Back to timber framing

We waited all during the first half of May for the weather to warm up enough to allow us to begin working outside on the workshop timbers. Waking up to snow in the second week of May cooled our enthusiasm somewhat! Despite the cold temperatures, there were signs everywhere that spring was arriving and I began to notice on my walks that the nearby pastures were slowly greening up.

Blossoms began to appear:

And the snowshoe hares continued to change from their winter white coats, to their springtime brown:

As always, there were plenty of things to do while waiting for improvements in the weather. There were chisels to sharpen, tools to assemble, and lots of logistics to figure out.  We took some time to start thinking about what kind of tiles to install around the shower, and bought a couple of samples to try out. We also gathered up some new paint chips as there has been a change in plans for some of the colours.  I think we've switched from a pale yellow to a nice warm neutral off white (with the absolute faintest hint of peach) for the living room, dining room, kitchen and hallways, and maybe a similar but warmer tone for our bedroom, and a cooler toned grey blue for our bathroom. I guess we'll see when we eventually start painting. Which will be a while yet.... I keep flipping from wanting a cool and calming Zen kind of bathroom look to a wild looking brightly coloured one.  This week the Zen look is winning. As we already picked up a small bunch of tiles for our bathroom at a clear out center a few years ago that would go well with a Zen look - it's probably a good thing to keep going in that direction.

Rob stacked all of the pine that will be used for the ceilings in the new house so that it could adjust to the house humidity level and sometime next month I hope to start applying the "whitewash" to them.  Since there are a lot of boards to do we built some drying racks to stack them as they dry.

And there are quite a few stacks to be done!

We picked out, and bought our stove for the kitchen.  Now, I love to cook, but buying appliances is not a huge thrill for me - and the funky retro looking stoves and the beautiful Aga's were all out of the question. In the end there was really only one choice for off grid use.  The stove needed to using a minimal amount of power (yes, I learned that even gas stoves use power) and this is the only model we could find that did not have an electricity driven glow bar and the usual array of clocks and other powered options. The glow bar is used in almost all gas stoves to run the oven and it uses a significant amount of power during the whole time that the oven is in operation.  The stove that we chose does not require any power (just some "D" cell batteries for the spark ignition system). It's a rather plain stainless steel and black, but it looks to be good and solid, and gets pretty good reviews. It will also fit in nicely with the range hood that we bought during the winter. (We were both pretty happy to find the exact energy efficient hood that we wanted one day, tucked away in a clearance pile at more than 50% off!)

Mid May the weather turned, and after a quick trip to visit family, Rob returned and began setting up his space for working on the workshop timbers.  As I mentioned in previous posts, this particular area of the property has a special place in our hearts. It is where we camped when we were building the log cabin, and the scent in the air always brings back memories of those times. There is almost always a light breeze to keep the bugs away, and the sound of the wind in the leaves is quite lovely. But we are already feeling a hint of nostalgia because we realize that this is the final frame to be built here (well, at least the final frame for this particular project, Rob is already talking about building an octagonal gazebo frame!)

Rob seems much more relaxed about this part of the construction. Having done the first frame, he now understands the whole process; what is important, and what isn't. Unlike the first one, he now works on several timbers at a time as well.  If the weather continues to cooperate, he hopes to have it completed by the end of June and on the whole, the weather has been good. We were even hit by a blast of hot air at the end of May, with humidex readings of 38 and 39 degrees C!  The extreme heat slowed us down somewhat, but it soon cooled off again and dipped back below normal. For the most part it was dry at least, so Rob just kept working.

Testing the fit:

Testing the fit:

And for all you fashionistas out there, here is the perfect way to keep wood chips out of your shoes (note: this has since been improved upon by using form fitted plastic bags!):

Walking back to the cabin after watching Rob timber frame, I discovered that one of the local beavers has been rather busy as well. Both of them seem to produce a lot of saw dust and wood chips!

