So Janet and Wayne came up for the weekend and we spent Friday cutting into the last big jobs. The playful backandforth banter of this ideal married couple was better than CBC radio. I could listen to their dialogue all day, and did. Even funnier than my script with Deborah.
We decided to tackle the Westend gable wall which hadn't had any attention at all, not even tyvek. It has more than strategic importance because it houses to screen-in porch and overlooks Deborah's award-winning monumental garden.
So we tyvekked, strapped, tar-papered and built a dividing line at the base of the top triangle to accommodate our 10 foot planks and Wayne was deeply disappointed to only complete 1/3 of the surface. But what can you expect if you have to learn how to do it before you start? By the time you get to the end you are racing along. And I explain that now it represents only a good day's work to finish and shows me what I have to do down the other end. We even managed to complete the tyvekking on the other gable wall which I hadn't managed to cover by myself. And I was able to install the fascia metal sheet along the south side so that we can now put on the gutters. Rain in the cistern!
I'm blogging here in Sydney at Mary-Anne's home where we're hanging out with Patrick while she treks off up to the highlands. It's pouring and I can't wait until our drains are directing all this water into our cistern. We really needed a couple of day's rest, with Deborah straining her back sanding overhead beams and I slamming my ribs down on the bathedge.
Amazing though what a couple of days can do to restore muscular energy. I can now actually imagine finishing everything we want to do with the house in the next 15 days. And even enjoying the 16-hour drive back to Quebec to get started in on a hard 6-months Premiership soccer, Cinéma du Parc, trips to Toronto and Ottawa and, why not?, Thanksgiving in Princeton and New York with David and Rosemary.
Sunday, 30 September 2012
Monday, 24 September 2012
The frog in the well on September 24 2012
Apologies go out to the frog which got caught in the well and almost ended its days there. I was unable to catch it in a bucket and it was not able to defy the mathematics of jump up and fall back which seems to preoccupy most of the websites which come up when you ask how to rescue a frog from a well. Try it: lots of frogs in the well.
Well, the Cape Breton downpour filled the crocks and I was finally able to lean down with Michael's fishing net and scoop up the exhausted frog which immediately slipped through the mesh. Did this three times and this is not a fish story. Finally, I decided to catch the frog and flick it up in the air out of the crocks which I did and the flying frog just disappeared into the clay and brush. Didn't even thank me.
Sorry, frog. Very indecorous. We both looked ridiculous.
On the other hand, the 3-foot crock for catching rainwater is in place and I did manage to fix the faulty wiring in two light switches, sand the beams of the bedroom door, prepare the last wall for putting up boards and install a toilet with its wax ring and fix a basin to the wall. Not bad. Getting quite good at this.
Well, the Cape Breton downpour filled the crocks and I was finally able to lean down with Michael's fishing net and scoop up the exhausted frog which immediately slipped through the mesh. Did this three times and this is not a fish story. Finally, I decided to catch the frog and flick it up in the air out of the crocks which I did and the flying frog just disappeared into the clay and brush. Didn't even thank me.
Sorry, frog. Very indecorous. We both looked ridiculous.
On the other hand, the 3-foot crock for catching rainwater is in place and I did manage to fix the faulty wiring in two light switches, sand the beams of the bedroom door, prepare the last wall for putting up boards and install a toilet with its wax ring and fix a basin to the wall. Not bad. Getting quite good at this.
Sunday, 23 September 2012
Commenting: here's how to comment if that's what you want to do.
Just been through the commenting issue with Mary-Anne and we've solved the problem: just double-click on trhe "No comments" link and bingo you can leave a few comments. Check out my observations on Mary-Anne trying the new toilet in the chalet.
Running to the end of the season
Well, here we are on the 23 September and we've decided not to go back to Montreal, Ottawa and Toronto but to stay here and not leave until the building is habitable which will be very soon. As soon as we can move in we can get insurance and the place is secured.
Our routine is standard: up by 7, at the house to work by 8.30. Work through to 12.30, then take off an hour. Back to work until 5.30 or 6. Lots of jobs to be done. Deborah's setting out the large garden, moving top-soil around, planting, planning, and then she comes inside to sand the wood and whitepaint the walls. Elaina and Cara lend a hand for a few hours giving her a burst of energy. JAnet and Wayne and Janet give me a burst of hours preparing wood for the siding, attaching battens and preparing walls for wood. I focus on walls, inside and out.
We had played with the idea of going upcountry to see Cara's exhibition at Carleton, then on to pick up Ciaran from his Stratford experience, but the idea of turning around and coming back for two more weeks in October was really a bit unrealistic and extravagant. I don't think I'd have the energy or the interest. We just saw Mary-Anne and Michael drive up to Ottawa for Hannah's opening ceremony and what a drive that is. It really is a two-day affair and expensive with gas prices where they are now.
So, here we are finishing the house. The plumbing is finished and waiting for the cistern set-up and rain-gutters for a full try-out. We actually ran some muddy water into the house last night with only one leaky faucet. The MB (that's still the Master Builder) has been installing a Pex system and an immersible pump. We added one more crock to bring the cistern up higher, then added a 3" inlet pipe for rainwater and a 3" overflow for excess rainwater. I now have a quote for filtered guttering which means that we will be collecting the rain off the whole 132 feet of the roof. I don't think we'll ever be short of water and the cistern will be filled with rain, not ground water. All the water will go through a double filter and ultra-violet light. Should be safe.
