Carpet laid yesterday in bedroom and guest bedroom. They were 1 yard short so shall have to finish up when the re-order comes in. Sigh. But it was well done. Colour is not pumpkin but rather a colour that evokes Daisuke’s coat colour.

Started on the maple hardwood today and will finish tomorrow. The company we got it from buys the raw wood, mills it into hardwood flooring, and then stains and coats it with an oil/wax covering. Ours is natural unstained maple so it has lots of colour variation, mostly from heart and sapwood wood I believe. Much of it is 8′ lengths and it is in random widths from 3″ to 7″.

Another view of the wood. Needs a good dusting.

After 3.5 months, the stucco guys finally cleaned up their stuff and we regained the parking area.  A neighbour came by and picked up the pile of scrap wood and offcuts as well.  Still some pallets and a large pile of sand that will be used for parging and for backfilling.

And they finally finished the last wall of the garage.

The plumbers finished all the hooks ups of sinks, outside hoses, etc (but need to come back – hopefully tomorrow – to install one toilet, the dishwasher and the rain shower).  The tilers finished grouting the baseboard tiles in the two bathrooms.  The stove guys put in the fresh-air intake for the wood stove.  I built and installed the laundry counter and sink, did a bunch of odds jobs, and built the remaining flight of stairs to the upper floor.  These will be temporary stairs that will hopefully pass the inspection and will be replaced with some custom stairs once I have some time – perhaps Christmas, perhaps Christmas this year, perhaps not – on va voir.

After several months of warm sunny weather, we are getting a bit of welcome rain tonight – it smells really nice through the window.

Big week!  Lots of visual progress.

New granite countertop went in on Wednesday. Mostly pleased but seam is more visible than it should be.  We are discussing.  I installed cork floor today.  Colour resembles Daisuke’s coat.  Plumber will be back (is supposed to be back) next week to connect up all the sinks. The rest of the kitchen is in my hands and will be completed in the fullness of time.:)

Quartz sink in the guest bathroom.

My favorite – soapstone in the ensuite. It will be matte black with white veining after we put some “enhancer” on it. Decided to go with one sink rather than two – less to clean and we don’t need to get up and rush out in the mornings at the same time anymore.

Heat exchanger installed on Friday. Final hookups for the HVAC will be done on the 25th.  Stucco guys finally cleaned up most of their mess and we have regained the upper parking area.

Next week should be appliance delivery, install of tile toekicks in the bathrooms, completion of the acrylic stucco and starting of the parging, hook up of the last toilet, 3 sinks (4 if I get the laundry cabinet built in time), the dishwasher, fridge and two hose bibs, and a Lee Valley shipment (stuff needed for the drawers and doors).  We also expect to have the maple flooring delivered, and some carpet installed in two bedrooms. I need to get new tires for the car (I think racing around the F1 track in Bahrain took a few years off the tires), we will continue packing and moving some of the fragile stuff, and make some decision on shower doors and mirrors.  I hope to build the laundry sink cabinet, complete the cork toe kick in the kitchen, finish building a rock wall, do some more backfilling, buy a few more light fixtures, complete some cedar edging in the ensuite, make a few drawers, and start on the trim.

Weather great, still have loads of fun.  Sleeping well.  cheers.

These are the kitchen cabinet bases, with cherry edging.  Tall cabinets in back left will be the pantry and microwave house.  Range on far wall, sink on right hand side below window, peninsula in foreground with two pendants overhead.  Should have granite countertop and sink installed this week and, if I get to it, cork flooring.

Guest bathroom cabinets, with fir edging. This one will have a quartz countertop and fir doors and drawers.

Ensuite cabinets. They will have cedar edging applied in situ. This cabinet will be built more like a piece of furniture than a regular vanity. Countertop will be soapstone extending over the pony wall.

Shop and garage. Lights installed. Stucco finished except for one wall of garage. They were going to finish it this morning but got part way through and ran out of acrylic stucco. So they will need to float another coat  over the entire wall and finish it on Friday.  Wood in foreground is from a dead tree B in Law Steve cut down a few weeks ago and I split with our new wood splitter from Princess Auto.  Really slick hydraulic splitter.

Stucco guys make a bit of a mess. They still have the one wall to do, and some parging on the exterior foam. All this junk should be history soon (he says optimistically). We have been having a heat wave with the past few days about 33 above, but going down to 15 at night.

Some of the local peas – there is a vegetable farmer just up the road and he has a sign that indicates what is ready. Two weeks ago it was peas. Really tasty.  Especially with butter.

Busy week ahead.  3 countertops to be installed, fresh air intake for the stove, stucco and clean up, window cleaning and screen installation, heat pump install, putting cork floor in kitchen, designing stairs and cabinet for laundry room, and packing.  Moving day is T – 20.

Cam came to town for 8 plus 2 days to help build cabinets and to share his knowledge and experience with me.  In a very full and very fun ten days, we made some jigs for the equipment, and built and installed base cabinets for the kitchen, guest bathroom and ensuite.  We also built 5 drawers, and two cabinet drawers.  We also put in two door jambs and cut the material for 2 interior doors and did a number of other odd jobs.  Photo below is Cam cutting tenons for a cabinet door.  A man with many skills and much patience.

