Thursday, January 31, 2008

January 30, 2008



Our first wall is covered! The wood looks great and we love the flat boards. They look wider than the ones we have now in the old house. We decided to not router the edges of any of the wood and it looks so crisp and good. I'm very happy with it.


We played around with ideas for the window trim and in the end realized there was no reason to not install the trim over the wall boards instead of shimming the trim and installing it later like in our current house. We're going for a much starker and smoother look this time and we're really happy with how it's turning out.

January 28, 2008



Donnie and I worked all day on the house Sunday until we had to go pick up Isaac. He stayed at Mom and Dad's this weekend. Either he needed a break from the house building or we needed a break from him. Not sure ;)


School was cancelled today and I stayed home from work. At first the ice was so bad we couldn't get to the new house but eventually we got to work. I finished the Kerdi membrane on the shower walls and marked the hardware for Donnie to drill later. Donnie finished the main floor vapour barrier and started on the basement.



January 26, 2007



I now have 3 dark tiles to choose between for the bathroom and entryway floor. None of them are what I invisioned but they're OK.


Donnie's Dad worked on the vapour barrier today and it looks like they will be ready for the inspection on the main floor next week. The house looks so neat with all the insulation taped into the walls and nothing hanging out.

January 23, 2007


We've been spending more evenings at the house working. Time is getting shorter and it helps that there are jobs suitable for everyone to work on.


Donnie has been working on the vapour barrier sealing this week and picks away at that and other small jobs in the evenings and I'm making slow progress on the downstairs shower.

January 21, 2008


My soapstone sample came in the mail today. It's so nice. Even Isaac loves it. Now to figure out if we should spend the money.


January 21, 2008

My soapstone sample came in the mail today. It's so nice. Even Isaac loves it. Now to figure out if we should spend the money.


Sunday, January 20, 2008

January 19, 2007



Mom, Dad, Heather, Larry and Don all came up today to help Donnie and I with the insulation. With that many of us working we were able to get all the vapour barrier up upstairs, all the insulation and about half of the vapour barrier downstairs.


We also got the newly sized shower wall in. We will have to work on sealing the vapour barrer over the next week but should be able to call for that inspection before the month is over.


Next stop - shower and interior wood and drywall.

January 17, 2007

The electrical inspection passed. We need to cover the hot water pipes that run near the electrical with that tube insulation and we need to install some different kind of switch for the pump or hot water tank or something.

January 16, 2007



Last night we discovered that the shower wall extended too far into the downstairs bathroom for the door to operate well. It was that way on the plans but in reality it doesn't work. We measured so we can fix it later.


Today Donnie, Dad and Doug fnished the electrical for the inspection tomorrow. Tonight Donnie, Isaac and I cleaned up the house and it looks great.

Wednesday, January 16, 2008

January 13, 2007




We took a much needed family break weekend even though we did some work. On Saturday morning we walked around the property following the sound of a waterfalls with the mild weather. The fog was really neat with all the melting snow and warm air. Isaac had his goat meeting in the afternoon.


I did take a photo of my fix for the holes the plumber drilled int he floor. They're coming but now that they are cured I need to d some more work on them.


On Sunday we met with friends and went walking on the old tracks. It was a great day followed by another great sunset.

January 11, 2008


My day off from work!


I went to town and did almost all of the hsopping I need to start the shower. I wasn't able to find a shower tile like the ones Donnie liked for a reasonable price so I picked an antique grey that is nice and will let us paint th eroom any colour we want. I picke dup two samples of a dark colour for the floor. We both liked the brownish best and it looks good with the so called grey.

January 8, 2007




Donnie installed the cheap outdoor lights and they really are cheap. They don't cover the box and look crappy but they give light for now and can be easily replaced when we see a deal we like. Eventually they can go by the garage door where the box can be hidden more easily in the wall.




The hot water heater arrived today. Donnie picked it up at Sears. I need to find out if they will deliver for free when they bring all of our appliances. You'd think they would do that for a $5000 sale.


