The garage is now fully insulated and the gas furnace is operational. The shelving around the upper perimeter of the garage is also complete and already put to good use along with the old kitchen cupboards which were installed on the west wall of the garage.

Out in the yard, this year's section of fence is complete. The old wood piles were also cleaned up and the fire pit was relocated to make snow removal easier along the pathway to the garage. The relocation of the fire pit also clears the way for an enhancement that may be done to the driveway next year - the addition of a loop around the bushes and trees in the center of the yard.

Topics: 2011, Driveway, Garage, Landscaping

The garage interior is nearly complete and ready for paint. However, there are still important things to do. The gas furnace still isn't connected. Construction of shelving around the upper perimeter is underway. This needs to be completed so the remainder of the insulation (a second layer) can be installed in the attic. These shelves will be supported with long bolts up to the rafters and the installation of those bolts will be much easier if done before all the insulation is in the attic. Other things like workbenches and more shelving also need to be built, but that will no doubt drag on for a long period of time.

The current focus is on outside activities. I'm trying to get as much done in the yard as possible before winter sets in. More landscaping work was done earlier this fall. Most of this work was at the back and right side of the garage and along the west side of the driveway right up to the street. All this should greatly improve the drainage next spring as water now has a clear path from the back alley to the street along the west side of the property.

Work is also well underway on more fence. This fence runs around the south west corner of the property. It will eventually connect with that build last year on the east side of the property, but that will have to wait until next. All the fence posts and the wood that contacts the ground are in place, so freezing temperatures won't affect the rest of the fence construction. Like last year the fence will be built as individual panels and now those panels can be built in the garage, so this activity can be completed at any time. However, the sooner it's done the sooner it will stop the snow from drifting in from the west.

Last but not least, the storage containers were relocated to the back of the garage and the old storage shed was move a bit to the south east. This opens up the center of the back yard which should make it easier to clear snow around the front of the garage this winter. It will also allow landscaping to be done in the center of the back yard, but that will be something for next year.

Speaking of snow, I finished cleaning up the middle of yard late yesterday and not long after it started snowing and it's still snowing this morning.

Topics: 2011, Garage, Landscaping, Storage

The exterior of the garage is complete, including electrical plugins, a light by the small door, and eaves troughs.

The electrical wiring is also mostly complete and work is well underway to insulate and finish the inside.

The garage door openers were also installed a few weeks ago thanks to the help from my friend Kendrick. That task was a bit more difficult than it had to be because there was no room between the door and the ceiling for the openers. The tracks for the doors had to be modified to create the necessary space.

Last but not least, a couple weeks ago there was a tree service crew in town, so I hired them for a few hours to prune all the dead branches from the big trees out front. Afterwards it took me a couple days to clean up the trimmings. In hind-sight I should have hired them to do everything :-)

Topics: 2011, Garage

This week more progress was made on the siding, soffit, and fascia. The end of that is very near.

A yard light was also installed on the front of the garage and a natural gas line was run out to the garage from the house for the gas heater that will eventually be installed. I did the trenching work and the local plumber installed and tested the line. The gas heater is a direct vent sealed combustion unit, so a thimble was installed in the back wall for the combined intake/exhaust pipe to pass through.

A few readers have asked, so I should mention that the siding being install on the garage is HardiePlank® Lap Siding. Its installation is actually a two person job, but with those simple brackets I fabricated out a few pieces of wood I was able to eliminate the need for a second set of hands. The brackets hold the siding in the correct position giving me plenty of time to pre-drill and nail it.

Topics: 2011, Garage

The siding installation is going well. It's now well over half done. The soffit and fascia are coming along as well.

Topics: 2011, Garage

Over the past week trim was installed around the windows, a drip edge was installed along the foundation, corner boards were installed, and the installation of the siding began. As you can see from the photos the colour scheme is the reverse of the house, green siding with white trim. And, unlike the house, the siding and trim is pre-painted so there will be nothing do after it's up other that a few minor touch ups here and there.

