This is a bit of an experiment. Am putting crushed rock and some thin slabs of concrete left over from a pour in front of the garage and then dropping some sand over it and then driving over it. Will see if this works to build up a harder surface and enables us to drive the car into the garage (after I use up some of the wood that is filling most of it).  Am also continuing a moverocks and backfill in front of house but this work is going slow as it is hard on my legs.

These are the garage lights that go on/off and dim with the remote in my hand. Can operate from house, inside garage or car. Slick.

The next three photos are of the window trim on the garage window. This is the 3rd and likely final version that we will use in the house.  Painted trim on 3 sides and oiled fir sill.

And this is the fir door that Cam and I built. Finally go around to assembling it. Next step is some sanding and oiling. It is a very very solid and heavy door.  Weather continues to be great but we really could use some rain – it is really dry.

Built a couple more upper cabinets, installed the range hood vent, and had roast lamb and a bottle of 1998 Bordeaux to celebrate. Both were excellent.  The white box above the fan is temporary but will remain until I get around to building a nicer enclosure for the vent pipe.  2016 at the earliest.  Bottom of cabinets is 17″ to facilitate Mizuho’s reach.  We have a solid selection of olive oil and vinegar as there is a really good shop in town that has a great selection.

Finally got around to installing the second door under the sink. Then had to remove it as that is where we keep the garbage and we don’t have any door handles yet.  We are enjoying the faucet – you can turn it off/on with a touch of your hand, arm or head on the tap.

Also finally got these two doors in the guest bath installed. They were built weeks ago but only made it on the daily to do list yesterday.

Had the electricians back to connect some cat 5 and cat 6 cables for computers and tvs. We now have Netflix and are enjoying immensely as we have not had a tv for more than a year. Now in the market for a tv.  This is where all the cables live, in the mechanical room.  Will need to do some organization.  Also got the timer for the exhaust fan hooked up, a 220 outlet in the garage switched over from 110 for an air compressor, and a few other electrical items completed.  There is likely another 4 hours of elec work to do sometime in late August or early September.

And these are the lights above the stairs going to the upper floor. Really happy the electricians did these as they used a 10′ step ladder and worked off the top. Pretty much all the fixtures are now in, except for the ceiling light in the master bed and the two uplights in the front entry.  Next year we will do the lights in the driveway and maybe a gate.

Had a little rain yesterday and this morning but really only enough to dampen down the dust.  Back to sunny plus 30 weather tomorrow and for the next few days.

So, back in December, I started to plumb and wire in the central vac. Part had to been done before we laid the joists over the slab on the main floor, but the rest could not be done until the basement and upper floor were framed in February. I thought I did it all correctly, but there was no way of telling until the system was hooked up. That happened a few days ago. I was a little anxious. We discovered there was a short, but had no idea where. I suggested to the installer we test 3 of the outlets on one circuit, and then the other two on the other circuit. The problem was with the latter. I then isolated it to the basement outlet. Before turning to plan B, I tested again the basement outlet because I could not imagine a short anywhere else. And I discovered that when I installed the face plate, I drove the screw right between the two wires. Freaky. We rewired the outlet and everything worked. Really good system – Cyclovac – built in Quebec. Works really well, especially in a dusty construction zone!

We need to decide on some handles for the kitchen cabinets if I am going to be able to install the cherry drawer fronts. The choices are curved, similar to the stove, DW and fridge, or a bit more angular.

This is the more angular option. Views?

DW handle.

Fridge handles.

First of four upper cabinets on the stove wall. Thanks to Cam for insights on how to install by one person.  Also, cherry nectar gable was also installed on the pantry wall.

Next steps are another 4 upper cabinets (going to get more melamine sheeting tomorrow) and starting on the window trim. Taking a break from the backfilling and my legs are appreciating it.  Fires in the valley have subsided, but it is hot (35 during the day, 15-18 at night) and dry.

Fires were burning across the lake last week – some 500 hectacres went up in smoke. Not much over there in terms of housing so no buildings were burned. But it reminded everyone of 2003 and the fires on the south east side of Kelowna in Mission where some 200 houses were burned. The gov has learned and now hits new fires fast and hard. Been really dry here but we had some rain last weekend which really helped. Forcast for mid-30s this week however, and no more rain in sight.

We had an undetermined smell in the house. I thought it may have been a dead mouse, but it turned out that the drain pipe for the eventual kitchen in the lower level had never been capped and some scents of the septic had been wafting up. Now fixed.

Was in Saskatchewan last week for 5 days to attend a funeral so progress on the house has been delayed. Will be working on backfilling, upper cabinets, drawers and window trim this week.

