So what happened? Where have we been? Having a baby and working on finishing our house! on August 28th, 2008, 8:35am, Isobel Rayne Collier was born weighing 6lb14oz and was 21″ long. The birth took over 30 hours and I have never been more impressed with my wife’s strength and courage.

Izzy has been home with us now for a month and her and mom are doing very well, she is gaining weight and getting stronger everyday, I don’t doubt she’ll be walking soon! For those who know us and are looking for photos, go see Laine’s facebook page, she does a photo of the day, usually involving Izzy in some way.

On the house front, yesterday I finished the window trims on the outside of the house and the last bit of stucco touch-ups. We decided to go with lime/sand stucco for a finish coat after the clay stucco finish coat failed twice in rainstorms in August. Live and learn I guess. It is a lot more durable but a lot more hazardous as Laine’s mom found out when she got some in her eye and burned her cornea. She recovered with no apparent lasting damage thankfully, but we now treat it with a lot more respect and caution. Read the rest of this entry »

One of the things we noticed when we plugged in our new chest fridge was the amount of condensation we were getting inside the fridge and how useless the little drain hole in the bottom was. To be fair it IS supposed to be only for draining water when defrosting…

It got so bad that we were actually getting a little bit of rust forming at the seams inside the compartment! Needless to say this wasn’t a very healthy turn of events for either us (possible mold) or the fridge (rust).

I got to looking around the internet and turned to the home brew forums to see what the kegerator guys who led me to the Brewer’s Edge controller had done for their keg chest fridge’s when condensation happened. Many said you would have to wipe the inside down and eventually replace the appliance when rust ate through the coolant tubes, but others said they had good luck with a product called Damprid that sucked moisture out of the air. Exploring further it turned out that Damprid is merely calcium chloride which is used for road salts in some places and for chlorine free pool treatment as well and can be had at much lower prices in large quantities than you pay for the name brand products.

I went out to Home Depot and found a 1KG bag for $6 and made a holder out of two ice cream buckets inside each pother with holes in the bottom of the top one to let the brine that develops when the calcium chloride absorbs moisture drain into the lower bucket. Within a few days of putting it into the fridge the beads of moisture that coated the inside of the fridge were gone and all surfaces were bone dry!
It seems there are many lessons to learn from those inventive home brewers!

(cross-posted at greenspree.ca)

Well we bought a chest freezer about a month ago to test out our idea of converting one into a fridge via a temperature controller. We bought a 10cf model that we will be using as an actual deep freeze when we move in for testing so that if we decide to go a different route we can still use the freezer. The actual freezer we will buy for our fridge will be more likely a 12-15cf model.

I put an energy meter on the freezer yesterday to see what kind of energy usage we were at and over a hot 24 hour period with a relatively empty fridge we came up with 0.25KW/H. That equals 91 KW/H per year! I think it could be lessened by the fact that the wire for the temp sensor is just run in under the lid causes a small air leak.

It definitely firms our resolve that a chest fridge is the way to go!

The stucco is taking much longer than anticipated, the weather in May and June being so dismal being part of the problem and just the shear amount of work to do on the stucco. We’ve had some great help the past few weekends from great friends and family though and are making headway! We’ve started work on the finish coat this past week and got a good start on the north wall. After troweling it on you sponge it to seal the surface and heal any drying cracks. It turns out looking fantastic and looks just like adobe. (gallery below the fold)

Finish Coat Fun Times Bucket Man

New Recruits New Recruits New Recruits

Shade Mixing Finish Coat

Layers Hanging Out Old and New

More Infill Quick Drying Smooth Corner

It’s been a long time coming with the next step in our house building but this weekend we finally tackled drywall! We got most of the second floor finished with the help of my Dad and friend Phil who brought along his drywall gun. It sure made a difference and was much easier to use than my cordless drill/driver.

The drywall going up is one of those magical stages in construction that totally changes the character of a house. Rooms get closed off and start to feel like the spaces they will become. The house gets easier to envision with life and people inside it and you feel a lot closer to being done finally!

