It Has Windows

A nice way to start a new week... with 19 of the 20 windows installed while we waited for the mist to lift on our shingling delay. Also, got the worst half of the DWV plumbing done.

Tomorrow, on to shingling, more plumbing and prepping the basement for concrete.

Gotta move, fall is blowing down the ridge from the north.

Happy 8th anniversary, my love.

Reminded of our Wedding Year

September 28th, 2001. A glorious Friday in fall. The temperatures hit 28º and, between noon and 4 p.m., we had a memorable wedding and reception. We left the following morning on a two-week motorcycle camping honeymoon, with the destination being Moab, Utah. For those of you not immediately conversant with Biblical allusions, Ruth married a Moabite, so I took my Ruth home for her honeymoon.

Anyway, our neighbour, Ian Soroka, stopped by last evening to say they'd never had this kind of September until we decided to build and shingle our home. We have been blessed with phenomenal weather throughout this build, the record-setting moisture in Manitoba for the past umpteen months notwithstanding.

All of us on the construction crew have been grateful for the benevolent weather, but frustrated by our rate of progress. Seems the owner keeps adding "little" changes that add a day here or there. For example, everyone has been aware of our intention to install a woodstove, but today was the day to incorporate that intention into the actual structure. Delaeno, having intended to shingle the great room today, spent it building a chimney box instead, while Davis continued the arduous task of shingling the 9/12 pitch roof of the garage.

I, on the other hand, spent most of the morning chasing ghosts. First, I arrived at our HVAC supplier's offices around 7:40 for a 7:30 meeting. Unfortunately, I was early. At about 8:25 the manager found my file, we sorted out options, I left a deposit, and departed just before 9 a.m. A 30 minute stop at Rona managed to generate the paperwork necessary to purchase two bundles of reject shingles for "starters" on Ruth's Ridge. I finally got to the house around 10:25, well over 90 minutes after I'd expected to arrive and carry on with the plumbing project.

By day's end, we had a chimney chase constructed and I'd managed to drill most of a vent pipe hole through a floor plate/sub-floor and two LVLs laminated together.

Tomorrow, I'll drive to Winkler; have breakfast with the folks; pick up the garage doors/openers/cladding and, maybe, chimney covering; drive to Ruth's Ridge; unload; clean up the site; do some plumbing; go home to have an anniversary celebration with Ruth; miss church; go to Ruth's Ridge to do more plumbing.

We've called for inspection of a number of things on Tuesday and, as of Wednesday, we want DND to be installing doors & windows. I'll continue with plumbing through Tuesday, then switch immediately to electrical when that's done.

I leave me breathless. Oh, the joys of C.I. ( conscious incompetence).

For those of you who are text-allergic, here are the most recent images:

Alas, I Must Report that Clearwater Colon is No More

On our first drive out to Ruth's Ridge as a construction crew of four, Nathan hooted as he pointed out a sign just south of Road 85N. Set just outside the trees next to a driveway was a large white sign which, in bold black letters, declaimed the locale of "CLEARWATER COLON FARMS."

For nine weeks we have watched the last bit of the errant, drooping, hardly-there Y come completely unglued and finally disappear. Apparently, the Hutterite colony of the above truncated name decided enough entropy had occurred and, today, as I drove back to Winnipeg for a few errant plumbing bits, there were a few of the men of the colony and the signpainter admiring a colourful, newly-installed diarama of pastoral bliss ala Clearwater.

And we never got a picture of the old sign. Pity.

Into Every Week, a Little Rain...

We simply cannot complain about the rain's ill effects on our build schedule, given how much has fallen in Manitoba and out here on the asteroid this summer. About half of Monday's schedule, however, was slowed or altered due to a really solid four hours of rain.

As it happened, I wasn't on-site to be beleaguered by the deluge, although I got a decent soaking while loading the car with plumbing supplies at Home Depot. I drove Nathan and the lunch bucket up to the site first thing in the morning, helped get things set up for D 'n D's arrival from Morden, then headed back to Winnipeg to summarize the plumbing shopping list, do the buy, then wait for Dave Raynor's visit to discuss the woodstove installation. Another fine set of options to sort our way through, but Dave is the go-to guy for stove and fireplace installs. When his crew installed a gas fireplace insert at our Westgate home, he phoned to say they would be arriving on time, swept into the house with drop-cloths rolling out ahead of them, then vanished in less than three hours leaving only a fire burning in the hearth and no other sign that they'd been there.

