Drywall....doesn't sound that exciting? Ah, but it is...thrilling in fact. The rooms are starting to take shape. :) We've hired Mike to help with the next stages of the house--good thing he is not scared of heights. Must be his agility from the volleyball court!

Went to Moncton today....but not Christmas shopping! We bought all the rest of the faucets for the house, and 14 cartons of tile for the front entry and the mudroom/bath/laundry. They were HEAVY! But we love them...they are the bigger 18x18 tiles and are so pretty...I'll have to take some pics! :)

A few new pics from around the house...the garage doors are not blue--just the tarp keeping the snow out until the doors get here. You can also see the pex "nerve centre", the front door, the basement family room (there are french doors at the end...you can see the edge of one), and the Waterfurnace geothermal heat pump.

Our "O Clearance" fireplace...once the wall and mantal are built around it it has the look of a fireplace, but it is energy efficient like a woodstove. Charlie has already had it fired up with a nice, crackling fire....

Looking into the bonus room (standing in our walk-in closet...once the house is done you'd have to have x-ray eyes to do this!)

The walkway Gary made from some of the old stones that are all over the property...

Good news for a change!

CMHC only requires a clean BACTERIOLOGICAL test, not the inorganics test...and we have that! No e-coli or other nasty things living in our water. So we're OK! *whew* After spending two days fretting and talking to Dept of Environment and Dept of Health! I have to say though that Marc at Dept of Env is absolutely wonderful...went out of his way to find out information for us, to give us advice and support!

Can you sense my frustration?

CMHC is the most bureaucratic nightmare I have ever dealt with....even worse than the education system. Much worse in fact.

Dept of Environment suggests you do your water test after a period "normal usage"...ie: when the house is complete...so that the system has had a chance to be flushed. BUT CMHC requires a clean water test before 80% completion or they will not release more funding. So one agency is saying, you probably won't get a clean test yet, and another agency is saying you have to have a clean water test now. GAAAHHHH! And on top of that, if the lead is in the water we'll never have a "clean" test until it is filtered at the tap--you know, CMHC, those things that go on near the end of the building process??? When we are already more than 80% done???

CMHC, which is supposed to facilitate house building, is the one thing that has made this project more difficult and much more stressful....but what else should I expect from a govt agency....

Get the lead out...

And I am not talking about speeding up the building process. *sigh* Public Health left a message on the phone...our water test had high levels of lead. I have to call them tomorrow and find out what to do about that. Just one more hoop to jump through.....

As per usual our butts are being pulled out of the fire by interim financing arranged by Helen, the Credit Union goddess, as well as a loan from my Dad. Between the two of them we have enough money to see this project through to completion. *whew* Good thing we have people who love us! :)

CMHC Math

Building inspection passed....of course. Charlie is FANTASTIC! :)

CMHC is a pain. They have a set percentage of the total cost of the house they release as certain things are done, and it is very restrictive. For example, they allow 5% of the total cost for the heating system--which was $13000 less than our heating system actually cost. 1% for the "Front and Back Step"...well in our case it is a wrap around porch--which actually cost over $6000 for materials plus several weeks of labour!! So we are not getting money as quickly as we would like and have had to arrange "interim financing". They really need a better system that looks at the estimates for an individual home, rather than the cookie cutter approach. Especially as more and more people are moving to environmentally friendly products (like our geo-thermal heat pump) which cost more than the percentages they allow.

This week they are dumping the gravel for the driveway--which gets the same amount from CMHC as our wraparound porch I might add! Insulation is ordered. Garage doors are ordered. Cupboards are ordered..... :)

CMHC inspection done today. Building inspection tomorrow. :) The water was flowing today, and we got water for the water test, which has to be done before the last 20% of funds will be released by the bank. It looks nice and clear...hopefully all the little things we can't see are good organisms and not bad ones. Bernie was there filling in the trench...Gary will be so sad to see it gone (haha)...and will finish that tomorrow.

Two drywall scenarios at the moment: I have a call in to City Drywall in Moncton for an estimate and to find out whether they are available...but they haven't been very quick about getting back to me. He said he would get back to me today, and when I called he is not even in until Wednesay---does not bode well. We also have someone who could help Charlie install the drywall and may just go that route...more reliable, and might as well keep the work local...if we can get someone to crackfill...

And finally, just a shout out about our electrician, Stephen Dunfield,(Energetic Electric). Highly recommend him...this guy is pleasant, helpful, efficient, is there when you need him, answers all my stupid questions...great to deal with!