This is a view from the front entry. I placed 20′ of 4″ sewer pipe to run the water from the downspout away from the house and towards some trees and an eventual garden. The orange pipe is to run the hose underground from the spiget over to where it will be more useful.  The two propane tanks can be seen peeking above the  rocks (but will be eventually hidden by a japanese exterior screen) and the gas pipe can be seen on the left (now connected).

Same view but with a bit of dirt placed.  This area will be leveled out, filled with dirt and then some green stuff.

View of view wall.  Learned on Wednesday the compressor is an A/C compressor not a heat pump?!  Am rather amazed at the mistake. They will put in the correct one next week. This is also the area where I need to make a grade change of about 6′.

Same area with the addition of a few large rocks moved and placed by BobCat. A bit of a thrill pulling the large rocks out the pile, taking them down the drive and back up around the house, and then placing them with the BC on a slope.  The larger rocks lift the back wheels of the BC off the ground. So far so good.  Am going for the natural look.

Our new induction stove, that did not fit into the opening. I asked them to cut the right hand side countertop back 1/16″ but they cut the LH side instead. They had to grind/polish it back 1/16″ so the stove could slide in. After a quite arduous experience over several weeks, the entire countertop is now in, and all the appliances (save the hood vent) are installed and working.

Just after we had our first supper in the new kitchen, there was this double rainbow. I like these kind of symbols – very auspicious I believe.  Am taking a few days off to attend my nephew’s engagement party, and then back to work on Monday with landscaping, cabinets and maybe even some trim.

Some landscaping started. Placed a bunch of large rocks with the BobCat to establish two levels. Need to put some dirt on the upper level, and level out the lower level. Upper level, however, is my BobCat route to the front side of the house which needs lots of fill and three rock walls.

Got the mirrors for 2 of the bathrooms installed today, and the shower doors.  This is the ensuite, with a cedar gable.  Now working on some shelves and posts underneath the countertop.  Theme is a blend of gendai teki (modern) and traditional japanese for this bath.

Shower door installed today. It is about 5′ high to keep it all more open.

This is your bathroom. Fir gable and large mirror.

And this is your shower. Hope you like it.  The photo is a bit dark but the room is very light with the fir and white countertop.

Two large propane tanks delivered yesterday. They hold 400 lbs each, but only one is full. Should last a long time. We will use this for the propane fireplace and the BBQ (which we hope to get in the next few days). The hook up will happen on Monday!  I intend to place some exterior japanese screens/doors around them in the weeks ahead  which I got about 20 years ago and have been looking for the opportunity to use them.

Caliper. $14 on sale at KMS Tools, my new favorite store. It is a great tool for checking dimensions. I love it.

Earlier this week I took a pickup full of garbage bags of construction debris to the dump. $10 for the load. Really nice dump. I also cleaned up the pile of offcuts and stacked them up. These will be kindling for the wood stove for the next 20 years. Most of the pieces are under 12″ in length.  The pile in the foreground will be picked up by an neighbour to use in projects and as firewood.

Built a couple of drawers and 2 shelves today.  Mid-30’s again – unseasonably hot and dry.  House remains cool for the most part but we put on the air con today for 4 hours.

First week in the new house!  Really pleased with it. Love the design and the views. Our countertop was to be reinstalled today but they just said it will now be done next Monday. Sigh. Eating microwaveable food and lots of salads. Washing dishes in the laundry room. Unpacking boxes.

Trying out different options for the window trim in the shop. First one is traditional with a 3/8″ reveal.

This one has the trim around the window extend past the trim on the walls by 1/2″. Makes a deeper window. Not really happy with either. Have realized that it is rather challenging to use non-painted trim around the windows as neither the windows or the drywall is dead plumb or square. Am now thinking of doing paint grade trim on three sides and a nice fir sill and under piece on the bottom. Will try this later this week.

These are the pieces for the gable on the tall cabinet for the ensuite. Lots of fun building it out of old growth cedar. B in Law Steve replaced their 50 year old cedar deck and keep all the wood that still looked good. It planes and cuts really well and the fine clear grain looks great. Will give it some sanding and 3 coats of tung oil.

This is what it looks like after sanding and oiling.

Lots of boxes still to unpack. The basement is our warehouse and will be for another few months.

Propane tanks are supposed to come tomorrow but final hook up won’t happen until next Monday.  Am now shopping for a BBQ.  Shower doors and mirrors will be installed on Wednesday this week.  Continuing to work on bathroom gables and shelves, and will turn to kitchen uppers tomorrow.

Inspector came by and subject to two conditions, gave us our occupancy permit! We need to give him a certificate re the insulation put into the house, and an HVAC certificate. Former already provided; he should have the latter Monday morning.  So, we beat by 4 days the deadline we set last September.

