"It Ain't Half Hot Mum"

Greetings and once more my apologies, as yet again I have failed in my intention to post every two weeks, it now being three weeks since the last update on Sunday 13 August. The photo below is the house as I left you in my last transmission.  

In spite of one of Jason's team having to be away for over a week (one out of three effectively reduces progress not to 66.6% but nearer 50%), and Jason himself having to jump back and forth between my build and his other clients three car garage build down in Sweetwater, there has been some good progress both by his team and by other contractors.  

One significant move forward was the installation of my daylight walkout basement concrete slab and subsequently the  garage slab. I'd explained in my previous post the under slab plumbing being roughed in and then the rock slinger providing up to 6" of  3/4" washed radon rock, which I (with Jason's guidance) had subsequently spent a significant amount of time levelling and compacting with his machine.  

Commencing week of 14th August, next stage was to place a 6mm polythene vapour barrier over this rock, sealing it all around the edges of the footings (where exposed at the higher of the three stepped levels on my hill) and foundation ICF walls with acoustic (non hardening) seal, and the same at the polythene sheet joins and around all the plumbing and radon pipe extrusions ... 

... and then placing 4' x 8' x 4" high compression resistant slab insulation foam sheets on top of the vapour barrier. These will provide an R16 (minimum building code requirement is for R11) insulation so that my hydronic in slab heating loop is not wasting energy heating the ground below rather than the slab and thereby the living space above. 

Then my plumber (Jason Sims as opposed to Jason Olesen) came in to fit the various zoned Pex (cross linked polyethylene) hydronic heating loops...

... followed by Jason Olesen's team placing 12.5 mm (#3 size) rebar an inch above those pipes.

In this photo below we are looking from the mechanical room through where the stairwell wall will go into the lobby area ...

... and here we are looking back at the mechanical room.  On the back wall you can see the start of the hydronic manifold system. 

The following Monday 21 August the concrete team came in to pour and level a 3" concrete slab.

The rest of that week, leaving Jason's team to focus on the roof (see later), I dealt with the arrival and progressive compacting in layers of another 6" plus infill as the base for the garage slab. As this space is not a living space and there is no enclosed living above, the material used was cheaper and rougher than the washed and graded radon rock used in the main house. 

Jason then suggested to me that I could also heat the garage slab.  Those in UK might think a heated garage an extravagance, but in Canada's winters, while a luxury rather than a necessity, it is not unheard of in custom built homes.  I considered it for 24 hours, but the likely additional cost would have been about $3,500 plus the possible need for a larger boiler than that currently planned, so probably another $5,000 plus the additional heating bill.  At the limits of my financial resources for this build, the idea was rapidly dismissed.  As a result you will note in the following photos no slab insulation, but the same process of laying, sealing and taping a vapour barrier (not required by building code in a garage but it's a good idea and Jason likes to follow "best practise") .... 

... and then in order to support the weight of parked vehicles, laying a thicker 15mm (#4 size) reinforcing rebar grid. 

Preparation work complete, Monday 21st August saw the pouring of a 5 to 6" concrete slab, but this time using a 32 MPa concrete (stronger than the 25 MPa concrete used in the daylight walkout basement). 

You'll notice in the background of the photo before last a CAT digger back on site.  This last three weeks was, at times, a jostle for space as I attempted to keep progress moving at best pace.  Dale Bryant (and his grandson on his summer school holiday) was on site for much of this last week, predominantly focussed on installing my septic tank, but also doing some other ground work for me. In this next photo you can see part of the pit for the septic tank and the plumbing outflow pipe through the foundation wall below the slab.

Below, the hole for the septic tank ...

... and then the tank in the ground.  This is a Type 2 system, using an initial tank to allow the larger material to settle and be digested by bugs, and then a baffle that allows fluids to pass through into the second section and any finer materials to settle here and again be digested while the remaining fluid then passes through a filter (apparently I have to lift this filter and clean it once a year - "oh no, what a horrid thought") into the drain field.

Beyond the two inspection covers is a distribution box that splits the fluids into three separate lines that run down the subsequent drain field over a deep layer of sand both below and then on top of the soak away pipes.

Job complete and all evidence almost covered over.  I'd suggest this is the best place for it considering what this is all for!!!!

And then protected by the placing of a few large rocks so nobody can accidentally drive over the septic tank and break it, or even sink their vehicle into its depths!

