I'm Back !!! By getting up in the middle of the night and catching the 6:30 ferry from Horseshoe Bay, I arrived on Denman Island mid-morning. The cat was so glad to get back she ran and scratched the soil first thing.
I brought back a truck load of stored items and put them in the garage. (I can't drive down there yet, so I slowly carried them down. Until I realized I was an idiot! My wheelbarrow can move 6 cubic feet of cement; it easily moved the rest of the storage boxes.) All was finished by noon.
The drywallers have been continuing while I was away. This is there fourth day of working on the "window returns". This picture tonight shows them working above the front door in the entry. In discussing the schedule with them today, their target is now the end of next week; one week longer than originally estimated.
For those of you who have asked about my mother, she is recovering well with her broken hip. Her operation was successful, re-attaching the broken bones with a metal plate. She is undergoing physiotherapy in the hospital. Astonishingly, she seems to be in less pain than before the accident. The fracture was in an area that had been previously very painful for her. And her appetite has greatly improved. Yesterday I smuggled in a Dairy Queen strawberry sundae in the evening and she finished the whole thing.
PS. On Halloween no youngsters came to the house. Apparently I should have had a pumpkin on the road, (And maybe put on some outside lights). So now I'll have to eat those chocolate bars myself. Good thing I bought my favorite kind.
November 8, Wednesday 6:30 PM
It's getting cold. Lots of frost this morning. The little electric space heater is getting a lot of use.
I spent the day in Courtenay, pursuing the activities that were postponed last week. I now have the bathroom plumbing fixtures, including toilets and sinks. The wood stove suppliers are now aware of schedule and the fittings they will need to install the stove and chimney. November 27 has been scheduled for installation of the kitchen cabinets. And I reviewed some pine planks for the main sloped ceiling, as well as good source for tiles.
Oh yes, I also got to visit the chiropractor, finally.
The drywallers said they had a good day. Most of the "window returns" have been completed. Taping and mudding is well in progress. The picture shown today was taken just before they did the window returns. It shows the front room and dining nook, and the stairs in the right hand corner. Unfortunately it also highlights the temporary scaffolding in front that will soon disappear. (Actually, it will be reincarnated into my workbench in the garage.)
There was a nice sunset tonight. Patrick (one of the drywallers) said it looked just like the provincial emblem setting behind the nearby mountain.
November 9, Thursday 10:00 PM
Oops, I understand I had the wrong calendar date on my notes yesterday. Sorry. Blame it on retirement living.
Today I spent the morning with my mason bees; opening the tubes that have been in place for two years, and cleaning the inhabitants. It was quite fascinating seeing the interior; the hibernating males and females, the occasional intruder, the balls of pollen where no egg successfully hatched. I washed them in a weak chlorine bleach solution, air dried them on newspaper, and stored them back in a paper filled container. I'll have to put the container in an insulated covering and put it in a sheltered spot over the winter.
In the afternoon I took the cat to the vet. She needs more medication, and appears to have no very close range vision. Her blood pressure was quite high, so authorized a series of blood tests. I'll get the results tomorrow. Obviously there wasn't much construction work done on my part.
Richard, (pronounced Reeshard), continued the drywalling and completed the first round of "mudding" over the taped seams. He will leave it to dry tomorrow (while he gets in his last game of golf before ski season). But on Saturday, he and Patrick will be back to continue the sanding.
The picture today shows the house at 4:15 PM, taken from the south-east. It's feeling more and more like winter is coming; the winds are blowing cold from the north. I expect a frosty morning tomorrow.
November 10, Friday 6:30 PM
A very frosty morning and a beautiful sunny day.
The windows of the house were very wet inside from the moisture of the drying mud on the seams. The drywallers did not work today while it dried, but will come tomorrow, on Saturday, to continue their work. The picture today shows the current interior; looking across the living room to the upstairs.
Marit arrived today about 2:30 for a stay of several weeks. So my morning was largely spent putting the cabin in order before she arrived. She toured the house, seeing it with interior walls for the first time. She was pleased.
Now the hard part; picking the colours! Marit has a big task ahead of her.
November 11, Saturday 6:30 PM
Remembrance Day. A somber holiday.
Although they said they would be continuing their work today, Richard and Patrick did not show up to continue the drywalling.
