Ozzy the cat is becoming a bit more adventurous and exploring around despite her recent blindness.
She was especially interested in Harris' truck, sniffing all around it.
Harris apparently has two male cats in his area disputing
the territory and spraying his tires.
I suggested he explain to his cats that spraying wasn't the solution.
They should be brought here and give the challenge "Get "Lucky", the neighbourhood rooster!
The first cat to terminate that rooster wins the status of Top Tom; of the entire island!
The day has been dry and increasingly sunny this afternoon. But suddenly as I write this, it has clouded over and is raining.
And the mason bees have now capped six of the homemade paper tubes!
June 2, 9:00 PM
More finishing work on the Blue Maxx forms. Inside the foundation it gets quite hot
with the sun reflecting off the white polystyrene walls.
Harris has built scaffolds around the
outside perimeter for access to pour cement.
He's also been busy screwing cleats across any joints in the polystyrene forms
that he considers to be a weak spot.
Wes has been concentrating on the installation of header boards on the forms. I should explain this. The floor will not be sitting on top of the foundation walls. The floor joists will be attached by joist hangers on the header boards inside the foundation wall. The header boards will be fastened to the foundation wall by anchor bolts embedded in the cement. The resulting floor will be even with the top of the foundation. Understand? (E-mail me if you want more of an explanation).
Me? Among other minor tasks I've begun stripping the forms from the cement footings.
A tremendous surprise this morning. I looked out just as the sun was rising, and in the tree right in front
(in the centre of the picture) there were
7 Turkey Vultures plus a bald eagle.
When the sun hit the vultures, one opened its wings as if it were stretching,
and then sunned itself, soaking up the solar rays. Soon all the vultures were sunning and warming themselves.
Later in the morning I discovered the remains of a deer carcass at the edge of the water on the beach.
It had probably been washed up by the tide. (Thank goodness. I thought maybe the birds were waiting for "me",
the grey-haired one who hasn't been moving fast enough).
Unfortunately I wasn't able to get a picture of them, despite their being so close I could have hit them with a rock.
Well, maybe I couldn't, but my son could have.
June 3, 7:00 PM
Saturday, and the guys are not working.
I took the oportunity to strip all the footing forms on the interior
of the structure, and clean out all the wood pieces.
Tomorrow I'll strip the forms on the outside if they aren't blocked by the scaffolds.
The picture inside the foundation, looking back toward the "garage". (That's my temporary dwelling in the background).
For those within travelling distance of Denman Island,
the annual Denman Island Home and Garden Tour is in two weeks; June 17 & 18.
Many of the finest home and gardens on the island are opened for public view.
The revenue from the ticket sales benefits the Denman Island Conservancy.
June 4, 7:00 PM
A rather lazy Sunday. I managed to strip most of the forms off the footings
on the outside. I'm not sure if the garage footings can be stripped yet, so I left them.
I started back on the woodpile, but there's too many other things tempting me
on a sunny weekend. Like exploring the beach.
The picture today shows the view from our beach front at low tide. In fact I believe it's the low tide of the year.
And I want to mention again that the annual Denman Island Home and Garden Tour is in two week; June 17 & 18.
Many of the finest home and gardens on the island are opened for public view.
The revenue from the ticket sales benefits the Denman Island Conservancy.
June 5, 7:00 PM
The weather has turned, consisting of a three hour heavy shower this morning.
Wes and Harris rigged a large tarp over their work area.
I spent a couple hours scraping cement off the lumber from the forms.
Tomorrow I'll go into Courtenay and rent some forms for the garage foundation.
(It does not require the insulated Blue Maxx system.)
The form rental company charges $200 delivery, so I'll use my old '78 Dodge pickup truck.
The photo is taken from the south of the building.
Wes and Harris are working on an inside "pony wall", but they are probably only visible
on the large version.
June 6, 6:30 PM
Rain; steady, heavy, west coast style, all day.
Unfortunately because of the construction, truck traffic and excavation,
rain turns the area to mud. Sticky, slippery mud.
The ramp into the foundation became too slippery. Luckily I still had
some asphalt shingles left under the cabin from many years ago.
Nailed to the ramp, the traction improved drastically.
(Never throw away good material).
