Top that!

The big item today was the delivery of granite countertops for both kitchens.
The granite looks super!  The "granite guys" measured all the bathroom cabinetry so that they can go back and cut those pieces as well.  In a few days we should have kitchen appliances and cupboard doors, and then you'll really get the full effect of the kitchens!

Mom & Dad's kitchen:  cupboards will have white doors, not that blond wood.


Our kitchen:  I was a bit nervous about my decision to have a non-standard kitchen island shape... but I think it turned out okay!


In other news:  Tile upstairs is DONE!  The girls' rooms are so colourful...  that'll be toned down, I'm sure, once there are curtains and furniture items in the rooms

We have some front stairs.  SOME is the operative word.  Sheliza says only uncle Shane would be tall enough to get from the bottom step to the middle step, and then up to the house.  More stairs to come.


Things are moving along...

Wow!

All of a sudden, things have really taken off at the house.  After what felt like WEEKS of tiling the first floor, the main floor is now done and the top floor is about half-finished.  Some of the main floor is grouted, and the rest should be done shortly.


The kitchen cabinets are largely in place.

I think that by the end of next week, we're supposed to have granite countertops in place.

We've got a room full of sinks and faucets (still in boxes, but ready to go!)

Also, baseboards are piled in the kitchen and ready to be installed. 

We've got backyard fences and the better part of a front driveway!

Ah.. there is hope!

October's end

Looks like Dad had a bunch of posts in the works, but they never made it to completion. Some older (and more detailed) posts may show up later!

So, in the last month..

Exterior: from wood to stucco, then a tinted layer of "cabbage patch green", which goes rather nicely with the cedar. Landscaping crew has built us levels, complete with stairs and a paving-stone sidewalk. The only thing missing is a set of front stairs...



In the back:
We have a patio, complete with seating-height wall, a few levels for planting, and then an upper yard, which will have grass for the girls to play on. Another wall is yet to go up, along the back of the property, to contain the much awaited vegetable garden. Plans are in the works, say the dads, to connect our back yard with buddy Natalie's (4 doors down) so the girls don't have to traipse along the "big road." We shall see...

Inside:

laying 4000 sq ft of tile is, apparently, a bigger job than lifting 4000 sq ft of tile was, It's been underway for more than a week, but we're still on the main floor. It looks super, though. Both kitchen floors are done, so that...

... the kitchen cabinets could arrive (this is what they looked like today!) The colours are off because the doors are the part with the chosen finish, and the doors aren't here yet.

Finally, we got lights last weekend. Not sure what happened to my camera here, but you get the idea.

Anticipating fences, more tiling, cabinet installation, etc in the near future.

Gutter Guts...

These guys have nerves of steel - hanging on the edge, leaning over to get the screws in...

Scary BUT a beautiful job in black..

We have LOCK-UP

We finally got the keys, the locks installed and the garage door put in - so we are officially at lock-up.

The work ahead this coming week:
Monday - final on mud and tape for drywall, drying and sanding
Monday - boiler gets engineering inspection and solar install plan
Monday - stucco sample arrives - purple looks good!
Wednesday - landscaping starts on front and back
Wednesday - tile and tile setter arrive and starts work on the showers
Thursday - window service call - fix and touch up all

We have DRY WALL

These guys work hard and fast...and do a great job.

2nd coat of Stucco goes on...

It is a big job and our team is doing a fantastic job - looks great

End of August

Tanya again.

My parents are exhausted... and prioritizing.

It is more important that they get work done on the house than that they blog!

But progress is being made...

Recent developments have gone beyond "the junk inside the walls" (sorry, I know it's important stuff, but it's really not all that exciting), and things are starting to look different again.

Inside:

-insulation went into the walls

-drywall is going up this week

(it is really starting to look like a real house inside, though Sheliza is disappointed she can't see through the walls anymore)

Outside:

-cedar siding is going up on the upper level, and walls are being prepped for stucco on the bottom level

People:

-Sheliza & her grandparents explore the site when we go to visit

-they check on pumpkins and tomatoes

-Faiza has slept through both of her visits to date. I'm sure she'll appreciate it when she's older

Wires everywhere...

Roop's team has been busy - from day one in making sure we had the right holes in our foundations to running a mile of wire for sockets, cieling mounts, switches and pot lights. Also needed a sub panel in the kids area.

