Friday work

 Friday morning was pancakes and lattes, then off to work.
Tyler started wiring the garage, putting his electrical skills in practice.  Len was still working on wiring in the house.  Sorry, no new pictures of that.

A pro at work

Caitlyn supervises

Len was awake half the night trying to think of other ways to use Tyler's brawn to our advantage.
What he came up with was mounting the huge doors on the shop.

First they had to be cut down to fit

#1 installed

Going up

Ta da

Also ta da for Caitlyn on the "mountain"

Everyone takes a break and Banjo takes a sniff

Sarah all ready for a walk

Melissa and Sarah

Walking pals

On Saturday morning we said a sad farewell to the Gingrich family.  Come again soon!

Evening by the fire

Thursday night we had a nice wiener roast by the fire.

Melissa roasting her dog

a perfect fire

Happy times together

The weather was lovely, no mosquitos to speak of and lots of good food and friends.  What more can you ask for?

Power Up Day

Thursday was momentous in a couple of ways.  First was the arrival of the BC Hydro trucks and our electrician from Garths who came to switch over our temporary power to permanent.  This means our 200 Amp panel in the basement became live.

The BC Hydro team only stayed briefly

Wayne from Garth's Electric did the actual work

 Before we knew it, the Gingrich family of Tyler, Melissa, Caitlyn and Sarah arrived.  Len put Tyler to work immediately.  The job: putting in the window in the garage loft.

Using the scaffold made it fairly easy

Tyler 

Monkey man

Caitlyn kept an eye on things

Melissa and Sarah (under the hat)

Taking the scaffold down

Sarah

Caitlyn loves blueberries

Since one window was so easy (?) the guys decided to put up the window in the loft.  Not QUITE as easy but it went surprisingly smoothly.

First get it up on the loft level

It takes two

There it is in place at the top.  Sorry, didn't get photos of the scaffold up .

Sarah and Banjo share a bed 

We ended the day with a fun weiner roast by the fire.  Check the next blog for pictures.

Days Four and Five - Where does the time go?

Well two more exciting days of wiring have come and gone.  Yesterday Len managed to get the main floor and loft pretty much done.  If you can call this "done".

Luckily Len has labelled all the wires.

Meanwhile, Cath slaves away at the computer.

Someone has to bring home the bacon

Due to wiring, the notice board got moved for a third (final?) time

These cute little plastic boxes are a pain to work with

After work Cath loaded up the truck with garbage and she and Banjo made a garbage run up the highway to the transfer station.  It is very convenient as you can take ANYTHING there, no charge

Tarped and tied down

Now that's a drill bit (if you can't tell, it is 16")

Now for today.  It was a long day of running wire for the smoke/CO2 detectors which need their own run and most of it 3 wire.  Since you have to have them located all over the house, the wire runs all over the place.  He was very happy when it was done.

Adding the box for the detector in the loft

This is what his ladder was balanced upon.  Yikes!

View from below - still smiling

After most people have gone home from work, Cath stained the door of the shop.

The last door to be stained and finished

Shortly after she finished, the sun began to set.  And where was Len?  Putting up scaffolding to get the garage loft large window put in.  Rumour has it that slave labour is about to arrive tomorrow (Tyler and Melissa) and Len is never one to waste young strength.

The first side of what will be 3 layers

Another beautiful sunset, time for a soak in the hot tub and a good night's sleep.

Day Three - Ditto

Today Cath had to work so no pictures were taken.  Please refer to yesterday's blog and just imagine Len working with 3 conductor wire for the two-way switches.  He also completed  the wiring of two bedrooms, the main baths and almost finished the office.  Without lights, you can only work until the sun goes down.  Tomorrow he will be working on the challenges of the great room and loft.  And then of course all the basement rooms.  So he will be busy for a few more days and a few more pictures will be taken I am sure.  There are a few boxes and the fancy plastic containers that go around them (cuts air drafts coming in through the wiring) to go in as well.  Lots to do if any of you aspiring electricians (Tyler?) want some hands-on experience.  Thank goodness our electrical inspector, Bob, is a friendly, helpful guy.  Ever tried to read the electrical code book?  Not for the faint of heart.  While I was blogging, (is that the verb?) Len took this lovely shot of the sunset as seen out our window this evening.

Day Two Electrical - Did a little pot

Pot lights that is.  5 of them in the kitchen.  We are at the point when we have to decide what lighting we are having.  Cath climbed up the ladder to the loft to inventory our supplies.  Then she mounted all the receptacles on the main floor.

A drilling fool

 Len was busy busy busy.  He made good progress, mostly finishing the laundry, kitchen and dining areas.  All but the two-way switches since we need different wire for that.

A different kind of pot action

Just picture the three pendants over the island

Another weekend, another load of wash and grocery shopping.  We eat well on grocery days. Tonight was fresh sockeye salmon, fettucini, Greek salad and cheese bread.

We may be camping but we eat well

Stay tuned for another exciting day tomorrow.

Wiring 101

Today we got serious about wiring.  You can see that Len the creative has been busy again.  After stealing the big wheels for the log splitter, he put on smaller ones to create his wiring caddy.

A thing of beauty

Various sizes of wire for the dryer, stove and sub-panel

Meanwhile, Cath got busy putting spray foam around the windows and doors.  Once that was done, she was Len's go-fer and wire puller.  We started with our living space above the garage.

See that little yellow bead ... I did that!

Of course in order to string wire, it meant that we had to remove some of the insulation we just put in yesterday.  And working with furniture in place complicates things too.  We have moved things multiple times now.

A hole between the garage and the suite (note all the wood chips - they are everywhere!)

Suddenly from below, a wire magically appears 

Meanwhile in the basement, Len has the runs of wire neatly organized

Obviously not hooked up yet

And what did Cath learn today?  How to pull wire so it stays flat.  How to mount a receptacle box.  How to cut insulation around said box.  How to vacuum for at least an hour to get all the wood chips and bits of insulation off the floor.

The general mess of wiring

Len in action - being careful about the grandfather clock, the cello and the hoya

Almost a switch

It was a pretty warm day for here, about 25C, and by 7pm we were ready for a break.  So we sat out on our "deck" (particle board sheets over the joists).  Beer, tortilla chips (Fresh is Best - the best), salsa and cheese dip....and the view

Reminds us of why we are doing this crazy project