I spent the morning in Courtenay, renting the forms for the garage foundation. That was a really heavy load for my aging pickup truck. Today was a reminder of the D-day anniversary; driving my loaded truck in the rain, I could imagine driving a tank ashore at Normandy. In the afternoon I spent some time cleaning up used lumber, and clearing an area to be trenched for electric and telephone cables.
Tomorrow Wes and Harris should be putting up the forms.
Currently the scene looks pretty much the same, so I see no point in posting a new picture.
Besides, I don't feel like going back out in the rain with the camera)
June 7, 7:30 PM
No rain today, clouds and sun. Thank goodness. I left Wes and Harris with the garage foundation forms while I visited the chiropractor in Courtenay. (First time since moving here).
Arriving back in the early afternoon, I found the electrician, Greg, had done the trenching
for the underground electrical entry, laid the cable and conduit, and filled the trench.
Unfortunately I had forgotten that I had a drainage box for the cabin's kitchen sink
in the vicinity (hey, that was 15 years ago).
And the backhoe crunched through it.
The trench was deep enough to bring up the clay hardpan, so now that part
of the property is now a sticky mud field too.
The garage foundation form is about half completed.
It should be almost finished tomorrow.
In the picture, the garage foundation forms are the dark walls in front.
The dirt pile is a result of the electrical trench.
June 8, 4:30 PM
Another fine day. A shower in the middle of the night made the dirt a bit moist but not too sticky.
Everything dried out quite quickly after sunrise.
Unfortunately we haven't quite finished the garage forms yet.
We ran out of tie bars (metal straps that hold the forms together.)
More are being brought over but they haven't arrived by day's end.
So we'll finish tomorrow.
The cement pour is scheduled for Tuesday. Craig, the Blue Maxx agent wasn't available on Monday. And he intended to participate. That should be an exciting day. It will be a major milestone on this project.
I've cleaned up the mess from the trenching, more or less. Although I may have to build a plank walkway if gets too muddy. (Because it's the access to the outhouse; an important thoroughfare).
In the evening when the water is calm it's been interesting watching
the seals playing in the water out front. The make intriguing patterns in the water with their antics.
June 9, 6:00 PM
Friday, end of the week (for some). Showers and cool this afternoon. The forms are all complete.
A little more scaffolding is required to pour the cement, and we're ready.
Tuesday is the cement pour day.
I spent part of the day on maintenance, and logging' (cutting up some of the trees and branches from the excavation last month.) In the afternoon, believe it or not, I was vacuuming the bottom of the forms. There was quite a layer of polystyrene chips and granules that would probably weaken the bonding between the footing and walls. Wes persuasively convinced me to do it. He said "I'm not doing it".
The forecast is for showers and rain tonight and tomorrow. It may be an inside day.
June 10, 8:00 PM
A quiet day; no work done on the house.
My wife arrived today at noon to spend a week here.
Before she arrived I spent a few hundred minutes cleaning and tidying the cabin.
The fridge is bulging with all the food and provisions she brought.
Marit will stay and attend the Home and Garden Tour next weekend before returning home.
The weather is still cool with occasional showers. And the forecast indicated the next two days will bring more serious rain. If we have any breaks in the rain I'll get out work on the wood pile.
I didn't change the picture; there has been no progress today.
June 11, 5:00 PM
The weather has been fully as bad as forecast.
It's been stormy all afternoon, heavy winds and rain.
I'm glad this wasn't a workday; or I'd be tempted to not join Wes and Harris.
Lets hope it dries a bit before the cement pour on Tuesday
or the trucks will get stuck in the mud.
So Marit and I have been sitting in the cabin all afternoon
with both the heater and the TV on.
Earlier in the morning I was out and started cutting firewood. Managed to get a couple hours of work in before the rain started to get serious. I quickly took this picture before retreating indoors. It didn't come out as well as I expected but I'm unwilling to take the camera back out in the storm for another shot.
My friends at work will understand this picture.
About 15 years ago a co-worker, Rolf Manson, grew a tray of seeds on his desk at work.
They were spruce tree seeds. They sprouted and grew. He gave a few of the
small trees to me.
This Spruce was one of them. It's now about 15 feet high (about 5 meters).