We should be able to finish most of the drywall evenings this week except for a few areas where the electricien didn’t put boxes in yet.

Phil and I put up the first sheet, Laine decided to focus on our butts instead of the drywall…

Dad and Phil continue with drywall as I finish up some last minute framing.

The all the drywall is done on the second floor except the inside of the bathroom and a small piece or two around electrical and plumbing rough-ins.

Dad and I check the pocket door framing for rigidity…

The window in our bedroom is framed perfectly by the doorway!

A bit of the drywall we got done on the first floor and probably the only full, unmodified sheet that will be put up!

The other bit we got done on the first floor, in the kitchen next to the door into the utility room.

Laine at the end of a hard working weekend!

I figure it’s time for a status update on the straw bale home. It’s been a slow 3 or 4 months since the snow started back in November, other than the interior walls, the plumbing and electrical rough-ins and a few small items we haven’t done much on the house. A few weeks ago we had the main ventilation shaft and fan installed and will now be able to go ahead with insulating the attic! We ordered the wood for the second story ceiling and the danish oil finish for it.

Two weeks ago we spent the long weekend cleaning my father-in-law’s shop and laying out and pre-finishing the wood for the ceiling. The danish oil was a labour intensive finish for 2400lnft of 1×5 t&g pine but it was fantastic to be able to use this non toxic finish without wearing masks.

We also completed a last few niggling attic chores like vents for the bathroom fan, dryer and fresh air intakes. We’ve also finished 85% of the cedar soffit which looks (and smells) great! As soon as the weather turns, which doesn’t appear to be happening anytime soon, we can get back to stuccoing inside and out. Actually, as soon as the attic gets insulated so we can control the temperature in the house we could start doing some stucco inside as well.

This past weekend we finished vapour barrier and started installing the the prefinished pine ceiling panelling. It looks great and is a breeze to install with my father-in-law’s compressor and air nailer. Still my shoulders are a little stiff from having my arms above my head for two full days. By this weekend we hope to have the ceiling paneled and ready for blown-in insulation. (photos to follow)

Look! a water tank and electrical panel! We had the mechanical and electrical (M & E) rough-in work started in December. The tiny “utility room” got tinier with the addition of actual equipment.

A look from the utility room into the future kitchen. Note the plumbing and wiring in the ceiling! The bathroom is just above the kitchen and we are going to install a drop ceiling in this area. Also note the exterior steel insulated door leaning up against the wall in the background, this is the back door out to the yard waiting to be installed.

A view of the other side of the utility room and the manifold of arm circulation pipes and the main drain line for the bathroom where our drainwater heat recovery unit will be installed.

Our porch with the entry door installed and one of the two cast iron bathtubs we bought. This one had feet and nice trim on the drain and overflow that we are going to transfer to the bigger tub we bought. Rosie is checking it out!

Scaffolding in the stairwell opening, we needed it for putting up tyvek at the top of the spaces between the roof trusses to maintain an air space above the insulation we will be blowing in.

A view of our wood stove and towards the porch/entry from the living/dining area.

A view of the kitchen area from the living/dining area.

The straw around the window and door openings are trimmed and laced with baler twine to give a smooth rounded appearance.

You can see the window seat build-out and the electrical chase at the base of the straw bale wall in this photo.

A view into the second floor lounge/living area from the scaffolding in the stairwell opening. The south side of the main and second floors are both open concept to let as much light in to the building as possible.

The old cast iron tub we are going to install in the bathroom.

A view into the bathroom, the tub will sit along the wall the window is on.

The stairwell opening again, the bedroom is through the doorway on the left.

Inside the bedroom, the walk in closet is on the right and the doorway back into the lounge on the left.

Inside the bedroom looking the opposite direction towards the exterior wall.

Inside the bedroom looking at the door at the center with the interior window frame overlooking the stairwell opening and letting in south light on the left.

The Schluter shower stall base, modified to have a curved corner, the section at the curve will be tiled wall, the sections on either side will be glass panels and a door.