As you can see above, other work undertaken by Dale included flattening preparation and then lifting and siting of my 1000 gallon propane tank delivered by "Lo-Cost Propane Ltd" (I am not sure if that name will prove something of a joke)!  Already partly hidden from the house decks view by a tree, I intend to screen the tank from the driveway view next year by building a fenced enclosure.

The majority of properties at Koocanusa Ranch, if using gas as opposed to hydro (electricity) for heating and cooking, are fitted with a 500 gallon tank.  After an unusually heavy snow fall last winter (10 year high), where a number of properties proved inaccessible to the delivery truck and were in serious danger of running out of heating gas, I decided to go for double the size tank.  Additional rental costs are minimal, although I must admit I am not looking forward to the bill for the first fill in a few weeks time.  Not that I should normally use that much as my heating will be supplemented by the wood burner in my Great Room, but should I decide to be away travelling extensively for one winter, my house would then rely totally on gas heating, and so I do not want the worry that some Calgary resident owners had for their Koocanusa homes last winter. 

Other work undertaken by Dale and his grandson included further infill of the land behind the house where it has gradually settled since the back fill a couple of months ago, and then profiling a slope away from the house so that water does not settle on the back foundation wall. Then the installing of a drain pipe from each front corner of the house to take any water away that has sunk to the drain rock and Big O pipe that some readers may recall was installed all around the footing some months ago.

Again some readers will recall that I mentioned in my last update the sono footings for the walk-round from my front deck to the over garage deck had been incorrectly planned for position in the drawings, and therefore the walk-round deck would not have been adequately protected from a snow slide by the porch roof, whose design was just for just that purpose!  So last week we removed the walk-round deck structural timbers and then excavated those two useless sono footings, then re-sited new ones ready for another concrete pour.  But in spite of my best planning to minimise costs by lifting these last Monday and then tie in the concrete pour next day at the same time as my garage slab, my plans were foiled by a phone call from the concrete team at the end of the previous week, saying they had to advance my garage slab to the Monday due to another government contractor putting greater pressure on them (and presumably paying much more money than me).  As a result I will now probably have to bear additional haulage charges for a partial load of concrete. I have come to the conclusion the building trades ability to plan and coordinate efficiently is even more haphazard than either UK or Canadian defence procurement planning!  

Above all the work taking place at and below ground level, as evidenced in the photo above, Jason Olesen's team were working on the roof building both the porch dormer and the insulation framing, and also finishing of my loft bedroom shed dormer. While generally starting earlier in the morning, much of this work was in the full blast of continuous sun, 35C - 36C reported shade temperatures but exacerbated by the direct sun and the black waterproofing peel and stick on the roof.  The three guys looked shattered at the end of each day.

Here is the porch dormer framed. Later in the year but not a priority at the moment, I will have the underside of this fitted with the same T&G that lines the rest of my roof system.  

The following four photos give an impression of the roof insulation over framing.  This uses 2"x8" lumber, and is secured to the underlying roof by a mix of nails, timber screws into the T&G deck, and 6" heavy duty GRK RSS screws tightened into the huge timber rafters. This next Tuesday my engineer will review my photographic record of this framing as the local inspectors declined responsibility for inspecting this, saying it was my engineers role - this was despite the fact his structural drawings did not specify this part of the framing as this is a fairly standard cathedral roof insulation framing system.  If all goes to plan (doubtful in the building trade) later in the week the areas over the indoor living space will then be insulated with 6" of closed cell spray foam from above to give an R40+ insulated roof, leaving a space above the spray foam to provide roof venting so that should any vapour ingress to the roof that might then condense is naturally vented out, rather than causing damaging rot. Plan thereafter is to sheet the roof with ½" plywood before my tin roofer does his work a week and a bit later.

Back down a level (where I felt rather safer than I did on top of the roof photographing a very comprehensive record of this structure for my engineers review) the loft shed dormer was also completed.  The roof of this will be spray foamed from below to the same 6" R40+ thickness (I will line with T&G later) and the dormer walls and gable will be spray foamed to provide an R24 insulation value, which compares with my ICF walls.  Spray foam is by no means a cheap option (understatement), but it is quick to install, highly effective in terms of insulation value, and also provides a tight vapour and air barrier seal that would otherwise have to be provided using additional materials and time.  I am told by that particular contractor it will take two days on site to insulate my roof, three gables, the shed dormer walls, and a number of rim joists above my concrete walls.  