The May long weekend brought the annual "boat" float down the river.  The river was still pretty high and fast, and further downstream we could hear the whoops and calls as they navigated over the rapids.  It was fun to watch them go by, and to observe the various methods of putting together something that floats. The one with the umbrella in the photo below was a tad unstable, and I'm not how it fared when they went over the rocks!

Two weeks later, the river level began to drop and this kind of event would not be possible.

Although I enjoy all the seasons here, summer is one of my favourites. When the warmer weather arrives we enjoy our coffee out on the porch of the cabin, listening to the bird song, and the goings on in the river.

One morning we caught a glimpse of a Great Blue Heron as it walked slowly along the river edge, and could hear the sound of the mergansers down on the rock.  When I went down with my camera, I was disappointed to find them long gone.  Luckily I looked up, and found a doe on the other side of the river, quietly watching me.  She was a good reminder to me to remember to look up and look around!

In the evenings we sometimes head over to the new house, sit in the "living room" and sip a cool beer. It's a perfect way to relax after a long day, and we can enjoy watching the river from a different angle, as the sun goes down.

With about two weeks of timber framing left to go, I have a feeling the work days are about to get even longer.  I now know the whole process that is about to begin again - moving the timbers down, getting them up on the pad and installed, getting the crane in to get the roof up, framing, plywood, foam, roofing, windows....and eventually  - the solar panels. (And they will be a first time event!) Lots to do - but like the ducks in the photo below, we know it's important to take some time to relax too, and down by the river is the perfect place for some down time. (Whoops - no pun intended!)

Missing Leon

Any of you who spent time in our home in the last twenty years, were more than familiar with our wonderful tabby cat Leon. He was the first one to greet you at the door, and the last thing you'd remember when you left. He was well known for quietly chewing off every one's shoelaces, whenever they left their shoes in the hall. He would leap up onto your back as you were bending over trying to figure out what was wrong with your shoes, then drape himself over your shoulder, peering down at those shoes along with you, and start purring....  I think he was a bit of a practical joker.  Sadly, after a difficult few weeks of watching his health rapidly decline, we had to say goodbye to him last month.  We are trying to celebrate his wonderful long life, (20 cat years are the equivalent of 96 human years!) but he has left a huge hole in our hearts, and we are reminded daily of the many things we miss about that sweet tabby cat.  In honour of Leon, I thought I'd post a couple of our favourite photos of him. The first one is a classic Leon pose.

Another classic pose; this time with our former dog Zuni.  They were best buddies. Leon welcomed Zuni the first day he walked into our house with huge meows and rubbed all over him. We'd been told to keep them separate and introduce them gradually, but Leon had other ideas.  Leon lived long enough to train 3 dogs, and he did a fine job of it.

Leon curled up with our other three cats, (Axle, Sita and GB) who snuggled with him every day, but even more so when he was sick. GB is trying his best to fill the purr-void with some purrs of his own now, but it is still strangely quiet in the house. We all miss our boy.

And so we find our moods somewhat suited to this long grey cold spring. We are still spending most evenings close to the wood stove, and haven't yet dared to tuck away winter boots, coats or mitts.  On my days off I check the progress of the snow and ice melt around the timbers, and try to imagine that soon Rob will be carving them for the workshop. The glorious days of spring have not yet arrived, and for now, we are content to wait. Both Rob and I had some kind of long lasting upper respiratory bug that hung around for several weeks, and only now are we feeling like our energy levels are coming back up to normal.

Despite the cold spring though, the birds are returning to the area, and each morning we hear another bird song added to the symphony.  And Rob spotted our first woodland spring flower, so it won't be long before more pop up.

The snowshoe hares have been taking advantage of the cedar that covers the ground this time of year, and have been munching away in the clearing near the cabin.  Their white coats are slowly being replaced by their brown summer coat, but they are still pretty patchy.

The river is high and fast, and we can hear the roar of the falls both upstream and downstream.  I love to visit it's banks in several different locations, to listen to the sound, check the levels, and scan for wildlife.

