Working towards Lock-Up

On Tuesday we had a load of fresh milled cedar arrive - which we needed in order to move forward with the building. The shingles (which arrived last week Tuesday) could not go on until the fascia was put on (it goes on the outside edge of the roof). The siding (hardy plank) & windows arrived last Saturday & are also waiting to be put up.....windows first, then the hardy plank. We also have our framing material for the deck waiting to go up.......

So, the sun is shining this morning & we have an extra body on site (Bones - a guy from Cape Breton who's been with Bamfield for a while & still sounds like he's straight off the rock!!). Today should be shingling day & the start of windows.......

I caught the boys at a moment of relaxing - this was the last little piece of roof to be built - it's the covered porch for the back door. It also has the pagoda style.
The rest of the day was spent putting up the scaffold at the back of the house to paper & prep the back wall for siding & the installation of the back windows. They might get put in today!! I think we were told that it will take about 2 hours per window for installation - we have 21 windows plus a sliding door.

There are 8 that haven't arrived yet because they were just framed in on the weekend & are special made-to-order ones. They are the 8 in the front above the sliding doors - in the 'cathedral' area. They should arrive in 3 weeks......

Again, this is the view from the loft - now framed in for the windows. This wall is such a solidly built wall that nothing is going to move it EVER! All the frames are 2 by 6 - which means the frames are 16 inches thick!!! (there are 8 pieces of wood stacked side-by-side around each window hole & securely held in place with metal strapping) Granted I don't have any space to put my electrical.......but we'll work around that when it comes time for our electrican to come in.
This is the window design for the south wall that Phil drew up once the frames were finished. Yes, it has changed from the original design, but the carpenter felt that this was the best way to keep the wall strong for when the winter storms start blowing.

What's Going On??

Well, I know it doesn't look like much has happened in a week - yes, a full week of waiting for something to be finished or to start.......BUT, the shingles have finally arrived (don't know when they plan on actually putting them on), the shower has come for the upstairs bathroom (after having to be repaired due to delivery damage) & it looks like the 'attic' floor has been put in along with the back wall fitted with 2 windows.

This is the view from the 'attic' - I'm just hoping there aren't too many people out there with high powered lenses looking our way!!!!

This week my parents are here in town - getting a feel for wet, west coast living & will be watching some of the progress (or non-progress) on the house. Mom will no doubt take 50 million photos - which is good, because I'm still working the odd shift at the lodge. Today, the siding (hardy-plank) and windows are arriving on the ferry, which only adds to the growing list of things the boys need to hurry up & do......Maybe they'll get the hint that I'm getting anxious if we are able to book the electrician to come for a walk-through this week......

The Roof, the Roof........

Do you know what happens when Phil goes out of town to a party? He misplaces the camera & we spend a week trying to remember where he may have left it.......

These photos taken Sept 13th were on someone else's camera but yes, the weather has turned gray. It looks a bit glum, but we should be back into sunshine in a day or two.......

The Dude changed the roof line while they were putting it up & it has a bit of a pagoda-style to it now. Much better than a big triangle sitting on top of a big square.

The large prow (overhang in the front) is to help with the weather, but honestly, when the storms hit, the rain is horizontal not vertical.

The boys were just finishing this on Wednesday & I wish I had the camera handy - Colin was climbing up & down like a monkey & walking along the roof peak without a care in the world. They were making jokes that they should install a steeple with a cross & call it 'the church of Phil' - ha,ha,ha,ha - from castle to church.......

I do want to find a weather vane to put up there - any suggestions?

Reaching for the Stars....

Ok! The beam did get up & in place last week before we ran back into Home Depot. It was once again a long weekend with a fishing derby, so the boys quit early on Friday & came back on Tuesday. As long as the sun holds out for a few more weeks, we should be good without the roof in proper.

So, this past week, the boys came back & put up some rafters. Now we look like we are putting in a castle!! The roof design was altered slightly - I need to go over to see if it has changed yet, but once again, they ran out of nails for the nail gun, which should be arriving on the boat on Saturday. The supply centre in Port Alberni was not able to deliver them to the boat in time last Wednesday (for delivery to Bamfield on the Thursday boat) - it's all very confusing to those who don't understand our delivery system & believe me, it's a real pain in the backside when those on the other end miss things by only a few minutes.

Anyway, it's Friday & things are very quiet around here - tomorrow the boys should be back at it & hopefully the plywood gets put up in short order. I think someone needs to start cracking the whip as autumn has arrived & who knows when the rains will start up for the rest of the year......