Just hope we find them all once the insulation and the drywall are in place.

Time for an update

Tanya here.

Mom & Dad have been so busy this past month that they haven't had time to blog the hundreds of photos detailing the progress that's being made on the house. By the time they get home, they're exhausted from days packed with physical labour and endless decision-making.

I wish we could be of more use (Muniz is still working all week, and Sheliza and I try to make some small contributions, but mostly we try to stay out of the way...)

Now, I certainly can't tell the story of the house the way Mom & Dad can, but I can bring you up to speed on some of the progress that's been made.

Our house now has:
many doors & windows
a complete roof
exterior papering
electricity and wiring
some of its plumbing
bathtubs
concrete floors covering radiant heat pipes
ducting for air conditioning

We have more or less selected:
flooring,
taps, sinks, toilets
cabinetry

Oh, and Sheliza's contribution:
we are growing some fine pumpkins in the back yard. The plant is twice her size!

Here's what the house looked like today. I'm sure Dad will get around to giving you more details when he has a spare minute...

BIG - you bet it is!

Windows arrived. The one for the master bedroom took 8 of us to lift it and set it in place. We got about 8 windows set - and had to leave the others overnight. Hopefully they will be safe and there in the AM - the site has been very good so far.


That is Donna waving at you...


We also had a problem with the concrete that was placed yesterday - so back they came today and ground down the top amd 1/2 of the main floor to get the gentle wave (some ridges) out of the floor.

Floors and Roof

The placer crew of 7 arrived bright and early and the pump truck was all ready to go by 7:30 AM.
We put 32 yards of concrete in for the top, middle and basement floors plus all the crawl spaces (2,200 square feet or so) and the garage floor.

We left the site at 6:30 PM and there was still one person buffing the garage floor and you could actually see the reflection of the 2x6 studs in it.


The roofers were also there bright and early - a 2 man crew - and they got about half of the roof done today.

Top Hat - Shingles Arrive

It is Saturday and all the shingles arrived for our roof which will mostly be installed on Monday morning.

Up they go -

It is a long reach...


But they land safely and in good hands. A lot of weight to set upon one's top - but not a quiver from the beams below. Ready for Monday...and no rain in sight.

I AM WAITING...WHERE ARE YOU?

The inspectors came - they poked at me, looked into my joints, got under my skin and decided they loved me so much so they gave me a PASS. So I am hyped and ready to go - BUT...I WAIT...
For about a week...the concrete placers were all set to come in and do me up...and the SUN was shining on me - I was scheduled for Wednesday, June 23rd but the placers had other work to do in the sunshine. Hard to imagine that there would be a bigger and better job around than ME!

So sad - but then they were to come on the 25th, Friday. Got all excited again BUT...an 8AM placement became a 1 PM placement and then they STOOD ME UP AGAIN!

Thank God for Mike and Donna - they came and visited me and CLEANED UP and vacuumed as the electrical subtrades were on site and doing their finishing touches on rough in. Could not have sawdust in my joints now could I!

Anyway - getting born is a painful process. Thank goodness TANYA is around every now and then - I know how she feels. BUT DARN IT - she will have sprout (baby girl due August 10th) before I get out of here!

ANYWAY - my HOPES are UP - I heard Donna and Mike say that MONDAY at 8 AM, June 28th will be the DAY. All is scheduled...my joists are crossed!

AND I heard them say my glasses (windows) will arrive on TUESDAY. Ahhh...I will be able to see a bit more of this world.

TWO MILES of Piping

Everything was readied. Sub-trades have never seen such a clean floor. They could not stand it - and EVERY time they came back on site they messed it up again. So Donna (and I) must have vacuumed 4 times - just to keep the deck clean so the pipers could do their work. But clean it was.

Manjit Bal took the directors seat on the back of our plumbers truck and watched the work unfold.

With all the corners to go around our plumbing team made an elaborate maze of curves and runs - there is art in piping!


And we must have put down close to 2 miles of piping - using 6 inch spacing to ensure that we will get maximum efficiency out of our condensing boiler system. The inspector commented that instead of having to heat the outflow water to 130 degrees - we might have to heat it to 93 - 107 degrees depending on the time of year. A great savings.


Donna was catching these roles as they threw them up onto the main floor.

And in the end it was a work of art - and state of the art!