Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Stairs, electrical and HVAC ready for inspection!

With our inside stairs fully functionnal we can really get the 'feel' of the house and are almost set for HVAC, electrical and framing inspection this Friday. Our garage has been poured and we had fun carving our initials and drawing pictures that are now 'there to stay'!
Insulation will be next week and Steve has arranged for the drywallers to work between Christmas and New Year's.
Next is the HUGE task of finalizing paint colours and tiling!

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Deck frame is done ...

Lots has happened in the last two weeks - most of it inside and not exciting to photograph but here is the frame for our deck which will be finished over the winter so we can use it as soon as the weather gets warm. They have poured the concrete for the basement and done all framing down there to prepare for finishing down the road. The rough-in electrical & low voltage ( Stereo, alarm, etc.) will be completed on Monday as well as the Geo heating and cooling hooked up. The stairs are coming this week and we are set to start insulation next week. After that drywall and painting end of December/early Jan. and we hope to make our Feb. move in date.

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Sides and front elevations are done!

Well in just 11 days, the brick layers and stone masons are done and we are totally thrilled with how it looks. We are in the process of designing the 'keystone' with 149 engraved for just over the archway and then all will be complete on the outside. Next will be concrete for the basement and garage, more electronics wiring, our stairs being delivered and installed, insulation and drywall. Stay tuned!

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Bricking has started!

With the rough in for plumbing and electrical done, the brick work has started and in just two days, the rear elevation is done! We expect to be done all brick and stone in 2-3 weeks and then onto the finishing inside.

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Shingles on as we move inside ...

The roofers have done all they can until the brick and stone are done so the guys have moved inside. This week our geo venting 'rough-in' was finished, the plumber is doing the rough-ins, the concrete for the porch and side walk-way is being poured and we did our electrical design. Interesting that the sun tunnels we are installing in the closets are no more than a flimsy foil coil - why didn't I think of that!

Thursday, October 14, 2010

Windows are in!

Our windows arrrived on Tuesday and in one day, they were in! We are thrilled with them and look forward to the next step of roofing, bricking and the inside stuff beginning.

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Framing is complete!

Our new home stands complete with the framers finishing on the long weekend. The windows were delivered today and will be installed tomorrow ... stay tuned...

Thursday, October 7, 2010

Gosh - our framers are fast!

In less than half a day, we now have a front porch!  They should finish this week on the rough framing and be back in a couple to complete the job!

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

So much has happened!

Since our trusses being delivered, the roof frame is up, the plywood is down and just yesterday they completed the dormers over Ella and Kyle's room. Our windows come on Friday. Next week:  the sani & plumbing rough-ins, our geo heating and cooling rough-ins, concrete pouring for walkout and front porch and roofing - we are rolling!



Monday, September 27, 2010

Roof trusses ready and delivered!


Trying to schedule around rain and heavy winds, our roof trusses were delivered today and it was an exciting event to watch. The crane parked on our property and then had to extend up and over the hydro wires to grab the trusses from the flatbed and THEN lift them over the wires, over our neighbours' house and onto the beams on the second floor - WOW - what a feat!

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Second floor framing is complete

After moving a partition and a few minor walls, our second floor is complete and we await the roof trusses in about a week or so.

Sunday, September 12, 2010

2nd floor walls are up and floor is done - wow it's big!

Today was a fun day as explored the 2nd floor with the kids and they enjoyed horsing around building "bridges" and climbing stairs -all while wearing steel-toe'd shoes - lol!

Thursday, September 2, 2010

We have walls!

It was a very exciting day as I got to 'walk through' our new home and really 'experience' the size, space and overall feel. We are off to the races!

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Framing has started!!!

We are excited to say the framing has started and Kyle shows off our first floor joists. Things will start to roll along now as we see our anxiously awaited 'house' comes together!

Thursday, August 19, 2010

Backfilling has commenced!!

Glad to be done with the arduous ICF product, we finally passed inspection, had stone filled, fixed weepers and now move to the next step of backfilling for the next day or so. Steve expects to start framing on Monday!

Thursday, July 29, 2010

Pumper truck arrives for ICF!

After much waiting and meticulous work, the ICF is done the concrete was pumped today inside the forms. Next a day or so to dry, the weepers, stone fill and we are ready to backfill - then things will get exciting!

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

We are so close ...

Now that the heat wave has hit the city, it is an oven in our  'pit' so as of July 6th we are about 80% there.  Once the ICF contractor is done, our builder is confident we will motor at top speed!!

Monday, June 21, 2010

ICF ( Insulated Concrete Forms) Stage 1

As we knew from the start, ICF construction will take CONSIDERABLE longer than traditional concrete wall assembly ( 2 weeks versus days). We have also been plagued with lots of rain in June making this part of the project drag on. As June winds to a close, we see the west and south walls really coming together and hope to pour the concrete as early as possible in July.

Monday, June 14, 2010

Stone bed ready for ICF

As you can see, the stone bed was delivered today and we are ready to start our ICF foundation.