This is the one time of year too, that the river flows into the lower areas, (what we like to call the bayou!) and provides a good habitat for muskrat, beaver, ducks, frogs, turtles and the occasional blue heron. Jet likes to check out one of the areas where the river flows in. The beaver is kind enough to often leave him a nice stick to pick up!

Hard to believe but in a couple of months, the river will drop, the vegetation that is now under water will spring up, and it will look more like the photo below that I took a couple of summers ago, from the very same spot.

And the new house?  Well, it has gone through quite a lot of changes since the last posting.  As the snow began to recede, and the daylight hours got longer, Rob's work days got longer too.

He completed the rest of the plumbing, and it passed inspection. Even though we probably won't use the radiant heat system that we laid out in the concrete before it was poured, he still had to deal with the runs of tubing.  The pex tubing for heating is that group of  lines on the left, and the plumbing lines are on the right in the photo below.

He rough framed in the bathtub, and yes, I had to stand in the frame and try to imagine my first bath in our bathroom!

And then he started packing insulation in the walls.  I don't think I got one single photo of him, wearing a white clean room suit, goggles, toque and dust mask for protection from the fibres. Although not as itchy as the old style insulation, it still isn't entirely pleasant to deal with, especially when it's overhead!  The ceilings will also be packed but with a slightly thicker insulation for more R-value.

As soon as the insulation went in, the timbers seemed to emerge into view again.  As well, the rooms suddenly began to take shape! Below is the guest room on the left, guest bathroom on the right.

Our bedroom.

Even more exciting though, was when the drywall went up.  Rob had "fun" trying to fit some of the drywall up under the beams, and may have uttered more than a few choice words at times.  It was also a bit of a challenge to try to make the best use of each sheet, to eliminate unnecessary wastage.  We are using the new lighter drywall which is mercifully slightly easier to handle, but has it's own challenges.

The living room and upstairs ceilings will be packed with insulation and then have whitewashed pine boards attached. In the photo below you can see where Rob has tried putting some Tyvek wrap over the insulation in the ceiling. He is thinking this might work to prevent any insulation particles filtering through the ceiling planks, especially if the planks shrink over time, allowing the fibres to escape out. In a regular house, the vapour barrier would prevent this, but this style of building doesn't use one, and the Tyvek is moisture permeable which is important. The dining room and kitchen ceiling will be drywalled, so shouldn't be an issue.

Rob checks the fit in the guest bathroom.

Installing drywall in our bedroom was a challenge. Rob rigged up some clamps to help ease the drywall up into the tight spaces between the timbers and the wall studs.

With scaffolding, and the help of our friend Bob (thanks Bob!) we were able to get the high peak sections of the room done, and Rob finished the lower sections himself.

And that's pretty well where we are at.  The huge stack of drywall has disappeared, (poof!) and we need to get more so that we can complete our bathroom, and the kitchen and dining room ceilings. Rob cleaned up a bit, and we can now get a real feeling of the spaciousness of the living room, dining room and kitchen area. And talk about wall colours.  And artwork !! And pretty much just grin a lot....

The timbers for the workshop are almost free of ice and snow, and as soon as it is warm enough, Rob will switch over to working outside and getting the timbers carved and ready for the workshop. On rainy days he can continue to work indoors on other projects.

And so, as the last of snow disappears, and the warmer weather (hopefully) arrives, we view our woodpile and are pleased that we didn't run out of wood this year. We did pretty well, considering we kept the cabin toasty all winter, but also kept the inside of the new house warm enough for Rob to work in.  It's wonderful too, to be able to dry our clothes out on the line again, although it still takes them most of the day to truly dry!

And despite the chill that lingers in the air, Rob and I were able to sit out at the end of one sunny day, sheltered somewhat from the wind, and enjoy a cool beer together.

The best part is that with the snow still in the shadows of the trees, we had our own handy refrigerator too !