Top of the curved shower wall from inside the stall, tricky measuring and implementation, note the black plastic vent hidden in the wall.

Bottom of the curved wall from inside the shower stall.
The curved shower wall from outside, the door into the shower will be on the left.

Another shot of the dirty old tub!

Tyvek insulation stops, used to maintain an air space above the insulation we will be blowing in.

Looking down to the second floor from the stairwell opening.

(cross-posted at www.greenspree.ca )

It’s been a while since we updated with some photos so here we go. Later this week we’ll upload some photos of the M&E rough-in’s so far and some more interior work that has been done. Winter, the holidays, a new job, and finding out we are expecting has caused a bit of a slow down in work on the Shire Home, but we hope to get back on track soon!

Before rough backfilling could begin around the house conduit had to be laid to run the underground power into the house. Because of the overhang and supporting post footings this had to be dug by hand. A 20 foot trench three feet deep doesn’t sound that bad till you have to dig it yourself

Here the dozer is spreading out loads of fill over our septic field. Instead of hauling in loads of fill from elsewhere we got it from my wife’s sister’s lot next door where they were wanting to dig a pond! It saved us money on fill and they got the pond they wanted for free!

More fill dumped and ready to spread out around the house. Note the 24” apron of insulation at the base of the floating slab, this will prevent frost from getting under the slab and heaving it.

After the fill has been spread and sloped away from the house! We stockpiled some topsoil for spring next year to spread out over this and support some grass next year. Note too that the 24” of gray parging covered insulation is nearly covered, this also provides some frost protection.

A few days after having the rough grading done around the house we had a wind and rain storm, winds reached 130kph at some points in the Maritimes and was strong enough at our house to blow scaffolding over! Thankfully it didn’t damage anything and wasn’t to hard to straighten.

You can see here that it didn’t blow over completely and myself and my brother-in-law had little problem pushing it back into position.

Putting in the chimney was a snap till we tried to get it through the too snug flashing we had made up for the steel roofing.

Many attempts, shims, screwdrivers, jimmy’s and whatnot later we finally got the flue set properly!

Finally success and the “Unicorn” stove is lit!

Soffit installation at dusk in the cold…. Brrr!

Framing the window next to the future door.

Putting in the stops for the glazing unit to be installed next to the entry door. This was one of the glazing units that was salvaged from a local jobsite and featured triple pane, 2 layer low-e and argon gas! very beefy and efficient!

Straw finished off with a nice radius and openings ready for the small 12″x12″ glazing unit samples we installed on the north face of the building.

Exterior trims/glazing stops made of cedar where exposed and spruce where covered with metal flashings.

Finished glazing units in the kitchen. These fixed units will let in light under the upper cupboards and be super efficient.

Upstairs bedroom walls framed in. A 45 degree wall with a sloped ceiling makes for some tricky cuts on the stud tops. Note the interior window framed in the bedroom wall next to the stairwell opening. This will allow more natural light from the south windows into the bedroom.

Another view of the upstairs framing, this one including the laundry/linen closet between the bedroom and bathroom. The area the picture was taken from is an open living area with southern exposure.

The view down our stairwell opening. The stairs will be built of the same rough sawn 4×8’s the floor is made of along with 2×12 preiumium white fir.

Looking up from the first floor of the stairwell opening. Note the ultra cool exposed 4×8 floor framing!

Looking into the framed in porch with the new strand board temporary door.

(cross-posted at www.greenspree.ca)

Time for an update on the house! “Step Five - Stucco” has been started but put on hold! We got caught by the cold and snowy weather and the fact that we were relying on hoses run from my sister-in-laws house for water to make the stucco and only managed to get two walls covered with the discovery coat. We tarped the exterior as well as we could and are going to concentrate on interior work for the time being.

Speaking of interior work, here is what we have gotten done since the last update on stucco. We bought and installed a second hand wood stove (yay heat!). The stove is a Lakewood “Unicorn” model that was produced in New Brunswick. It’s called the “unicorn” model because the cast iron doors on the front of it have unicorns cast into it. It’s a catalytic stove and there is next to no info on it on the web. We are learning it’s quirks and are grateful for the amount of heat it gives of and the blower that came with it that circulates the heat nicely.