Marit spent many hours inside the house today with large stacks of colour samples. This is serious stuff. Some of the planning will have to wait until we've seen the tiles on Tuesday.
I spent a good portion of the day burning part of the huge brush pile that I created last May. No burning was allowed until this month, and the branches are now all very dry. The blaze would be overpowering if I ignited the entire original pile, so I've been burning the branches slowly in a barrel. (Reminds me of the picket line during the Big strike). One small side benefit; the huge pile of wood ash that can be distributed on the yard. Good fertilizer, and it'll help neutralize the very acidic soil.
Ok, so I'm grasping for optimism.
November 12, Sunday 6:30 PM
I find it surprising how dark and grey the day can be when there's a heavy overcast in November. At least there was no rain until the late afternoon.
No work on the house today. Marit has spent more time in the house with the colour chips. She's been mentally arranging the furniture, which is a daunting task. We've laid out the room on graph paper, and are cutting out furniture shapes scaled to size. The front room is not particularly big, and a post on one side of the room restricts the freedom of placement.
I've whittled the brush pile down to a small mound of twigs. The barrel was so full of ashes I could barely add branches. With this rain I'll bet I'm generating some potent lye at the bottom of the barrel.
I'm hoping the drywalling will continue tomorrow morning. That's our road block now.
Today's picture was actually taken yesterday afternoon when it was a bit brighter. Can you detect Marit in the upstairs window? Yes, I know; I'm horizontally challenged in my photography.
November 13, Monday 7:30 PM
When the heavy clouds broke, this was the view from the beach just below the house. The small boat anchored in the distance behind the rocks is an oyster skiff which belongs to the neighbour.
The drywall workers came and worked today. They expect to be finished either Saturday or next Monday.
My brush pile no longer exists, except in the form of 45 gallons of wood ash.
Tomorrow Marit and I plan to go to Courtenay and arrange for material for the interior of the house; tiles, ceiling boards, paint, etc.
It's a little tedious waiting for the walls to be finished.
November 14, Tuesday 7:30 PM
Today we went to the big city, or rather cities; Courtenay and Comox. I bought the boards for the ceiling; 1400 lineal feet of 6 inch tongue-and-groove pine. It'll be delivered tomorrow. (I'll send back some other unused lumber on the same truck for a refund).
We also found some tile suitable for the bathrooms. And we bought some tile and some cement-board for the fireplace hearth. We even stopped in and looked at some lighting fixtures at the Lite Shop.
Oh, and one more important purchase; a package of chalk to draw furniture layouts on the floor.
When we came back, a long ago ordered railing was being mounted on the second floor balcony. The picture tonight shows the installers just as they were finishing.
And the drywallers continue mudding. They'll be sanding and priming by the end of the week.
Sure is nice outside when the sun is shining.
November 15, Wednesday 6:30 PM
My god. Halfway through November already. I'm having some serious concerns about being in the new house for Christmas.
The end is in sight for the drywalling. Tomorrow they expect to have a crew of four doing the final sanding, in preparation for priming. It would be great to have this all completed by the weekend.
Comox Building Supplies rolled in this morning with the pine for our ceilings. It's in the garage; un-insulated. I'll have to get it into the heated house as soon as possible to acclimatize it; let it shrink to its expected density before nailing it in place. But I can't do that until the mess of drywall finishing is over.
The truck took back the previous surplus lumber. The grounds are now cleaner than they've been for half a year. Look at that empty space. (Soon to be mud when the rains return).
November 16, Thursday 7:00 PM
First of all, I'm sorry. No new picture. I've been preoccupied.
As the drywallers left today, they told me the heater failed to work. It's getting cold and I'd better get it fixed since they intend to prime the walls tomorrow. The heater is a heavy duty portable unit running on 220 volts. It was borrowed from the electricians.
I wasn't able to contact the electricians immediately. So I managed to rent another one from the local hardware store. Unfortunately the plugs are not compatible; and I'm a little reluctant to take the connectors apart and hard-wire the high powered units. So I'm now expecting an electrician to arrive within an hour to resolve this.
Earlier today there was a crew of four men finishing the sanding and cleanup of the drywall. They expect to finish everything tomorrow.
I was into Courtenay today. Picked up the tiles. Bought two ladders; an 8 foot step ladder and a 12 foot "orchard" ladder. Arranged some sample staining of the pine boards. And arranged for contractor pricing on paint.
