The progress on the house is not all that apparent this week. It’s not showy. Rather, it’s the systems we’re working on, which will all be concealed behind drywall and other finishes.
red and white water
The plumbing: No, it’s not just Canadian flag-waving here. The water pipes need to show that there are two completely different systems: the red for the collected rainwater to flush toilets, and the white for potable water to the rest of the house.
Neil adds another duct to the montage
The heating and Heat Recovery Ventilation (HRV): It’s a complex system, with the attic ductwork needing insulation, and great and small ducting pipes trying to hide in closets, walls, ceilings, floor joists, crawl space. The crew has been working for 3 weeks on this. The irony: it’s supposed to be a back-up heating system (heat pump and air handler). The goal is to have the thermal mass fireplace (TMF) provide the majority of heat in the cold weather.
smoke gets out where it's not wanted
(At this point, the aforementioned TMF is a dirty word in our house. On our first small firing, it smoked mightily, from around the door. I’m quite sure it’s been installed according to all the instructions, but clearly the air inflow or outflow is not functioning the way it should. In theory, the smoke exits at the bottom of the unit, through an 8” masonry chimney pipe from the side of the burning chamber. Kerry, the fellow who sold the kit to us (Lakeshore Design in Ontario) assures us that we don’t need any braid gasket around the door, and that it’s “easy” to straighten out the door. He’s not a very good listener, nor does he know how to provide good customer service. He just repeats the info in the installation guide and talks over us. He says we need to take off the chimney cap that our stonemason took half a day to install. I don’t believe the chimney cap is restricting any airflow at all.)
the "offending"? chimney cap
Electricity: John and helpers have also been here for nearly 3 weeks. The various systems are rather interdependent, needing wiring for the fan or hot water heater, or space around plumbing pipes for the ductwork, for example. John estimates 4000 feet of wire. We’re trying to think ahead to end use and comfort. Lots of lighting for older eyes, plugs on the living room floor for table lamps, pot lights where we might need them. It’s hard to know how the house will be used sometimes, so we just have to make our best guesses. One interesting new item in the BC Electrical Code is a garage plug-in for an electric car!
back-framing
Back-framing: Now that the systems are getting close to done, Ron’s crew can finish the framing around ductwork and plumbing, dropping the ceiling or boxing in smaller spaces. I have also been asking for nooks and crannies and lowered ceilings and bookshelves and grab bars and towel racks, etc. The “tin-whackers,” as Ron calls the heating guys, asked for the workshop wall to be insulated and drywalled so that they could finish the big duct on that wall. I asked for plywood as a finish, so that D can screw all manner of storage solutions anywhere he wants, without having to find studs behind. I’ll also use that approach for the kitchen wall, where cupboards and tiles will hide the plywood.
insulated shop wall
So, I leave the house for 10 days. I will have withdrawal symptoms, I’m sure, but I’m getting a bit of cabin-fever, and I could use the break. Ron and the boys will look after it just fine for us. I’m grateful that I could be on site for so many of these critical decisions.
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