Monday, July 30, 2007

July 27, 2007

What a slow week!

Donnie and Dad finished the foundation insulation. We dug up the ground stone from the well site and used it to fill some of the driveway holes. Donnie puttered around the rest of the week doing small jobs that had to be done. I can't even remember what he finished.

Isaac cleaned up around the house getting it ready for backfilling.

Trent wasn't able to come today so he'll have to do it Monday when I can't be there. I'm thinking maybe I'll get home from work early and meet him before he's done. I know Donnie isn't as interested in how it looks with a finished grade so he's less likely to direct Trent like I will.

The heat has been so intense and the humidity is really high. On Friday afternoon the thermometer read 30 inside and 38 Celcius outside. It was just too hot for working without feeling faint. We took Friday off and most of Saturday too!

Friday we did run errands including paying NS Power. $6200 later they are just waiting for us to notify them when Trent digs the pole-holes and they will come install the poles. The best par tof having power is that Donnie will be able to work in peace and quiet instead of with the generator going all the time.

Tuesday, July 24, 2007

July 23, 2007





The septic guy came and filled in the tank. That means we can walk or drive directly into the basement now which is nice.




Donnie and my Dad worked on the exterior insulation and plastic sheathing for the foundation today. We should be ready for backfilling later in the week. Trent has had some equipment problems and isn't sure he'll be able to make it but hopes to be there Friday.




July 22, 2007





Donnie, my Dad and his Dad worked on the plank flooring after Donnie got home from work. They would have been able to finish except there wasn't enough wood! Hopefully we'll be able to talk to Stan first thing tomorrow morning and see what the problem is. There are some small pieces of blue crappy stuff left but it would look terrible because of all the joints that would be necessary and the bad colour. We've already used way more blue stuff than either of us wanted to.




We're less than thrilled with the floors but think we will be able to deal with it by painting our bedroom floor instead of having natural wood.




You can see in the photos how close to the edge they came with the planks. They said it was lucky they ran out because until then none of them had thought about how they would get down after they closed it in. There was no ladder ont he outside wall or anything and it's a long jump down considering it hasn't been backfilled yet.




There are no pictures of the top of the floor because they covered it as they went. For anyone who remembers it will look pretty much like our current floor but not aged. The beams in this house are much nicer to look at and picture shows the ceilings completed. It's hard to tell the size but each plank is about 5 inches wide and the beams are 4X10s and 10X12s.


July 21, 2007



The rain has kept us from working all week! It's horrible. The few times it looked nice we tried to uncover the wood and ended up being caught when it started to rain again. We've made almost no progress this week except having the septic tank installed finally. Apparently we are the only place on the list dry enough to get the machines on. I guess it pays to be sitting on rock sometimes.




Tuesday, July 17, 2007

July 16, 2007

Donnie and his Dad got a lot of the floor done today. It's half done but I forgot to take my camera.

Stan delivered the insulation for the foundation so we can get going on that and get the backfilling done. Trent is supposed to come look at the work on Thursday and we're hoping he will be able to come do it the following Friday when I'm home.

We showed Stan the "blue" in the pine and he said it was normal. He said some lifts have none and some have lots. He suggested we use it where it won't show or set it aside and order more. We're hoping we don't have to use the worst of it but I defintiely don't want to order more when we already paid for this.

Monday, July 16, 2007

July 15, 2007


We were at the house bright and early. Larry came to help for the day and we arranged for Kenny to come help get us started. Donnie was concerned about getting the boards running straight in the beginning.

I marked the beams and distances for the wiring and Donnie routered and laid the wire. It was actually less trouble than we expected.

We had a few mishaps starting the planks but now that they have a system and pattern worked out it should be fine. We will be face nailing the boards on every 4th beam and I wanted a pattern like in our current house of just one line of nails, not nails everywhere. I think it's going to work out and I also think the mistakes that were made in the beginning will actually be covered by the tile in the upstairs bathroom.

We covered the planks with tyvek and then OSB for protection. That will keep the weather off but more importantly keep workers from walking on the clean boards while working on the upstairs and the roof.

Donnie will probably spend the next week working on the planks. His Dad is coming to help Monday and then my Dad will be home and ready to help Thursday.

We're expecting the foundation insulation to arrive tomorrow. They can work on that when they need a break from the planks I guess! As soon as it is installed we need Trent to come and do the backfilling. It will be so much nicer to work on the house with dirt up to the height we want instead of a big moat around the place.

I'm a bit concerned about the final grade level. I was pretty sure the foundation was being built a foot too high and it looks like it it. The house is sticking too far out of the ground for my taste and then there is the 12 inch rise due to the conventional floor joists before the doorway. I'm not sure how it will work out but I need to be there when it's being done so I can decide how best to deal with it. I don't want a house sticking way out of the ground and I don't really like the idea of a big slope going up to the house on all sides.

July 13, 2007


We finally got to the house at lunch time after a busy morning running errands. I worked ont he beams from noon til 9:30! They're done and they look really good. Donnie worked around all day on odds and ends. I'm not sure what all he did but I know he treated half or more of the planks for the floor and he moved them back to the house from the garage. Tomorrow we start installing the plank flooring.

We kind of just remembered that we need to provide for the electrical wiring that will run along the planks for lights on the main floor. That'll be a chore for tomorrow before the plansk start going into place.

July 12, 2007

I have all but 4 beams done now and we've actually decided to do a 2nd coat. Hopefully it will go faster than the first coat. I also have the day off tomorrow so that will be much different than working and hour or two each evening after work.

Tuesday, July 10, 2007

July 9, 2007






Donnie discovered a better way to prep the beams. He planes them and then sands them. Less sanding time and a nicer finish.

I got a bunch more beams completed and Donnie tried his hand at staining too. He's not as careful and I warned him against doing any when I am at work tomorrow.

July 8, 2007




Isaac and I got home this morning at 6am. I slept a couple of hours and then went to see the progress. The 4X10s are all up and look good. I'm disappointed that the main beam is two pieces instead of one. Stand says this was because we wouldn't be able to handle a full beam of that dimmension but the joint is in the middle of our living area. Not exactly what we expected but Donnie has made it look really good. It's just frustrating to be responsible for fixing something you expected to be new and good in the first place.

I mixed the stuff for the beams - 3 small cans of Minwax Dark Walnut oil stain with 1 large bucket of Olympic water protection. It goes on easily and I got several beams stained today. Donnie is a few beams ahead of me with sanding.

July 4, 2007

Donnie got home at 6am today from vacation. We're still in Yellowknife.

Stan showed up to get the main beam prepared while Kenny and Donnie worked on some other stuff. I think things went slower as planned but by bedtime the beam was in place, planed and routered to accept the 4X10s.