So we're progressing. Now it only I could get that heater working for the drywall...
November 17, Friday 6:00 PM
We got power last night. The electrician came by a little after 8:00 PM. A wire had broken from it's attachment in the original heater and had to be repaired back "in the shop". We hard-wired the new heater directly into the wall circuit (220 volts). So it stayed toasty warm all night.
Today the crew of four worked all day applying primer to the drywall. It's a lot whiter in the house now as the picture shows. Unfortunately they were not able to complete the job before darkness set in. So it will not be completed until tomorrow.
After the work is through and accounts settled, Marit and I are going in to Courtenay to get our first supply of paint. A new adventure starts now on the inside.
November 18, Saturday 7:300 PM
The guys showed up this morning and finished priming the drywall. And I wrote another big cheque. Excellent workmanship on their part. And the walls look great.
One result that I didn't want. that I specifically stated before the job began, yet still happened; I ended up stuck with the drywall scraps and remnants. I guess I'll have to add it to the plastic soffit pieces and the cement siding ends, and truck it to the nearest dump. I hope they take gypsum board there.
After the crew left, Marit and I went to Courtenay and bought nine gallons of paint (eight different colours). When we got back it was already dark; that's why I have no new picture again today. (I really really regret that I forgot to get a picture of the crew of four. I'd like to have that for posterity).
First thing I'll have to do is a thorough cleaning of the house with an industrial vacuum cleaner. There's still a lot of drywall dust on the floor and ledges.
It'll be difficult painting in the house tomorrow. The cable TV goes only to the cabin. And the BC Lions are playing their final playoff game in the afternoon. I'm not sure where Marit's interest lays most heavily.
November 19, Sunday 7:00 PM
Today we started on the inside. Marit painted, and listened to the playoff game on the radio. The picture tonight shows the kitchen by the light of the camera flash. She thinks she chose too dark a hue, and is mentally preparing to re-paint after the cabinets are installed.
In addition to the kitchen, Marit painted the ceilings in the downstairs bathroom, guest room, and hallway.
My main task has been to clean up the dust and other residue from the drywall installation. It's a fully as slow and tedious a process as I had expected. I had a few setbacks; broken bags in the Shop Vac vacuum, and clogged filters. It was necessary to take a three hour diversion into Courtenay to buy new components.
There's a lot left for tomorrow and the following days. In fact, I'll be going out soon this evening to try and finish vacuuming the downstairs by the light of a portable halogen lantern.
Ozzie, the cat, wanted company and came down to join us in the house. She spent her time crouched in front of the portable heater that's keeping the interior warm.
November 20, Monday 8:00 PM
After a lot more vacuuming, the drywall dust is now all cleaned up. I think. I hope.
I took enough pine boards for the kitchen ceiling into the house. They have to be acclimatized to the temperature and dryness before being installed. So I stacked them with spacers between each board. Tomorrow I'll coat them with an oil finish and re-stack them.
Marit continued painting today. Her record is a perfect four for four. She hasn't liked any of the first four colours she chose for the rooms. They somehow look different when their on the walls. The picture tonight is of the downstairs bathroom. Again, it's taken by flash and not a perfect rendition of the colour. Hey, it's not easy to aim accurately when it's all dark. The composition of the large picture is slightly better.
Late in the day, preparing a base for the tile hearth, I began cutting some "wonder board" type material; (a waterproof type cement compound bound between mesh netting). It's supposed to be simple "Score and Snap". Well I scored the top with a utility knife, and snapped. Maybe some of the pieces can be salvaged. I'm obviously missing something in my technique.
November 21, Tuesday 8:00 PM
More painting today. Marit chose a new colour for the "core" of the house; the living room and dining nook, and the upstairs and downstairs hallways. A more subdued colour; sort of light grey with subtle hues.
I drove into town on the 8:40 ferry to get the paint. Also picked up some kiln dried lumber for finishing interior trimmings. (Forgot to pick up my laundry at the laundromat in my hurry to get back.)
Marit had painted the upstairs bathroom while I was away. Together we started downstairs with the new paint. I did the high parts that required a ladder. Marit worked from the floor.
In her wisdom, Marit suggested I cover the pine boards laying in the middle of the floor, with plastic tarps; just in case. I grumbled about the unnecessary nuisance. But who spilled part of a trayful of paint off a ladder onto the tarp? Not Marit.
