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Pond Stone
3380 CraigendThe stone for the waterfall feature of the pond has been delivered and the install is coming along well. Now we can also focus on the mechanical equipment to make…
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Still Coping
3380 CraigendOnce again we have set up for another concrete pour. This time it is the pool and deck coping. It is a small pour with big consequences as it will…
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Applianced
3380 CraigendAppliances have been delivered and installed and ready for some good homeowner use. Now if we could only find where we put them…
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Blinded by the Light
3380 CraigendNot likely anymore. This week the motorized blinds are being installed so the various trades can nap effectively during the noon siesta. We are not sure whether this will actually…
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Floating Staircase
3380 CraigendAfter approximately 2 months of finishing woodwork, the interior staircase is now complete. Many complicated details and angles have been sorted out by Rob, Kris and Roy and the end…
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Bar Counters
3380 CraigendThe last of the countertops were installed today – allowing for measuring the final round of interior glass.
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More Millwork
3380 CraigendThe millwork is extensive and ongoing. We have 2 crews installing and every day brings a new surprise. Extensive and intricate, it’s all coming together.
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Garage Fascia
3380 CraigendThe metal fascia on the garage is now complete and a few damaged areas have been repaired. The only remaining metal detail left to be done is finishing the main…
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More Bar
3380 CraigendI believe we are down to 3 more concrete pours for this house (of approximately 30 total). The back deck area has been levelled and rebar has been installed to…
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Counters
3380 CraigendThe countertops started arriving in earnest this week. All the main and upper floors are completed with only the basement bar remaining.
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Light my Fire
3380 CraigendThe fireplaces were finished today. Now that it is summer, we can turn them all on and then test the power of the air conditioning system.
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Lost in the Woods
3380 Craigend15 large maples are part of the planting plan. This week they are being installed and the effect has been dramatic. The house has now been hidden by the trees.
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Planter Paradise
3380 CraigendMuch work has been done to tier the south side of the property in order to support a more horizontal planting pattern. The last level of the concrete walls support…
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Re Grade
3380 CraigendWe are just about ready to deal with the driveway once and for all. A regrade was in order to maximize the access potential for our remaining tasks. It’s now…
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Maples
3380 CraigendWe have 15 or so maples to be planted on the site and the first shipment arrived today. Nice looking specimens!
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After
3380 CraigendIt may seem a little silly but there is a trade who’s sole purpose is cleaning and sealing stone. With the limestone on this house it makes a big difference…
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Limestone Walls
3380 CraigendMost of the exterior limestone cladding is now complete. The sections still need to be cleaned, sealed and caulked but the look of the house is really coming together.
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Basement Bar
3380 CraigendThe bar cabinets for the basement are coming together. Should now be ready for tomorrow’s countertop measure.
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Getting Green
3380 CraigendThe hardscaping has been ongoing soon after the house foundation was complete and we are now just starting to witness the impact of a little greenery. It is definitely softening…
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LED Heaven
3380 CraigendWe have led light strips thruout the house design and the electrician has started to get that install fully functional. Looks pretty cool!
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Framing Again
3380 CraigendIt’s taken us quite a while to get back to framing the garage but the process is now really underway. Due to access issues, the garage has had to wait…
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Garage Slab
3380 CraigendThe garage floor slab was poured today. This is the last step in starting the garage framing which is now imminent.
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Slab Pour
3380 CraigendBig step today. Getting the concrete poured and placed in the basement will allow us to move forward with framing the remaining walls and the carrying on with the various…
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Radiant City
3380 CraigendThe basement slab area has been prepped with 10″ of levelled gravel, 6 mil sheet plastic, 2″ of styrofoam insulation, 6″ square metal wire grid and then the multitude of…
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And Then There was Light
3380 CraigendFamous words and a welcome addition to a basement bedroom. Even though a window is not a safety requirement (since we will have a sprinkler system installed) everyone generally prefers…
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Wine Room
3380 CraigendSteve was brought in once again to core a few holes in the concrete so that bottles of wine can be stored at an even temperature along side the exterior…
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More Forms
3380 CraigendThe forms for the first major round of our retaining walls have been set up. Everything looks pretty massive and will continue to do so until we soften things months…
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Ready for the Walls
3380 CraigendPoured the footing yesterday, stripped today and the forming crew started the daunting task of setting up for the next stage. 17-20′ walls need to be built to get to…
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Drainage
3380 CraigendEveryone needs good drainage away from their home and with seven bathrooms in the house it becomes even more important. The plumbers passed the first round of this test today.