Anyway, it looks like we'll have to move one great room roof truss to accommodate the fireplace, plus build a chimney box to enhance the aesthetic of the finished job. It will be worth it. Ruth's Kijiji find was a 1977 Vermont Castings Vigilant woodstove, I believe the first year they were manufactured. Patrick Nelson's father, a professor of architecture at the U. of Manitoba ordered it and kept it very well, until Patrick decided it needed to go to make way for home updates. It will now have a fine home in the middle of treeline and keep us warm through these nasty asteroid winters we experience up here, north of Manitoba.

With the meeting concluded, I headed back up to Ruth's Ridge with the plumbing supplies and to bring the fellows back to Winnipeg. As of Monday evening, the roof sheathing had been completed and all the interior walls had been framed up. On to the shingling.

And shingle DND did today. By evening, the workshop was done, and the valleys rising into the garage ceiling were complete. Davis got close to finishing the loft roof as well.

I, on the other hand, tried to immerse myself in plumbing the basement and main drain. And, no, Rick, while I may sound calm and organized, the veil is pretty thin. After a couple of panic attacks, I did manage to settle in a get a fair start on the planning and initial cutting & gluing. I think tomorrow will fare better now that I'm reacquainting myself with the process.

I had another neighbour drop by today; Jim Millar lives 1.5 miles east of us but says he doesn't often head west on Road 88N. Today he did and, having an interest in things architectural (among many others), he stopped in to introduce himself and have a look around. It was heartening – in the face of ABS challenges lurking in the basement – to receive his commendation of our project. It was doubly interesting to find that he grew up three doors south of our home on Niagara St. Then, too, he's known Jim & Johanna for many years, as Johanna used to board her horses at his farm.

After lunch, Davis, Delaeno & I spent a couple of minutes reviewing the timeline – and it appears we may be able to be ready for drywall taping and plastering around the end of October – and broaching the issue of how to mange the last two weeks when Ruth & I can no longer offer meals and accommodation at Niagara St. More on this to follow.

Then, at 3:15, Davis called down to say I had more visitors. Turns out they were more interested in the Bros. Rempel, given that Dorothy & Norman are their parents. No one knew they were coming or that homemade chocolate chip cookies and coffee would accompany them. I've heard much from Delaeno & Nathan about their father's building skills and achievements and, although I heard very little about our project from him (it's likely he saves his comments for his jobsites), I sensed that he appreciated the quality of the work that DND have put into Ruth's Ridge .

For a change, I was very sorry to hear that the fellows were ready to call it a day at 6 p.m. I very much wanted to stay and keep playing with the plumbing puzzle. Feeling the pressure as we begin to lose the heat.

End of Week 9

A half day today, with dental visits and weddings commanding the afternoon.

Yesterday, Delaeno finally broke the roof truss juggernaut, with truss erection having begun on September 1st.

Coincidentally, Davis working alone, shingled half the second-storey roof yesterday afternoon and this morning.

I began to reacquaint myself with my plumbing plan yesterday. I've found it really challenging to think it three dimensions while, simultaneously, trying to hold in mind all the constraints regarding pipe run limits, acceptable joins, etc. Actually standing in the space made the process very considerably more straight-forward and understandable. This morning I laid out the connectors and pipe for the main drain lines that will be buried under the basement floor. Tomorrow, having exchanged a few pieces, I'll head back to the site, delineate the footprint for a future potential basement washroom, then position the basement DWV (drain, waste-water, vent) and confirm that stacks from the upper floors will "marry" readily with it, before gluing the joints.

This morning, Delaeno & Nathan got to work on the loft's interior walls, then moved on the prepare the plates for the mudroom walls which, along with the kitchen wall, should go up on Monday.

Then, back to Winnipeg for more packing and change of address stuff.

