End Of July Update CPHQ

[B4D2USA]

It has been a busy summer at the house site. The roof is mostly finished, except for the area where the fireplace is still being built. I have been working on the electric service and have so far installed the meter socket and the two 200 amp panels. The stone has been chosen and ordered for the FP and chimney. The windows were delivered this Weds. and we have already installed several. My building permit that expired on July 13th was graciously extended for another year. Our hot dry summer has finally received several inches of rain that promptly washed out a few cubic yards of backfill, thus I will have to re-grade and place some sort of retaining walls to keep it all in place (having a good roof that sheds water will do that). I do have several loads of broken concrete slabs that I will probably trench in on edge to act as retainers until I can work on landscaping and do it right. Here are a few images, some of which don't look too different from before.

[Stock]

Looking good Bruce, just out of interest if your permit wasn't extended what happens.............

[ianoz]

Hi Bruce , Once it gets to this stage of a build ,it is hard to see the progress made . What is the roofing material ? Over here it is usually corrugated Iron ,or concrete tiles . Both usually take only a couple of days to install and finish .
I take it ,that because you are in a snow fall area , guttering is not installed on the roof . All houses built here now must have rainwater tanks ,to catch the roof water .
What is your water supply ? I would not think being away from city area it would be piped supply . Do you have to dig a well?

[245dlc]

Hi Ian roofing materials in North America are to a high extent asphalt shingles, cedar shingles, corrugated steel works well with snow loads as it sheds them very nicely, and some places like California even have clay tile. Canada is much the same as the U.S.
Eavestroughing is standard as it does rain and here and when the snow does melt the water has to trickle somewhere. As for water supply people usually only catch rain water for watering the garden (I have two 55 gallon drums that work pretty good), otherwise drinking water is either pumped in from municipal supplies even over long distances and other places like here use well water.
Bruce if your having soil stability problems you might want to look into geotextiles to help keep things in place. What kind of septic system are you going with? I don't imagine you need a very complicated septic field since you have sandy soil there?

[B4D2USA]

...just out of interest if your permit wasn't extended what happens.............

I'd get a "red tag" or something like it telling me to cease and desist if they caught me working on the house. Considering that the DEA and the State police are constantly flying over scanning for pot, it'd be pretty easy to see my progress

What is the roofing material ? Over here it is usually corrugated Iron ,or concrete tiles . Both usually take only a couple of days to install and finish .
I take it ,that because you are in a snow fall area , guttering is not installed on the roof . All houses built here now must have rainwater tanks ,to catch the roof water .
What is your water supply ? I would not think being away from city area it would be piped supply . Do you have to dig a well?

Ian, as Bert said, the predominant roofing material here is asphalt shingles, although metal roofs are growing in popularity. My home in Chicago has a slate roof and there are terra-cotta, cement and asbestos tile roofs still present in the neighborhood. Obviously, my shop in the country is metal, as is the roof. The new house roof pitch is 8/12, so if it was metal, it would shed the snow quite easily. Considering that it is in the lake-effect snow belt, I can expect a lot of snow during the winter. Regardless, I also plan on super-insulating the attic so I doubt I will experience a lot of ice dams (I hope). A standard approach to prevent water damage from freeze is the installation of ice and water shield in the valleys and along the eaves of the roof. In some of the earlier pictures, you can see it installed.

I plan on installing gutters, but I still need to install the fascia boards. Another step will be to route the downspouts to a cistern (future). It is not required by law, but I think it a good practice because of the built-in rainwater collection system (roof). I already have a well on the site, we drilled it a few years ago for the shop.

Bruce if your having soil stability problems you might want to look into geotextiles to help keep things in place. What kind of septic system are you going with? I don't imagine you need a very complicated septic field since you have sandy soil there?

Bert, once the weeds take over, they really help keep the bank in place, but I agree, geotext is the next step once I can get to it. I have other priorities to attend to. The list seems endless.

The septic is a simple system with 4 laterals. My soil is mostly sand (glacial till) with the top 2 to 4 inches being decomposed material mixed in. A few miles down the road, the water table is extremely high and they need mound systems. Some also need perimeter drains to keep the mound system reasonable dry. I've included a pic of the end runs of the laterals awaiting final inspection. You can see the soil conditions.

[ianoz]

By the look of the ground , you should not have and drainage problems .We have a lot of clay soils here , so soakage can be a problem ..Keep posting Photos of the progress . ,as it is interesting to see the build .

[245dlc]

Yeah it's the same here most septic systems are mound systems, I don't agree with them because during wet years the mounds become saturated from rain and all the septic water is slowly flushed out into the ditches and streams and finally into the rivers and lakes. ewwwww!

[Stock]

It's not quite right to say there are no drainage problems.
A septic system is supposed to hold the contaminated water foe 110 days to ensure the nasties are completely broken down and the phosphates and sulphates are at a diminished level.Your soil system here would fail for percolation..............

And as there appears to be a high content of sand which is prone to erosion that too would be a ground for failure from structural point. The foundation system required here would be a raft pad min 300mm deep for that ground.

[ianoz]

Come on Bruce ,Ol mate .Wheres our up dates .

[245dlc]

Hey Ian he's probably busy getting all the outside stuff done before the snow falls, I talked to him the other day on facebook and he said he's been pretty busy trying to get everything enclosed and ready for winter.

[ianoz]

Bruce peeked in here last night ,Was trying to get a hello or something out of him .

[Stock]

We feel neglectedhere now................................

[B4D2USA]

Sorry fellas! I'm on my way out the door this AM. Busy busy trying to get the house closed up before the cold winds blow. A computer crash didn't help. I promise, pics will follow when I get a moment to catch my breath.

[Stock]

other soul lost to face book I bet.............

[B4D2USA]

My computer crashed a few months ago so I lost the resizing program. I found another recently, but have been going gang-busters. Where to start? Roof, windows, fireplace, chimney, retaining walls, decking, stairs, and one very tired contractor. The electrical lines are scheduled to be trenched in on Monday with the new transformer mounted near the house and POWER to the house. Gas line is expected to be trenched in from the road next week too (684 feet). Besides all the action on site, Julie's father passed away in August, so that has been a drag on my #1 partner. Anyways, here are a few photos.