The picture today shows the first coat applied in the dining nook. It doesn't show the picturesque trail of cat tracks of the same colour on the floor. Our cat, Ozzy, blindly walked through a tray of paint I left sitting on the floor
November 22, Wednesday 5:30 PM
Marit just left for the condominium in Coquitlam. But she'll be back again this weekend. Before she left, she painted all the rest of the hallway and living room halls for at least the first coat. A couple walls have their second coat.
I had to make a quick run into town this morning for even more of that light grey paint, (as well as retrieving my laundry) and other chores.
When I got back I pre-painted all the pine boards we intend to use for the kitchen ceiling. I'm using Varathane Natural Oil, the same product I put on the fir pillars. It leaves the wood porous, so I may have to apply a clear sealer in the future. Any comments or suggestions? As the picture shows, the boards are stacked on the floor, with plastic spacers between each plank. I hope to start putting them up tomorrow.
Jim Mathew, the designer, stopped by today to discuss methods I could use to avoid the extra material under the hearth tiles. I'm going to try additional bracing between the joists directly under the hearth area in the crawl space. This will minimize the chance of tiles "popping" loose from floor movement, and avoid causing a rise in floor level that could cause difficulties in walking.
And the cat completely avoided the house. I guess the paint on her paws didn't taste too great when she cleaned them off.
November 23, Thursday 9:30 PM
Finally some rain last night, heavy rain. But it was all over by morning and the forecast storm for today never materialized.
Wes is back to help with the interior carpentry. Today we've been putting up the ceiling in the kitchen; tongue and groove pine. The picture today shows our results at the end of the day, (taken by flash again). We'll finish the kitchen tomorrow. But there's lots of ceiling yet to be boarded with pine. And most of it on higher ceilings.
When the day was through I felt a compulsion to clean up all the sawdust and other mess strewn about the floors. I actually vacuum cleaned the lower floors by the light of portable halogen lamp.
What's happening to me?
November 24, Friday 5:00 PM
Today we finished the kitchen ceiling. The photo today is taken from the dining nook into the kitchen. In the upper left corner some fiberglass insulation is showing from the unfinished ceiling in the living room.
Wes left shortly after 2:00 this afternoon to complete another job he has underway. He won't be back until probably Thursday. That'll give us time to complete a lot of the downstairs painting, as well as prime and prepare the rest of the ceiling boards.
Incidentally, the house is clean again this evening of all the sawdust and drywall dust. I'm becoming compulsive.
Marit will be coming back up tomorrow evening. Hopefully she'll just miss the big storm that the weather site forecasts for tonight and tomorrow. It has warnings in big bold letters; heavy rain and winds are imminent!
November 25, Saturday 6:00 PM
Painting all day. It's a slow process painting the window returns when you're hanging 15 feet off a ladder. But all the living room, dining room and hallways are now done, for the first coat at least. And a lot of it has the second coat applied. I'll finish the second coat on everything of that colour tomorrow (Unless I can convince Marit that we should watch the Gray Cup game on TV). Then new colours and new rooms.
The storm last night was as windy as forecast, but the rain wasn't too heavy. I think we're exporting our rain to Norway. This has been a very dry November here.
Marit should be arriving soon. Perhaps as early as half an hour from now depending on which ferry she took. The cat will be glad; she's been a little neglected lately.
November 26, Sunday 7:00 PM
Well, here's the start of the day as it appeared from the door of our cabin. But instead of signifying the end of the rain, the rainbow introduced a series of showers.
Rain doesn't matter when we're working indoors. Once again, Marit and I painted all day. It seems like a never ending task. I think something is wrong with my technique; I can't use a paint roller without becoming completely spattered with small paint droplets, hands and face.
In the afternoon, I took all the rest of the pine boards from the garage into the house. They need to be acclimatized before being placed on the rest of the ceiling. And over the next couple of days, I'll paint them with a coat of Varathane Natural Oil.
Thank goodness it gets dark so early now. We were "forced" to quit working in time to see the last half of the Grey Cup game. Congratulation to the BC Lions; the Grey Cup champions.
Now that the day is over, the skies have cleared. The stars really show clearly here since there's no street lights to pollute the night sky.
