Stampin Up!

OK, these aren't exactly like the stamps used in Stampin Up! Not even close actually. But they still look kinda fun. So the guy missed his chance for the pump truck to squirt the concrete back there for him so he had to do it manually. Well, actually, he got his guys to do it manually. It probably took the two wheelbarrows an hour to fill the deck. Then they smoothed it all out and after it set up for a bit they put in the lines so it won't crack later - well, actually it's so when it does crack later, it'll crack along those lines and not where you don't want it to. That's the theory, anyway.

So then I asked the guy how long until he does the stamp stuff. He told me about an hour. So I came back then and it still wasn't set up enough. It was nice and sunny today, but it was cold so that made it take longer for the concrete to set. I think I must have come back at least 3 times before he was actually doing the stamping, and then he was on the last little bit to do, so I got there just in time! It's a good thing it was finally hard enough or we would have had to round up some lights! They got done around 4:30 - which is getting pretty dark already - less than a month until the shortest day of the year!

So he had these round flat rubber-ish looking things that were textured on the bottom and he moved them around on the floor and pressed down on them with this square-on-a-stick thing.

After the seal goes on (and it's a bit lighter outside so I can see!) you will be able to see different colors in the concrete. There's the usual grey, but there's also a charcoal color and a hint of a green in there, too.

Cupboards

We met with Jeff from Kitchen Art last night to discuss the kitchen and bathrooms. The kitchen is staying mostly the same as the drawings, but we're making the phone desk a little smaller and taller - about the height of a counter, and we're making the microwave built in between the phone desk and the fridge, with the cupboards built out to the same level as the fridge. This eliminates those useless cupboards over the fridge that no one can ever reach - now they're flush (more or less) with the fridge.

In the upstairs bathrooms we're changing things a bit. We're eliminating most of that big linen closet in the main bathroom (we'll just have a small one there) and we're stealing 6" or so from the ensuite so that we can fit 2 sinks and a bank of drawers in the middle for the main bathroom. We're also getting rid of the angle in the walk-in closet and making it square. There's still plenty of room to get around and it will give us some more space for towel racks, etc.

Pouring the Slabs

The weather held off and we had nothing but blue skies for pouring the concrete slabs today. They poured the garage, the basement, the front porch and the basement stairs. But the guy coming to do the stamped concrete deck in the back somehow misunderstood that it was happening today, so he'll have to haul the concrete back in a wheel barrow and then do his thing. A bit more work, but what do you do?

It's a Bird! It's a Plane! It's a....

It's a Wall!!! The first wall went up - getting ready for the electrician - Chris!

The plan was to pour concrete tomorrow, but that may be pushed back a day because of the weather. Stay tuned...

Snow Going?

Despite the white weather we got last night (it's mostly slush now) plans went ahead to get ready to pour concrete.

Steel was put in place on the back deck, the garage and the front porch. And, yes, it is going to be a wood front porch, they're just putting a layer of concrete underneath to keep the weeds out.

And plastic was put in the basement. I guess this helps keep the moisture out when they pour the concrete on top.

Hardwood Floor

I almost forgot to mention that we bought our hardwood floor. We were driving around looking for this store where Darcy could get a deal on flooring because he knows a guy, but we couldn't find it so we decided to stop in at King of Floor and find out what they had. Well, what they had was an incredible sale! We picked a wood that we knew we wanted our cupboards to look like and then took that piece around and held it up to other pieces to see how they looked together. Well we found this Engeineered Oak (182 or so on the hardness scale, which is really hard - harder than bamboo!) and it was regularly priced at $6.59/sqft and it was on sale for $3.99 I think. Engineered wood is better than regular because it doesn't expand and contract so much. So we got it! We were hoping to find something under $5 and we did! We bought all they had - which is almost how much we need. We'll go with carpet in the office and put some tile in the front entry and we'll make it work!

What's With This?

Maybe it's just me and my lack of knowledge of the construction industry, but this looks to me like they're forming the front porch to pour concrete. I was pretty sure we were going to build it out of wood. Hmmmmmmm. I'll have to check on that.

On another note, here's those concrete stairs Darcy was forming yesterday. They're done enough that he can send an employee to come and finish them. It's cheaper for Darcy to go to work and pay one of the guys to come and finish them than it is for Darcy to do them himself. It's too dark to do it in the evenings and it needs to be done in the next day or two.

