Yesterday, the RDOS inspector inspected the under slab plumbing and it was approved. The radeon collection work was also inspected – the poly seal was in place in 4 out of 5 bedrooms and radeon rock was being installed. Approval was given but the Builder needed to provide pictures after the work was completed. The perimeter drain tile and dampproofing also received an initial inspection; however, the geotech needs to do field review before approval will be given.

The Structural Engineer did an inspection today in preparation for pouring the slab which is planned for Monday starting at 8 am. Even though Monday is expected to be the coldest Dec 12th on record with the daytime high of -11 deg C and overnight low of -16 deg C (previous record low was -11 deg C), our Builder insists on going ahead. He has 3 large electric heaters running continuously to ensure the inside of the house will be warm enough for the pour.

The temperature is really cold but our Builder is continuing to move forward. Today the plumber is on site to put in the under slab pipes and the sump pump. The ABS glue needs at least 7 deg C so lots of heat will be needed. Currently large electric heaters are running and propane heaters will be added.

Our Builder is hoping to pour the first floor slab next Monday, which he will confirm later this week. Once the slab has adequately cured he can start building the concrete ceiling forms according to the design that was done by the Structural Engineer.

It appears that the wall forms have been removed. The rock slinger is being used to put more rock into the building. The under slab plumbing and radeon collection pipes will need to be put in place before the slab can be poured.

Today we got the results for the 7 day concrete test done. The strength was up to over 21 mPa which is at 70% of the expected final strength. The tarps have been removed and the forms are being dismantled. It is good to see some action happening again but the temperature is expected to drop significantly over the next week so I wouldn’t be surprised if the next concrete pour gets put off for a bit.

Yesterday, the concrete for the exterior and internal walls was poured. Because of the potential for cold weather, the Structural Engineer requires that site be prepared for heating and samples of concrete be taken for testing at 4, 7, 14 and 28 days. Also the forms must remain in place until the concrete achieves a specified strength.

Our builder has completed putting the forms and rebar in place and it has been inspected by the Structural Engineer. The pouring of the concrete is scheduled to start with the pumper truck arriving at 7:30 am and the concrete will start arriving at 8:00 am. Our builder expects the pour to take about 3 hours.

The ICF forms for the perimeter walls are now in place. The builder has rented forms for the internal walls and has started putting them up. The updated drawings require some more work around the boathouse to complete the connection to the boathouse. It will be challenging to work in this area.

The builder is planning to pour the first floor walls late next week.

When the drawings were being updated we added a small pump/storage room between the house and the boathouse that will have its own exterior door.

We started discussions with the plumber and were told that we would not need a sump pump in the house since the septic system has a pump system to feed the field. The plumber also suggest that we reconfigure the small bathroom on the first floor to put the shower under the stairs. We agreed that it would be a better arrangement for the room.

After many tweaks, the final specifications of the windows and exterior doors are complete and the order has been placed. Delivery of the windows and doors is scheduled for early in the New Year.

Yesterday and today the builder’s crews removed portions of the large retaining wall forms and started placing the ICFs.

Our Structural Engineer spent the weekend updating all of the 11 drawings to remove the garage as well as doing some minor revisions such as correcting window sizes.

We are getting a small reduction in the fixed price labour cost because the builder will not be building the garage. The removal of the garage should also reduce some material costs.

The tarps have been removed (by the wind or the crew) and the ICF blocks for all the external foundation walls have been delivered. The builder needs to wait for the retaining wall’s concrete to set before all the forms can be removed.

The weather cooperated today and allowed the concrete for the first floor of the retaining wall and the wall footings to be poured. The large retaining wall which is 2′ deep by 11′ high and 57′ long could only be poured at a  rate 3′ per hour but the crew had the concrete poured and tarped by 3:00 pm this afternoon. Because the retaining wall is so huge, the forms are to stay in place for 5 days.