It was fortunate I was able to be on site today, after a two-day absence. It was a whirlwind of activity and decision-making.

Windows and nearly-completed roof

Most of the windows are installed now. Although they look good, I can’t help feeling they aren’t quite big enough. I expect that comes from getting used to the rough openings, which, in the end, are about 3” bigger all around than the glass of the windows.

Thermal mass fireplace kit installed

Russell, the stonemason and his assistant Randy had installed the fireplace kit earlier. Russell said the mortar to cement the pre-formed blocks together was very slippery to work with. The unit could not be placed as close to the side chimney as we were told it could be, so our slab measurements were almost too small.

The fireplace design requires that a piece of ¼” cardboard be placed between the unit and the facing stone, for expansion and contraction during firing. It’s a strange concept to have to have 2” between the masonry and any combustible material, yet here is this cardboard right inside the unit. I guess if it doesn’t get oxygen, it can’t burn. It’s also because of this 2” rule that we used steel posts to support the overhead beams. They will be covered with stone as an integral part of the masonry.

1/4" cardboard around unit

Once the flashing was installed, Russell nailed some ¾” plywood onto the floor around the perimeter of the unit. He will place the rock on it, and the plywood will be removed after the mortar has hardened. That way, the finishing material (fir flooring and slate or tile) can be slipped under the rock, rather than having to scribe the shape of the rock facing onto each strip of flooring or slate, and then fussy-cut the flooring material. Makes so much sense.

The first stone

In addition to Russell and Randy, the builders were here, and a huge plumbing crew blew in after lunch to start the rough-in plumbing. By the time the cabinetmaker arrived to measure for his quote, there was so much noise that I couldn’t make myself heard above the uproar of angle-grinders, drills, saws, and hammers. We would have to stop in the middle of our conversation until the cut had been made.

But then, crew-by-crew the crowd and the noise decreased, until I was blessedly alone, sweeping away the evidence of the recent frenetic activity.

I cherish those peaceful times, when I can tidy up without getting in anyone’s way, and no one requires my attention. I hear the silence of our neighbourhood, or the birdsong, or the pulse of the ferry traffic going by. I see where the sun comes in at this specific season or time of day. I feel the direction of the wind, a nearly constant companion here it seems.

I’m beginning to learn our home.

Dave, the Vaproshield representative came by the lot to sell us on this green building wrap, GreenShield.

It’s a weather resistive vapour- and air-permeable membrane.  The construction of WallShield (triple layer spunbond polypropylene) allows moisture to continue to filter through to exterior of the building during and after construction and occupancy. Water vapour transmission is 212 perms.

To prepare the window openings for window installation, we used 15” strips of Greenshield membrane to layer with the red plastic upper corners and water-shedding sill pans with their clever glued-on sill pan corners. (VaproSillSaver components are made from reprocessed residual vinyl trim material from old windows.) Any water that somehow gets into the window cavity past all the flashings and building wrap and waterproof tape will be drained into the plastic sill pans to the outside.

The system is considerably more expensive than “tar paper” or “Tyvek”. Our 32 windows and 3000 sq. ft of exterior wall is costing us about $3200 to outfit in this wrap. I’ll report on the wrapping of the house later.

I’m sure our building crew roll their eyes when they see us drive up to the lot with yet another load of recycled building materials. Today, we picked up an exterior French door and 9 more bundles of shingles, and plan to load the $140 garage door onto the new/old roof rack for the trip to the building site this week .

On the job site itself, we have been tackling the clean-up this week. It’s never done, like housework. (”Doing housework is like stringing beads on a string without a knot on the end.”) One of our original guidelines for construction was to keep the waste to an absolute minimum. Ron has been parsimonious with plywood and dimensional lumber especially. I think he takes pride in using materials efficiently. But, I expect there’s a fair bit of eye-rolling over my recycling obsession.

There is still a huge pile of debris to deal with. There are various useful boards with nails in them, to be de-nailed. There are thousands of pieces too small even for Ron’s parsimony. Normally, this would all be burnt on site when fire restrictions allow. But, faithful readers will recall that D’s pet project is his highly efficient wood-burning thermal mass fireplace (with pizza oven on top). We can burn all this kiln-dried wood as fuel, but it has to be moved somewhere out of the way in the meantime.

There are bunches of cardboard from wrapping and containers.

There are the metal straps from pallets of  materials. Tin rolls from electrical wires. Scraps from the metal roof cuts.

Plastic rails from the bottom of the windows (can go back to the manufacturer for re-use.)

Heavy-duty webbed plastic from lumber pallets (we can use these underneath pathways to keep them free of weeds.)

There are maybe 20 kilograms of bent and rusty nails, or wet or dropped nails from nail guns. Our roofer brought a metal broom to the site (magnet-on-a-stick), and it was fun to pick up the nails inside and out.

We can recycle most things at the local depot. We have been managing to get one bag of true garbage out to the curb on garbage day, so if that’s the worst of it, I feel proud. I know that landfills contain anywhere from 25 – 50% construction waste. Let very little of that waste be ours.

