Almost done backfilling

Another update?! YES another update.
I was early off work today and after diner I was a bit bored. And actually also excited to see what was going on with the house. So I went to Cochrane again. Yeah I know. Some people will think that I am over exaggerating with doing so much visits, BUT I really wished that Sarah was here so she too could feel how exciting this all is.
The backfilling is almost done. One wall left to do. They filled the space under the garage with dirt and gravel again. This will serve as a base for the concrete slab that eventually will be our driveway and garage floor. Also I posted a view that was made on eye level on what will be the first floor. The floor itself will be 30 cm or so higher then where I was but you get the picture. The house sits high above the ground so our view will be marvelous.
Also on our - would be - driveway, the wooden I-beams were ready to be installed. These will support the main floor and the first floor.
A bit down the hill, in the middle of the community, Jayman is building a similar house like ours. They are one step in front of us. You can see the house on the first panorama. It's the one with the excavator next to (it's on the left side of the picture). They started framing that house so ours isn't that far behind.
Also this Monday, I will sit down with the building manager Tim. Tim will explain the whole building process in detail. But sometimes even I think I could build this house myself. It's like playing with Lego. Everything is numbered... Could it be that difficult? ;)

View from what will be the rear right corner of the main floor. Our deck will be about 10 meters to the left. So we will look over our neighbours garden and that green space in between those fences.


Overlooking the basement floor.

Our driveway in progress.



Yes everything is numbered and ready to go.


Another view of the basement.

The rear of the house. This will be our little garden. This shot is taken from approximately the right rear corner of our lot.

Ready for the backfill!

Hello everybody. Good news. All the ground works have been finished and the foundation is ready for backfilling. That will be done on Monday. Jihaaa
So what happened this week to the house. Well all of the weeping tile is covered in gravel now, including those 2 metal structures in front of the basement windows. The water main is installed. The main electrical wire is in together with the ground wire. Water meter is connected. And the gas pipe is installed. Also the black water repellent foil has been attached properly with special clips.

The apartment on the other hand is working out great. It really feels like home. Today (on a Sunday) Shaw came in to install the internet connection and the digital TV. I'm connected to the world again. ;)

Almost ready for the backfill!

So I went to see our house again today. I was happy to see some progress. I didn't expect to see anything that's why the pictures are crappy again... sorry.
So, Jayman is almost done installing that black water proofing plastic on the side of the foundation. This will keep the moisture out. Together with that tube you see it is an important part of a healthy foundation. The tube is what they call a 'weeping tile'. This tube actually has small slits in the sides of it (if you look closely, you will see them in that orange line on the side). This tube will be covered in gravel before 'the hole' is covered with dirt again.
Also what you have probably noticed, there are some metal 'things' surrounding our basement windows. Again this feature is part of the neat irrigation system. This too contains a tube on the inside (again a weeping tile). Later this whole section will be filled with gravel too.
So ones all that tubing is in (a little section is left to be done) and all of those plastic mats are on the foundation, backfilling can begin. The excavator was waiting on the lot next door so I think tomorrow afternoon everything will be covered again. I'll let you guys know on Saturday.
On another note. We moved out Chris & Nicole's basement today. We wanted to give our friends their space and privacy back. Carrie, that's another mutual friend of ours, has this neat little condo she wanted to rent out. So we went ahead and from now on, we'll have our own little place we can call home. It's strange to say this because this is the first day I'm in here, but it already feels like home. Seeing some of your own stuff again really sets you at ease. So yeah I was busy today moving everything over from the basement to here and back to the basement again. O and I want to thank Chris & Nicole AGAIN for taking those weird strangers from Belgium in for - what - six months?! Damn life moves fast!!! Our door will be always open for those guys no matter what. We are very lucky we can call those people our friends! Because without them, the whole process would have been a lot more difficult.

Foundation walls are up

So yesterday (Saturday) I got an e-mail from Jayman saying that our foundation walls were up. And behold... they were! What a difference one week makes!
I was planning on driving there anyways because from now on, that will be my 'Saturday thing' to do. Framing – that is what they call the construction of the wooden skeleton of the house – will start next week. So hopefully by next weekend, we can maybe see the beginnings of something that looks like a house.
For now, it's – like I said – the foundation that is in and almost finished. The only thing to do (I think) is to attach that water repelling foil to the concrete. And to backfill the soil around the foundation.
It's neat to see and feel the size of our house. It is going to be huge!