We move in on Monday but there is lots left to do.  “Final” install of HVAC system done on Thursday, but still need to get timer wired for intake and exhaust fans, and a few floor vents installed.  Timing is very good as the forecast for the weeekend is for +38, about 13 degrees higher than normal.  Electricians mostly done except for a couple of fixtures, a few cover plates, and the panel for the cat5 and fibre optic cables.  Carpeting still not done as they ran out and need to get more (next week perhaps) for the guest bedroom and WIC.  And on the outside, the siding guys have to come back to replace a few pieces, install a few pieces of fascia, and put on the downspouts.  And we need to get the internet guys here to put on a satellite dish that will point at a tower on the other side of the valley.  And as I write this on Saturday morning, Dave the stucco  guy is finishing off the parging and should be taking away the last of his stuff.

The biggest issue is the kitchen countertop.  We were not happy with the edge (pitted and bumpy), the seam (visible and not even) and the opening for the range (not level).  A service guy came out and agreed, so they took out the countertop (had to remove the sink and faucet and broke a trim piece on the sink cabinet).  It was going to be repolished on the weekend and installed on Monday but  we found out on Friday that they are now going to remake the entire countertop so we will learn on Monday how long it will take.  Sigh.

The rest of the work to do is pretty much up to us – cabinets, doors, drawers, trim on the main floor.  Installing flooring and trim on the upper floor.  Deciding on and installing stairs to upper floor.  Completing some of the backfilling and a rock wall or two.

This will be the gable on the side of the cabinet in your bathroom.  Planed down some fir 1x4s, edge jointed them into panels, cut a dado (groove) in the  verticals and horizontals, and then glued them up.  This has been sanded and has one coat of oil – it will get one or two more and then I’ll put it in.  I need to get this one and the one in the ensuite done in order for the wall mirrors to go in.  I like the look of it but it did take be a lot more time than anticipated.

This is the soapstone countertop with the enhancer on it and the pendant lights installed.

T-shirt from my former life. I did a tour of several Asian capitals back in ’97 to sell them on an APEC trade facilitation initiative. One of my colleagues had the shirts made up for me and the fellow who joined me from Ottawa.

A railing is required to get the occupancy permit so I had to build a temporary one. Will see today if it meets with the approval of the inspector.

Took a load of cardboard and Styrofoam to the recycling depot. Nice to have it all out of the house.

This blog has become a bit like one of those cooking or motorcycle building shows where they are working against a deadline and just make it at the end of the show.  There will be lots and lots to do in the house over the next 6 days, 6 weeks and 6 months, but I am cautiously optimistic we will be able to get our occupancy permit next week.  I certainly hope so as we are moving in one week from today.

After almost 4 months, the stucco guys are nearing the end. This shows the parging on the shop/garage foundation that they did on Sunday.  Now that it is on, I can proceed with the rockwall building, backfilling and final grading.  Final grade shall likely be about 6″ below the stucco.  Also need to put the trim on the windows, but I expect that will be an early fall job.

Finally got around to completing the stairs to the top floor on the weekend. These are not the final stairs but I hope they shall be sufficient for the occupancy permit.  I made need to put proper handrails on rather than the 2x4s.  Was able to use up some left-over material.  Also built a railing around the stair opening on the upper floor.

We are happy with the maple flooring. Needs a good dusting and wet mopping.  Floor is various widths (3″ to 7″) with most of the pieces 7 to 9 feet long, rather than the usual 3 feet.  There are also a few pieces with some wild grain.

Kitchen appliances are now in, except for the slide-in range. The countertop installation was not good (they are coming back on Wednesday to address several issues) and it is not level beside the range opening.  All plumbing now done.

Stucco guys come back tomorrow ( they say) to finish the parging and floating of the foam insulation on the house.  Have been waiting for this day for almost 4 months.  Once completed, we can get the propane tanks installed (for the fireplace and BBQ), run the downspouts, and start on the finish grade around the house.  Electrician is back tomorrow to finish off all that is left, except for what cannot yet be done because I have not yet built the upper cabinets or the sunporch (valence lights, kitchen exhaust fan, porch lights).  Soapstone guy should be back on Wednesday to put on the “enhancer”.  Shower door guys are coming on Wednesday to measure.  John the building inspector comes on Wednesday  and hopefully approves everything but the mechanical (HVAC) which awaits final installation on Thursday.  Major jobs over the next week will be attending to whatever the inspector wants, finishing up the packing, and staying sane.  An end-of-the-day glass of Nikka 17 year old Taketsuru malt whiskey helps with the latter.

Heatwave coming with low 30’s mid-week and high 30’s by the weekend.  So far, the house has been really temperate.  Hope all is well in your world.