House Exterior Sept 2011

Hard to believe that it has been a year since any updates were posted, but here is a recent photo taken of the house.

Oh, the drama!

Check out what happens when a certain little feline we'll call Benjamin encounters a friendly visitor just stopping by for a little snack of greenery from the field.

Bambi & Friends

Spring is Sprung, the grass is ris, I know where the birdies is!

As the snow recedes, our animal neighbours are emerging from the forest. What an awesome thing it is to be sitting in your living room, looking out the window, and be staring into the eyes of Bambi a mere 15 feet away. Bambi and her friends seem to really enjoy snacking on some of the greenery in our open field and come around often for a little sample. They do have super bionic vision and hearing though - they can even hear you turning on the camera from inside the house, and will stare you down and be watching your every move. Be careful when you're trying to get a better look at them - the slightest wrong move and they will bolt.

Take a look at some of the critters we have been fortunate enough to glimpse recently....

Ring necked Pheasant. Believe it or not he is not crossing a stream - that is a puddle on the driveway. This guy seemed quite oblivious to our presence...the car came within a metre of him and he didn't flinch.

Red-tailed squirrel

Dark Eyed Junco

Dove

We have also seen a Barred Owl, a couple Blue Jays, and today the first Robin appeared. Spring really has arrived!

Winter Wonderland

It's rather ironic that now that the first day of Spring has arrived I am posting photos of our Winter wonderland, but I wanted to share some of the beauty we got to experience on our doorstop over the last few months.

Progress has been slow but steady inside the house, but every morning it has been so exciting to rise and see what wonders have arrived with the nightly snow fall. Here are some of the highlights.

At long last - living in paradise!

At long last, we have moved into the house 100%. The condo is sold, and now there is no longer travelling back and forth between houses.

There is still lots to do though - painting of the cement / stucco walls, staining the new bed frames, and unpacking, unpacking, unpacking! The hope was to have everything setup by Xmas, but it is looking more like it will be Spring.

The bed frames (100% solid maple - no toxic adhesives) will be stained with a milk paint - also totally non toxic (from Homestead House: http://www.homesteadhouse.ca/products/WoodStain/).
Also, the mattresses are all 100% organic, natural rubber (a sap from trees). They are covered with organic cotton, and when you come to sleep over you have your choice of organic wool or organic natural rubber pillows. Of course, they will also be covered with organic sheets and an organic wool comforter. All products are from Obasan. (http://www.obasan.ca/)

Stay tuned for interior photos as everything starts to come together.

Adorable kitten available

A skinny little stray cat found our home a couple weeks ago. She was starving and in need of love and shelter. We took her in and now she is doing much better. She is very sweet, and has lots of energy now that she is getting enough to eat.

The problem is that our existing cat isn't too fond of having a new playmate - he likes being independent. So, with heavy hearts, we are looking for a new home for Maggie. If you're interested, please let me know. She really is very cute!

Hot Water at Last!!!

Need I say anything more? At long last, we have hot water. No more cold showers! We also have a water filtration system in now too so we can start cleaning the house with warm, clean, water.

Almost a kitchen

At long last the kitchen counter has been installed! Once the plumbing is hooked up for the sink and the dishwasher, we should have a real live kitchen ready to go!

H2O At Last!

At long last, we have running water in the house! Of course, nothing is ever straightforward and simple when it comes to water. When the water was first connected and turned on, water started spraying from 3 different pipes in the mechanical room. Thank goodness the plumber was able to come out right away and fix things. All of the leaks were resolved, and the water could be turned on.

So, it is now official - WE HAVE WATER!! Unfortunately, the water sill contains a lot of silt so it looks more grey than clear, but it is a start. Also, we still haven't been able to turn the Hot water on, so we can use the toilets and wash our hands but that's about it for now.

I am so looking forward to my first shower....

Here is proof that there is actually water in the house!

One step closer

Good news! Our new well driller has arrived and has started drilling. In only 2 days they are down 85 feet. No water yet, but it has been all clay for the first 80 feet, then they hit sand lands... not a rock to be found!

We're keeping our fingers crossed that water is found soon, and we can then trench it to the house and hook it up.

The other outstanding task is the kitchen. We've started hanging the cupboards....it has been a real learning experience.

Stay tuned...hopefully more good news soon!