The windows were delivered a week or so ago, and we carefully stored them under tarps until we were ready for them (finished roof so they would stay dry.)

Now that the house interior is dry, and before D’s “holidays” (otherwise known as full time labouring on the job site) were over, the builders and D installed some of the heavier windows yesterday.

The most expensive window is a French casement window for the ensuite (like a French door – opens fully). It was installed yesterday. Much to my surprise, it is obscure glass, probably because it is listed for a bathroom.  But, that’s not what I ordered. Why would you have a beautiful window if you can’t see out of it? When it was delivered, I thought it had a protective film over it for transit. But, it’s the actual glass.

Westeck Windows was closed by the time I discovered the error, so I don’t know how they will resolve this problem. Here is the window installed, and the view of snow-covered mountains I would be able to enjoy from my bath if the glass were transparent.

Remarkable! A miracle! The thermal mass fireplace kit from Lakeshore Design in Ontario has finally arrived. About 7 weeks late, but…

It was delivered with the all the stone for the house – 26,000 lbs. in total in 19 heavy pallets.

Finally something to post about. It’s been slow. More to come soon.

We have chosen to have metal sheet roofing installed. Not only will it allow us to harvest cleaner rainwater, but it will last a long, long time. When it does need to be replaced, it will be fully recyclable.

Perfect weather for the first day of roofing

Steve the roofer installs each pre-cut sheet of 24-gauge steel, making sure all the screws are covered by the next length of roofing, so that those entry points will be sealed from water, thus preventing premature rusting and leaking.

Hayley says bending steel is as easy as origami

After some debate about the design of the chimney in the absence of our fireplace kit, Russell is working on the main floor chimney, which has to go through the roof so the roofers can fit flashing around it. He’s using the Craigslist bricks I got some time ago (with Tess and Nancy’s help – one very heavy load in Grandpa’s truck.)

We've decided to leave the brick exposed in the loft

Russell's bricks rise up through the roof

As we lose head builder to the Olympics, labourer (and first aid certificate-holder) to a doctor’s appointment, and #2 man to his arc welder (to craft our steel posts so that the masonry doesn’t have to touch any combustible, i.e. wood), progress on the framing slowed to a trickle.

Luckily, Russell the mason is patiently teaching D how to be his go-fer, and progress on the under-fireplace masonry is satisfying to watch. Russell is an artist, a careful, steady worker.

The fireplace kit is not here yet (promised 3 weeks ago – kind-of like BC Hydro) and will be another week at least. Patience…

When first searching on the internet for green building processes and products, insulated concrete forms (ICFs) came up again and again, especially on the green building forum. I suspect that the forum was begun by an ICF manufacturer. Basically, they are two walls of Styrofoam tied together by plastic grids. They go together like Lego, even having the peg shapes and depressions. Steel rebar is tied in between the Styrofoam. Doors and windows are blocked out. Once braced from both sides, concrete is poured into the forms, which stay on the exterior and interior surfaces after the concrete cures. A waterproof membrane is applied to the exterior, and a second dimple board waterproofing is added where the soil will touch the wall. It can be backfilled shortly after pouring. The roof is built onto the top of these walls in a normal manner. The insulation/vapour barrier is built in, and wall finishes are applied directly to the Styrofoam.

Two years ago, when I first started talking to building contractors, I asked their opinions about ICFs. I heard responses that discouraged me from having our house built this way. The main reason was that any alterations down the road would be extremely difficult, cutting through concrete. I also heard that the Styrofoam on the outside provides a very cozy home for all kinds of insects and critters, an assertion that the salespeople refute.

However, I was still intrigued, and have decided to have my 20’x20’ studio built in this way. It will be roofed by our kitchen garden, accessible by a walkway from the main level sundeck.

Our next door neighbour built his foundation this way, and it looks so easy, especially after viewing the instructional video.

The more time we hang around with our builders, the more I respect their skills and work habits. It’s possible they’re on their best behaviour when we’re there, but I don’t get that feeling.

Building a house presents creative challenges every hour. Ron, the head builder, has doubtless lost some sleep trying to work out how he’s going to build a roof valley or a set of stairs. He has had several suggestions about re-designing the foundation or a hallway, and they’ve all been thoughtful and practical. He thinks ahead for every little step of construction. Those are not things that even the most detailed plans can anticipate.

It was because of his advice that we now have a crawl space for our mechanical room and storage. The mezzanine was his idea, as were changing the window shape to improve the look of the view and narrowing the laundry closets to add 4” to the kitchen.

Some of his ideas have not seen the light of day, and, judging from the scrap pile, some mistakes have had to be cut away and re-built. I’ve observed a few details that aren’t exactly kosher, but I don’t know how to build. I believe the quality of construction is excellent. Occasionally I check plumb and level.

The interactions between crew appear easy, intelligent and respectful. They value each other’s abilities.

I’m glad they’re on our side.