Rolf was a year older than me, and retired a year earlier. Last month he died of cancer.
This tree will always be a small memorial.
June 11, 7:30 PM
The storm continued all night with wind and rain, but
after some early morning clouds, today was an astonishingly beautiful day.
All preparations for tomorrow's cement pour were completed and the guys left early.
Some of our plantings were quite battered by yesterday's storm., especially Marit's tomatoes in pots beside the cabin. We propped them up and the sunlight seemed to do the rest.
The Turkey Vultures have stayed in this immediate area. I guess they are waiting to see if another dead deer washes up on the beach. They flew very low, very close overhead this morning. I don't think the guys appreciated my suggestion that it was because we weren't moving fast enough.
Tomorrow is the big pour. The last word I heard was that the first shipment was coming over on the 7:40 AM ferry.
The weather forecast isn't great, so everyone please think sunny thoughts.
June 13, 5:30 PM
The great pour is done!
My thanks to everyone for your good weather wishes.
We had no rain today or last night and the ground was solid.
Cloudy and cold, but no rain.
Everything went well. Craig Seale, the Blue Maxx agent, was present and assisted in the operation; checking the preparation, and handling the cement hose. A great assistance, and part of his "package" with a Blue Maxx system.
Marit stayed indoors watching Norway beat Spain 1-0 in the Eurocup-2000 soccer tournament. But she surfaced to get us all coffee when we called.
Now there's a lot of minor chores to finish; perimeter drain pipe, waterproof sheathing on the forms, subsurface material in the crawl space floor, skim coat on the floor, amongst others. Eventually we'll get up to the floor of the house.
The picture of the pumper truck in operation had to be artificially brightened
by 10 degrees. It was that cloudy and dark.
June 14, 8:00 PM
Hmm, after stripping the forms we found the cement work was not as perfect in the garage
as we had hoped. There's some granularity in the cement,
and some obvious stratified seams.
A time lag of the fourth truck load of cement seems to have been significant.
And perhaps it was of slightly different consistency. However it will do,
especially since there will be equal pressure on both sides of the walls; zero differential.
And now an even bigger dilemma faces me. I'll need to get a massive amount of sand and drain
rock inside the foundation area as a compactable base for a cement floor.
Even with (expensive) mechanical assistance, there's a lot of shovel and wheelbarrow work.
I'm not sure how this is going to play itself out. But I've started by ordering a load of pea-gravel, and several loads of sand.
To be delivered tomorrow! Commitment!
I may not be spending a lot of time at the home and garden tour this weekend.
Just hauling gravel instead.
The picture shows the foundation; Naked! Now the fun begins.
June 15, 6:30 PM
Beautiful sunshine today. This morning I overloaded my ancient pickup truck
and took the foundation forms back to the rental store.
The penalty for a few extra days was not too severe.
Wes and Harris have been installing a black "stick on" waterproof membrane on the outside of the Blus Maxx forms.
Unfortunately we were a bit short of the material at the end of the day.
My pea gravel (12 yards) was here when I got back. That was followed shortly by three truck loads of sand. (Our cat must think she's gone to heaven). The picture is taken from the front door of my cabin. Help, I'm being swamped.
Missing from the picture is most of the pea gravel.
After installing the drain pipes in the interior of the foundation, we've been wheelbarrowing
the gravel over the wall into the base. Marit and I.
I can't even complain about the aches and pains because Marit matched me, shovelful for shovelful
although I did all the wheelbarrow pushing.
(I expect she has a blister; didn't wear gloves soon enough).
After we finish with the gravel, we'll re-evaluate how we will proceed with the rest of the material.
Incidentally, we'll be getting a truckload of drain rock as soon as possible, to add to the collection.
And more sand, and more drain rock.
This is sure a better workout than the old lunch hour sessions at the gym.
June 16, 9:30 PM
Well, much to my surprise I awoke with no serious bodily pains or malfunctions.
So today was more shoveling and wheelbarrowing.
Marit too. She declined to be in the picture; absolutely refused.
So she took this snapshot of me.
The Blue Maxx agent came at noon and delivered the membrane we needed for the foundation. The electrician came to connect the conduits now that the foundation has been poured. Wes and Harris worked on the perimeter drains in the morning. When the membrane arrived they switched tasks. They gave me breaks from the shoveling by sending me on errands.
