Snow it's a "four" letter word and I don't mean literally. Yes winter has started coming we had a few days of light snow here that caused some roofing hassles and with snow comes cold temperatures which caused some hassles for pouring concrete as well. Needless to say it is lousy when working in cold, damp weather conditions. However there was good news this week on the progress front.

On Sunday the weather was good enough that I could get up on the rear of the garage and install the Ice and water shield as well as the GAF roof decking material. This essentially made the garage waterproof from rain so that they could pour the concrete in there. As well I placed some more water proofing material over the rim joist area and onto the brick lintel I installed by the side deck. Lastly I cleaned out the old framing I had in the cold cellar and installed new blocking that would support the steel decking that would hold the concrete for the cold storage slab. These 4by4's were installed three feet on centre such that they would be under the seams of the steel decking. Here are some pictures. First one shows the rear of the garage with the weatherproofing as well as the starter row of shingles. The second picture shows the bracing as well as the waterproofing for the cold storage slab. Lastly we see the weatherproofing by the side door.

On Monday I managed to install a cycle or roof shingles(4rows) before I had to stop. I stopped since the roofers showed up to start on the house roof and they needed electricity from my generator to run their compressor. Since I was not sure if the generator would handle two compressors kicking in at the same time I stopped roofing. Therefore I decided it was time to build the framework for the side porch. Once this was done I started to waterproof the Rim joist area with Blueskin product. I managed to do about 1/2 of the house. I also took delivery of the windows that day. Here we see the fruits of my labour. First picture shows roof shingles and then we see the deck framework with the pallets for stairs. Then the last picture shows the rim joist waterproofing with the Tuck tape covering the seam.

Tuesday being Remembrance Day in Canada or Veterans day in the US was a beautiful sunny day. I wish the entire week had been this weather. As it was I managed to get another cycle of roofing done before the roofers came and started their work. With the Brother in law's help we installed 4 windows under the two porch roofs front and back. I also waterproofed the front rim joist area and started on the west wall. Lastly Cotton Inc came and installed the gravel in the Garage and back shed in preparation for concrete. An other thing that happened was we had our plumbing inspection for the rough in plumbing and passed. This means the basement is capable of having the concrete floor installed. First picture shows the front windows installed as well as the weather proofing. In the next three pictures we can see the Brother in law holding the window in place while I am on the inside shiming it level and plumb. I would then go outside and put a few nails in to hold it in place temporarily. In the last picture we see them slinging gravel into the garage.

                                                   

On Wednesday we installed five more windows. Before installing these windows I installed some Blueskin waterproofing membrane around the window openings as these windows are more exposed to the weather than the ones under the porch roof. I also started working on the Soffit and Eave support items on the house and garage. This also included nailing in a 6inch strip of OSB along the end of the Trusses to prevent the insulation from going into the soffit area, The first picture shows the strip of OSB above the Tyvek paper and then you can also see the 2by2 that I nailed up level with the bottom of the soffit where the actual vented soffit will be secured to. The second picture shows this on the garage as well as the 2by2 going up the Gable end for the eave soffit.

Ok Thursday was just not nice. Snow arrived and came down off and on most of the day making life miserable for the roofers. They initially hoped to be done today however weather and a screwed up order worked against them. Turns out the manufacturer placed 9 bundles of the wrong colour on the pallet before it left the factory. So they were short a few bundles. As well with the slipperiness of the melting snow on the roof they called it a day early and would come back on Friday to finish, I took the morning to return 4 wall panels back to Thermapan in Fort Erie. I will be glad to get this money back as I can then spend it on insulation for the Garage. I also went into Penner Lumber and ordered my front door from them. This is an Ostaco door with three point latching system. We hope the door will be delivered in the second or third week of December before they go on vacation for Christmas.

There were no pictures taken today of any note.

Friday was the big day. First the company came in and poured the concrete in the garage, in the shed and on the cold cellar lid. The boys had to work quickly since with the colder weather there were additives and warm water that speeded up the setting of the concrete. However they did yeoman's work and got it all laid done and smoothed out without losing any of it. Secondly the roofers came and finished the roof. The house would now be weather tight with the exception of three doors and one window. However these would be installed on Saturday, well sorta off. We packed it in a little early so that I could go to town to pick up some supplies as well as rent a heater for the basement. First three pictures shows them pouring concrete in the garage and on the cold cellar roof. The fourth picture shows the roofer installing the ridge vent. Last picture shows a completed roof.

On Saturday I brought the heater to the house and using a chain hoist lowered it down to the basement. This is a 175,000BTU Torpedo heater burning either diesel or kerosene. Within an hour the basement was toasty warm. However you had to be careful about the exhaust fumes so we did not work down there and we kept a window open slightly to help ventilate the basement. As well Cotton Inc came down and cut in the slots in the garage floor. Later in the morning the Brother in law came and we installed the last window. We also installed the doors, the patio door to the deck, the door to the side porch, and a sheet of plywood over the front door opening to keep people out until the door comes in. As well I spent some time digging a small trench over where I had buried the conduit for electricity as I needed to bury a second warning tape. The first on I buried 6in above the conduit. Turns out I needed to bury this tape 6in below grade level. Oh well ground was still not frozen so not to difficult to dig. First two pictures show the patio door and last window installed as well as the side door installed. The third picture shows the warning taped in the ground before burying and the last picture shows the house all buttoned up for the first time today Nov 15th.

Well that's were we stand for now. For the next few days I'll keep heating the basement so when they pour on Tuesday the gravel is at the required temp. I'll also try and get up on the garage roof to finish the shingles. Lastly I'll work on the garage so that I can get the framing inspection done so that I can start insulating it. Till next week stay warm and THINK SUNSHINE.

Harold