Also note that some grass is starting to grow were the old garage used to be.

Topics: 2011, Garage

Over the past week all the windows and doors were installed along with the house wrap and an exhaust fan.

Topics: 2011, Garage

The garage is shingled and the old garage that straddled the west property line is gone.

The shingling of the garage dragged on for a few days longer then it should have due to the weather. If it wasn't the heat it was the wind, but it's all done now. The garage was shingled with a 30 year asphalt shingle and not cedar like the house, but like the house the a ridge cap venting system was used to conceal the vents and provide even venting throughout the roof.

Those days when it is was too hot or windy to be on the roof were used to get rid of the old garage that straddled the west property line. Most of the contents of that old garage, a couple Red River carts and a sleigh owned by the Willow Bunch Museum and some of the flooring from my house, was moved into the new garage. Everything else, including the garage itself was hauled to the dump. Once the old garage was empty, I used my chainsaw to bring the garage down and cut it up into pieces that could easily be hauled away.

My fire pit was also rebuilt.

Topics: 2011, Garage

The garage is standing and ready for shingles!

I had the walls ready for lifting just over week ago. Then last Thursday morning 8 guys were over to help lift them into place. I had everything ready to go before they arrived so it took us less then an hour to lift the walls and anchor them in place. My brothers Norm and George stayed around for a few more hours after that to help put the rafters up.

Over the past week I finished up a few framing details and finished sheeting the wall and roof. This took a little longer then it should have due to various distractions, but one welcome distraction was the installation of the electrical service to the garage. I wasn't expecting to get that done so soon, but things just happen to work out just right for the electrician on Tuesday. That job took the better part of a day, not including the work to clear path for the trench, work to backfill and compact the trench, and the task of recreating my patio area and fire pit (something which has yet to be done).

Lately the temperatures have been near 30°C and the forecast is for more of that and even a few days of above 30°C so that will affect the installation of the shingles. Hopefully it doesn't delay things too much, because the rest of the material needed to complete the exterior (windows, doors, sidings, etc.) will be delivered in about a week.

Topics: 2011, Garage

The long cool wet spring is finally over. This week we finally hit temperatures around 30°C and it looks like they will be around for a while.

The focus this spring and summer is the construction of a garage. This will be a much need workshop to do all the wood working that remains inside the Telegraph Office.

The design work begin back in earl April. Once the size and placement of the building were finalized it was time to get the site ready for concrete. That dragged on until early June due to the cool wet weather. The slab was done at the start of the second week of June and the actual garage construction began in the last few days of June.

There is currently enough material on site to build the exterior shell and shingle the roof. All of that should be done in the next week or so.

Windows were ordered a few weeks ago so they should be delivery sometime soon. All the rest of the material needed to finished the exterior (doors, siding, etc.) is readily available so that work will begin as soon as the building is up. The garage will be almost the complete opposite of the Telegraph Office, in that its exterior will be as maintenance free as possible.

Like past years, landscaping and gardening activities have also taken place this spring and summer. A side walk was poured in the front of the house with the concrete that was left over from the garage slab. Afterwards some grass was planted along the sidewalk and on the west side of the house. That happened just before we had the big rain, so its growing quite well already.

Topics: 2011, Garage, Landscaping

Here goes another long overdue update ...

This winter will definitely go down as one of the longer ones. By late last week it was finally looking like spring was really here for good then this weekend we had another big snow storm. This year's snow melt was already behind last year's, so the extra 14 inches or so of snow that fell this weekend will put us way behind. Last year this time I was already well into some landscaping work in the back yard. On April 1 last year it was already reasonably dry, so I had a bobcat in to do some work in the back yard. Right now the back yard is very wet, partially under water, muddy, and covered by about a foot of snow!

This winter I haven't done too much work on the house and instead I spent a lot of time on other activities. I did further research into the history of the of the Telegraph Office, where I uncovered some very interesting details that will be unveiled at a later day. I also spent some time on a few community projects and spend a lot of time working on some business ventures.