Fluctuating February

I feel like I begin every blog posting with a comment about the weather.  But when I read a friend's blog recently, and she too brought weather into the conversation, I realized it's because both of us are in the midst of a building project, and the weather affects so much of what we do and when we do it.   This year, February was much milder than previous years, but with those mild temperatures came snow storms, rain, ice pellets, and fluctuating freeze-thaw cycles that turned our long roadway into a rather treacherous skating rink! I had two "snow days" in February when I couldn't make it to work, and a third one in the first week of March.

Rob loves being in the new house during a storm. The inside is snug and warm, and incredibly quiet, despite the howling winds outside, and the blowing snow that is visible from so many directions through the windows. "Snow days" are also plow days for Rob though, so once the storm passes it pulls him away from working on the inside of the house and back out into that winter wonderland. 

For me, a snow day is a great time to go for a walk, with my camera tucked away in a waterproof bag (although it does little good once I pull it out to take some photos).  I like to check the road conditions just to confirm that I made the right choice in not driving to work. This is the main road at the beginning of one of the storms, so I definitely made the right choice that day!

 I'm always amazed how our world becomes so "black and white" during a storm.

In the photo below there is a lone wild turkey making it's way to the tree line.  I'm sure there were more turkeys already sheltered there as they usually seem to travel in groups.

Along with snow days, we also had some pretty mild weather, and were surprised one day to see the temperature go up well above zero.

Rob and I make good use of such beautiful days to refill the wood boxes with firewood, clean up the snow that slides off the various roofs and piles up near doorways and walkways, and enjoy a few good walks, especially by the river.  What a difference a warm sunny day makes!  My favourite place to sit in the winter is on this log, at the edge of the river. It's sheltered from the wind, close to the river (but not too close!) and I can happily sit there, watching the occasional bird, listening to the cracking sounds of the ice, and the soft sound of the river flowing by.  I can almost - almost - imagine that in a few months we'll be splashing around in that river to cool off from the summer's heat!

February is also the month that Rob and I celebrate our anniversaries - of our first date, and moving in together, and of course there is also Valentine's Day.  Our friends Gary and Liz commented that we never post photos of ourselves on the blog so here's one for them.  It's a photo of Rob and I when we first bought this property, some 25 plus years ago, sitting near the river in one of our favourite spots, (which is just a few feet away from the log in the photo above!) 

Work has, of course, been progressing in the new house.  I've lost track of how many feet of electrical wire Rob has run, but it seems to be a lot. I've already gone back to the store twice for additional rolls of wire. (Rob knows exactly how much he has run I'm sure!)  I liked how he rigged up two pieces of extra eave extension to accommodate the spools of wire, which made it easier to unwind them as the wire got pulled through the house.

There is a certain thrill in looking at the electrical panel too!

There is also a little story about that perfectly nice timber tucked in to the right of the panel. Rob carefully chose the placements for all the timbers in the house, knowing that some would crack more than others as they dried. He placed this timber in the corner where it wouldn't be very visible as he was sure this one would crack a lot. Well, it hasn't cracked at all. In fact it's just a beautiful and perfect timber. The highly visible timbers? Yup, cracking away .... I think the cracks just add to the beauty and character of the timbers though. And it's entirely normal.

After Rob spends a long day pulling electrical wire, and wiring up electrical boxes, each evening we've been discussing lighting and lighting fixtures.  

Now, I said I wouldn't write about getting the truck stuck on the ice one day, and the wood ashes someone put down on the ice to help get some traction, that had dozens of nails in it, so I won't. (Whoops!) But I will write about the fact that Rob is a bit of a collector of things - you know - those things that you keep and never throw out? Ever?  Bits of this and bobs of that... spare parts, used parts, (not to mention several parts from scanning electron microscopes... ) And there are times, when I might perhaps suggest that he has collected a bit too much "stuff". Well, I will gladly admit that this has turned out to be a good thing more times lately than I can count, but it has proved to be really, really good in terms of lighting.  Having built three stores, a workshop, a log cabin, and the dome, we (?) seem to have collected quite a bit of lighting over the years, and it looks like now we are going to be able to put a lot of it to good use. And having spent some time on the web looking at the cost of fixtures, not having to buy some is definitely going to help with our limited budget. We've also been looking at fixtures that we like, and trying to figure out whether we can somehow make something similar ourselves.  But that is a long term plan, and in the short term, we will have to get some lighting in place throughout the house.

