Merry Christmas

Everything remains on track for the lock up inspection on January  9.  Windows arrive on the 8th of January and will be installed the same day, roofing should be completed on the 9th as well.  The crew will be working between Christmas and New Years to finish up some of the basement framing.
Looks like Kelowna will enjoy a green Christmas this year.

Main Floor & Roof

The days are short but the weather is great, daytime highs in the range of -2 C  to + 4 C so fairly productive days.  The basement is framed, floor joists and sub-floor are in place, upper walls are framed and working on the roof truss package.  We had the crane on site yesterday for about 3 hours lifting the trusses into place.  The crew will be working on the roof sheathing today, Friday and likely most of Monday.

Framing Basement

Lots accomplished this week despite the cold weather and snow.  All foundation walls are now fully protected from the frost with back fill so we are finished with the last of the tarps.  The floor joist package and steel beam arrived on schedule.  The basement walls are framed and the steel beam for the main floor joists is also in place.

Rock Pit & Garage

The District of Lake Country requires all rain water and any moisture from the weeping tile be directed into a rock pit within the  property. Inspections were completed on Friday for all drainage into the new rock pit in the centre of the back yard.  Forming of the footings for the garage were completed and the concrete was poured about 10:00 AM.  We continue to to protect the concrete from freezing with the use of the insulated tarps.

Basement Slab

On Monday morning  the crew finished cleaning up the site by 10:00 AM the foundation coating was started. Inspections for damp proofing and back fill were approved Monday afternoon. On Tuesday we brought in a number of loads of sand and gravel for under the basement slab, prepared the slab and installed the steel reinforcing bar over the slab seal, inspections for the slab seal were approved Tuesday afternoon. Due to the 6" of snow on Wednesday morning we rescheduled the basement slab pour until Thursday.
On Thursday everything went very smooth, a great looking slab, at the end of the day the tarps were placed on top of the new basement floor.

Walls

The Plumbers completed the underground plumbing Friday morning and the inspection was completed after lunch.  The concrete walls were poured late Friday afternoon, the forms were stripped on Saturday.  The insulated tarps were set back in place over the walls and footings until Monday.

Forming & Inspections

The installation of the steel reinforcing bars was completed this morning and inspections by both the structural engineer and the District of Lake Country was done shortly after lunch.  The crew will finish forming the balance of the non-engineered walls today and Thursday.  The pour for the walls is scheduled for Friday, stripping of the forms will be done Saturday and Sunday.  The rough-in for the plumbing under the slab will be completed by the end of Friday.  Foundation coating is scheduled for Sunday afternoon.

Forming the walls

After removing the overnight tarps, the crew stripped the forms from the footings, all the lumber from the footing forms is stripped of concrete and the nails removed so it can be reused elsewhere in the construction process.  The forms were delivered on time, by 11:00 AM the first forms were standing and late today the crew was installing the steel reinforcing bar in the concrete walls.  The insulated tarps were replaced at the end of the day.

Footings

We have maintained the tarps over the entire floor area of the home since we started the excavation on the 11th.  On Friday the 14th all perimeter footings, strip footings, and pads were formed and ready to pour however it was just too late in the day to attempt the pour.  On Monday 8:00 AM the equipment started to arrive and the pour was completed by 10:00 AM.  All insulated tarps were replaced over the footings and entire floor area.

Inspections & Connections

Good progress today, the floor slab area was packed, and the trench for the water and sewer connections were cut in.  The plumber installed the 4" PVC drain pipe and the 1" PEX water supply line and the District of Lake Country inspected prior to back filling the trench.  BC Land Surveyors placed the survey pins in the exact location of the footings and Horizon Geotechnical completed their 2nd on-site inspection.
We did find a discrepancy, the site plan was prepared showing the back wider than the front, however our surveyor noted it's actually wider in the back, so our surveyor earned his keep!  We informed the District of Lake Country and they will receive new copies of the corrected site plan on Thursday.

Excavation

The building permit was issued by the District of Lake Country on November 10th and the excavation started on November 11.  Site layout shows an elevation change from the high side of the property to the low side of the property of just over 6 ft.  We have set the front left corner of the home 10" above the height of the sidewalk.  The elevation will accommodate top soil to finished grade and maintain a minimum of 6" from the finished grade to the bottom of the siding.  The grade difference from the front left corner of the home to the front left corner of the garage is nearly 3 ft so we will drop the garage about 2' to maintain a more gentle slope to the driveway.