We got most of the plywood on the roof with Kurt, Nobi and Haji's help, we finished it off shortly after so we were for the most part, waterproof

Kaija was fearless, skilled and a treat to have around, she also has a hook up for some of the best bagels Toronto has to offer

the next step was to get the soffits and fascia stained and ready, this was tricky because it started to really rain, again, and got really really cold, the stains had a really hard time curing

in between rain storms, we managed to get a waterproofing membrane on the whole roof, this was the part when we could finally breath

Kurt taught us a fancy trick for assembling our own scaffolding so this was the next step for getting the roof done

group activities

We've had so many awesome, helpful visitors from near and far and all sorts of good activities have taken place
there have been lots of little visitors...

lots of eating and socializing...

some work, some watch...

some have their hands full...

such good work was done by all

the hot tub is where we relax, especially now since the pond is too cold for swimming

the trusses come to town

the trusses arrived in a big package and sat for a few days getting comfortable with the site

with all the B.C. crews help, the house was ready for the trusses while they were still here and once again Kurts highly caffeinated expertise whipped things into shape

Haji and Nobi were heroes for the day with their generous help and manpower especially seeing as they were only paid in ice cream

and at the end of the day, the hot tub was fired up with all the off cuts for a prime viewing of the days work

Second Floor

and then the angels from b.c. came to town.
Kathyrn, Kurt, Lily and Ezra descended and whooped our butts and house into shape. We can't wait to spend more time with them when they move to Erin

Kurt helped us get the first floor kinks worked out and then pretty much rocked out for 5 days straight without leaving the property. The second floor floor joists went up lickety split thanks to many coffees a day on the trusted faema

We had the best week of summer while they were visiting which was soooooooooooo amazing

Really it was Kathryn who did all the real work


and then there were walls on the second floor too!

First floor madness

Chris and my dad moved the oil tank while it was still half full in the basement, this was a very nerve racking moment as the floor boards groaned with the weight of it. After all the gravel and weeping tile was around the outdoor perimeter, we trenched it away from the house for future rainstorms. (and a nice picture of all the layers of outside work on the foundation)

The theater we live in.. .
Putting up a wall Mono style

some photos of walls going up, the satisfaction cannot be overstated

at this point, we officially have an inside and an outside! Chris is on the ladder where the future staircase will be

the first picture is looking out the kitchen window, the second one is the living room window looking into the spruce and the provincial park

and that's the first floor done.

finishing the foundation

we had to paint the entire exterior of the foundation with this horrible tar stuff, then we used drain board/roxul insulation to wick the water away when it comes into contact with the foundation.

Dad helped rebury the well pump lines that we redirected through the house rather than outside as they had been before

once all the insulation/drainboard was on, we covered the top 3' with galvanized mesh to hold on the cement parge. We had lots of onlookers and helpers to keep this phase moving along and always at the end of it, Kristine had a beautiful, delicious meal for us

when all this was done, we had a gravel truck come in and pour huge amounts of gravel around the perimeter, he was only able to access 2 sides of the house, so dad and I huffed all the gravel for the other 2 sides with a creaky old wheel barrow the dump manager gave us.

then the building inspector came again and gave us the next check mark and the go ahead to back fill