There's still over 20 yards of sand to shovel, but this weekend is the Denman Home and Garden Tour. So we won't be shoveling too frequently. My daughter, Lise, has just arrived on her motorcycle to visit and join us on the tour.
It's been a busy day. So I've been a little late in posting this.
June 17, 9:30 PM
Today was the annual Denman Island Home and Garden Tour,
so not too much work was accomplished on the house. I found a few occassions to shovel more sand,
but not too many productive hours resulted. My daughter Lise is shown here helping her old man.
The tour was well worth the time spent. Beautiful gardens, and homes that offered some interesting suggestions and alternatives. There are many talented and imaginative people on this island. Tomorrow there are a few more to see on the tour. I may finish off my list in the morning; still have the magnificent gardens of Des Kennedy to visit again this year.
It's been the warmest day so far; (too hot to work anyway).
June 18, 6:30 PM
Fathers Day. And the last day of the Denman Home and Garden Tour.
My daughter Lise was with us for the weekend.
I decided to feature her picture today. After all, the piles of sand I've previously shown aren't really all that interesting, are they!
Earlier this morning we took a couple hours and went to two more sites on the Home and Garden Tour. The garden of Des Kennedy is always one of the hi-lites of the tour.
Much of the rest of the day has been spent shoveling sand. Marit insists on helping to fill the wheelbarrow. She keeps me moving twice as fast. Most of the crawl space in the house foundation has a full layer of sand on the floor. It'll be finished before sunset. I'll see if there is enough after it is compacted with a power tamper. I sincerely hope it doesn't need too much more added after compaction.
Tomorrow a load of drain rock should arrive and we can proceed further with the perimeter drains.
I don't know when we can eventually expect to start on the main floor; there's so much preliminary preparation.
But I'm really looking forward to finishing all this below ground grunt work.
June 19, 5:15 PM
Wes seemed sufficiently impressed with the sand distribution in the foundation
to suggest planning on pouring cement this week.
By wheelbarrow; no pumper! We hope to get a power tamper tomorrow
and compact the sand on the floor.
I'm nervously curious as to how much the sand will compact.
It it compacts too much I'll have to shovel more sand down the hole.
The picture shows the current state before compaction.
Wes and Harris finished putting on the Blue Maxx membrane and then fastened a plastic shield on top to protect it against the sun's UV rays and against any rock damage when we backfill. They then completed the perimeter drains, permanently cementing them in place. (Last Friday they just temporarily fit and cut and put them in position).
A load of drain rock arrived this morning.
While the guys were busy, I hauled rock into the inner garage drain pipes.
It's in an awkward position. We couldn't identify any easier technique
than hauling them a bucket full at a time. That kept me busy for a good portion
of the morning and early afternoon. Finally I covered the drain rock with newspaper
and shoveled more sand on top.
Later the guys manually tamped down that area,
and then turned their attention to further distribution of more sand and drain rock.
I have on order even more loads of drain rock and sand. Lots of body building opportunities
lay ahead in the coming days.
"That which does not kill me makes me stronger".
(Another old pithy saying I no longer believe to be true).
June 20, 7:30 PM
Another beautiful day, with clouds coming over in the afternoon to cool things down.
We have the machine to compact the sand and gravel inside the foundation.
Wes and Harris did the compacting and leveling.
Unfortunately I had been too energetic earlier and had put too much sand down in the floor area. It didn't compact as much as I had expected. The guys had to shovel out over a yard of sand. And the only way out was over the wall. At least it landed roughly in one pile, and we'll wheelbarrow it up and over to the garage tomorrow. Fortunately I was not here to witness my hard work being undone. I was in Naniamo meeting my son Erik.
Erik returned yesterday to Canada after working for two years in Norway.
I asked him to come over and help, immediately! He's great. He agreed, and I picked him up at the BC Ferry
terminal at 2:00 PM.
I sure hope he survives the week.
June 21, 8:30 PM
The first full day of summer, and it's looking good. Weather-wise it's very pleasant.
Ozzy the cat is improving and is reverting to her old patterns of activity.
I'm sure she has some sight back too. That is goodness.