With that said, some work was accomplished inside the house, including the installation of some closet shelving, the completion of the trim around the kitchen window (the prototype for the rest of the house), the construction and installation of new stairs for the basement (replacing the temporary ones created back in August 2008), and the drywalling and painting of the basement stairwell.

Topics: 2011, Basement, East Lean-To, Interior Reconstruction, Windows

Ok, I know it's been a while since my last update ... I've been busy.

My fence is now complete, at least the first 96 feet of it. The remaining 400 feet or so will be done next year.

The exterior is almost fully painted. All that remains is a small portion at the top of the basement and the inner portion of the windows on the first floor. At least all the high stuff is done, so the scaffolds are now gone for good.

Unlike last winter, the house is finally fully sealed up, including things like the vapor barrier around the windows, doors, outside taps, and vent pipes.

Our first snow fall arrived on October 26. It did not stay, but it was enough to put an end to most outside work and it convinced me that it was time to get a snowblower. It also confirmed that the days are numbered for the big old trees out front, especially the one in front of the kitchen, near the street light. The snow and heavy winds that accompanied it took down a large branch which narrowly missed the building to the east.

Before winter set in for good I managed to sort through a lot of the old lumber I saved during the original demolition. The most important of which is the old flooring which I'm going to try to re-install in the new year.

Since then I have been working in the basement, where I completed drywalling and painting the two spare rooms and the storage space under the east lean-to. I also installed a suspended ceiling in the two spare rooms. With that done I was able to empty out the large rec-room area in the basement, giving me space to prepare the old wood flooring for its re-installation.

That concludes the work for 2010. Here are some of the year's highlights in case you missed them:

• New exterior doors were install
• Drywalling and painting was finished on the main floor ( den, dinning room, and museum room),
• Plenty yard work was done
• A few doors were found for the interior, but many more are still needed,
• Vapor barrier and drywall were installed in the basement,
• Finished off the interiors of the windows,
• I grew my first garden,
• Some grass was planted out front,
• Got an area prepared for a garage,
• And, of course, the single most significant activity of the year was the installation of the siding and the painting of the exterior which took several months to complete(see 2010/06/30, 2010/07/31, and 2010/08/30 for more details);

The siding together with the front deck really finished off the look of the exterior of the building and the fence really helps the make the place stand out.

Topics: 2010

Yes, broken windows is what many people thought when they saw the boarded up windows, but fortunately that wasn't the case. I spent a good part of the month completing the seal on the inside of the windows. The final part of that required the lower sash to be removed for a long period of time while I stained and varnished the wood, so boards where used to keep the elements out. The trim details around the windows will be completed later this fall or winter.

This month I also completed the front deck and got a start on a fence.

Topics: 2010, Misc, Windows

When the siding was delivered almost a year ago I knew the weather was going to impact its installation, but I did not realize how much! The rain, sun, wind and high humidity and temperatures were all big factors in the installation and painting of the siding and trim. That is especially true on the south (back) side of the building which is flooded with sunlight for a good part of the day, unless of course its not cloudy and raining. But, despite all that, it's finally done and the building exterior nearly complete. There are still a few details to take care of, like some painting on the windows and the installation of some trim work around the top of the basement, but those are relatively minor in the grand scheme of things.

It sure is nice to no longer see any house wrap!

Topics: 2010, Siding

The view of the building from the street is taking shape and approaching that 1909 look that is being sought by the restoration project. All the siding and trim work is now installed and painted on the front of the building. That includes the door and window for the coal shed (east lean-to). A front deck was also built to match the original one. And, modern eave troughs were installed protect and extend the life of the building exterior. Those eave troughs did not exist in the early days, so an attempt was made to conceal them by matching them to the color of the exterior trim.

Fill was finally delivered for what will eventually be a garage pad in the back yard.

Topics: 2010, East Lean-To, Garage, Siding