Note to self, build house 'then' move in

Hi everyone

Well we're back at it for this year. I'll be your tour guide to start out as Cathryn has skipped town, something about wanting to sit through numerous boring meetings instead of being here where it's cold and the work is plentiful.

My first task has been to organize the chaos.  The ground is pretty mushy yet so we're walking on plywood. There has been some drying this week which makes a big difference.

We put most of the stuff in the garage as we won't be getting to that for a while. I reassembled the shelving from the laundry room and the workshop.  It was soon completely full.

Now that I have all my tools here and have set up a work area things are starting to get done.

I have done all the blocking for the drywall on the main floor and am now building a 2x6 wall along the west side of the great room.  I have to build it in sections on the loft floor and slide it along the beam to its new home.  Should be done this tomorrow.

We have done some preliminary work on the shop location but it's still too wet to get the backhoe involved.  More on that tomorrow.
Len

big move #1

We sure picked a great day to bring most of my tools and the cabinets that I built up to 108.  We brought two trucks and two trailers full of stuff. Chris and Kyla came with and brought along a snow blower to chew away at the driveway.

After clearing the snowplow hump I tried to drive up but ended up backing down as the snow was too deep and crusty. We ended up plowing the whole driveway up to the back of the house.  Once I got my truck up there Chris continued do clear the top area while we unloaded.

As you can see the snow was quite deep.  We were soon finished unloading and filling the house up with stuff.  I guess the shop will be a priority or we'll never have any room to finish the house.

A quick bite to eat and we're off to Kelowna.   I'm already preparing for my next trip with the last of my tools, table saw, drill press etc.  It's still a little chilly to try and get anything done but that day is coming.

Len

Lovely Fall Weekend

Len and I went up last weekend to finish the lockup process and to look at the roof which our roofer assures us is DONE.  We left at 4:30 am on Saturday to avoid arriving in the dark to a cold RV.  It was a nice weekend, a bit windy on Saturday when we were moving everything from the storage locker to the house.  We had the truck and trailer and it took 3 full loads to get everything out.  We had forgotten about some very heavy items in the locker and neglected to bring the dolly we just bought.  So poor Len had to contend with a weakling assistant (me).  On top of that, he came down with a dilly of a cold that day and wasn't feeling at his best.  But true to form, he didn't let that keep him from doing what needed to be done.

A trailer full of doors

Last few things leave the storage locker

the lathe was the heaviest thing in this load

lighting fixtures and lots of Cessna parts

We put all the boxes with Cessna things up above the garage and all the lighting and fixtures went up on the temporary loft boards.  Some of the big things went into the garage.  We had brought up our big table and chairs which are now in the master bedroom area.

Another huge job was plugging the chimney opening.  We had brought up Sid's extension ladder and Len used it to climb up 24 ft. to the ceiling.  I stood below ready to block Len's fall with camera in hand to capture any "events".  It was WAY up there!  Up and down safely.

The chimney hole

We used a role of foam as a plug

Len putting in the plug

My main job was to sweep the floors and do some organizing so that things are ready when spring arrives along with some warmth so that it is possible for Len to start all the interior work.

Here are some views of the house.  I think the light roof will look good with the green siding.  That will be next spring.  As a matter of fact, I don't think much will happen over the winter.  We will miss going up there.  We may take a trip to do a bit of burning if there is enough snow later in the season.  Meanwhile, Len is working on planning and building the cabinets for the kitchen, laundry room and bathrooms.  That should keep him out of trouble.

View from the road

Yes, the roof is done and paid for

Next year the deck will be done so we can get those upper windows in

Better late than never

Ok, so Len thinks that I should have blogged since Thanksgiving, but honestly, he was the one up to the lot on the weekend of the 16th, not me.  He had a less than perfect weekend, but then again I wasn't there to smooth the way.  Here is what he wasn't happy about:  1.  the roof was not finished.  Seems the guys left as soon as our tail lights went around the corner.  2. being all by himself.  3. apparently putting a big window in upside down and not finding out until after silicone and screws were in place was a bit of a bummer.  4.  he bumped his head 3 times, leaving blood and shaking the house when he hit a rafter
Things that went well: 1. got the motorhomes dumped and moved up onto flat land by the house (no more hiking up the hill).  2. getting the house to lock-up (except for the lack of roof) by putting in a temporary door and locks 3. cut the chimney hole and got it right the first time  3. took down wooden scaffolding  4. drove home without rain or snow and got back safely.  Here are the pictures he took.

Covered deck from old RV spot

completed fascia at the back of the garage

Unfinished roof (harrumpgh)

Upper windows filled in with plywood for now

More unfinished roof but the garage is done

Thanksgiving work and turkey

Kyla and Chris - good sports that they are - agreed to come up for Thanksgiving Weekend, even tho' we almost froze to death last year when we were up to do all the chipping.  This year was much warmer.  On Saturday the roofers were up and made some progress, although it was too windy to go up on the roof in the afternoon. 