Today we distributed all the drain rock, but only had half of what is needed.
We have another load coming Monday morning.
We added more sand to the garage and compacted the fill.
The garage will require 25 - 30 yards more, (23 - 28 cubic meters).
Incidentally, I said "we" but in truth it was Erik, with Wes and Harris who did most of the work.
I left and went to Comox; a chiropractor appointment, and more cat medication).
Wes suggested that since we were filling up the garage, we should back fill outside as well. Then we could bring trucks right up to the edge and dump the remainder directly into area. Sounded a lot better than continuing to wheelbarrow it. So I have a front loader coming up tomorrow at 9:00 to do the job.
We will pour the cement skim coat in the house foundation on Friday. Early Friday. By wheelbarrow. I'm glad Erik is here. That will be a tough job.
Today's photo features Erik shoveling the drain rock this morning.
Unfortunately I just noticed the picture is out of perspective. I took "portrait" instead of "landscape", and it translated
into a slightly squashed image. Sorry Erik.
June 22, 10:30 PM
Another day of progress. Wes and Harris laid a vapour barrier
throughout the foundation in preparation for the cement skim coat on the floor.
The front end loader came and did some backfill in the front and side of the garage.
And Erik and I (mostly Erik) added another layer of sand in the garage.
Incidentally, since I deformed Erik so much yesterday, I felt he deserved another feature picture. This is inside the garage, spreading the sand for compaction.
We have decided that the sand is reaching a level that is posing a weight hazard on the back wall of the garage. We are going to wait until the floor is installed in the house before compacting any more sand in the garage. The house floor will provide bracing for the the pressure against the wall.
Tomorrow the cement truck is coming at 7:00 AM. Looks like
it will be a early busy day.
June 23, 10:00 PM
All went well. Wes and Harris arrived at 7:00 AM and made preparations.
John Mather arrived with his cement truck 20 minutes later.
Everyone, including John, and my son Erik, threw themselves into the task
and completed it within three hours.
There is now a cement floor within the foundation.
Even the weather cooperated. A cloud came over as we prepared to pour the cement, and we had cool cloudy weather for most of the day. This allowed the cement to set more slowly and minimized any cracking of the two inch skim coat. The picture shows the current state of the structure. The floor is wet because I've been keeping it sprayed throughout the day to help it cure slowly.
In the afternoon Erik and I shoveled all remaining sand into the garage. We won't compact it until the floor is on the house, bracing the structure for the wall pressure. We're looking forward to the weekend.
June 24, 8:15 PM
Very little work on the house today. Mostly we have been cleaning up
and doing the tasks that don't get done during the busy construction schedules.
This morning we took Ozzy the cat in for a checkup with the veterinarian.
Amazingly her lenses have re-attached and she has regained some degree of sight.
She still has some residue from hemorrhaging behind the lens but that will improve.
And her blood pressure is down to 150. I'll still have to administer a pill daily for the rest of her life (or mine).
But the vet is amazed; she has never seen such a recovery as Ozzy is exhibiting.
Ozzy is a Birkeland; tough!
The other Birkeland, my son Erik, decided at mid-afternoon to return tonight to Coquitlam.
He has helped a lot getting me through some of the heavy stuff.
Now it's Saturday night and party time.
(He may also have been thinking of the truck load of drain rock arriving on Monday).
He was on the 7:00 PM ferry to Vancouver.
Just me and the confused cat again.
The cement floor is still looking good. The picture is the view I have from the door of my seasonal cabin. It was taken at 8:00 PM this evening.
June 25, 7:30 PM
Very hot and sunny today; 26.5 degrees when I last looked.
I checked the cement earlier and it is still developing fine.
Look at that picture. Isn't that a great floor?
I spent some time doing some frivolous work; raking and sweeping the ground.
All the sand laying around is now mostly gathered into piles in front of the garage.
It'll be compacted at the entrance.
And I won't be tracking so much into the cabin each time I enter.
Unfortunately I had forgotten about two cubic meters of sand that had been excavated from
the floor and piled in back of the foundation.
It had to be wheelbarrowed uphill into the garage. And my son Erik left yesterday.
So I had to do it myself; slowly. (I didn't fill the wheelbarrow to overflowing).
