Well I must be slowing down in my old age. Things I thought I should do faster seem to take longer and I notice that I don't push myself as much as I used to. That and I think I have a healthier respect for what could happen if something went wrong. For instance as you'll see later on it took me 4 days to roof just half the garage. Now weather was partly to blame however had I been younger I would have pressed through on this. Any way on with the story.

So on last Sunday I took the time to place some waterproofing on the wall/rim joist interface on both the side porch and the cold cellar. I used the Blue skin material for this. On the side porch I went up the Rim joist 12in and then over the 4in wall exposure and the  slightly over this down the side of the wall. This was to waterproof the area where I planned to lay 2 rows of brick to support the side porch deck. I also waterproofed the area around the rim joist where the cold cellar is going. This is again to waterproof the area before they lay a concrete lid on the cold cellar. I then did some sheathing on the garage roof and installed a small portion of the wall in the basement where the electrical panel will be going. Here are some photos. First photo shows first row of sheathing on back of garage. Second photo shows the waterproofing and the support for the concrete deck on cold cellar and the third picture shows the waterproofing and the two rows of brick I installed to support the side deck.

 

On Monday I managed to get three rows of sheathing done on the garage before being chased down by the wind. I also laid down the two rows of brick on the side porch as seen in the photo above. We also had the chance to play in the mud if I so desired. In order to settle the dirt in the garage the concrete contractor wanted me to soak the garage with water. I calculated that I could get about 2000gal of water into the garage area before it would go over the lip of the wall. So on Monday afternoon Ted VanderZalm delivered 2000 gals of water that we placed over the garage floor. We actually ended up with about 2-300gal to much that went over the lip. However by Thursday afternoon it was all soaked in and it did settle the dirt a little. Here is a photo showing what 2000gal of water looks like in my garage.

On Tuesday I finished sheathing the garage and I then installed the drip edge. I had gone to Hermans roofing in St Catharines to buy the shingles I would need. I thought I had the calculations done right however when I installed the drip edge I was 1.5ft to short. Turns out I had forgot to add the length of the front and back eave. This means I'll also be short on shingles. Oh well mistakes happen at least this one is easy to fix. I also took the time to caulk 1/2 of the exterior of the house. I went around and caulked ever seam on the exterior wall prior to installing the Tyvek. I am hoping this will also cut down on any drafts and prevent moisture ingress into the walls. I also plan on caulking all the seams on the interior of the house as well. Lastly on Tuesday they backfilled the house being built beside me so they brought some fill over to finish backfilling what they missed a week ago due lack of material. The main area they needed to do was by the cold  cellar and here is a photo showing the backfill complete. As well the second photo shows the garage sheathing complete as well.

Wednesday was a big day here. The Framers came and finished the sheathing on the house. They are now all done with my project. Unless the building inspector finds issues and then they'll be back to fix those issues. As well my Plumber finally came and started work on the plumbing. He was initially due to come on Monday but have vehicle troubles and could not sort these out for a day or two. I also managed to start shingling the garage. The first thing I did was install a row of Ice and water shield on the roof. This goes up 3ft, I then laid down three rows of shingles which came close to the top of the ice shield before going onto the roof and laying down a row of roofing membrane over which I nail the shingles. Once complete I laid down the fourth row of shingles and then  started the pattern all over again. With the GAF Woodland shingles I bought you need to lay them down in a series of 4 rows before starting the pattern all over again. Once I got into the routine laying down the field of shingles was not to difficult. You just needed to think when you started to ensure you laid down the 4 starter shingles correctly before continuing down the row. Here are some photos. The first one is at the end of the day when the Framers were all done. We now have a framed house. The second one shows me after one and a half cycles of 4 rows on the roof. The light blue is the waterproof membrane under the shingles.

On Thursday the Plumber  continued in the basement and I continued on the roof of the garage and managed to lay down 2.5 cycles of 4 rows. Again the wind in the afternoon chased me off the roof as I was not feeling comfortable up there. As well with the Brother in laws help we installed Tyvek on half of the house. After being chased off the roof I proceeded to  continue with more of the exterior caulking in preparation for installing the remainder of the Tyvek. Here are some photos, the first showing the shingles on the garage and the second showing the Tyvek around half the house.

On Friday I started by installing one cycle of 4 rows on the garage roof before again being chased down by the wind. I then proceeded to finish caulking the exterior of the house. The Brother in Law gave me a hand and we wrapped the garage in Tyvek. I still need to place some small pieces over and between the two garage doors but that can be done when I have a few spare minutes. Right now I'm in a rush to finish closing in the roof of the garage and forming the cold cellar lid so they can pour concrete next week before it gets to cold. Here's are a photo of Thursday's work.

Today on Saturday I managed to finish shingling the front of the roof. And the rows worked out exactly. The last row fits in perfectly so that the ridge cap covers just what it needs to. This was a bit of unexpected luck. As well we finished Tyveking the house. The plan is to laid brick and stone as the houses exterior however not sure whether this will happen this fall or next spring. In order to prepare for the worst case scenario I bought a special staple gun that shoots a staple through a plastic disc. I used this stapler to install the Tyvek as well as the waterproof membrane on the roof. It is great because it provides a 100% improvement in holding power for the staple if not a 1000% improvement. This means that theoretically the Tyvek could survive the winter if I decide not to brick until next spring. I also did a little work on preparing the cold cellar formwork. I'll finish that on Sunday. As well if the weather stays nice on Sunday I plan to install the waterproofing on the rear of the garage roof. This will mean the garage is essentially weather tight and the company can pour the concrete floor. Here are some photos showing todays work as well you can see me using this stapler to staple the Tyvek in place.

Well on Monday the roofers come and after a few days we'll have a weather tight house as well. As well on Monday the windows arrive and we can start installing those as well. By the end of the week I hope to be able to say that the house is all sealed up. Well until next week stay warm and thanks for reading my story.

Harold