Wednesday, September 26, 2007

September 25, 2007

We sat down with the plans and made some decisions. The plans aren't great for detail so we figured out the measurements for the doors into the pantry and the bathroom. Both will be in the centre of their respective walls.

We've decided to switch the toilet and sink positions b/c Donnie doesn't want to pee next to the window ;) We're also going to wait until those walls are in before deciding how long to make the wall between the kitchen and the entry way. I'm not sure how it will look until I can get into the space.

We're still unsure what to do about the upstairs. We don't want to get a permit because we don't want to be forced to complete the upstairs if we don't have the money. On the other hand, we don't want to be prevented from bringing electrical up there. Hopefully Doug will have some insight for us on that issue. We're thinking maybe we can bring the electrical up and coil it in the walls for future use.

September 22, 2007




We noticed the dormer siding and finish doesn't look quite right. On closer inspection the gap between the metal roofing and the dormer siding is really big and visible from the ground. You can actually see the netting, strapping and tape under the siding in places. It looks sloppy. The other issue is that the angled siding is poorly measured and doesn't line up again looking sloppy.


We got a phone call from Stan asking where they could send us a bill. I'm curious to see what it is for. We haven't been satisfied or even acknowledged on the issues we have with the materials we've already received and there is a significant amount of stuff not yet received. Also, there have been items we've been unsatisfied with and Stan said we would work out a credit in our favour later. Later hasn't happened yet despite my calls to set up an appointment.

Tuesday, September 25, 2007

September 21, 2007


Isaac is 10 years old today! I hope he remembers this project fondly forever.


The bank appraiser came out today for our 3rd draw. We should get news on the amount next week sometime.


We decided for a birthday special event we'd sleep at the new house. We set ourselves up on the futon in our bedroom and Isaac on a mat in his bedroom. He didn't think much of that once the lights went out and moved his bed over beside ours. He didn't stop talking for over an hour asking about each noise her heard and thinking up new stuff to talk about.

September 17, 2007


Donnie had a good day today. He was alone at the house since Kenny and Perry are almost done and went to work on another job and Dad hurt his back. He got lots of little jobs done and cleaned up some more. He got the doorknobs and deadbolts installed too. We mixed and poured the concrete for the sono tubes in the evening.

September 15, 2007


No question we picked a nice spot to build this house. What a beautiful sunrise out my bedroom window!


We picked up the woodstove today in Truro - a Regency 3100, all black with legs.

September 14, 2007


Donnie and I cleaned up the upper level tonight. We got rid of all the garbage wood and stacked the stuff we may use and swept and vacuumed. We set up the futon too! Now we'll have a place to eat our lunch in comfort and hopefully camp out a few nights.

September 13, 2007


We're so much closer to done on the outside. It's looking like a house from just about every view now. I really like how the door trim came out. Donnie wanted to go with 6 inch trim instead of the 4 inch like the windows and he wanted a 3 inch overhang at top instead of 1 inch. It looks great.

Tuesday, September 11, 2007

September 10, 2007



They finished the back side of the house today except for the basement level. It looks really good. They started moving the staging around to the front of the house. Dad worked at staining the clap board today and got a lot done. Donnie and I cut some more trim and stained it after supper. If the rain stays away we should be done with the exterior by the end of the week or middle of next week.

September 9, 2007

We stained some trim this afternoon and got trim cut for more windows. Don helped and we didn't stay late. We just did enough so the guys would have something to work with on Monday.

September 7, 2007



Well, the post didn't arrive yesterday as we expected and we got a call today letting us know that we can pick it up when we want to. We were under the impression that the materials we bought from Fall River Logs Homes would be delivered. Considering we don't have a truck suitable for travelling to pick it up I'm a little ticked. We'll have to try to borrow Donnie's Dad's truck. In the meantime I called and left a message letting them know we couldn;t get in soon so would they please put it under cover.


I have the day off so we picked up the new door handles and a few other items and worked on the siding today. We're looking forward to having the weekend off. Donnie's ball tournament is this weekend and so is the 50 mile yardsale.


September 6, 2007


Finally the doors arrived! They aren't exactly what we expected but they are nice. The door handles we bought last week will have to be returned b/c we were expecting to install a locking handle. Instead we need to install a dead bolt and handle. We won't have a lock on the handle if there is a deadbolt.


Donnie thought Stan was going to show up today but he didn't. We are still waiting for the posts for the main floor that didn't come in the beginning.

Wednesday, September 05, 2007

September 3, 2007

We stained siding all day! Don and Judy helped and we got al ot done. Unfortunately we used up a lot of the stain too and we need more. We're going to use close to double what we expected because of the rough cedar and how thirsty it seems.

August 31, 2007


It's been a slow week. Kenny got a bit of the siding and trim done and it looks good but we have a lot of staining to do.


The doors still haven't arrived. We finally spoke to Stan and he assured us they would be here yesterday. Obviously they weren't. He said Kent would be delivering them so we called Kent and they had no plans or record to come out to our place. Nice. We told Stand we would buy them ourselves if we had to but when we looked around it's a long wait if we order them. I guess we're stuck waiting for his order to come in and then decide if they are what we ordered. I'll be glad to have everything delivered and not have to deal with a middle man.


Donnie and I started cutting and staining the rough boards for the window trim. Kenny doesn't like working with the rough material as much but it looks so good.