To keep that heat in we had to install the remaining windows and tried to complete the soffits. We only had one soffit complete and have been snowed or winded out of returning to the scaffolding to finish it. So we stopped up any gaps in the roof with fibreglass batts and hoped for the best. It seems to be working pretty good so far unless there are really high winds.

We also have completed 99% of the interior partition work with just a few chases and closet walls to finish. Having walls has transformed the place into a building that feels like a home not a barn! The sloped ceilings on the second floor made framing a little more time consuming and finicky but we think we did a pretty good job. It also illuminated some technical issues like where and how to route the ventilation shaft and how much room we have or haven’t got.

This week the plumbers and electricians were in and did their rough-ins. We only had to get the electricians to move a few things and that was mostly my fault. Lighting choices and light and switch locations were a stressful and sometimes frustrating chore this week as was getting certain things built and or rebuilt to accommodate changes and oversights for the workers. We had a few late nights this week followed by early mornings as we tried to get work done around our full time jobs.

We have some little visitors in our house too! We have trapped 5 mice so far and I know there are more! The warmth and ample food (leftover grains and oats in the bales) have made our house irresistible to them! We are adopting two kittens from a friend and are thinking about moving them into the house once the attic in insulated and the house is warmer on more consistent basis so they can help with mousing!

Over the next month we hope to get the ventilation work done, insulate the attic and finish the soffits, get the well pump installed and the main power feed hooked up. We are also expecting our exterior doors at the beginning of January. Lots more work to do but some real progress this week!

(cross-posted at www.greenspree.ca)

So living in the country with dial up and spending all you free time working on a house leaves little time for editing, resizing and uploading photos to your blog. I haven’t been updating the site with photos nearly enough and most likely they will all come in big waves like this! We are not as close to be done on the exterior as I would like but we are looking to get a stove in ASAP and some insulated tarps and get the stucco done. Here’s a pictorial of what we have been up to:

Laine unloading the first load of straw. (September 22)

Dad and Laine unloading straw.

The straw is loaded on the second floor and tarped so no wind driven rain can get at it.

Figuring out how to resize bales and tie baling twine tight enough to hold the bale together. (October 6)

Mom and Robyn precutting twine for the lengths we needed.

Dad and I using grinders with brush attachments to cut the notches for the framing into the bales.

First few bales are installed.

Keith tying in bales, his hay fever forced him to stay away from the rest of the bale work.

Hmmmm… How do I get this in around this stud??

Lisa pushing a bale into place.

Devon and Marla working on more bale retying.

The tired team at the end of the first day! Rosie’s ears are huge!

Bale raising day 2 and Laine is installing mesh to hold in loose straw at the second story electrical chase. (October 7)

Lots of work left to do!

Mom installs some resized bales above the windows.

Silva and Neb tie in bales on the second floor.

Thea’s impressed and ready to work!

Rowan gets in on he action, working hard!

Laine persuades a stubborn bale into place!

Robyn poses for the camera, Thea pretends she surfing….

Day 3 and we’re making progress, the north side is pretty much done. (October

The south side is close to being done.

East side; the first window is installed! (October 13)

Everyone wants a photo of laine screening horse manure! (October 14)

Debbie spreads the adhesion coat on the wood surfaces. A mixture of flour paste, sand and horse manure. It sounds nasty but it gives the stucco something to key onto! (October 16)

The slip is sprayed onto the walls with our homemade sprayer. (October 19)

Clogs led us to installing a piece of mesh in the hopper to screen out any lumps.

Muddy boots! (October 21)

The stucco mixing pit is set up! (October 27)

Mixing the first batch. We mixed way too much and since reduced our batches by 75% making mixing bearable…

The first of the discovery coat is applied tot he east wall!

Working our way up!

End of first day of stuccoing.

Rosie helps make a new batch (October 28)

East wall is completed and dried a few days. (November 1)

(cross-posted at www.greenspree.ca)