So, we have a bath, a shower, two toilets, two sinks, kitchen sink, dish-washer and stove already here (thank you, Home Depot's 10% off week). Cara and Elaina brought us Adrienne's small grey sofa and a whole lot of wicker chairs, and we have all the other stuf we've been dragging here. Should be quite cosy and well-equipped by next summer.
We're waiting for Bernard Burke to deliver a 3 foot conrete crock which we'll use to catch rainwater before sesnding it to the cistern. Hopefully the week won't be too wet and we'll be able to dig with the back-hoe. We've had three days rain and the clay now has the consistency of porridge.
The rain abates and the clouds lift over the view of Chapel Island. Warm, muggy weather for a late September Sunday. First fire in the stove to warm wet socks.
Our routine is standard: up by 7, at the house to work by 8.30. Work through to 12.30, then take off an hour. Back to work until 5.30 or 6. Lots of jobs to be done. Deborah's setting out the large garden, moving top-soil around, planting, planning, and then she comes inside to sand the wood and whitepaint the walls. Elaina and Cara lend a hand for a few hours giving her a burst of energy. JAnet and Wayne and Janet give me a burst of hours preparing wood for the siding, attaching battens and preparing walls for wood. I focus on walls, inside and out.
We had played with the idea of going upcountry to see Cara's exhibition at Carleton, then on to pick up Ciaran from his Stratford experience, but the idea of turning around and coming back for two more weeks in October was really a bit unrealistic and extravagant. I don't think I'd have the energy or the interest. We just saw Mary-Anne and Michael drive up to Ottawa for Hannah's opening ceremony and what a drive that is. It really is a two-day affair and expensive with gas prices where they are now.
So, here we are finishing the house. The plumbing is finished and waiting for the cistern set-up and rain-gutters for a full try-out. We actually ran some muddy water into the house last night with only one leaky faucet. The MB (that's still the Master Builder) has been installing a Pex system and an immersible pump. We added one more crock to bring the cistern up higher, then added a 3" inlet pipe for rainwater and a 3" overflow for excess rainwater. I now have a quote for filtered guttering which means that we will be collecting the rain off the whole 132 feet of the roof. I don't think we'll ever be short of water and the cistern will be filled with rain, not ground water. All the water will go through a double filter and ultra-violet light. Should be safe.
So, we have a bath, a shower, two toilets, two sinks, kitchen sink, dish-washer and stove already here (thank you, Home Depot's 10% off week). Cara and Elaina brought us Adrienne's small grey sofa and a whole lot of wicker chairs, and we have all the other stuf we've been dragging here. Should be quite cosy and well-equipped by next summer.
We're waiting for Bernard Burke to deliver a 3 foot conrete crock which we'll use to catch rainwater before sesnding it to the cistern. Hopefully the week won't be too wet and we'll be able to dig with the back-hoe. We've had three days rain and the clay now has the consistency of porridge.
The rain abates and the clouds lift over the view of Chapel Island. Warm, muggy weather for a late September Sunday. First fire in the stove to warm wet socks.
Saturday, 8 September 2012
An explanation of my sloth
Well, I would be writing a lot more and posting a lot more photos, but things are a bit repetitive and your own lives are boring enough without looking in on ours.
Take today. I was exhausted from the week's plumbing and racing around trying to supply the Master Builder with what he needs to give us water. And you always need something you either forgot or didn't know existed. So, today I just had a wonderful bacon and egg breakfast with Deborah and Anna who's visiting for the weekend. The white pudding was especially glorious. Then down to St Peter's and Grand Grève and RM Landry to buy more plumbing supplies, including our hot water heater. Then pick up a Saturday Globe and Mail and do a little food shopping at Foodland. Back at the Cape we eat a little dinner and watch Andy Murray playing Berdych at the US Open. Will he please win a major title and get the wait over with?
By 4pm the weather has changed and I feel like doing a wall which involves stuffing in insultation, covering with plastic and tacking up T and G boards. Takes until 7pm to finish the visitor's bathroom.
A lot of walls after a lot of floors! One more wall and I've done all the downstairs walls.
Now why should I report that? It put me to sleep: I must go to bed.
Take today. I was exhausted from the week's plumbing and racing around trying to supply the Master Builder with what he needs to give us water. And you always need something you either forgot or didn't know existed. So, today I just had a wonderful bacon and egg breakfast with Deborah and Anna who's visiting for the weekend. The white pudding was especially glorious. Then down to St Peter's and Grand Grève and RM Landry to buy more plumbing supplies, including our hot water heater. Then pick up a Saturday Globe and Mail and do a little food shopping at Foodland. Back at the Cape we eat a little dinner and watch Andy Murray playing Berdych at the US Open. Will he please win a major title and get the wait over with?
By 4pm the weather has changed and I feel like doing a wall which involves stuffing in insultation, covering with plastic and tacking up T and G boards. Takes until 7pm to finish the visitor's bathroom.
A lot of walls after a lot of floors! One more wall and I've done all the downstairs walls.
Now why should I report that? It put me to sleep: I must go to bed.
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