Week #6 - A Roof Over our Heads

(February 22-28, 2010)

It was another full week of framing magic at Casa Roa. As of Friday, the house is nearly enclosed.

The rest of the trusses were installed and the roof was sheeted this week. The roof is ready for shingles which could be started on Monday. As this picture shows, it really looks like a house. Its hard to believe that it was a pit of concrete a mere 4 weeks ago. With the exception of the basement windows and front door, the windows and doors are installed. Love it!

The front porch and back deck were also framed during week #6. Of particular interest is the 'barrel' that I had set my sights on for the house design. The arch on the front porch is one of several that have been incorporated into the house design (rest are inside). I'm thrilled with how it has turned out. Curb appeal?? Yes...but then again, I'm a wee bit biased. Ok - it requires some work yet but it has lots of promise. The fourth picture below shows what we will see when standing from inside the front door. The crew also worked on various backframing items inside throughout the week.




Pics of the back of the house below. The first is a photo from the inside looking through the mudroom to our back door. We created a 4ft entry so that moving bikes and gear in and out of the basement can be done with minimal damage to persons and the walls. For those of you having had the privilege of going into the basement at the old house, you will appreciate this enhancement.

Week #7 plans: shingles, remainder of windows and front door, skirting on the front porch, plumbing rough-ins and perhaps the concrete floor will be poured in the new part of the basement.

Week #5 - Framing continues...

(February 15-21, 2010)

As of Saturday morning (my latest visit to the house), the house now has a second story complete with rooms and the start of the roof. I had an opportunity to walk through the house for the first time. I was a bit teary-eyed by the time I got upstairs. I can't believe this is our house. I was so excited by what I saw. I've included some pictures from my tour to give you an idea of how some of the rooms are shaping up.

Upstairs Shots

Master bedroom (facing east)

Kieran's room with downtown view out west window - better view than in old house!!

Main Floor Shots

View from inside of Great Rm looking towards front of house; Great Rm (looking at back of house); Kitchen

Exterior Framing

As I mentioned, the exterior walls on the second floor went up this week. All of the trusses were trucked over later in the week. A crane was used to lift the building materials onto the property. I've included pictures of the exterior framing progress from the week as well as the crane at work.

Backfill

Kieran missed out on the machines this week that were used to backfill the hole left remaining around the new foundation. The 'Deep Excavation' is now gone and we can walk around in the backyard once again. This has freed up a great deal of space as well for construction activities.

Behind the scenes was more selection work. We have a direction for the 'look' of the fireplaces and I'm slowly getting some ideas for the tile. I might even brave a tile store or two this week. haha! With Paul's help (Paul is the senior project manager for Jamewood Homes with a hidden talent for decor), the toilet selections were finalized and the finer points of bathtubs and showers explored. H'mm...still so many decisions to make.

Next week: The framers are scheduled to wrap up their work with the completion of the roof, all backframing, front porch and back deck. Sounds like a lot of work to me but I have no doubt that, judging by the way they work, all will be done according to the current timeline.

Week #4 - Framing Well Underway

(February 8-12, 2010)

This week of work at Casa Roa did not disappoint in the progress department!

The framing crew put the first floor of the house together beginning with the exterior walls and then the interior framing for all rooms. The first wall went up on Monday and the rest followed with the exterior shell of the house being complete mid-week. The framers framed the various rooms (backframing) on the main floor bringing paper plans to reality. Very, very exciting.

The second floor building materials were delivered early Thursday morning. A crane was brought in to lift the floor joists on top of the main floor. Some of the joists were constructed in lengths that made it impossible to move them up by hand.

The second floor framing was well underway on Friday. The crew had all of the second floor joists installed and the floor sheeted (plywood nailed down) by the end of the day. Great stuff! They will start next week off with building and erecting the second floor exterior walls. With any luck, we'll have a roof on the house by the end of next week (week #5). The framer will continue to backframe the interior.

The pictures below show where the week started; the fourth picture shows the joists installed on the second floor.

Supports for Front Porch

Kieran was thrilled to see another 4-wheeled machine at the house this week! A bobcat was brought in (with some difficulties I might add - they built a ramp up the retaining wall to get it on the property) to auger holes for the 4 support posts that the front porch will be built on. They drilled down as 15ft to ensure a hard ground beneath each of the steel supports. Both the front porch and backyard deck are now ready for framers to work their magic. And yes, the bobcat made it safely back down the retaining wall!

Foundation Inspection

Finally, the city inspected the new foundation on Friday. I wasn't there when the inspector arrived but I'm going to assume that no news is good news. Assuming that we got a passing grade on the foundation, the remaining excavated ground around the new foundation will be backfilled during week #5.

It seems as though at the rate things have been going the past couple of weeks, we should be moving in by April! Haha! We might have some windows and doors installed before February is over but I know that there are many, many weeks of work to be done inside. I have a pile of library books on tile to get some ideas for the kitchen backsplash, tile floors and showers and whatever other surface is destined for tile. I better get to it!