New (to me) planer. A two year old machine with helical cutters that I got for less than 1/2 the price of a new one.  Powerful machine that does a great job surfacing wood and planing it to the thickness desired.  Glad I put in the 220 v outlets.

Drawers and doors – Drawers are Baltic birch bottoms, maple veneer plywood sides, and cherry hardwood edging and fronts.  There will be a bank of five drawers in the peninsula (and another 25 or so scattered around the kitchen).  Drawers now need to be scraped and sanded, sprayed with 3 coats of polyurethane, and then have the fronts installed and the finished drawers installed in the cabinets.  The doors are 3/4″ cherry hardwood with 1/2″ cherry veneered sheets.  These will be oiled.  Over time, the cherry will darken into a warm rich hue.  The helmet is for the ATV, Cam’s preferred choice of transport between the rental house and the building site.

This is the first of many interior fir doors.  The wood is mostly clear, much of it vertical grained.  The rails and stiles are 1 1/2″ thick so the doors will weigh a lot (they will need 4 hinges).  Joinery is mortise and tenon and they will be finished with tung oil.  We cut and fit the material for two doors – guest bathroom and guest bedroom.  They need to be sanded, assembled, sanded, oiled and then hung.  Assembly has to wait until I can get 4 more 40″ Bessey clamps – I had to order some as none were to be had here in Kelowna.  The rest of the interior doors will be a fall project.

This wood all came from the Oyama Sawmill which stopped cutting about 4 years ago and has been selling off all its wood. Got to know the only guy left working there (2 days a week) and have been getting really good deals (like 75% off lumber store prices) and really good wood.  But it has become harder and harder to find what I want as the good stuff has been mostly picked over (I should have been there 2 years ago).  As such, I decided to load up and get most of what I will need for the interior doors, interior trim, and the exterior post and beams for the two porches. Because there was not enough clear 1×6 for the interior trim, I got several hundred feet of 1×3 clear T&G flooring that I will edge joint and use instead.  Not shown is the cherry and the various veneered plywood – good place in town that specializes in hardwood and veneers.  This wood will keep me busy for many many months, once I get time to start on it.  Truck will have to park outside for the winter.

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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.

A week of plus 25 weather and lots of sun. Stucco guys have finally completed the paper and wire, and most of the first coat of stucco.  I expect another 2 weeks before they are done.  Siding guys had the siding delivered last week, so I expect them to complete their work next week.  It will be really nice to have the scaffolding gone so that I can start to do some of the backfilling around the buildings. Fixed up a couple of minor framing mistakes, the cedar in the entry wall, and some odds and ends. Lots of time spent viewing tiles, paint, countertops, etc.

Week 4 of the drywall taping and sanding. Brian is doing a good job, but taking longer than he should. He said he will work this weekend so that it will all be done by next Monday. I would not want his job.  The ceiling in the photo will get a skim coat (they call it level five) so that it should be impeccably smooth – light from the clerestory windows will show any imperfections.  We finally decided on the paint colours and the painters are scheduled to start next Tuesday.  They will spray primer/sealer on all surfaces and then Brian will then do a final inspection and fix any imperfections.  They will then spray/roll all the ceilings and give the walls on the main floor two coats.  About 6 days in total.

Photo of the ensuite shower/bath area. The board is a special tile backer board. We have finally selected all the tile (except for the basement bathroom – that will come later) and the tilers start their work on May 13th!

This is a view of the rental house yard. The deer do not spook easily. They came under the fence in the background to munch on the grass. Hime is fascinated by them.

bought some cedar and spruce that will become 10′ posts and 16′ beams for the porches, eventually. Oyama sawmill stopped cutting several years ago and is selling off the wood they have stored in their warehouse. Really good prices. And really nice dry wood. Most cedar and fir timbers for sale is quite wet and would no doubt twist and turn if used before it dries, and it takes more than a year to dry.  These are 8″x8″ posts, and 10″x4″ beams.

I had a 10′ piece of culvert lying around so I decided to use it to widen the entrance to the driveway.  It will make it easier to come and go.  My neighbour Kevin was a great help in getting in place well and connected to the existing culvert. This photo shows it partially backfilled – thanks to the somewhat-trusty Bobcat.  I need another 4 or 5 buckets full of fill, and some large rocks for the upstream entry side.

Not a lot to report on the stucco. They have been at it for about 5 weeks but usually only one guy. I expect it will move faster now and be completed in about 2 to 3 weeks.  Have been using the time to select tile, paint colour and countertops, and to find someone to do the work. Have also been working on the driveway doing some widening and smoothing. The Bobcat’s bucket is getting rather worn down as I use it to back blade the drive and there is a lot of rock and rocks on the driveway.  The taper has just finished the garage and shop today (will sand tomorrow morning).  So we will be able to prime it on Wednesday.  Will soon be able to use it to make stuff and store stuff.  Bought a log splitter from Princess Auto a few days ago (great store, originated on Princess Avenue in Winnipeg) and am now shopping for a chain saw.

These are wild daisies, and they are all over. Really nice.

These are all Saskatoon berry bushes. We have more than 100 on the property. The berries are supposed to be quite good (not as good as those from Saskatchewan) – the bears apparently really like them as well.