've got are cleaned out & haven't sustained any damage. They are salvaged from a lodge renovation & have been sitting on my lawn all summer.

Today is clean house day again. The concept of picking up after themselves just doesn't occur to our crew. I understand the mess made in building - but please pick up your personal garbage & put it in a bucket or garbage bag. We have one door left to put in & I know raccoons have been walking through the house. As long as they don't leave deposits, all they do is rummage through lunch wrapers......At least the house is dry, so when I bag up all the junk, it won't weigh a tonne.


This was sunrise on Saturday.




This was Phil's Halloween costume last night for one of the most popular, well-attended, rocking dances in Bamfield. He shaved off the beard..........

Tuesday, October 23, 2007

Back to Work

We had yet another storm Sunday thru Monday (storm #4??) & Tuesday has been a wonderfully sunny & hot (!!) day. The boys are working quickly on the decks - yes, we have 2 decks - and while the sun is out, they want to work outside. Which is good - our electrician came in today to start putting in plugs & switches, etc. All these decisions that we have to make......as long as we don't start second guessing ourselves, I think we'll get through this. HA!

You can just make out that the deck wraps around the side of the house towards the back door on the second floor. We have extended the deck on the first floor to also wrap around side the house to the side door. The open window on the second floor will be glass blocks - wait til you see these ones! They are super-cool!


We are putting up pine soffits - under the roof overhangs & they are stained (by Phil & Michelle) in Comfort Morn. Don't know who gets to name colours, but I could do much better than that!! Anyway, the cedar fascia is also stained the same colour & we will 'match' the house up behind us on the hill. We only received 1/3rd of the pine & the rest should be making it's way here by the weekend.....


Our shower on the second floor is now installed. We have 2 shower heads with 2 separate controls & we got the plumber (a different one than we started off with) to put the shower head up high - at least 8 inches above the edge of the shower. Who wants to stand in a shower & have it blast you right in the face??


This is a bad shot of Brian, our electrician. I've got to get better at taking sneaky shots.....His other career is with the Canadian Coast Guard station here in town & also a fishing lodge down the harbour. Busy guy......But he's got a good reputation with the building inspector & I doubt we'll have mystery switches. The house we currently rent has about 4 or 5 switches that do nothing but 'change the weather' - & our landlord is also another electrician.......

Thanks to those of you who've dared to vote on a weathervane......If any of you are artistic at all, you can always send me a drawing of your interpretation of a weathervane. Who knows, we might use that for a custom one.......

Monday, October 15, 2007

The Roof is Finished!!

After the storm on Tuesday (the 9th), the boys came back to finish the roof on Wednesday (the 10th). Only 1 shingle blew off the night before, so it didn't take them long to get the rest finished.

This is our roof - the shingles are called 'Sunset Cedar' & they almost look like a cedar shake roof. We've got lots of fun names for the colours we are using.

The stain we are using on the cedar fascia & window trim is called 'Comfort Morn' - it's sort of a yellowish-carmel.

The hardi-plank that will hopefully go on this week is called 'Mountain Sage' - which is a smoky green colour (not olive, not emerald....you'll have to wait for the photos).

We ended the week with 2 glorious sunny days, which helped seal down the roof. I got into the house & did a massive clean-up & moved a few things around so that the floors would dry out. Phil & I stained as much of the cedar trim as possible - until we ran out of stain......We also did some clean-up outside around the house. I finished planting some bulbs in the lily garden & others into the white garden. Those should be fine now for a few years until I will need to get back into them & divide the bulbs. It feels good to have a bit of landscaping finished before the house & before the winter truly arrives. I hope that we will get some grass seed out around the house in the next few weeks, but we need to remove the roots & rocks first........rain, rain, go away......

Friday, October 12, 2007

Roofing in the Dark

Here are those photos from Monday when the boys were trying to roof in the dark.


This was shortly after 6 pm - it was getting dark & it was a bit chilly.





Phil was on the roof!! The boys were ribbing him quite well, but Phil was up there to help & did his best.





All four guys from the crew were up & at it. I still haven't figured out how the roof jacks stayed up there....





These shots are done at 7 pm just as they finished for the day. I'm glad they got down when they did.

Tuesday, October 9, 2007

Yet Another Storm.....

There's another storm brewing right now. It sounds like the ocean is just outside the door & the sky is a very strange colour - almost like steel. Then the wind blows the door open & you realize that it's just winter.....

The 'Motley Crew' worked super-hard yesterday (that would be Dude, Ninja, Wheels & Bones) because the marine forecast called for hurricane force winds last night. They didn't get off the roof until 7 pm - while Rose & I stood there in terror as they were jumping around with nail guns, hammers & 2x4's trying to get as much done as possible. Crazy......

Anyway - last night was as calm as can be & the winds & rain didn't start until around noon. It's going to be a humm-dinger tonight. Phil is out hauling the generator back to this house just in case the power goes out - he doesn't want to sit in the dark unless absolutely necessary. Besides, it will be the first time we get to use our generator for a power-outtage......

ok - photos not loading right now - but I will try to get them up a.s.a.p. so that you can see Phil actually went on the roof!!! This is a guy who just doesn't like heights & the boys were pestering him something good! Ha, Ha, Ha.

