Bit of a wind brought down two dead trees that were already leaning over the driveway. A bit too heavy to heave over, so had to bring the BobCat down to lift it off the road. Another reason to buy a chainsaw.

Actually, we were able to lift off the lighter tree.

This is a rear view of Cam, neighbour and friend from Ottawa and a cabinet maker.  He has come out for 8 days or so to teach me cabinet building and help me get the base kitchen cabinets built.  Great guy, great help.

View of the cabinets under construction. 5/8″ melamine carcasses, with cherry hardwood edging and cherry doors and drawers. After 4 days, we have most of the base cabinets built, edged, sanded and oiled.  Need to now finish the rest of the base cabinets, install them, and learn how to build doors and drawers and uppers.

These are the toe kicks for the kitchen cabinets. They are now leveled and ready for the cabinets.

A view of the stucco work. The stucco on the house is now almost finished and the scaffolding is being dismantled. Two smaller walls on the house remain to be done, and the garage/shop. We are really pleased with the texture and the colour.

View of the ensuite bathroom shower/bath area. Pretty much done here. Tile an fixtures installed. All that is needed is the rain shower, a clean up of the grout, and a vanity that I am still designing – Mizuho would like it made out of cedar.

Wood stove in the basement installed today. Need to run a fresh air vent behind the stove. But first need to lower the grade with the bobcat and then get the guys to bore through the foundation wall. Tile done by Dave – required by code for fire safety.

Lots done this week. Tilers worked all week, as did the stucco guys. Plumber did about 2 days of work. Found and picked up some fir for interior doors and guest vanity. Remaining siding dropped off today and will be installed next week. Electrician coming on Monday to do final installations of fixtures (a few will be done later). Cabinet construction will continue. Two days of 30 above weather, forecast is for continuing good weather with some much needed rain. all is well in the valley.

So, its been busy on the hill. The Stucco guys have been working for 10 weeks (only one guy for most of it) and have finally completed the second coat. After the long 3 day weekend, they will start the final acrylic coat with the colour on Tuesday. Should take a week to complete. And then all they have left is the parging on the foam insulation on the foundation.

The painters finished priming everything, painting all the ceilings, and painting the walls on the main floor. They mistakenly bought Eggshell so had to replace it with the matte finish we had specified. It meant a 2 day delay, but also resulted in our getting about 10 gallons for $100. Will use it in the basement and in the garage and shop.

The tiles started as well. They work slowly, but do a good job. They should be finished next Tuesday.  The photo below is the ensuite shower/bath area after 2 days.

View of the guest bathroom – it is now completed except for the grouting.

View of the front room feature wall – matte charcoal. Sets off the architecture, I believe, and should be a compelling background for art and photos. Mizuho’s idea.

Bought some fir flooring from a mill that has gone out of business and is selling off inventory. This wood has been sitting in the warehouse for 5 years. It is beautiful clear quarter sawn vertical grain fir, mostly 8′ lengths.  Got a great deal on it and may buy some more to use as trim.  I will need to install it, sand and finish.

This gives a good view of the grain.

Next week we should have the stucco guys, the tilers, the siding guys back again to finish, the plumber to install many of the fittings, and the electrician to install fixtures. Will also start the build the kitchen and bathroom cabinets.  Bought some cherry hardwood, plywood veneer and some melamine for the boxes.  Busy busy. Weather in mid-20s and sunny every day. Neighbour just gave me a 1/2 box of Cohibas his mother-in-law brought from Cuba. Ahhh.

The siding guys finally came back and installed the red siding on part of the house.  Looks good, but they ran out of material. The initial supply was special ordered from Nevada and took a month. I am hoping the remaining 15 pieces will not take as long.  This red siding will be in contrast to the green/gray stucco and adds a bit of fun.  Stucco guys have been at it for 2 months now – another 10 days at least.  The long awaited front and back doors finally arrived, but the glass lite in the back door was obscure while it should have been clear (nice view from inside the door).  They will swap it out next week.

The painters started yesterday and finished priming all the walls and ceilings. They spayed the ceilings but rolled most of the walls. The drywall taper is supposed to come this evening to light check the drywall finish and make any necessary fixes before the painters resume tomorrow with the ceiling paint.

After we had primed the garage and shop and painted the ceiling, we were able to finish the installation of the garage doors. We went with side-mount openers that drive the shaft. They are quiet, don’t need a chain and take up less room. Very nice.

Latest acquisition. Bought this from the local internet classifieds. Fellow in Trail BC was selling it. Two years old, hardly used, helical cutters, and 1/2 the price of a new one. Works great. Will be really handy for building the cabinets and prepping the trim. Also bought today a small jointer and a drill press so am pretty much ready for starting the cabinets.  Went to Vancouver last week and bought 70 hinges and 70 drawer slides from Lee Valley (if you don’t know Lee Valley, check them out – an amazing Canadian company based in Ottawa and started by a former Revenue Canada employee).  Am sourcing material this week and next, and building an assembly table and a work/storage bench. So much more fun than writing memos for people who don’t read them or don’t understand them.  We also decided and ordered kitchen countertops – granite, flooring – natural maple hardwood, cork in the kitchen, tile in the laundry and bathrooms, and carpet in the bedrooms, wall tiles for the bathrooms, and got a few more light fixtures.