Just as we were leaving the property this past weekend, we caught a glimpse of something up high in the tree. Take a look at what we saw....

Almost....

The house is done!....well ALMOST!

The kitchen still needs to be assembled, and the kitchen plumbing needs to be installed. Other than that there is just one tiny little outstanding item - WATER!

Yes, still there is no water to the house. Without water, we are unable to obtain our occupancy permit. We have decided to drill a new well, and we have a new well driller tentatively scheduled for mid-June. I am crossing my fingers, my toes, and anything I can that it is a smooth process that finds us some good quality water at a depth without methane, sulfur or any other issues.

The bathrooms are complete now - the taps are installed, and the low-flow, dual flush toilets have been installed as well. You can't use them yet though...these are waiting for the water too.

The septic tank is now installed, so once we have water, we're all set to go.

Everything but the kitchen sink...

Okay, well maybe not everything besides the kitchen sink is done, but things are coming along slowly but surely. The big outstanding issues are: the kitchen, the bathrooms, and the well. (unfortunately these are the pieces that it is impossible to live without!)

The tiling is complete in the upstairs bathroom. We just need the toilet to be hooked up, the vanity / sink to be installed, and the rain shower and taps for the tub. Thanks to our friend Donna for helping to clean and prepare all of the tiles!

Here is a picture of the vanity for the upstairs bathroom, waiting for the sink and tap to be installed. The vanity is actually an antique from China, circa 1900.

The juliet balconies have been installed - can you imagine standing here and calling for Romeo?

Here is a view of the juliet balcony from the outside.

This beautiful railing at the top of the stairs was designed by C. and created by Tom Mourgas (The Iron Man - http://www.wroughtironman.com/index.html).

Another exciting design feature is the octagonal hallway that joins all of the bedrooms and the upstairs bathroom. It is hard to capture in a photograph, but you can see the skylight and a peek into two of the bedrooms.

Bamboo Floors Complete

The bamboo floors have now been installed on the second floor.

The painting of the drywall walls is complete, and now the doors and trim are being stained. This is after one coat, one more to go!

Here is a picture of the bathroom - prepped and ready for tiling!

The Chimney is In

The Fireplace chimney has now been installed (through the roof), and the skirt roof is complete.

The drywall is ready to be painted, and the cement floors have been stained.

This coming week: Painting and tiling begins!

Drywalling Continues

The drywalling continues - we are now in the final stages of the mudding / sanding process. Once this is complete we can start with the finishing of the floors. Hopefully it will start this coming week.

The gable roof has now been added, and it is being completed this week as well.

Another new neighbour

Yet another photo of some new neighbours awaiting our arrival.....

New neighbour

Our future neighbours have sent us a picture they captured of another new neighbour just waiting for our arrival....a rare BLACK fox.

Drywall is up!

The drywall is up throughout the house! This next week will be spent mudding the drywall and covering all of the screws.

Take a look at some of the photos - everything looks like a sea of white right now.

Have your Say!

We erroneously ended up with Brown fascia and WHITE soffits....we were intending both to be Brown. We would like to hear your vote - what do you think of the Brown / White Combo???? Keep in mind that the house colour will eventually be yellow, not the white you see today.

Click on Comments to add your thoughts.

What's Going On?

It has been awhile since I've updated the blog that's because progress has been slow due to the holidays. There have been some changes though:

• The wall framing is just about complete


• The electrical system has been roughed in
  
• The plumbing has been roughed in
  
• The HRV (Heat Recovery Ventialation system) is in


• The Geo Thermal system has been installed and turned on. There is now heat in the radiant floor.


• The radiators have been installed upstairs.
  
• The fireplace has been installed...the chimney just needs to be put through the roof.


• The skirt roof installation is in progress.

Next week: Drywalling begins!

The main floor, with the back of the kitchen wall. (A pantry / cold storage room will be behind this).

The skirt roof is being added - there will be a gable roof in the middle section.

The fireplace (including a pot hanging inside for cooking!)

A very simple and straight forward maintenance room! This is just part of it...I think we'll need a week long seminar to figure out what everything is and how it works!


The radiators. What can you say....they are ugly as hell (not what we envisioned at all!), but we do need to heat the upper floor....


Some of the framing. This is the closet of the yoga room (great room upstairs), adjusted for shelves and separate storage in the top section.