Yesterday, while Davis was shingling the loft roof, he took a few photos of the view. Here's what he saw:

Sometimes it seems things aren't moving quickly enough – particularly as we are now less than four weeks from departing Niagara St. I can't fault DND's efforts, which have been outstanding, both in quality and volume. Then I look at the picture of the site as of July 20th, and the most recent shot of what stands on that once vacant ridge today. This project is moving along very well. We'll have a new home as soon as it's ready.

Doctor, I Have Shingles

Another watershed moment. Well, it will be once the 162 bundles of shingles have been applied to the roof.

Yesterday all the interior braces came down after enough of the great room roof sheathing had been applied. Today, while Delaeno & Nathan worked on tuning the mudroom roof trusses and Davis finished up sheathing the garage and installing the basement window wells, I played char-man by tossing all debris out of the house, organizing the remaining materials and sweeping the floors. In true shlepper spirit, I then cleared all of the exterior debris in anticipation of the shingle delivery and George Taplin's return to do a little more backfiling. Finally, I moved all of the studs for the loft interior walls up to that level, then finished up the master bedroom wall framing.

DND completed the mudroom sheathing and moved on to the last challenge, the kitchen trusses.

Hear no evil, see no evil, do no evil... all sitting down – up – on the job.

The arrival of the shingles signals an immanent move for me from carpentry to electrical and plumbing where, for better or worse, I'll be captain of the ship. Sink or swim time.

A Subterranean & Superstructure Day

Just a quick update this evening... the day's efforts and the warm temperatures have drained my batteries.

A fortuitous call from George Taplin last evening to say they'd be up today to install the septic tank. An unfortunate call from Davis this morning to say that some bad food on Sunday had him playing Pong between his bed and the washroom.

The morning was glorious, though, as the sun filtered through early morning fog. After tidying the site, I started in on the master bedroom interior walls which, of course, prompted the Taplins' arrival. Unfortunately, the utility pump that has been at work in the sump pit for the past few weeks had partially clogged over the weekend, so we set to work draining the basement swamp with the gas-powered trash pump.

Meanwhile Delaeno & Nathan got to work on sheathing the great room and tweaking the trusses as they worked their way around.

By 6:30, the Taplins (with the help of their new hire, Phil) had also trenched about half of the septic line out to the field, the Bros. Rempel had largely completed the sheathing – and finally debugged all the trusses, and I had managed to frame up half of the MBR walls.

Another magnificent four days are forecast for our build site.

Another Day of Summer

Dear Ridge Riders

The things I often forget to do or note. For example, I got no pictures of Ruth wearing my Stihl hardhat while mowing the ridge on her first ever use of the JD hydrostatic tractor. Or the last, long overdue dinner on Niagara with dear friends, Geoff & Barb. I forgot to mention that Cole and his girlfriend, Sarah, stopped by on Sunday. I also forgot to photograph them. A mind of single and boring focus is a terrible thing. There's so much more I would like to – should – comment on, but the level of physical fatigue is mostly overwhelming, and the urge to luxuriate in lactic acid overdose will not be denied. So, the proverbial flying joy is not shared as much as one might wish.

We were back to a full complement of workers up on Ruth's Ridge today. Given the uncertainty of the weather forecast for yesterday (Tuesday), Davis & Delaeno did a careful review of the work potential before setting out from Morden. As it was, we again received only a fraction of the forecast 15-20 mm of rain, all of which fell between 9 and 11 a.m.

D 'n D worked on the verandah lintels and posts, leaving me free to do more clean-up in the trees. I felled another three trees in the garage entry area, then sawed all of the ten or so felled trees to manageable lengths. Then we got to head home to a delicious mixed grille prepared by Ruth for us "woikers" and Claire, and Allison & Pete (with grand-daughter, Kate) just returned from holidays in Nova Scotia.

Today (Wednesday) the skies were again clear, with the temperatures around 13 degrees C. We started the day by weaving a maze of sticks above the great room. This task, perhaps the most complex to date, again required all of us. For a change, your humble blogger was the one perched at the top of the barely-secured trusses. I think Delaeno managed to capture a few photos of my terrified visage as I clung to the trusses with five appendages and hammered nails with my hardhat.