Deja Vu

Well, this brought back memories from our pre-kids days. I used to go to work with Darcy every once in a while and help him snap out lines on the foundation to get ready to start the walls. Here I am helping with the chalk line. My specialty was sill gasket and anchor bolts. Maybe he'll recruit me for that in a week or so, too! Right now they're wanting to pour the concrete basement, deck and stairs. But only if it doesn't snow!

All Back Filled

Well, they're done back filling. Darcy is working on the concrete stairs coming up from the basement. He needed to mix a little more concrete for where the stairs meet the house. Good thing that's not Kaitlyn's birthday cake he's mixing! They're hoping to pour the basement slab, the back deck and the stairs early this week, as long as the weather cooperates. No rain, and definately no snow, please! Here Rachael and Kaitlyn are standing at our front door - without the door.

The garage is all packed and ready for concrete, too, though they may not pour that until they pour the driveway which is right near the end.

The girls are all ready for a little R&R on the back deck!

And here we are at the edge of our back yard looking at the house. A pretty good sized yard.

Back Again

They're finishing up back filling today. I got to listen to dumptrucks all day going back and forth. Oh, well, it's for a good cause. Funny how something that was annoying listening to on someone else's house isn't nearly so bad when it's for your house!

They're putting crushed rock in the basement and also on the back deck to get ready to pour concrete next week (cross your fingers for nice weather). Darcy wants to do stamped concrete but it's pretty pricey so we'll see if he can get a deal.

Look how big the back yard looks!

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like...

...A House! Well, the beginnings of a house, anyway. We no longer have a moat all the way around the house - just around part for now. They're busy filling it as we speak.

That big trench they had to build to get rid of the water is filled in and our posts for the front porch are back in place.

They've filled in the garage so it's level now. You could almost park your car there if you wanted too.

Indoor Plumbing

Well, it doesn't exactly pass for indoor plumbing yet - but it's the first step! Pipes were laid today.

And more pipes for the downspouts from the gutters. I guess these drain into the drain tile? Which they put some kind of paper-ish looking stuff over today. Not too sure about that one, but I'm sure there's a reason!

I think I hear the sounds of excavators back filling our hole today, too. I know we got a couple dump truck loads of dirt. I'll take some pictures tomorrow.

Drain Tile Part 2

One advantage of building across the street from where you live is you can take lots of pictures! (Maybe too many?) Here's the drain tile with the crushed rocks on it. Very exciting.
In order to actually remove the water from the drain tile and the downspouts on the gutters and actually take the water away they need to hook it up to the sewer. Because our lot is so narrow in the front they had to dig up under our "front porch" to conect up to the thingy under the road. So once they've got the trench dug they'll put in some pipes, connect up, and fill it back up with dirt again.

Darcy also made one of our window wells for the basement. He could only do the one looking at the back yard until they back fill everywhere because there's not enough room on the side of the house for them to get around.

Drain Rain Go Away

Graham and Jake did our Drain Tile today.

First they laid this pipe around our house to collect the water.

Then the big digger came with a pile of rocks...

...and poured them over the pipe. Apparently this will keep water out of our house. Somehow. Just don't ask me!

Tar Baby

Today they damproofed the house. First they spray on tar:

Then they cover it with "Superseal" to make the house waterproof.

Always a good thing.

Working on a Sunday?

Well, that's what happens when your concrete wall explodes when you're pouring on Friday and the guy's coming to put the water proof seal on it on Monday! Darcy's employee Jack filled most of the holes with concrete on Saturday but there were still lots of little holes that couldn't be filled that way. So Darcy talked to a friend from church and he suggested that Darcy mix concrete and sand 50/50 and use his hands to fill the little holes and then spread it smooth. Well, it worked! Here's the before shot:

And here's after:

A Family Affair

Building our house is going to be a family affair. First to help out is Jeff. He came to help strip forms off the foundation. In the pouring rain. On a Saturday. Thanks Jeff! Others on the list to help our are Brian, Gord, Torrey and a whole bunch of friends. Thanks, guys, we appreciate all the help!

Mr. Fix-It

Because of the big blow-out and the subsequent emergency repair they were not able to vibrate the concrete (to get rid of the air holes) in that spot. Resulting in this nice big hole. But it was easily fixed. Darcy ran to the store and got some concrete mix and they filled in the hole while the inside forms were still up. It could have been worse - and it's in a spot that will be covered up later, anyway.