The Roofing Gods

..smiled on us today.
At 8:00 AM sharp, under cloudy skies (but no rain) 3 pick-up trucks full of roofers and equipment converged on us. 15 minutes later the materials arrive and after a quick survey
of the roof - they go to work. First order of business is drying out the sheathing.


They do this by torching it - the heat drying the wood quickly. Takes skill though - linger too long and it's a call to BHBVFD - Roy to put out the fire on his own roof!
Next they roll out the first ply material and torch it as they unroll it - melting it and sealing it to the sheathing.



To finish the first ply they finish the edges, melting and sealing the material up and over the parapet walls. Water will be trapped and forced to exit through the copper scuppers and down the downspout out to the drainage ditch. The melting and sealing process is repeated with the second ply which has a granular finish much like an asphalt shingle.
The roofers complete both ply's on the workshop and carport and start on the house. By day's end they have completed the first ply which makes all of our flat roof water tight. This is huge
for us - maybe things can start to dry out a bit...
The metal roof and metal caps for the parapet walls will not arrive until mid next week - depending on the weather of course....

Fanny Bay

I was driving along the old coastal highway the other day, on my way to Courtenay and had to pull over at the Government docks in Fanny Bay.
The seals have returned.
I admit to knowing very little about them, just that they seem to stop here for a couple of weeks every year during their migration. They are quite large and lay about barking and basking in the sun(??) Quite humorous to watch....and then they are gone again.
One more thing to learn about.

Rain, Rain - Go Away...

....at least until we can get a roof on our house. The monsoons are upon us. It has rained almost every day for the last couple of weeks and the long range weather forecasts show that trend continuing for the next two weeks.

People here have a different attitude about rain - they don't really seem to notice it. Rarely do you see an umbrella or a raincoat - they just carry on as if nothing is happening; no running for cover, or shielding of the head. Building is no exception, it goes on all-year round, rain, or shine so this week the crew has continued to prep the roof for the application of the torch-on membrane and the standing seam metal. Water has continued to pour in, soaking the framing and pooling on the floor and every day I squeegee it out only to have the skies open up again....
With the sheathing complete, the parapet walls built and fascia installed and skylights "curbed" we're finally ready for the roofer. He'll come tomorrow - if it doesn't rain.
Torch-on roofs require the sheathing to be somewhat dry in order for the membrane to "stick" so if it's raining - it ain't happening. Of course, the forecast for tomorrow is (drum roll).... rain.

The Plumbers

The plumbers came back on Monday to do their rough-ins - prior to the application of poly and drywall. No big deal really, we've all seen black plumbing pipes at some time or another right? So, I'm not sure quite what to make of this...



I can hardly wait to see what the electrician has in store for us.

BHBVFD

Roy was formally "inducted" into the Bow Horn Bay Volunteer Fire Dept on Monday (with a 3 other new recruits) and received his pager. On Wednesday at 7:00 he got his first call - a chimney fire. Most people in this very rural community heat their homes with wood in some way - fully or as a supplement to electric. Chimney fires are caused by a build up of resin in the chimney and account for many of the Fire Dept calls throughout the winter months.
So Roy hopped in the car and rushed down to the firehall where he met up with the other volunteers. They got their gear and supplies, took two trucks and were off. As he told me later (making the whole thing sound like a non-event) by the time they arrived, the fire was sputtering and almost already out, but Roy and Jesse climbed up on the roof and dropped the fire retardant bomb down the chimney per the procedure. By 8:00 he was home again. Just another day in the life...

Raising the Roof

Early Monday morning the crane truck arrived with our roof trusses. Once unloaded, the crane is then used to lift into place wall sections and beams that were too large and heavy to be lifted by hand; the rake windows, a beam across the front of the workshop, the fir ridge beam and two support beams, one in the front and one in the back of the house.




The next hours and following days are spent putting the trusses in place, and strapping and sheeting them. The focus is on the flat roof portions which make up about half of the house and all of the workshop and carport. The gable portion will only be strapped, plywood is not needed.




On Thursday our roofer came to check on our progress and to ensure that everything is right for the application of the torch-on flat roof and the standing seam metal which will cover the gable portion of the roof. (No, not an asphalt shingle in sight.) Everything is looking good and the roofer plans to return mid next week to apply the torch-on and measure for the metal, that portion to be applied soon after.
It rained steadily and heavily Thursday night and into early Friday morning and turned the house into a swimming pool. I spent the morning with a squeegee pushing water out under or over the sill gaskets and by mid morning the sun is out and things are drying up again. Weird weather!