Sunday, October 7, 2007

The Sun after The Rain

Well, the sun is shining after our second winter storm, strangely enough on a Saturday again. The next one is forecasted for - yes, Saturday again!! So, I ran out to check out the windows & see what kind of state the place was in after horizontal rain & 80km/hr winds. Not bad - but Phil is going over right now to sweep some of the water out so that the boys can work tomorrow. We have a small window of opportunity to get the 'holes' filled before the rains come again. Holes - the outside doors installed & plastic on the front wall.

I also took some measurements for the kitchens. I woke up in the middle of the night with a thought that our fridge won't fit in the spot we designated for it because we are now enclosing the stairwell leading downstairs (which was initially enclosed & then switched to being open & is once again going to be enclosed.....). It's a tight angle in that part of the house - but after looking at it I will just moved the fridge over & put in a pantry unit with a small counter. But we need to get the plumber to re-do the island plumbing - he went off the downstairs kitchen wall which sits further back than the upstairs kitchen wall (it's in the blueprints & we don't change structural walls - at least not those ones!!). So, I'm not really sure about island placement - there's too much junk in there to get a proper feel to it.

Ok - picture time:
It looks so much nicer in the sun! The scaffolding was moved around to the west side of the house (this is the east side).


They installed the sliding door yesterday after we confirmed that it was the proper size. The hole that had been left was for a door 4 inches taller - would have been really nice, but that was a custom door (actually considered a window) & would have cost us almost $1200 - just for 4 extra inches!! So, the next question was - make the top level with the windows (my preference) or put in a lintel & have the bottom work easier with the deck.....Dude got his choice & I didn't, but if we can find a really nice piece of wood for the lintel than I'm not really all that concerned. This is the wall that needs to have a large piece of plastic covering the open windows - they will not arrive til after the 23rd & if we want any chance of trying to dry the place out - the plastic needs to be primary concern tomorrow when the boys come in - wait, I hope we have the plastic for it!!!

Dude was very concerned that he get the valley flashing done properly, so this was the only time he was on the roof - the valley between the different peaks on the west wall. We don't want a leak from the porch to the house. The blue tarp is covering the loft area where Phil has cedar 'drying' so that he can stain it before it goes around the windows.

I hope after this is all done that the inside of the house is as nice as the outside! We have a lot of cedar outside & I do believe there are some large posts in the house that will be installed somewhere. It sure smells nice!

I know it's Thanksgiving, but here's my one & only pepper! The other plants are still doing well in the greenhouse & I hope that I'm able to eat part of this little veggie - next year - start earlier!!

Remember to vote for a weathervane & if you have a specific idea - leave us a note. The weathervane places I've checked out on line have such a crazy assortment of styles. For example: a whale doesn't always mean Moby Dick....

Saturday, October 6, 2007

Ever so Slllooowwwwlllyyyy.......

We are at the end of another week & I dared to look at the 'progress' of the crew. I will admit that I've been avoiding the work site for a week because it gets depressing not being able to see ANY progress that I'm sure was being accomplished somewhere along the way. We've also had a bit of a change in crew - Owen moved out to Youbou to pursue construction jobs down there & we gained Bones & Dwayne. Dude & Colin are still with us.

So, here's where was are at: Half the roof is shingled (& it's raining as I speak - of course), most of the windows are in (the 8 remaining in the vaulted front wall are on back order & won't arrive til after the 23rd - so I hope they think to put in plastic before too long), the doors are here, the plumber should come in towards the end of the week to install the shower & tub (as long as we can dry out those areas in time to put in insulation), the electrician comes back from hunting mid-week & will hopefully come for a walk-thru so he can order all the electrical work.

Now: it's picture time:Don't forget to vote for your fav. idea for a weathervane. To remind everyone - the first floor space is 2/3rds rental suite & I'm pretty sure we will name it: Sun & Sea Suite. So, that gives you a hint as to what I'm aiming the 'theme' of the house & yard to be.

Monday, October 1, 2007

Winter is Fast Approaching!!!

Wow - we survived our first winter storm this past weekend. Winds blowing 90 km/hour, 110 mm of rain (that's enough to fill your wheelbarrow - modern mode of transportation around these parts), and the power flipped off around 8 pm on Saturday. Typical - the wind howls all day long, but the power doesn't go off til it gets dark & a bit chilly.

I didn't hear any crashing from the new house, so I assume that nothing broke or was blown away. The boys are trying to get the shingles on as fast as they can (finally) & maybe some windows in too -cross your fingers that this next storm due to hit tomorrow sometime, isn't too bad & that the soggy house doesn't get too much more soggy!!

Thought I'd throw in a pretty picture of one of the flowers at the wedding that happened on Sunday - something bright in an otherwise dreary day......

We've added a poll down at the bottom of the page - we really do need some help in figuring out our weathervane - vote & maybe I'll come up some other decorating decisions you can help us on!!!