In preparation for the roof spray foam, my plumber did his part last Friday to route his vents through the roof, my electrician will be fitting certain wiring and pot lights next Tuesday (leaving 24 hours free should his own inspector wish to view prior to Thursday's spray foaming), and I have my wood burner stove contractor fitting the chimney run on Tuesday. This is a certainly a project management juggling act! 

Meanwhile, on the sidelines I have been working on building up and machine compacting the level for my future concrete patio, and once the concrete is poured into those new sono footings, will be doing the same for the front entrance.  My aim is to get the patio, front entrance area and garage aprons concreted in late September.

Amongst all this activity, I have had one amazing reconnection with somebody from my past, and a surprise visit yesterday from another friend as a result of readers of my blog.  The first was Olga, who contacted me to ask if I was the same Darroch Woodward with a sister (Amanda) and brother (Peter) who had lived in Sandhurst (UK) in the mid 60's, and if so, she as a teenager prior to going off to University, was our babysitter.   I remembered her name and as a result we exchanged a few good emails and doing the AirBnB thing herself, has possible plans to be my first AirBnB guest next year.  That said, I have failed to answer her last email of a couple of weeks ago, and then left it as she lives in Houston and you will all know they have had devastating floods down there following Hurricane Harvey.  Knowing too well my own experience of being flooded out after Tropical Cyclone Gonu in Oman back in June 2007 (see these two photos from my past) ... 

... I felt it best to give her space to deal with that, but at same time I am hoping she is alright and not flooded out of her own home. I will be emailing her after I publish today's update.  

The surprise visit yesterday was Lori.  I know Lori and her husband and son from my seven years in Ottawa as she was the lifelong friend of Suzie Snook (married to my friend Ray Snook, an ex RN aviator and more recently retired from the RCN).  Sadly Suzie passed away in January 2016 of cancer.  Lori and her family now live in Saskatchewan.  She texted me two days ago to say she was driving back from Idaho after visiting cousins and wanted to call in and take a look at my project. Here she is undertaking her own inspection of what one of my contractors calls my "small shack" while enjoying the view, in spite of the smoke haze from the ongoing wildfires obscuring the view of the Rockies beyond those foothills.

It was great to see her and then have a nice meal with her in Fernie.  She and her family may come and stay next year. What with Ray Snook having a long term booking for next Spring Break, Olga, and now Lori's family, visitors are beginning to line up.  

I mentioned earlier the heat Jason's team endured while working up on my black waterproofed roof.  Summer seems to be never ending this year with extreme temperatures, the sun beating down on us, and a lack of precipitation that is unusual even for this semi arid region.  BC wildfires continue to rage, and we had a number of new starts this last 10 days due to thunderstorm systems that passed over the region with dry lightning but no rain.  Reputedly one of the hottest summers on record (after an unusually heavy winter snow fall) it is clear from the records that it is the worst year for wildfires in the province, the state of emergency being extended for the fourth time only a few days ago.  Air quality varies, some days being fine down here, others obscuring the view of the Rockies and being dense enough to taste.  A few statistics as issued by BC authorities today:

• Currently 161 wildfires burning in BC
• There are 20 evacuation orders and 41 evacuation alerts today related to wildfires.
• Since 1 April 2017 a total of 1,189 wildfires in BC have burned approx 1,099,003 hectares = 10,990 sq km.  (Note: BC at 944,275 sq km is 4 times bigger than UK and that burnt area now represents 1% of BC, or in comparative terms 4% of UK's land mass).

To those non believers in climate change and the effect we humans are having on the planet, I have to say look at the evidence of a number of events in recent years.  We only have one planet, much of its beautiful, and we need to take better care of it as there is nowhere else to go. Hopefully this sort of wildfire season will not become the new norm.  I knew in planning my location wildfires were the biggest risk, but as I said to somebody the other day, I preferred that one to the option of a Richter 9 earthquake while in my bed at night on the west coast.  At least with wildfires you can plan for an evacuation.  

In the meantime while I am keen to keep my roof dry until its insulated, sheeted over and then has the tin roof installed, I would be glad for some heavy rain to dampen the ground, not least to reduce the fire risk, but also to ease the dust.  Holding on for another month and hopefully by then the risk will be much reduced. 

Well, I think that concludes my progress report for the last three weeks.  Wildfires and time line slippages in the build aside, I continue to be stimulated by managing this project and building a unique spec home.  

I will aim to publish again in two weeks as long as things progress at the pace I hope for.  Until then I'll leave you with the two photos below of what the house now looks like, and having mentioned Oman earlier, I will sign off accordingly 

maʿ al-salāmah 
مَع السَلامة