Week #3 - From the Rubble...Casa Roa Emerges

(February 1-5, 2010)

Something New from the Old Tree

When we had the initial consultation with Jameswood Homes about our new home project, Don James (founder and owner of Jameswood) revealed that he crafts decorative pieces using green wood. He mentioned during our tour of the property that our big tree off the deck would be a good specimen for some carving work. Just this week, we were presented with a bowl made from this tree that had been cut down during demolition. Wow! The second picture shows the bottom of the bowl, complete with details of Don's handiwork. There's no doubt that this bowl will occupy a special place in Casa Roa.

Foundation

The forms for the new foundation were erected on Monday and the concrete was poured on Tuesday afternoon. Once the forms were removed, the cribbers covered the cement walls with tarps to keep them warm while they cure.

Framing

The framing crew arrived Monday to formulate their plan for framing the new house. After calling in some reinforcements, they moved the new structural beams into the house that bridge the span between the old and new foundations. The larger beam is 7/7.5 inches thick and 16 feet long. It took 6 guys to move it into the basement. Yikes!

The framers put the new beams in place and then began working on making the base for the floor level. This proved to take longer than anticipated. Once this was done, the floor joists were installed, bridged (term, I learned, for bracing the floor joists) and then plywood was put over top to form the first floor.

Next...the exterior walls are being framed. Casa Roa should really start to shape up next week.

And the selection process for the interior finishing continued. Good progress was made on Friday but I think we're far from done!

Week #2 - Snow, snow go away

(January 25-29, 2010)

The return of the snow slowed excavation progress this week. The snow caused the excavated dirt to stick in the back of the dump truck making it difficult to empty. So while excavation didn't finish up on Monday as originally thought, all traces (with the exception of the pit on which the addition is being built) of the massive yellow machine were gone by Wednesday afternoon. I'm sure Kieran is disappointed by its absence. She was mesmerized by it.

The cold and snow did not however, stop a concrete cutting crew of four guys from starting work on removing Good Ol' Roy's cement blocks (that were holding the floor joists in place) from the top of the foundation. You can see these squares of concrete on the foundation in earlier pictures. They also cut out a 20 foot section of the original foundation on the back of the house to open up into the new section (see below). I did not witness this feat as the yard was roped off. It was loud, dusty and dangerous. The end result was impressive. A smooth, level surface remained - perfect for the framers to get a good seal between the old foundation and the new floor. Phew! A plate was screwed down onto the top of this smooth surface to ready the foundation for framing.

The footings for the addition were formed and poured on Friday. The cribbers (concrete guys) will be back on Monday to get the walls formed and ready for cement mid-week next week. All of the first floor lumber and other framing materials were delivered Friday. The framing crew will start Monday too. There should be lots of action at Casa Roa on Monday!

The city left a hole in the street for over a week where they were working to replace a valve to shut off the water on the mainline. While those employed by private business showed up snow or sunshine, 2 degrees or minus 10 degrees, those employed by our hardworking tax dollars were elsewhere. H'mm...yes, I told you I was going to keep my comments in check. They did show up on late in the week to fill the hole and release the premium street parking spaces back to the residents. Apparently there were several calls to the City's 311 operators about this excessive delay to patch up a hole.

In case you've noticed from previous pics, there is a metal box sitting in our basement. That is the remains of our furnace. I've circled it in the pic below. It was salvaged by the builders to provide warmth for the workers once the framing is done and the house is enclosed.

Week #3 is shaping up to be a big week with a promise of good progress shots. Stay tuned...

Week #1 - Out with the Old

(January 18-22, 2010)

After weeks and weeks...and weeks and weeks...of waiting, the construction phase of Casa Roa has begun. The gory details of our close encounter with the 'abyss' (a.k.a. Plan-It Calgary and any facet of this fine city's approval process) during the permitting phase were momentarily forgotten after tossing a rock through the front picture window. Let the demolition begin...

Demolition of the existing house down to the foundation and excavation of the 16ft we're adding on the back is scheduled to be completed by Friday (01.24.2010).

3.5 days and 6 truckloads of house debris later, the house is down to the foundation. Good Ol' Roy (the original owner and builder of the house) cemented the main floor joists into the foundation. What's more - he built the front and side steps into the house like no one's business. Demo of the stairs warranted the use of a mini backhoe fitted with a jackhammer to break the steps apart. Joey and I were witness to his handiwork when we demo'd the basement. In the words of our onsite manager, the house is overbuilt!! To Roy's credit, the 10 inch thick foundation survived demo. Good Ol' Roy. Haha!!

Demolition Complete!

Excavation got underway but was not completed. Due to tight conditions in moving the dirt to the truck, progress was slower than anticipated. This was an okay development as the cribbers will not be ready to roll on Monday. Despite this, the new footings and foundation should be poured next week according to schedule. Oh yeah, a concrete cutting crew will have to come and cut off the cement floor joist 'holders' before framing can begin. This is scheduled to start early next week.

So I've been asked by several people if I felt any sadness over the demolition of our home. I can't answer for Joey but the short answer is no. The memories that I have of life in the old house are intact. And when we're in our new house, I will reflect fondly on our good fortune to not be suffering from cold winters, scorching summers, the lack of closets and limited water pressure and anything else associated with inhabiting an older home. I'm so excited!! Hopefully this euphoric feeling continues...