Tomorrow the guys should start on the pony walls and floor joists. I'll (eagerly?) await the arrival of the drain rock and start distributing it.
In some spare moments I watched the Mason Bee activity. There still are a few actively working on the tubes. There are 21 of the paper tubes now capped. I don't know where they are getting the mud because it's quite dry around. And a thought came to mind; I hope they didn't take advantage of the wet "mud" last Friday, when we poured the cement floor. If they did, a few bees are never going to chew their way out next spring.
June 26, 6:30 PM The hottest day so far this year; 28.5 degrees at 4:00 PM. The Comox temperature has risen several degrees in the past few hours, so it must be at least 30 here now. The temperature and glare inside the foundation has been quite intense. I have some sympathy for Wes and Harris.
The load of drain rock came at 8:00 this morning. I've taken on that task, leaving the guys to get on with the carpentry. It's a good thing I have all week to finish, because my loads got smaller and smaller as the day progressed. I occasionally wiped out and lost a couple wheelbarrow contents.
As to the house building? Well, there's been a lot of cleaning and preparation, lots of measuring, looking, and pondering. But at the end of the day, as the picture indicates, there's still no walls built. Hopefully things will surge ahead tomorrow, even if the sun shines just as warmly.
And my ambition for the day will be to distribute drain rock along the north side of the house, if I can figure some access for the wheelbarrow. This is becoming almost as bad as a Hawaiian vacation; hot, sweaty, sticky sand, ....
June 27, 5:30 PM Another super summer day. Great weather, unless you're working in a hot foundation hole, or shoveling drain rock.
As you can see from the picture, pony walls are up (no, I still don't know why they're called pony walls). One more is under construction in the far section. Then, on to the joists.
And the drain rock; well, the pile is smaller but it's still there. I haven't quite finished the north wall. I've had to dig through some piles of excavated dirt and partially backfill some areas to make a path for the wheelbarrow. Excuses; I have lots. I'm old and slow!
June 28, 5:00 PM As you can see from the picture, the floor joists have been started. Notice the joist hangers on right had side. That's the way the joists are being fastened on the wall. (Actually, you'll need to view the big picture if you want to see those details).
I've completed the drain rock on the north side. And I built a second layer of drain rock along the front.
There's still a pile left, so I'm attempting to increase the height of this drain rock along the front foundation
since that's where most of the water will be coming.
To do this, I'm wheeling in the dirt and clay we originally dug out and putting it outside
the rock, to hold it in place.
It seems to be working, but the result is I'm backfilling by wheelbarrow, not by a machine.
Oh well. What else would I rather be doing on a super hot summer day.
June 29, 5:10 PM The floor joists are progressing. It's methodical work; all the joists must be level and even. All the rest of the house depends on a stable floor.
I've put drain rock everywhere that is feasible, and I still have a small pile remaining. I'll wheelbarrow that off to the side. It will probably be used for a drainage pit later.
We have discovered we have forgotten a number of footings for posts that will support an extended roof and balcony system. Some of these footings have to go where I have filled in or put drain rock. They require quite extensive excavation. A machine will be rather messy; but the guys don't have time or inclination to tackle this by hand. The third alternative,... I'll have to think about this.
By the way, the cloud cover today was great. Warm enough for anybody, but not too hot for working.
June 30, 5:30 PM As you can see, we now have floor joists. Plywood for the subfloor will arrive on Tuesday. But before the plywood is put down, there has to be blocks and cross bracing between the joists. There's still a fair bit of work before the joists are finished.
I finished moving the drain rock in the first 2 1/2 hours of the morning, finishing shortly after coffee break.
And I re-dug down for the first post fitting; right through some of the drain rock I had
installed two days ago. That was annoying. That was very VERY annoying.
That was VERY VERY ANNOYING! (There, I got that out of my system.)
In the next couple of weeks I can identify a lot more manual toil than I had earlier expected.
This is the last update of this website for the next three days. I am traveling back to the
Coquitlam condominium (and to a luxurious soaking bathtub) for the holiday weekend.
(Monday is a holiday for Canada Day, which actually occurs on July 1). And it's my mother's birthday on the 3rd.
So the next update will be on Tuesday, July 4.
SO LONG!
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