While working on the electrical, Rob had to put up some drywall sheets here and there in the house.  What a difference it makes to see drywall up.  This is the entrance to our bedroom. We both started envisioning a nice piece of artwork on that wall, but of course when the door swings open, it will largely cover that up.

This is a small closet in our bathroom.  We think it will be an open closet, with maybe some shelves up top and a closed unit below.  It would be a good place for extra towels and such.  I guess this is more exciting to us right now, as we have been making do with having three towels since we came here. We don't have a lot of space in the cabin, so most of our linens are in storage.  On the other hand, we haven't needed more than three towels, so I'm not sure that we really need more now, or a place to put them! Having lived happily with "less" all this time, I am pretty sure there are some things, where I don't want "more".  So maybe these will be empty shelves ! Or a place for some of our funky fun pottery pieces and artwork.

Of course, that said, as much as I don't want more "stuff", I do wish for more "space".  Especially in the kitchen.  On a recent day off, while our banana/carrot bread cooled on a rack (balanced somewhat precariously on top of the toaster),  I cleaned up the counter and made some room for the bowls I needed to make granola. So imagine my surprise when I returned to the kitchen and found my little bit of space, occupied by a bunch of tools !!
Nice...
I have to admit, I couldn't stop laughing when I took a photo of it.

I decided not to include photo after photo of electrical boxes, and wiring.  While it is exciting to see progress, when you've seen one electrical box, you probably don't need to see another one.  I will say though, that there was a lot more to it than I thought.  While we didn't need to know what exact fixture we would be using, and where, we did need to decide what kind of fixture (LED lighting, or regular fixture with LED bulb) and at least approximately where we thought we might install them, in order to ensure there was something to connect to later on. All the wiring has to be run before the insulation and drywall is put in. The floor is solid concrete and there is no basement, so unlike a lot of houses, it's difficult to add wiring later on. And of course, we had to meet all the electrical code requirements for ground fault interrupters and arc fault interrupters, using the appropriate wire where required, and the correct sized boxes etc., etc. etc.....  Today we even had to think about where we be will running speaker wires, so had to decide where the speakers will be mounted.  I think both of us could do with some sort of more mindless task for a bit, as it feels like things have been pretty intense the last few weeks. Every night Rob would check and update his wiring diagrams (see below) and make sure he had everything he needed for the next day's task.

As soon as we finished up with the "rough" electrical wiring, we arranged for the first electrical inspection and yay!- it passed!. Of course then we began to think about the next series of jobs. Within minutes of the inspection, Rob was talking about running the plumbing that will bring hot and cold water to the various parts of the house.  And we still need to decide on how we will actually get hot water. (More on that in a later blog I think!)  

Once the plumbing is complete, we can schedule another building inspection, and then we can begin to put in the interior insulation and get that drywall up.

Now the weather is beginning it's pre-spring tease though.  This weekend the temperatures rose above normal, and the birds began to stir.  It's hard to stay indoors when it's sunny and "warm" out!  There's a part of me though, that feels like I'm not quite ready for winter to be over - I lamented today that we didn't go snowshoeing once, and I never curled up by the wood stove with a good book on a snowy day... Oh well, I can save it all for next winter I'm sure (and I'm not quite convinced that we won't see a bit more winter weather yet!)  Only a few days ago I might also have been whining just the tiniest bit about having to bundle up in so many layers, so many times in one day. So today, with the milder weather, we tried to balance some indoor work, and web research, with a couple of nice walks in the woods and along the river (wearing no wool hat or mitts!). Listened to woodpeckers, chickadees and nuthatches, and admired the tracks of the wild turkeys all along the river edge.  And of course Jet had some playtime in that lovely snow too - as before long it may all be gone.