Fall Projects III Upstairs Bathroom

With the onset of rain and cold we turned our attentions inward to focus on the upstairs bathroom which includes a 5' x 5' shower that required lots of tiling. Work has now turned to the wooden trim bits which will be used to border the tile, trim doors and windows and the steps up to the tub.

New Years Resolution: More frequent blog posts in 2012...

Fall Projects II - November Work-PARTY

On the Remembrance Day long weekend all of Karen's family descended for a three-day work PARTY to set up the metal carport we had purchased several years ago. The preparatory work consisted of pouring 4 sonotube footings with precisely located bolts and on the weekend we stood up the four main posts, two beams and the sections of roofing material. A lot of work made much lighter by the help of many hands (of all sizes), and also gave us the chance to test out the house for "large gatherings".

A huge thanks to Ron, Barb, Jens, Lynne, Blaire, Russ, Jan, Nicole, Steph, Dave, Dede, Boone, Pearl, Chay, Blaze, Tracey, Gord & Kyle!

New Year's Eve & Fall Projects

There is nothing like the last day of the year to make you realize how long it's been since the last blog post. We have had a very productive fall beginning with the completion of the rock wall. Once the wall was complete we dug some post holes and planted 8 groups of 4" x 4" uprights which have since formed the trellis that now runs along the west side of our property and is all ready to accept three things come spring: strings of white lights (bought at a post-Christmas sale), grape vines which will be planted in March, and nesting birds for the 4 bird houses which were built into the structure.

Comfy Kitty

Now we're in the middle of October the nights are getting cool enough to light the wood stove. Dressy our smooth calico approves!

Patio Progress I

The other landscaping job that has been progressing is the preparation for the patio on the south side of the house. Eventually we will place concrete slabs on it, but so far we've been busy getting it nice and level, in addition to placing 6 piers which will support the trellis posts and the base of the wood-fired pizza oven.

Rock Wall Progress

It is very shocking to realize that somehow the month September slipped by without a ingle blog update, although we've been very busy evenings and weekends. The rock wall was gradually built by adding a few every day after school and now measures 150' long and 27" tall. We've backfilled the area behind with a nice mix of chipped branches from last spring, compost mix and sifted soil that was dug back from the bank.

Deck Completed

With only a few days of vacation left, the final few boards have been fastened to the deck and it is now complete and in full use.

All Hands on Deck II

The 2x6 rough fir boards have slowly been scribed and fitted into all of the rock work that borders the deck. The only remaining work to be done is fit the 16' outside border pieces and complete the curved border sections on the south side of the house. (Stay tuned for part III)

Rock Wall - Slow Progress

With work on the deck being the main focus, the rock wall project has been neglected a little, but I have now placed the line of the biggest rocks to set the wall location and located the perforated drainage line. The current step is to screen the backfill to obtain some drain rock (1/2" dia+) and locate it on the pipe. Thank heavens the wall is only 120' long as interest declines as the thermometer rises.

Trees Out - Rocks In

Another project planned for this summer is to tidy up the bank opposite our garage/workshop and use all of the remaining rocks gathered from around the property to build a thigh-high rock wall that incorporates a cedar trellis. Step 1 was to have our new friend Ryan from Ryno Bobcat visit with his Bobcat, Excavator and Dump Truck. Within a very short time, Ryan removed the 9 old pine tree stumps, re-shaped the bank, leveled various piles of dirt on the property, dug a few more holes for upcoming projects, delivered 6 yards of driveway crush & 6 yards of topsoil and rounded up every possible rock to be found on the whole 2 acres.

July: All Hands on Deck

The first two weeks of July (holiday) has been spent prepping the area around the house under the veranda for a raised wooden deck. The overall plan has been to place concrete footings which have pressure treated 4 x 4's set on them, along with a pressure treated 2 x 4 fastened to the house foundation with concrete anchors. The 2 x 6 joists have then been fastened between the wood on the house wall and the 4 x 4's making way for the fir decking which is almost ready to install.

Column Caps

Over a year ago, we built a form and went through a routine of casting some caps for our rock columns. Finally, last weekend I got around to renting the gas-powered miter saw again and making the final 56 cuts. While the saw cooled off in an hour or so, it took me several days to recover. This past week, the caps were mortared on to the columns and ground smooth.