The Bros. Rempel got to work on the verandah trusses, while Davis & I, with Nathan's help, got 30 sheets of OSB up onto the loft floor in preparation for sheathing the roof. Then the white hairless monkeys ascended again into the loft canopy where we managed, by closing time, to have the north half of the loft roof sheathed, the sub-fascia attached on the north and west, and most of the west hip roof covered. Meanwhile Delaeno & Nathan had completed the majority of the verandah truss puzzle.

A wonderful, productive day. To add sweetness to it all, Manitoba Public Insurance called today to offer a generous settlement on the utility trailer that was stolen from our back lane in Winnipeg at the end of July.

The one bittersweet note was the death of our nearly 17 year-old Yorkshire Terrier, Judee, this afternoon. Judee was Allison's 12th birthday present 17 years ago this coming November. She fit into a teacup when she was brought home. I'd come to refer to her as the canine incarnation of the fabled Phoenix: she had been on death's doorstep more often than the number of her years, yet she continued – until this weekend – to bark her enthusiasm for a meal or a walk, and to demand the attention due a grand dame such as herself.

Over the past few years, in addition to encounters with German Shepherds, Rottweilers, a pair of adolescent skunks (I smell a pun there), deafness, blindness, arrhythmia, kidney failure, UTIs, tumours, loss of all but seven teeth, severe arthritis and God only knows what else, she continued to live with fierce determination and indomitable spirit. This weekend, looking rather unsteady on her feet, she exited a most unwelcome bath on Friday and immediately began a wild bark-fest when she sensed a walk was immanent. Back legs flailing wildly and unsteadily, she led the charge down Niagara toward Wellington Crescent. She actually did a block before sideline smells caused her to be swept up in Ruth's arms. On Sunday, the rapid and final slide began. By Tuesday morning around 4 a.m., it seemed she might not make it to daylight, as Ruth held Judee to her chest. But, true to her character, she rallied a little on Tuesday – just to make Ruth & I liars again. This morning, though, it was clear that her spirit could not fend off all the ills that had befallen her.

Ruth took her for one last walk to our vet's clinic, where she was ushered into that grand and limitless woolen mill in the sky, forever to chase and capture the rats that had escaped her in this life. Way to go "The Dude," Lil Dude, Dudilicious, Dudders. Love you, Ruth.

Ah, Labournaught Day

It's been a few days of inactivity on the blog front, although there has been some activity related to Ruth's Ridge since the last post.

By Thursday evening, the garage and workshop looked like this.

Friday started out under cool, clear skies which turned very warm and gusty by mid-afternoon. While the Bros. Rempel finished up the roof on the backside of the workshop before moving on to the mudroom roof, Davis & I worked on the south roof of the garage. Here's how things looked by lunch.
We moved on to the loft trusses after a quick lunch break. We had hung six trusses up on the wall plates at the beginning of the week, with the remainder cluttering up the loft floor. Getting Davis' new wall-hook scaffolding up and truing the walls took about 30 minutes.

However, from the time we started hoisting the trusses into place until all were secured took slightly more than 90 minutes.
The 90 minutes, however, provided for some "high timber" gymnastics by DND. I, as cheque writer, was strongly encouraged not to come up above the wall plate, lest I injure my left hand in the process.
Ruth & I returned to the Ridge on Saturday morning to sweep the house floors in anticipation of the potential thunder showers that had been forecast. We were back again at about 11:30 a.m. on Sunday with the trailered garden tractor in tow. After a few minutes of orientation on the operation of a hydrostatic transmission, Ruth was off on a blissful, goofy-grinned two-hour ride, mowing the ridge north of the house in the process. Meanwhile, I loaded several trailerloads of slash and moved them to the field beside the sand piles for future burning. Then, after moving several loads of logs from the driveway area to the woodpile, we piled exhaustedly into the car. It seems I may have experienced a bit of sun stroke, as the remainder of the day was a blur of sleep.

Tuesday's forecast is for more than 20 mm of rain, so a short week may be further truncated. Our timelines don't allow for this kind of slippage, but there's not much to be done about it.