January 6, 2008

Donnie finished the pump room and helped Doug with electrical work. Isaac ran the wiring for the phones and computers and is very proud of his work. Apparently this is one of his talents according to him. I painted the cheap outdoor lights we bought.

A concern has been how to install electrical boxes for lights on the plank ceilings. We ran the wires in the tops of the beams prior to installing the ceiling/floor planks but there is no place to recess the boxes so we either need fixtures that cover the box or something else to cover it. Someon online suggested that rather than trying to hide it which will look obvious try to play it up. Put a smaller beam perpendictular to the sturctural beams of the same material and stain and mount the box inside that. I searched for some pictures and it actually looks good. I'm glad we won't be staring at electrical boxes forever or dealing with lamps in each room instead of overhead lights like we do now.

January 4, 2008


Donnie built the entry closets we talked about earlier in the week. The big concern is covering the plumbing above with out looking silly. We're thinking about a closet closest to the door and a bench/hook area like we have now further in. The bench area will have shallow shelves against the closet on one end with electrical outlets for cell phones etc and at the other end a shorter wall to seperate it from the rest of the house. We'll build cubbies above.

January 1, 2008


We started wearing shoes in the house now. It's too snowy to arrive in sneakers and the house is getting far enough along that wearing wet boots doesn't seem right so we each brought a pair of crocs or sneakers to wear. Now if only we can convince Donnie to change back into his boots before going home it will be perfect!


We realized that Donnie's light over the kitchen sink was overlooked. When he ran the wire he noticed that the future window trim would have to be cut around the box if it was centred between the window and the roof. After some experimentation we placed it closer to the top and hope it will look reasonable.

December 31, 2007


It's a stormy day!


Donnie insulated the pump room. I did a rough electrical walk through and found lots of little things to adjust but no major problems. Doug started work on tying in the electrical to the panel and Isaac did some more clean up.

December 30, 2007

Donnie started work on the pump room. When we get our electrical inspection we will be able to turn on that room and hook up the water.

December 29, 2007





We installed the rest of the stairs today and I decided to varnish the stringers for protection. They seem to be getting beat up a bit and the varnish should help. Varnishing in around the treads was not fun or easy but Donnie had already secured the treads before we decided to varnish.


We also put Isaac to work and he didn't appreciate it. Cleaning up is not one of his talents according to him.


December 28, 2007

We had the framing inspection today. It passed except for one concern we need to fix. The roof load is not carried fully from the girder to the basement. After the holidays I'll contact Stan about this and he should be able to provide us with the material we need to make it right.

December 27, 2007

Donnie worked on the electrical while I completed the second coat of stain.

December 26, 2007



We made it through Christmas and are back to work. I don't think we missed a day at the new house. Even on Christma Day we stopped in between family visits to keep the fire going.


Donnie took the stairs out today for me to stain the posts and beams around the stair area that weren't in when I stained the rest of the wood. I finished one coat. Donnie worked on erecting the new "shed" he bought. It's one of those tarp shed things to hold some of his stuff until we can get a garage built.

December 23, 2007


Donnie and Dad worked on electrical this week. We also bought a claw foot tub for a great price.

December 23, 2007

Donnie and Dad worked on electrical this week. We also bought a claw foot tub for a great price.

December 16, 2007



We finsihed the first level of the stairs and put in temporary treds. They look good. We used some OSB for the landing instead of the planking to protect it during construction and added a ladder for the 2nd level until it is done. Maybe next weekend.


December 15, 2007



Donnie started routering out the stair stringers while I worked on the upper level templating.

December 14, 2007



Last week they started tying in some of the electrical on the main floor. We got the fluffy insulation and were able to finish one side of the roof in the 3 layers - 1 inch styrofoam - fluffy yellow stuff - 2 inch styrofoam. The vapour barrier will come next when the electrical is complete. They also go some yellow on the walls upstairs.