November 27, Monday 7:00 PM
Marit has been busy continuing with more painting. Here's the colour of choice in an upstairs bedroom. Bold and distinctive! Yes, the closet does look a little strange. The floor of the storage area behind the room is two feet higher; a special enclosure over the garage.
I wasted part of the morning. Marit wanted the snow tires put on the car, and a slow leak in one tire fixed. So I went into Courtenay to a tire shop. (The slow leak was caused by a nail. I guess I haven't been neat enough in the surrounding area.) I also stocked up on essential groceries, like bags and bags of microwave popcorn.
When I got back, I found a truck from Comox Lumber stuck in the yard. They had brought more pine boards for the ceiling. We had to throw a wheelbarrow full of sand under his wheels to get traction on our mud covered yard.
For the rest of the day I was painting an oil coat on more pine ceiling boards. But I forgot to open some doors and spent the afternoon inhaling the oil based fumes; sort of like glue sniffing. Whee! I've got to go painting more boards...lots of boards...right now!
Actually, I haven't even done half of the boards yet. There's still a full days work yet.
Tomorrow is a big day. We're expecting the kitchen cabinets to arrive and be installed. The interior doors are also expected to arrive. We should have lots of stuck trucks in the yard.
And unfortunately, Marit has to go back in the afternoon for a few days.
November 28, Tuesday 7:00 PM
Quite a day. The cabinets have arrived for the kitchen and the bathrooms. I intended to show a picture of them, but the installer is still working on them and it's rather cluttered. Instead I'll show a corner of the master bedroom that Marit painted before she left today. How's that for a soothing relaxing colour? (I can't understand the picture quality. The lens is clean, Seems to be a reflection caused by the flash).
We're really pleased with the cabinets; a very nice "birds eye" maple. And the installer asked me to pass on his compliments to the builders. They did an excellent job. It's not often that he finds the walls and floors so accurately straight and square. Wes will be pleased. I'm pleased!
The interior doors arrived too. I had them stored in the garage, as there was no convenient room currently in the house.
With all the activity of the cabinet installation, I wasn't able to proceed with applying a coat of oil to the rest of the ceiling boards. I'll do that tomorrow. I managed to paint one closet late in the afternoon, but I had to squeeze the can intensely to get out enough paint to finish the job. If it needs touch-up; too bad.
Marit left on the 2:40 ferry. She'll probably be back this weekend.
Tomorrow I'll try to get a good shot of the kitchen in its new furnished state. Check it out then.
November 29, Wednesday 7:00 PM
The weather today was just what November is supposed to be like in this part of the country; cool, grey, and steady rain. Great!
Fortunately most of my work is indoors. The mess from the cabinet installation was cleaned up this morning. And I completed painting all the rest of the pine boards for the ceiling with Varathane Natural Oil. (First coat anyway).
I had planned on the builder being back tomorrow to continue putting pine boards on the ceiling. But he won't be free from another commitment for one more day. So Wes and I won't work on the ceiling until Friday. I'll take the opportunity to put a second coat of oil on the planks.
The picture today is one view of the kitchen cabinets that were installed yesterday. Very nice, aren't they.
An old friend, Mel Brown, came over on the island to visit this morning. It was great to see him again. Just as he was leaving, another visitor came; the property assessor. He wanted to assess the house for next years taxes. Since the house isn't finished, I'll get a bit of a break. It will only be assessed to the lock-up stage.
More rain, and some good winds expected tomorrow. In fact, winds of hurricane force are expected on other parts of Vancouver Island. Not here though. I hope.
November 30, Friday 6:00 PM
The end of the month already! Suddenly Christmas is imminent. Can I possibly be ready enough to move in by then?
Here's another view of our new kitchen. I'll have to put in the floor soon so we can get the appliances in place. But there's a couple of tasks that take priority, such as the ceiling and the stove hearth.
Wes should be back tomorrow, I hope, to continue putting the ceiling in the living room. I've spent today painting the second coat of oil finish on the boards. So it should be a good looking ceiling.
I glanced out the kitchen window mid-afternoon and saw several large pheasants scratching among the seaweed in my tiny garden; one male and two hens. They looked very plump.
And the weather forecast has altered their wind warning to include the east coast of Vancouver Island; and that includes this area. So I'd better finish and download this update before there's a power outage.
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