Friday ends on a much brighter note than it started. The trusses are all in place and the fir ridge beam is tarped to provide some protection from the weather.


This week has passed in a flash but not without problems; some trusses and beams were missing from the Monday shipment and arrived on Wednesday, minor mistakes and miscommunication slowed things down but eventually everything was sorted out and work continued. Roy has worked with the crew all week and held his own although he has admitted that he's too old to be making a career in construction. Bedtime comes really early after you slug plywood all day.


Roy and I walked back to our trailer tonight and this was the view down the road; sea fog mixing with the sun and the fall colour. Beautiful.

What's this white stuff...?

No, not snow, but heavy frost. I'm sure someone told us that didn't happen here...guess they lied! Our little ceramic heater in the trailer is going all the time now. Clock is ticking on how long before we'll have to check into a motel...

The Walls are Here!

DAY 1: Our walls arrived this morning at 7:00 AM. They were unloaded and the truck on his way by 10:00. The loads are all labeled for the areas of the house where they belong - so they have all been placed where they are needed. Why move a wall too far if you don't have to?
Today is all about unloading, checking, planning, layout and prep. Sill gasket and gasket plates are bolted to the foundation and serve as the base to attach the walls. The walls are constructed of 2X6 SPF lumber with 1/2" fir sheathing on the outside and 4" EPS foam insulation (R20 equivalent) on the inside.



DAY 2: The 4-man crew arrives at 7:30 AM and work begins. It's all about putting the walls up.
And up they go - quickly! They're straight and square and fit perfectly. Amazing to watch.




Carry it over, line it up, raise it into position and nail it into place...and yes, that's Roy in the middle of the action. He wasn't kidding when he said "we" were building our own house.
By the end of the day the carport and workshop are complete and the house is about 75% there.


DAY 3: It rained last night. The walls and the floors are wet, but life goes on. The sun comes out by mid morning and things start to dry out...life in the pacific rain forest. The crew erects the last of the walls before noon and depart to work on a foundation in Parksville. There are a few really heavy support beams that will wait for the crane to return (on Monday with the trusses) to be lifted into place. So that's it for this week - we have walls in 2 1/2 days - crazy!



This is our house as it appears from the street, the door at the far left leads into the mudroom and out to Roy's workshop. Visitors will enter through the door in the centre and into the sunroom. The room on the far right corner is the guest bedroom (for anyone thinking of visiting).


Above left: looking into the sunroom, through the living and dining areas to the patio doors and out to the creek. Top right: the kitchen. The large white pipe is where the island will be.
And oh, how did we do with the placement of services in the concrete? The electrician so far scores 100%. His stuff was all exactly where it should have been. Plumbers didn't fare quite so well...a couple of sill plates had to be cut to allow for pipes coming up in the middle of walls...just a couple of inches off. No big deal so far, we've adjusted and moved on.
We're one week closer to lock-up. Roof trusses come on Monday. Roofer is lined up, skylights ready, insulator waiting, fireplaces ordered and ready for installation, plumber and electrician waiting to be called. Windows and doors due to arrive week of the 25th. Hope we haven't forgotten anything....

Pacific Homes Smart Walls

Back in January Ian and I attended a home show in Comox. It was there that I first learned about Pacific Homes and began to educate myself about today's prefab wall and truss systems. There are many reasons to choose prefabrication, some of which are: higher quality lumber, precision cutting and assembly in a manufacturing environment, less waste , shorter on-site construction time and less labor. For more info visit: www.pacific-homes.com
Roy and I decided this was the way to go and last week we toured Pacific Homes manufacturing facility in Cobble Hill. The first thing we say was this flatbed trailer loaded up with our walls - ready for delivery on Tuesday. The trusses will come the following week and with luck we will be in lock-up by early November. Non too soon either - it's getting damp and chilly in our little trailer as the weather starts to deteriorate. If the monsoons can only hold off a couple more weeks...

Moving Mountains

If anyone needed directions to our place I would say "drive up Charlton until you see the mountain of dirt - that's us". In fact you didn't have to drive too far, the mountain of dirt was visible from way down the street.
It has been a vantage point for some of my high angle panorama shots and has afforded us some privacy from the street...until today. Early this morning the stillness was shattered by the roar of an engine and the loud back-up warning beep of a Bobcat at work. In 5 hours our mountain was leveled to make the footing safer for the crew who will be erecting our walls next week.
Now what will I use for a landmark? A house number you say?


Going, going...

going....Gone!