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Waterproof?
3380 CraigendHopefully. We now have at least one layer of a torch-on style roofing product on all the main areas. This should keep the moisture away from all our wood products…
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Retaining
3380 CraigendWe have started the actual footing for the first (of many) retaining walls. After extensive structural and geotechnical consultations, a massive footing design was agreed upon. Note the extensive rebar…
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Protection
3380 CraigendWe are starting in earnest on the landscape plan for the back yard. However, when we excavated the variety of materials to prepare for the retaining walls, boulders on the…
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More View?
3380 CraigendThe master bedroom had a 2′ return wall on both sides of the SW corner which is the biggest view area of the room. It quickly became apparent that this…
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Frame Away
3380 CraigendThings are really starting to come together. Framing is a fun and rewarding segment of the construction schedule as progress is visible on a daily basis.
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Hedge anyone?
3380 CraigendWe finally tackled the removal of the aged laurel hedge between the two properties. With trunk dimensions over 10″ and plumbing and electrical services in the area, it was a…
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Steel galour
3380 CraigendSteel beams are up and defining the outer perimeter. It’s going to be a great view from the main floor.
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Perfect planters
3380 CraigendWe have used lots of plywood so far to form the concrete walls. This round we had to step it up a notch to create architectural concrete walls for the…
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Sheeted
3380 CraigendA nice milestone. The main floor being sheeted was the final hurdle that will allow the last stage of concrete to continue. The guys now have a great platform to…
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Slab poured
3380 CraigendThe rain held off and the entire suspended slab was poured today. This is a big step in the critical path process as it was necessary in order to start…
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Scaffold
3380 CraigendWe are getting ready to pour the suspended slab decks off the main floor. It is quite a planning process with steel beams, concrete and rebar all being needed to…
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Would this scare you?
3380 CraigendThis large boulder is perched above the exterior deck and the engineers are concerned that an earthquake could bring this down on the deck. As we are all afraid of…
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It can be done
3380 CraigendFamous words to tell the client. But at a price. For a variety of reasons (we don’t really want to blame anyone) one of the interior concrete walls was poured…
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Pool Footings
3380 CraigendThe next phase of our operation is getting the structure in place for the pool and deck structures. Everything must be excavated down to bedrock to satisfy the requirements of…
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Backfilled
3380 CraigendDamproofing, drain tile and gravel has been installed so we can now get an excavator to the downhill side of the property to continue with the concrete work.
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Fall Colour
3380 CraigendJust a little interlude from the harsher realities of typical site views. Mother Nature showing her vibrant fall colours…
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Stripped
3380 CraigendThe first real round of concrete is complete and the form work has been stripped. The form materials will largely be re-used in framing the main body of the house.…
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Forms
3380 CraigendJamie’s forming crew is a well oiled machine. After a week of work with a group of 8 carpenters, many sheets of plywood and thousands of feet of 2 by…
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Footings
3380 CraigendThe blasting and excavation prep is now complete so the forming crew can get started with the footings. After the blasting debris was cleaned up, we placed a few inches…
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Line drilling, not dancing
3380 CraigendIn order to minimize the potential for blasting more rock than desired, as well as keeping the finished face a little smoother, a technique known as line drilling is used.…
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Physics class
3380 CraigendIt’s interesting to note that, along with the quantity of nitro put in each hole, there are different explosive timers on the colour coded blasting caps. The purpose of this…
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More Drilling
3380 CraigendLooks like we will be using all of our 10 days to drill and blast. With each hole 3-4′ deep, the guys can get up to 50 holes blasted in…
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Working out
3380 CraigendWe have 10 working days to complete the blasting and the boys are working hard to get it done. So far so good. Imagine working out 8 hours a day…
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It’s GO time!
3380 CraigendDuring the excavation, the much anticipated basement bedrock was exposed and quickly determined what could or couldn’t be removed by conventional methods. A blasting permit was applied for and the…