Thursday, June 3, 2010

We made it into SNAP - North York edition

Our ground-breaking event made it into the North York SNAP magazine with a promise from the North York Mirror that we will be featured in an upcoming 'Special Edition" - stay tuned!

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Excavation done - one BIG hole!


Our excavation was completed last week and we are left with one massive hole! It looks huge but our builder assures us that it needs to be that big as we are buidling 4 feet from each side property line. We are due to start ICF foundation next week.

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Escavation started!

With well over 50 truckloads of dirt removed,  the escavator  will be back tomorrow to finish the job. The lot looks unbelievable with a hole 53 feet x 53 feet.

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Permits and demo day!

After a two week hold-up with the city, we got our permits on Friday and our beloved 149 was levelled today. With the kids by my side and Kirk scurrying home from work, it was an emotional morning. It amazed us at how quickly it came down! We are so happy to be on our way with awesome builder, Steven Gaggioli, Serenity Homes

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Trench to bury the lines ..

Thanks to Brandon and company who spent two days digging and burying the ethanol lines under 6 feet of soil. All that is left now is to connect to the heat pump/furnace after electrical is done.

Monday, May 10, 2010

One more day of drilling and we will be done!

Given our clay base here in North York, the guys were able to drill three of the five boreholes on Friday and will be done the other two by end of day today. The loops will remain in the ground until the heatpump is ready to be hooked up after electrical is complete.

Saturday, May 8, 2010

Community Geo-drilling a HUGE Success!!

We are pleased to share that our community event on Friday was a HUGE success! We had  classes ranging from Grade 3 to Grade 8 from St. Edward and two classes from Churchill Public learning and experiencing geo-drilling live in our backyard. We thank all of our neighbours and friends who attended to support our endeavor and were especially excited to see our local Coucillor John Filion come by.  The North York Mirror and NY SNAP were there and we are excited to see our media coverage in upcoming issues.
Attached are a few photos from the exciting event!

Friday, April 30, 2010

Geothermal Community Event now booked

We are excited to have an official date for our 'Geothermal Drilling Event' set for Friday, May 7, 2010 ( betwen 12:00-3:00 with neighbouring schools visiting @ 1:302/:00 pm).). This event is sponsored by Yanch Geothermal and will include a 'once in a lifetime' chance to see a geo-drill at work digging anywhere from 350-500 feet down to enable us to use the earth's heat in the winter and the earth's coolness in the summer. We hope to have a great turn-out from the community, the schools, the neighbours and the press!

Monday, April 26, 2010

Geo drill date set and site inspection done

Paul and Mike from Yanch met with our builder and we are set to start drilling next week and demo the week after. It turned out that it is better to drill before the excavator comes and corner off the bore holes. We are pleased that the drilling can happen so fast and are SUPER excited that this is coming together!

Saturday, April 17, 2010

Add hardwood floors to the list...

Although I was hoping for all of the hardwoods to be re-used, Freecycle came through again and a 10 x 10 section was removed to be re-used in a renovation. I will keep on trying ...

Thursday, April 8, 2010

How much more can we recycle and re-claim!

My craigslist posting for 'free hardwoods and wooden windows' brought forth astounding results. www.toolsforafrica.com/ came and took the doors and sinks to ship to Africa for reuse and the 'soot trap' & outside aluminum windows are being reclaimed. I posted the electrical components and baseboard grills on Freecycle and now our electrical panel, stove wiring, sockets and more are being reused as well as the baseboards and crown moulding!

Oh yeah, the 11 year old shed is also being dismantled for reuse!

Thursday, April 1, 2010

We are a go with Yanch Geothermal!

After talking with Adam at Yanch Geothermal, we have confirmed that the new 149 Park Home will be powered by geothermal heating - clean, efficient and green!

Monday, March 22, 2010

Reduce, reuse and recycle

In addition to sourcing green materials, we have been successful in saving several items from landfill:
  1. I posted our deck on Freecycle "a non-profit organization that organizes a worldwide network of "gifting" groups, aiming to divert reusable goods from landfills. It provides a worldwide online registry, and coordinates the creation of local groups and forums for individuals and non-profits to offer and receive free items for reuse or recycling, promoting gift economics as a motivating cultural outlook" and a contractor from Barrie came down, dismantled and re-used it.
  2. Next came the 4 large shrubs, again posted on Freecycle that were dug up and given new homes in High Park.
  3. A friend of a friend came down from Orangeville and in 3 days dismantled our 10 x 10 gazebo for re-use on his property.
  4. Next came posting our hardwoods and old wooden windows on Craiglists' 'free' section which resulted in people coming after move-out to reclaim the hardwoods, windows, doors and a 'soot trap' for the chimney.
  5. A friend of ours will come to dismantle the 'click flooring' and re-use it at her place AND I am taking the wall-to-wall from the basement and one bedroom to use in the unfinished basement of the new home.
  6. In addition, we are taking all light fixtures, ceiling fans, bath fixtures for potential reuse or recycle/
All said and done, even though I could not arrange to have our entire house re-located and re-used, we believe we have done our best!

Monday, March 1, 2010