Construction October 4th

We had a busy weekend in Toronto visiting family and friends but now we are back in Bancroft and our construction continues. Tomorrow the roof trusses arrive so today the crew worked on the top sill plate and started the deck off the east wall.

Here TJ and Jeff check for level on the sill plate.

The bracing has been removed and the house is looking much cleaner.

Dave works on the far wall making sure everything is level and true.

Our deck starts to take shape.

The blue strip in the bottom right of the picture is snow and ice shield covering each beam. Now that's attention to detail, so typical of the workmanship here.

Kent lays down another strip of ice shield.

Looking across the south wall; can't wait until we are actually inside.

Thanks for stopping by. I'll post pictures tomorrow of the roof trusses being delivered.

Bucks are Going Up

Took Mary to Peterborough this morning and when I returned the crew had the north and east walls almost complete. The walls are going up quickly because we are dry stacking them and Pat adjusted the windows to reduce the number of cut blocks.

The east wall as seen from our driveway, September 15, 2011.

Kent and Dave seem to be the wall builders; not sure why, maybe because Kent is left handed and can cut block easier. ??????????????

TJ seems to be the buck builder, that's the rough wooden form the windows will sit in. Great job TJ!!!!!!!
Look how closely those bucks line up with the top block. Great workmanship, great design.

The east wall from inside. We are surrounded by forest and the morning sun will fill the bedrooms. Hope you are planning to visit next year.

Looking towards the north wall from the hall. This will be a long corridor with a tall window framed in the end wall; should be beautiful.

At the end of the day what needs to be done?     ........... clean-up.

Have a great weekend, the days are getting cooler.

Moving Skids

Yesterday we had to move the skids of Durisol Blocks into the interior of the foundation. Since it was impossible for my "bobcat" to get inside we rented the Rona Boom truck to lift the skids into place.

I brought the skids to the truck and Jim lifted them into place.

While that was being done the crew began stacking the blocks to build the outside walls.

These blocks are dry stacked and cement is poured down inside them.

TJ bends some re-bar at the front door location.

We will use over 600 blocks to build the walls. Each block weighs 53 lbs. Let's see 53x600= 31,800 lbs. WOW! No wonder these guys have great biceps; that's over 15 tons of blocks they will lift over the next 8 days. I think I'll stick with the "bobcat"

Of course while we were busy building ....................  the hens were busy laying.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by.

Company and Work

Seems to be the pattern of life here lately, "company and work". It was great to have Pat and Jeff drop by last Friday. Mary and Pat worked together at Huttonville School years ago and so it's always special when we get together.

Of course we had the trucks rumbling through our patio as we visited.  I think Jeff was a little concerned they were a little too close.

Then it was off to Baptiste Lake to visit John and Barb.

They cleared the bush and built their home eight years ago, much like we are doing now. The view across the valley from their back deck is beautiful.

Saturday morning saw us back at work. Paul came over to dig out the drain lines for the weeping tiles around the foundation. Thanks Paul.

 Once the pipe was in place I backfilled with my skid-steer; great machine to have!

We have just about completed the backfill inside our foundation and plan to start building the walls next week.

See you soon.

Backfill

The building inspector was here shortly after 7:30 this morning and all was well. Pat and crew then left for another site leaving me to backfill around the frost wall and check on the progress of the stone slinger.

This slinger can unload 20,000 kg of gravel in about 20 minutes and place it exactly where you want it to go.

Perfect weather for working outside.

Six loads of gravel, all over 20,000kg. Have you ever tried to shovel this stuff?

Once the backfill is complete, we start building the walls and installing the windows. Oh, mustn't forget to install the drains. Have a great weekend.

Durisol Delivery

Yesterday we received the second shipment of Durisol Blocks. Seven hundred blocks were delivered with a total weight of over 35, 000 lbs. Imagine the weight of our house when we add all the concrete and rebar.

Unfortunately the truck couldn't get into our site so we had to bring each skid in a 1/2 km.by bobcat and hitchiker; down the road and up the driveway, 24 times and by 10 a.m. we were done. (of course we started at 7)

Difficult to see but we had no accidents just took our time.

Stacked, stored and ready when needed.

The walls have been parged and today we will tar and apply a waterproof membrane along with the drainage line around the foundation.

The interior area of the foundation was cleared of all construction items, ready for the compact fill later this week.

Foggy Today

We are back living in our trailer. The cottage is empty, ready for the owners to return and we are once again adjusting to smaller quarters. Yesterday's construction went very well, the "frost" wall is now up and full of concrete.

The view out our window this morning. A little foggy but very peaceful.

We are camped in the trees away from any construction and the trucks that deliver all the "stuff"  we need.

Notice how all the cut blocks have been re-enforced with wood scraps and the openings sealed with expanding foam.

The pump truck is getting set up and the concrete truck is ready to pour.

Each block looks like this inside, re-bar running vertical and horizontal every 24"

The crew discuss the plan with the pump operator.

The concrete is flowing and we start in the far corner. This concrete is like soup, very watery so it flows easily into all the crevasses.

Can you see the concrete soup flowing?

TJ handled the flow pipe while the rest cleaned and trowelled as he moved along the wall.

We will let the concrete set for four days as this is a long weekend here in Canada.

Day Eight

Yesterday was another perfect day for working outside; no bugs, warm but cloudy and a gentle breeze. We are ready to pour concrete today.This will complete the "frost wall" and allow us to start the wall above grade just as soon as we complete the backfill.

Occasionally we have to cut a block to fit a smaller space and a skill saw completes the job quickly.

Once the top row is complete we go back and toe-nail each block to the one beside it. This gives the wall additional rigidity and stability.

Each block is checked front to back and side to side. This is what we like to see, perfectly level.

Kent, toe-nails the top blocks.

Blocks marked with an X have been cut and need to be reinforced before we pour the concrete.

Always checking.

Today the pump truck will be here and the concrete will be done in just a few hours. Imagine doing this one wheelbarrow at a time. No thanks.