Wednesday, July 30, 2008

They're in....whew....

Two 20+ foot beams....one for the garage and one for the Great Room. It went very smoothly. No calls to 911....




Monday, July 28, 2008

Big beams....

Tomorrow the big carrying beams for the second floor are being delivered and put in place by a boom truck....because of the span of the Great Room (24 feet wide) we had to have steel I-beams to carry the load of the upper floor and roof.

Final approval for the septic came today! whoohoo

And our first "draw" should be here in the next day or so, and we can pay off the bills so far! Paulette at Smith and Smith answered all my questions and explained how all of the money part works and it now makes MUCH more sense. Some days this all seems very confusing, but we'll be experts once it's done (not that we are ever doing this again! lol)

Sunday, July 27, 2008

A few pictures...

Looking into the garage....the only wall missing is the front one.

The view of the Great Room from the corner of the kitchen....

And one taken the other way, from the Great Room into the kitchen. The laundry/mudroom/ 1/2 bath is on your right in this pic....

And in case anyone wants to drop by and watch the progress.....

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

CMHC Inspection

Tomorrow we get our first CMHC inspection for the bank...which means money to pay the foundation, septic, landscape and Kents thus far! And also means that we have done at least enough to satisfy them that we have a good start. Hopefully it all goes well. :)

Another story....and one more to go....



Tuesday, July 22, 2008

We're home from vacation and we have four walls!

On the main floor. While we were away Charlie and Bobby Bowes finished the walls for the main floor and Gary and I arrived home just in time to help get the last one into place. The septic is done and inspected and we really like the way he sloped and finished what will eventually be the lawn. Have to contact the bank for our first progress inspection. :)

Thursday, July 17, 2008

I have a new crush....

Ok...so let me start with a little history...

Growing up my brother Andy's best friend was Greg Keating. Now they were ten years older than I was, and by the time I was six or seven I thought they were the best thing ever. One of the clearest memories from my childhood was their high school graduation reception line--I think I was seven. Andy gave me a hug and a kiss. Then Greg gave me a hug and a kiss...and I almost died. I had THE biggest crush for years after that.

Now Greg's brother Bernie is putting in our septic, and from my last post you know about the lift station, which is more expensive and can back up if the power goes out, requiring a generator. Anyway, Bernie met with the inspector and convinced him that, with some tweaking of the position, it could be done without one (the whole issue is how close we are to the river). So no lift station!! So while Greg will remain my first childhood love, I think that today he has been replaced in my affections by his brother Bernie. (Who I also remember from my younger days for his abilty to eat a whole apple in one bite, which he used to do to entertain us on the school bus!)

And I also have to mention Bernie's wife Jane, who I am sure will be so glad to have us out of her hair. I am sure she must hate to see our number come up on her caller ID, we have been bugging her so much. But she has lots of patience and is always so pleasant and efficient--Gary says she would make a good school secretary (and from a teacher that is a compliment! haha) We will be dropping off a little treat to Jane someday just to thank her!

Finally, some pictures from the last few days....we're moving on up!



Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Money in, money out...

So, we saved money on the farmhouse sink. Then we find out this afternoon we can't do a gravity septic system and have to have a lift station. We're not really surprised, but we were hoping we *might* avoid it...anyway, there goes the money I saved this morning....ah well, what are you gonna do?!

Gotta love e-bay!

We really wanted a farmhouse sink, but they are between $1500-$2000 here in the stores. I did a lot of looking at options, measurements etc and found what we wanted on ebay---including shipping it is just under $500! And we got an awesome brushed nickel faucet at Home Depot a while ago...just needed to find the right sink, and now we have!


Monday, July 14, 2008

No new pics

But trust me, there is progress. Today they built the basement stairs, which are pretty cool with a nice turn at the end. And the phone got installed, so it is no longer a black hole (no cell service!). The rest of the week they'll be working on the main floor, which has very few interior walls, so should go pretty quick. Gary and I and the kiddos leave for the cottage Thursday night, and Charlie has the Irish Fest, so Friday is a holiday! We're not back until Tuesday night but Bowes is filling in for a couple of days as chief labourer/carpenter's helper. As per Bob Fitz's recommendation we have banned him from cutting, but really really really appreciate his help. Thank goodness for good friends! :) Of course, Charlie did mention that if all those girls who just graduated from JMH find out Bowes is going to be there they may all show up and watch--which could be distracting--lol!

Thursday, July 10, 2008

Moving along...

The basement is pretty much laid out and the walls up. Gary and Charlie have put their creative minds to work and made some decisions on stairways and storage places. They are pretty good at envisioning the final "product". (We hope! lol)

After a couple of days of waiting, the joist hangers FINALLY arrived (the joists came on Tuesday, but no hangers!) so by tomorrow they should all be hung and the floor started (maybe even done!).

Next week will be construction of the first floor (the Great Room/Kitchen/Laundry) and the septic system is also going to be installed early next week. In order to get the first "draw" (ie: money) we need the septic in, and inspected. And since we'll have to pay some people soon, we need to get that out of the way.

So, things are progressing nicely.....

Monday, July 7, 2008

Well...the rain has certainly gone away and the sun is out....after a snowy winter and rainy spring it it welcome, despite the heat. And with the nice weather we've been moving along on the house. The basement is now enclosed and the load-bearing wall up, waiting for the joists for the first floor, which we thought were coming today, but now are hoping arrive tomorrow...

A picture taken from the garage floor--pretty much the same view as we will see out the big kitchen window.











These two are out the bedroom window and door of the "Grampy Suite aka Tasha's apartment". Behind all the trees and brush is a beautiful view up the Northwest Miramichi.....

Thursday, July 3, 2008

:)

The smiley icon says it all. Even though Gary had his first workplace accident--tip: move your finger AWAY from the nail. But a good first day...

Our carpenter, Charlie, started today, and it felt like things were finally taking shape. I taught with Charlie before he retired and he was the one who got me involved in NBTA. And we have heard nothing but great things about his work...in fact we have been told that we will never have to cut a tile because every wall will be square...lol. Charlie is also a musician and songwriter, and you can see a lot of that creative side in his carpentry...he likes to dream, to build it in his head long before he builds it in reality. We are lucky to have found someone who is building our house to the same standard and with the same interest as if he was building his own house.

We do have an issue with the French doors and the height of the basement, but Charlie is going home to look at options, and hopefully something works out...



Tuesday, July 1, 2008

Happy Canada Day!

It's Canada's birthday and WE got a present..concrete floors! whoohoo You can see Gary having a "say" with one of the Savard brothers--honestly, we have a hard time telling them apart. But they are so nice...and love to talk!

So the foundation work is done, and construction starts on Thursday. And the forecast looks great for the next little bit! :)