Chris was put to work in the basement cutting and placing blocks under the timbers.  Ask him about spending the whole day hammering above his head!

cutting the blocks

placing the blocks

scaffolding in place

 Everyone got into the act when it came to getting some more windows in.  The only ones that didn't get done were the ones where the scaffolding was still in place.  The roofers want to continue to use the scaffold, so the last of the windows will have to wait until next weekend.

Kyla up a ladder to put the tuck tape around the window

Once we figured out how to take off the heavy glass doors, mounting the french doors was easy

Len putting up the house wrap around the window openings

Chris nailing the window into place

Kyla was the official door handle expert installer

Len spent a lot of time leaning out to attach the windows

On Sunday we really got busy with the windows.  We had a great system and pretty soon had many in place. 

windows in place

The upper window doesn't open so we couldn't take out the glass.  It weighs about 400 lbs and there was no way to get it up in place.  So it will wait until next spring when the deck goes up and we figure out a good way to get it up there.

the big window in it's packing case

Here is how the loft small windows were put up

Kyla and Len prepare the windows

Chris and Len working together

the second one was easier with a roof to stand on

The upper level openings were covered with plywood to keep out the snow and rain.

covering up one of the upper window openings

The basement windows were easy except that they needed framing to be constructed.  That was a Chris job - and well done.

Kyla helping Chris place the framing

Meanwhile, the dogs discovered Doggy Jail wasn't all that bad

Asia, Banjo and Deuce

During the afternoon, Cath went to work making a turkey dinner in the RV.  It turned out quite well - turkey, stuffing, corn, carrots, beans, potatoes, buns, greek salad, apple pie, and wine.  So much to be thankful for this year.    We are especially thankful for family who support us in so many ways.  

The roofers came back on Monday but we were so busy cleaning up, running to the dump, and finishing up some last things that I didn't take any more pictures.  We were a bit disappointed that Len will need to come up for another weekend to finish the windows and put in a door so that we are officially "Locked up".  At least he will be able to take some pictures of the roof (finished, we hope).  The drive home was lovely; fall has arrived in a big way.  Many of the trees are now bare, thanks to a big wind that blew through the area on Saturday.  We always see wildlife on the drive - we saw 4 deer on the way home, smart enough to stay put on the side of the road.  (On the way up we also saw deer and a young moose.)

That's it for now!  

Cath

wrap it up

It's Sunday and this will be the start of the do it yourself section on the house build, not counting the foundation of course.  My aim today will be to get at least one window in and finished.  First I had to admire the last pieces of fascia which completes the roof preparations. I removed as much of the temporary scaffolding as I could.  Leaving some of it in place will aide the roofers in a week or so.

Left the scaffold for the roofers

So happy to be done all that.

I spent a lot of the day cleaning up and securing the piles of lumber for the coming weather.  We have all the siding and cedar trim as well as lots of dimensional lumber for the deck and interior wall framing in piles near the house.  I hope to get all the doors and windows under cover or installed before the snow flies.

It's a beautiful sunny day which makes it awfully hard to think of the long drive home.  After cleaning the site, again, I decided it was window time.  These windows are great, with easily removable window sections.  So out comes the glass to make them lighter.  A bead of silicone on the flange and in it goes. Grab the screwgun, place a few screws on the outside and then go inside to secure a whole bunch of metal clips. This sucker is never falling out.  Put the glass back in, place a row of tuck tape to finish the outside and it's ready for siding. 

Tyvek hose wrap in place

Office window in place

Bath and bedroom windows

The long weekend is coming up and, along with Kyla and Chris, and anyone else that wants to come up, we will put in as many windows as we can get to.  I have a long list of other chores but the windows and doors will be our main concern.

The colours this fall, as I've said before, are fantastic and it never hurts to stop and smell the aspen every now and again.

Across the street

SE from motorhome

NW from motorhome

The North Face

Comfort zone what comfort zone.  When its got to get done its got to get done.  We spent the better part of Saturday placing the last of the fascia on the hardest to get to peak.  Don't try this at home kids.  Nice to have it done and all ready for the roofers on the long weekend.

The North Face all done

Ross has a self levelling laser which we used to sight the central spot for the chimney to go through the roof.  Now I need to get some chimney bits and install them before the roofers reach that part of the roof.  Hmmm, I guess I'm not quite ready for them yet.

maybe next time

We tried to uncrate the windows but found the patio doors were just too heavy for the two of us to move.  I will have to make a wagon to set it on so that we can move it to where it is going.  There are some windows in the garage that we uncrated a while ago and, now that I have some Tyvek up, I will be able to install a few of those. Don't try to put Tyvek house wrap up by yourself when the remains of hurricane Igor are blowing through town. Not a pretty sight.  This was the last day for having extra help around.  Ross and Ken are off to bigger and better projects.   We're on our own and looking for all kinds of help for the long weekend coming up.  Don't hesitate to call I have a long list of things that
need doing.

weird little cricket roof section

busy storing for winter

Len